Part 2 of 5 of the “Building a Niche” Mini-Series
This post is the second installment of five where we’re pulling the curtain back on exactly what we did to start an industry niche focused on construction and trades businesses.
In case you missed the previous posts, here’s a quick summary of what we’ve shared so far:
101: Why/How We Decided to Niche
- Taking the plunge on nicheing
- Deciding on construction and trades
Now let’s talk about… Where on earth do you start??
“Great! We’re officially nicheing!!”
<gulp>
“Now what??”
Find Out Where Your Niche Hangs Out
There is a lot of guidance out there on how to go about building a niche, but we are here to tell you that it can feel SCARY, even with a lot of resources telling you what to do.
The first thing we thought of was “let’s post really great content on LinkedIn!” as both Kim and Heather are active users of the LinkedIn platform. But while we are connected to a TON of accounting firms, you begin to realize that construction firm owners don’t seem to flock there. In fact, Facebook may be where more of these business owners hang out… but neither Kim nor Heather is a big Facebook user.
So then we started thinking about where we might actually bump into these businesses – and that’s when we looked up the Home Building Association (HBA) of Greater Portland. Not only do they have events and perks for construction/trades and associate members (industry-adjacent firms like Luma) but they also have Councils, one of which is the Professional Women in Building (PWB) Council – this TOTALLY spoke to us!
Show Up. Relentlessly.
After joining the Home Building Association of Greater Portland in January of 2025, we started attending monthly HBA happy hours. And anniversary breakfasts. And retreats. And events like the Street of Dreams and the Home & Garden Show. In short, we tried to show up every time we possibly could. And over the past year, we’ve made connections and even some real friends that we truly enjoy. Members are actually recognizing us!
And as members of the HBA, we are also members of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) which has a ton of live webinars, educational video series, books and an online forum where members can post questions and get answers from other members around the country.
Listening, Not Selling
Now this might be a bit controversial, but our approach was not about striding up to fellow HBA members, hand outstretched with a business card and starting with our elevator pitch. We really saw this as an opportunity to LEARN from construction/trade members:
- What challenges are they facing?
- How is the economy affecting their businesses?
- What technology are they using?
And of course the first thing everyone thinks when they read “Luma Accounting” on our nametags is “Oh, you do taxes!” So usually the first thing we say is “Hi – I’m ________ with Luma Accounting… we do bookkeeping and outsourced accounting but NO TAX!!”
Let Our Website Do the Talking
One of the ways we felt would show that we were truly invested in construction and trades was to put our money where everyone would see it… a construction/trades page on our website. After being with the HBA for 6 months and listening to other members, combined with what we experienced with our clients over the years, we felt we were ready to put out content that showed that we knew what this industry is looking for in bookkeeping/accounting.
We also made sure to take any measures possible to get our website to show up in searches for accounting – the payoff has been hearing from leads that they found us while using Google search!
Next up: Niche Building 103: What building a niche looks like on the INSIDE
If you’re a construction or trades business owner looking for bookkeeping and outsourced accounting support from a team that understands your industry, Luma Accounting is here to help. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon and serving small businesses nationwide, we provide consistent financial clarity so you can focus on building. Fill out our short form to connect with Luma.
