S03 E11 - Avani Miriyala on Design, Finding Your Niche, and Facing Your Fears

Today's guest is Avani Miriyala. Avani is a UX designer, podcaster, and entrepreneur. She helps people create systems so that they can break through the status quo. Avani runs a design consultancy business and shares her knowledge with others through her podcast.

In 2017 Avani made the decision to leave her full-time job and pursue her consulting business full-time. And it's turned out to be one of the most defining choices she ever made.

She likes to say that empathy is her superpower. She loves talking to people, getting ideas from user interviews, and getting to know what other people are thinking. This knowledge directly relates to product ideas and the problems she tries to solve.

Though she admits that social comparison is often the enemy, she has used it in the past to support her pursuits. Just knowing that others were out there doing what she wanted to do was enough to help quell her fears and take the leap.

Through the process of niching down, Avani has focused on the emerging market of cryptocurrency and become one of the go-to consultants for companies looking to build their sites or digital wallets.

Currently, Avani is focused on growing her own consultancy business, building UX strategies for cryptocurrency businesses, and guiding others along the freelance journey with her Six-Figure Freelancer Roadmap.

[click_to_tweet tweet="Humans were meant to explore, to see the world, to have social experiences and that's what our lives should be." quote="Humans were meant to explore, to see the world, to have social experiences and that's what our lives should be." theme="style3"]

In this episode Avani talks about:

• How mediocrity and the status quo can lead to a less fulfilling life.
• Climbing the corporate ladder and how she realized it wasn't what she really wanted.
• The fear of the unknown and how she moved through it to pursue her dreams anyway.
• How niching down positions you as a trusted expert and attracts more clients.

Main Takeaways

• Leaving what you know can be like jumping out of a plane and hoping the parachute opens, but at the end of the day, it's worth it to figure out what you really want.
• The power to create the life you want is always in your own hands, even though you sometimes feel it's not.
• When you're in a transitional period or stuck, talk to other people and learn from their experiences.
• You have to bet on yourself. Others won't take a chance on you if you don't take one on yourself.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Avani Miriyala Podcast
• The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
• Six-Figure Freelancer Roadmap
• Avani on Instagram