Choosing your niche is as important as the day you chose coaching as a career in the first place. Most likely, you decided to become a coach because you felt passionate about helping people. Your niche needs to stem from that same passion.

Believe all the things you read and hear about having a niche. They’re true; don’t try to re-invent the wheel! A niche focuses your attention and laser tunes who you attract, what you write about on your Web site and/or blog, what other products or classes you create and so on.

However, don’t select your niche lightly. It needs to fit who you are as a coach and a person. The most important starting point for narrowing down your niche is stopping to think about what excites you. What are you drawn to naturally? What has your experience led you to do and be? Who would you work with forever for free, if you could?

Along with that, look at what your education and skills bring to coaching. How will those benefit people you will coach? Is there a certain spin on what you have done in the past that will help others in a similar place?

Look at other niches that already exist. Do any of them really fit for you, too? If so, how would you tweak that niche to make it something unique to your coaching? If not, don’t worry — yes, you can invent a new niche! If you hit on something yet untapped that does have a calling for it, you truly will stand out in the crowd.

After you have one or more potential areas, begin to look at them in depth. Do others want and need coaching in this area? Do you know where and how to reach them? Do you have others you can build an alliance with to further both what they do and your coaching practice? Is it likely that the group you’re targeting will see the value in using you as a coach for this topic?

Once you’ve figured out a niche that fits your passion, interests and experience, and also matches a group who will benefit from coaching in this area, the rest will come much easier. Lack of focus on who you are working with and how you can help them will make building your business more difficult and less enjoyable.

Author:                 © Cindy Kirchhoff December 2007

                               Living in Rhyme 

                              www.livinginrhyme.com

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