I’ve jumped through more business niche ideas than I can count. Skateboard companies. T-shirt brands. PC-building services. Jewelry. Dropshipping. A gym apparel brand called Gym Pigeon. If you can name it, I probably spun up a logo and a half-finished website for it.

But here’s the real pattern: none of them failed because the ideas were bad. They failed because I didn’t stick around long enough to give them a chance.

This year changed that. I finally found momentum by asking a different question up front: Do I actually want to live the day-to-day of this niche?

Here’s the simple framework I wish I used years ago.

Before you chase a shiny new niche, ask two questions:

How much effort am I honestly willing to put into this?
Every niche looks fun from the top of the mountain. The real climb is in the habits you have to adopt to make it work. If you don’t like the tasks, you won’t keep doing them.

Do I enjoy the daily inputs?
Starting a business is fun. Managing it is where people quit.
Example: I love e-commerce. Managing Shopify stores, adding products, testing offers, driving traffic. The day-to-day fits me, so momentum naturally follows.

If the work isn’t enjoyable, it won’t survive a rough week.

Every niche idea needs a clear path from small wins to the big outcome.

Most of my past ideas died because I did Step 1 (logo), Step 2 (website)… and then waited for customers to magically appear. That’s not a strategy. That’s a hope.

Instead, map the climb like this:

Big Goal: Replace income, fund a hobby, build a brand, etc.
One-Year Goal: A specific milestone that proves the niche has legs.
Quarterly Inputs: Concrete actions that move the needle.
Weekly Habits: The stuff you can actually control.

Example: Our Magic: The Gathering e-commerce brand.
Big goal: A business that pays for the hobby.
One-year goals:
• 50 orders
• 1,000 Instagram followers
• New product lines

We hit the goals because they were clear, trackable, and tied to action.

My ADHD used to push me toward the “next” idea before the current one had a chance. That’s how you collect half-built businesses.

The fix was simple: extend the time horizon.
Give a niche at least a year. Set milestones. Review them honestly.

If it’s working, keep climbing.
If it’s not, adjust the inputs, not the mountain.

Momentum comes from staying long enough to compound.

Anything can work.
But not everything is worth working on.

The niche you stick with is the niche where:
• You like the daily work
• The goals are clear
• The feedback loop is tight
• You give it enough time to grow

That’s been the biggest shift for me heading into 2026.
More intentional projects. More granular goals. More follow-through.

And if recording a YouTube video in traffic keeps the momentum going, I’ll take it.