5 Must Ask Questions to Gain Niche Clarity

Are you an aspiring Coach or Entrepreneur, but don’t yet know who you serve?

Maybe you’re multi-passionate, so choosing a niche feels too limiting?

Or you worry that by choosing a niche you’re leaving money on the table?

I totally understand (and have lived) each of these worries and can tell you first hand that choosing a profitable niche for now will actually create MORE opportunities, income, and clarity!

Plus, it eliminates the overwhelm of trying to serve multiple niches and create tons of different offers, content, etc.

I only wished I’d niched down much sooner in my coaching business. Instead I had 5 different niches the first 2+ years in my business and instead of bringing in tons of money, it actually barely trickled in.

And I was constantly overwhelmed, confused, and frustrated by my lackluster results.

Finally after hiring my first business coach, I niched down to helping Coaches in the health and wellness space build and scale their successful online coaching business and that’s when I was able to hit my first $5k, then $10k months, build my email list into the 1000s, and create joint ventures.

I want that for you as well!

It starts with getting clear and choosing your profitable niche.

So, grab a notebook, a comfy seat, and a cup of your favorite brew, because we're diving deep into 5 juicy questions that'll help you clarify your niche sweet spot.

Question #1: What have been the biggest obstacles, challenges, or traumas I’ve experienced in my own life I could possibly help others with?

So often Coaches want to work with clients that are where they once were. Having that personal experience of overcoming a particular challenge or piece of the challenge typically creates a sense of confidence. 

However, keep in mind that experience is not the only factor. And remember that you don’t need to have your challenge perfectly dialed in to help someone else with the same challenge.

In reality, the fact that you are still struggling with some aspects of the same challenge you’re helping others with can actually make you more relatable and able to help your clients in a greater capacity because you’re not so removed from the struggle.

In this journal prompt, detail your past (or current) struggles you might like to help your clients with. Include what your specific challenges were, what impact those challenges had on all areas of your life, what steps/things you did to help overcome the challenge, and what obstacles came up along the way.

Doing this work will help immensely craft your story, your offer, and help you build confidence in how you’ll help your ideal clients.

Question #2: What past experiences, skills, certifications, degrees, awards, etc., make me stand out and/or will benefit my specific niche?

What past experiences (both personal and professional) helps you to stand out from other coaches in your niche?

Remember this doesn’t have to be seemingly directly related to now being a Coach. Anything from nursing, psychology/therapy, communications, personal training, HR, IT/tech, being a stay at home mom, and likely anything in between could help you stand apart and provide additional experience and expertise that can further help your clients.

While you may not be actively using those past professional experiences, you can still talk about them in a way that showcases how that knowledge helps set you apart from your competitors and helps them get better results, while at the same time you can clearly state you are not actively or officially going to be in that role for them.

For example, I’ve been a licensed mental health therapist for over 20 years now. While I talk about this certification and experience and how I use it to help my clients, I’m also clear that I am not acting in the role of, or replacing, therapist to my business coaching clients.

Question #3: What do I wish I had available to me when I was struggling/trying to achieve this outcome?

This is such a great question to answer to help you reflect back on all the progress you’ve made on your own journey and also to help you begin to formulate the solution that you offer to help get your clients results.

Question #4: What gap(s) do I see in the marketplace or what do I see missing from what other coaches with the same niche are doing?

This is an opportunity to conduct some invaluable market research. Here you want to google what other coaches in your niche are doing. 

Specifically, looking for:

• Who’s out there doing what you do?

• How are they serving their clients?

• What are their offers? What’s included and what’s their pricing?

• What language are they using?

• What are they not addressing? What’s missing from what they’re doing that you would do or do differently?

An important caveat when you’re doing this work: Use what you find as information, inspiration, and motivation about what’s possible and not as a way to think you’re behind, you’ll never do it as good as they will, or to think there’s no room for you in the market; those things simply aren’t true. 

In fact, when you see someone else doing what you want to be doing, it’s actually a good sign and means there’s a market for it!

Question #5: What’s the “lowest hanging fruit"/what niche would be easiest for me to get started with?

Think about what audience you may already have access to; that might be colleagues, clients at a past job, or the role you play in your current job.

For example, if you’re a PRN pharmacist and you’re deciding between helping post menopausal Moms with stress as your niche or pharmacists, you might decide on pharmacists because you’re surrounded by them all day (and even if you don’t want to coach your co-workers, you can always start with who do they know, or target pharmacists at a different pharmacy store than you or at a different company).

It’s always best to ask yourself (and focus on) what’s going to be the easiest path to getting started. You can (and likely will) pivot along the way. But particularly when you’re just starting your business and you’re learning so many new things, make choosing your niche as easy as you can by working within whom you already know.

And there you have it - 5 thought-provoking questions to ask yourself to guide your quest for niche clarity. 

Remember, your journey as a coach is as unique as you are, and finding the perfect niche is a deeply personal and empowering process, as well as an ongoing, often changing, journey.

So, reflect on these questions, listen to your inner voice, and trust in the wisdom of your experiences. Whether you're drawn to healing past wounds, leveraging your expertise, or filling a gap in the market, your niche is waiting to be discovered.

Embrace the journey, embrace the discovery, and watch as your coaching practice flourishes in alignment with your truest passions and purpose.

And if you’re looking for more guidance, strategies, and accountability, I invite you to join me for Nail Your Niche Now, where you’ll receive the mindset strategies to leave your niche fears behind, the 7 step proven formula to choose a profitable niche, and 25 winning strategies to get paying clients.