Most positioning is vague.
"Small business owners."
"Entrepreneurs."
"Creatives."
But vague positioning creates vague marketing creates vague clients creates exhausting work.
Try this instead.
Two exercises.
Two sentences.
Five minutes.
Don't write "small business owners" or "creative professionals."
What do they make?
What do they care about?
What does their work look like when you see it and think "yes, that person gets it"?
Now describe their problem.
Not "they need help with marketing."
What specifically is stuck?
What's getting in the way of the work that matters to them?
Write it specific enough that you could name three real people who fit this description.
Now write this sentence:
"My work is for [specific people from above] but not for [specific people who aren't a fit]."
Examples:
"For experts who want to grow their business, but not for people looking for growth hacks"
"For makers who care about craft, but not for people optimising for scale"
"For people building something worth building, but not for people chasing quick wins"
Make it specific enough that it's uncomfortable.
Specific enough that you'd actually turn someone away based on it.
Notice what happens when you have both
One sentence defines who you serve.
One sentence defines who you don't.
Together they create the positioning that actually works.
The right people recognise themselves immediately.
The wrong people self-select out.
Your offers get clearer.
Your marketing gets easier.
You stop wasting time on clients who drain you.
Most advice tells you to cast the widest net.
Be for everyone.
Never turn anyone away.
But that's how you disappear into noise.
That's how every conversation starts with "so... what do you do?" and their eyes glaze over halfway through your answer.
Write the two sentences.
Make them specific.
Make them uncomfortable.
Not better.
Different.