Measure the Niche: Sketchnotes as a Business
Simone built her business in sketchnoting — the practice of creating visual notes that combine drawings, text, and structure to capture ideas. It is a niche that most people would assume is too narrow to support a significant business. Visual note-taking feels like a hobby skill, not the foundation of a near-million-euro enterprise.
That assumption reveals a common error in market analysis: confusing niche size with revenue potential. The sketchnote market is narrow but deep. Professionals in education, consulting, facilitation, project management, and creative fields all benefit from visual communication skills. The audience is specific but highly motivated to learn.
Analyze the Ultra-Niche Advantage
Operating in a narrow niche creates advantages that broad-market competitors cannot match. Simone’s positioning as a sketchnote educator meant zero direct competition from major course platforms. Her audience could find generic drawing courses anywhere, but structured sketchnote training from a recognized practitioner existed almost nowhere.
The ultra-niche also simplified every marketing decision. The ideal client was clearly defined. The language and imagery that resonated with the audience were specific and testable. And the community of sketchnote enthusiasts was concentrated in identifiable online spaces where targeted outreach could reach a high percentage of the total addressable market.
Pricing power follows from specificity. A generic “learn to draw” course competes on price against thousands of alternatives. A comprehensive sketchnote mastery program has pricing power because the alternatives are scarce. Simone could charge premium prices because her offer was the best — and often the only — option in her category.
Act Through the SOMBA Framework
Simone’s journey through the SOMBA ecosystem demonstrates that the program’s methodology works regardless of niche size. The Kickstart framework of identifying ideal clients, building email lists, and launching courses applies to sketchnotes the same way it applies to nutrition, architecture, or writing coaching.
The difference was in the specificity of execution. Her lead magnets featured sketchnote examples. Her email sequences spoke the visual language of her community. Her course content delivered progressive skill building from basic icons to complete visual facilitation. Every element was tailored to the niche while following the universal SOMBA launch structure.
As her business grew, she expanded her course catalog to serve different segments within the sketchnote community: beginners, professionals, educators who wanted to teach visual thinking to their own students. Each new course served a different need within the same narrow but deep market.
Measure the Results: Near €1M in a “Tiny” Niche
Simone’s sketchnote business approached €1M in annual revenue. That number decisively refutes the assumption that narrow niches cannot support large businesses. The revenue came from multiple course offerings, premium pricing justified by category leadership, and a loyal audience that purchased multiple products over time.
The customer lifetime value metric is particularly revealing in niche businesses. When you are the recognized leader in a specific field, customers do not just buy one course — they buy everything you create. The depth of engagement in a focused niche produces repeat purchase rates that broad-market courses rarely achieve.
Apply the Niche Dominance Framework
Simone’s near-million-euro sketchnote business illustrates a principle that contradicts conventional startup wisdom: you do not need a large addressable market to build a large business. You need a market where you can become the undisputed leader.
The framework for evaluating niche potential has three criteria. First, does the audience have a specific, urgent problem that your expertise solves? Second, are existing solutions inadequate or nonexistent? Third, can you reach the audience through identifiable channels? If all three answers are yes, the niche is viable regardless of how small it appears.
Watch how Simone built a near-million-euro business in the sketchnote niche.
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is the CEO of Local Service Spotlight, a platform that amplifies the reputations of contractors and local service businesses using the Content Factory process. He is a former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on Google and Facebook ads for Nike, Quiznos, Ashley Furniture, Red Bull, State Farm, and other brands.
Dennis has achieved 25% of his goal of creating a million digital marketing jobs by partnering with universities, professional organizations, and agencies. Through Local Service Spotlight, he teaches the Dollar a Day strategy and Content Factory training to help local service businesses enhance their existing local reputation and make the phone ring.
Dennis coaches young adult agency owners serving plumbers, AC technicians, landscapers, roofers, electricians, and believes there should be a standard in measuring local marketing efforts, much like doctors and plumbers must be certified.