Week of 11/11- Build your niche, again and again and again
You need a niche.
A solid niche helps ensure that specific clients will want to work with you instead of another lawyer. You are creating the demand for your services by telling prospective clients exactly what you bring to the table.
This Forbes article sets out a 5-step process for finding your niche.
And it’s a great starting place.
But building a niche is just a starting point.
You should also
Broaden your niche
Narrow your niche
Jump your niche
Like this…
Broaden your niche
I built a reputation initially working with food waste composters.
That’s a very specific niche and I have good clients in that industry.
But food waste is a narrow niche, so I broadened it by working with food waste recyclers, and then recyclers, and then waste and recycling companies.
I took my existing expertise and reputation and zoomed out to a broader subset.
It’s still a niche, but a broader one. You do need to be careful about broadening too far because you really can’t be everything to everyone.
Narrow your niche
I wanted to work with renewable energy companies, but that’s such a broad niche.
So I focused first on solar developers, and am in the process of building a reputation amongst that community.
I got narrow to get started. I also have been focusing initially on solar developers that need regulatory assistance with solar incentives in New Jersey.
I’ve gotten several great clients by narrowing this niche.
In time, I’ll broaden it again, and might even be able to broaden it to wind and other renewable energy projects.
Jump your niche
This is my favorite advice in this email.
Sometimes it isn’t about narrowing or broadening your niche, but about taking your skills and packaging them for a whole new group.
For instance, I have experience with the composting industry and with regulatory compliance, so I put together a plan to work with compostable products companies that need help with advertising and other intellectual property issues.
I took my subject matter experience and my legal skills, identified a set of companies, and pursued business at the intersection of these points.
I jumped my niche to a related industry.
Hopefully this inspires you to think differently about your niche.
Do you have a plan to target a new niche? Shoot me an email to let me know!
Now onto this weeks opportunities.
Have a lead on a job opening? Share it here.
Legal Intern. Raise Green. Remote. https://climatebase.org/job/45871207/legal-intern?for_edit_job=true. No experience requirement noted. Raise Green is a platform designed to connect climate projects & companies with both retail and accredited investors to democratize sustainable investing.
Policy Fellow (Contractor). Elemental Excelerator. Remote. https://boards.greenhouse.io/elementalexcelerator/jobs/4724618004. For “seasoned” professionals. Elemental Excelerator is a Non-profit investment platform that invests in climate startups to address climate and social inequities head on.
Commercial Legal. Watershed. Remote. https://watershed.com/jobs/4710835004-commercial-legal. For those with “significant in-house commercial deal experience.” Watershed is a software platform for running a world-class climate program.
Research & Policy Associate. Actual. Remote. https://www.actualhq.com/careers/?ashby_jid=926e4a3a-2255-43da-a743-407c2539e8fd. 1-3 years of experience. At ACTUAL we are building a software platform to help organizations of all kinds to break through climate paralysis and begin turning their sustainability goals into meaningful, measurable action.
Associate Corporate Counsel. Natural Resources Defense Council. Remote. US-DC-Washington | US-CA-San Francisco | US-NY-New York | US-CA-Santa Monica | US-IL-Chicago. https://careers-nrdc.icims.com/jobs/4968/associate-corporate-counsel/job. At least 2 years of law practice. For this position, the salary is $110,000 to $126,000. NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization.
Senior Policy Advisor, Agriculture. Carbon 180. Washington, DC. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b9362d89d5abb8c51d474f8/t/635fe935b9bb0d78b13c70f8/1667230005996/C180+JD+-+Senior+Policy+Advisor%2C+Ag.pdf. A proven track record (3+ years) working on federal policy, on or off the Hill. Carbon180 is a new breed of climate-focused NGO on a mission to fundamentally rethink carbon.
Senior Policy Advisor, Tech. Carbon 180. Washington, DC. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b9362d89d5abb8c51d474f8/t/6356a19cf4abcb7927a2259d/1666621852959/C180+JD+-+Senior+Policy+Advisor%2C+Tech.pdf. A proven track record (3+ years) working on federal policy, on or off the Hill. Carbon180 is a new breed of climate-focused NGO on a mission to fundamentally rethink carbon.
Deputy Director of Policy, Tech. Carbon 180. Washington, DC. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b9362d89d5abb8c51d474f8/t/6359375b506660168db0f283/1666791259680/C180+JD+-+Deputy+Director+of+Policy%2C+Tech.pdf. Proven track record (5+ years) working on policy and/or related climate issues. Carbon180 is a new breed of climate-focused NGO on a mission to fundamentally rethink carbon.
Senior Attorney. Natural Resources Defense Council. US-DC-Washington | US-NY-New York | US-MA-Boston. https://careers-nrdc.icims.com/jobs/5008/senior-attorney/job. 5+ years’ legal experience. The salary is $130,000 to $150,000. NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization.
Policy Director – Wholesale Markets. Advanced Energy Economy. Remote. https://advancedenergyeconomy.applytojob.com/apply/gx5UdSKBWC/Policy-Director-Wholesale-Markets?source=Our%20Career%20Page%20Widget. Minimum of seven years of professional experience in and engagement in the clean energy sector; ideally, some experience with FERC and/or RTOs . Salary: starting at $110,000. (AEE) is a national association of businesses that are making the energy we use secure, clean, and affordable.
Corporate Counsel, SEC & Corporate Governance. Beyond Meat. El Segundo, CA. https://www.beyondmeat.com/en-US/join-the-team. 8+ years of corporate experience at a nationally recognized law firm (together with inhouse experience a plus). Beyond Meat, Inc. is a Los Angeles–based producer of plant-based meat substitutes.
Director of Compliance (Trade, Anti bribery, export control). Planet. Remote. https://www.planet.com/company/careers/?jobid=4667354. 8+ years of experience in global trade compliance and 3+ years supervisory / leadership experience.Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history.
Managing Director, Policy. We Mean Business Coalition. Remote; within EST and CET time zones (UK/London, Switzerland/Geneva, US/NYC). https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/about/job-openings/managing-director-policy/. >20 years practical experience advancing climate change or clean energy-related policy objectives through strategic engagement at the international, US, EU and any major emerging market.We Mean Business Coalition is a group of nonprofit organizations, working with the world’s most influential businesses to take action on climate change.
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