How Can Coaches Define Their Niche?

How Can Coaches Define Their Niche? 3 Year Ago · 5 min read

Talyaa Vardar

Talyaa Vardar, MA, FCPC, MCC
Executive Coach, Psychologist & Art Therapist

Whether you have been working in the coaching business for some time or new to it you must have realized the fact that there’s a lot of discussion around knowing your coaching niche.

By knowing your niche, you will be able to find clients a lot easier. It's a lot like becoming a specialist as a doctor. As a coach, if you decide that your niche is life coaching, you will know how to position yourself a lot better. This way you gain a lot more experience in your niche making you better and better in the long run.

The emphasis lies on making sure you turn up on Google searches and your coaching pitch is clear and concise. If the message comes out as no niche, no business.

There are thousands of professionally certified coaches in the world. It is easy to believe if you go online without a proper niche and proper messaging your message might get lost in the mix.

Creating a coaching nice is one of the ways to attracting the audience that you want to your service and conveying your message to them. When people ask you what you do, you might be able to give them a more specific answer.

Let me clarify, you don’t have to focus on your niche right away after you graduate from your certification program. However, after a while, it is useful to be able to say that “I am an Executive Coach”… or “I am a Business Coach”…or “I am a Life Coach”.

You may start asking yourself “What kind of professional coach am I?” and in time your answers might change. Sometimes you find your niche and there are many occasions where your niche will find you.  For the majority of coaches, their coaching niche changes and develops as the coach grows.

You can also ask these series of questions:

  • When am I most in flow as a coach? With whom?
  • Who do I want to contribute to?
  • What is the soul of coaching for me?
  • How do I define myself as a coach?
  • Who am I not as a coach?
  • What beliefs do I have about coaching?
  • What does coaching stand for me?
  • What difference can I make with coaching?
  • What do I want to put forward in the world as a coach?

There is another way to discover your true coaching niche. Which is to simply continue coaching. Trust your instincts and the people that come to you and they will show you the way to go.

As you coach be curious and open, notice, be aware, and use these investigative questions to guide you:

  • What kind of clients comes to you?
  • What kind of people do you enjoy coaching?
  • Who are you more successful with as a coach?
  • Where do you meet dead ends in your work?
  • What do you crave to learn?

Some people fly with people who are in transition, some coaches work well with people who are managers/leaders in their organization, some coaches work well with young people, and so on. You cant get this insight sitting on a desk holding a piece of a blank sheet. It is by coaching that you can find your true talent.

If you are aware of what niche is yours, go ahead and shine brightly. There are many examples of coaches who are doing so successfully in the world. If you don’t know your niche yet, no need to worry. Go out and coach anyway.

Be a lighthouse, show the way to everyone who comes to you, and gradually the right people will find you and over time your true place will be revealed. Let your work show you the way.

If you are ready to become a coach that is a change-maker in your community, head on over to our program page for the next intake. We can't wait to see you.