Let’s define this new niche as a couple in a wealthy suburb where the sections are large. Property development is not their day job. They are professionals who are interested in growing their wealth and may already own a couple of investment properties.
If you can find sections where you believe you might be able to make the owner $500K – $1M by building on their own section, then some WILL be interested I promise you. Think about how long it takes to save $500,000. Yet in one year the right development could increase your client's net worth by that much or more, and your income by $100K.
NOTE: I AM NOT SAYING “BACKYARD DEVELOPER” SHOULD BE YOUR NICHE. I AM SHOWING YOU THE PROCESS AND THIS IS AN EXAMPLE.
Onwards…
The other benefit you get with this niche is that, unlike typical developers who have to buy the land and therefore are always looking to cut costs and architects fees, your “backyard developer” client has lower costs (free land). Plus, if you can provide a full end-to-end service, they can carry on with their day job that earns the money.
By giving this type of development its own name, “backyard developer,” we are in the first phase of building a new category for our potential clients to identify with.
Proof
NOTE: When you have created a new niche category, you then need to prove you can get a highly valuable result wanted by those who identify with that category.
In reality, you first have to prove that your idea works on a very small scale. That’s what “make it real” means: Proving that it works once, with a unit of one, in one single target market, with that one customer.
There’s no real shortcut to all of that. Not if you want to make a recurring system that’s going to stand the test of time. But the good news is: You only need to do it ONCE. After that, you can take your proof of concept and turn it into a system.
The key numbers for this example niche that prove your proof of concept are:
1) How much did the entire project cost the owners?
2) How much are the new buildings worth on completion?
3) What is the profit or gain?
This is how a client thinks.
Collect these numbers so you can use them in your marketing. That will mean getting a friendly realtor to assess the value before and after when the new units are built.
When Your Value Is So High It Spreads Like A Virus
When I say you need to wait until you have proof, that is not 100% right.
And when I said you will have to do marketing, that is not necessarily 100% right either. In the case where you are creating extreme high value — then people can't help but talk.
For example, client A who is through the planning phase with you and knows the likely profit numbers gets a little excited.
Despite agreeing with his wife to keep the project quiet in case neighbours cause any issues, he lets slip to a neighbour friend whose section is just two houses along. The friend also gets excited because his section is a similar size.
The two friends meet that night for dinner and client A shares all the details and recommends the architect.
Client B calls the “Backyard development specialist” and orders an LCC to review the feasibility of their site.
So far no marketing, no completed project, just a very profitable niche. Picking a great niche that no one else is focused on and claiming yourself to be the expert is like winning before you even begin.