I have three areas of specialty that are fairly unique and somewhat unrelated. Early in my career, I didn’t know niche-ing was a thing. I learned along the way the importance of niche-ing. A niche helps you streamline time and effort and consolidate resources. It is one of the most important business tools.
When I graduated, I sent my resume to 25 doctor’s offices. I started working at an integrative medical practice in 2003 and by late 2004 the practice was predominantly Lyme disease patients seeking help. I had not learned about Lyme disease in grad school. Thankfully, my graduate degree from Maryland University of Integrative Health didn’t just teach me protocols but rather how to think critically and develop my own protocols. I dug deep into research into medline, talked to patients and practitioners, and learned on the job. Lyme became my niche. I didn’t plan it or really consciously choose it.
Fortune favors the bold - Latin proverb
I did not create my ICA intentionally and I did not plan it this way. What did I do? I was presented with an opportunity to serve a need and I said YES. I was a beginner in 2004. I could have stuck with something more familiar, something that had more answers. Yet by saying yes and diving into the unknown I helped patients that did not have help. I became a leading expert in Lyme in the field of herbalism and nutrition. Lyme is probably not the niche I would choose. But it is one of the populations of patients I serve. And I love it.
The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. ― Frederick Buechner
Learn more about the other patient populations I work with and how I got there.