How To Choose Your Coaching Niche?

I was certified, excited, and ready to help the world but I had no clue who I was actually trying to help.

At first, I tried to coach everyone. Career stuff, confidence, burnout, business clarity, relationships — you name it, I was game. My website had a bit of everything, my elevator pitch was a hot mess, and my content felt scattered. Wanna guess how many clients I got? One. And that was a friend doing me a favor.

That’s when it hit me: being everything to everyone meant I was nothing to anyone.

What Actually Helped Me Narrow Down?

I stopped trying to be “the most helpful coach ever” and instead asked myself three hard questions:

1. What have I overcome that people ask me about?
   For me, it was career burnout. I’d left a toxic job, pivoted careers, and rebuilt my confidence from scratch. Friends would DM me like, “Hey, how’d you get out?” or “Can I pick your brain about changing jobs?” That was a clue.

2. Who do I actually love working with?
   I once did a clarity call with a super successful exec — but I felt bored the whole time. But when I chatted with a mid-level designer who wanted to leave her job and start freelancing, I lit up. I was buzzing after that call. That’s your gut telling you where the gold is.

3. Can I get specific with the result I help people achieve?
   “I help people feel better” is not a niche. But “I help creatives leave toxic jobs and launch solo careers with confidence” — now we’re talkin’.

If you’re just starting your coaching journey, trust me — you’re not alone. I highly recommend reading how to start an online coaching business to ground your niche in a sustainable business model.

The Fear of Getting Too Specific (And Why It’s False)

I was scared to niche down. Real scared. Like, “Am I turning away business?” scared.

But truth is, clarity attracts clients. When I started saying exactly who I worked with and what I helped them do, discovery calls started trickling in. Slowly at first, but then steadily. Because people knew I was for them.

Specific sells. Vague repels.

If you’re wondering how to position your offer once your niche is clear, check out this guide on creating coaching packages and pricing. It’ll help you turn your expertise into something people actually want to pay for.

Try This: Test, Don’t Guess

You don’t have to carve your niche in stone right away. I ran 3 free workshops, each with a different focus: burnout recovery, career pivots, and finding your voice as a creative. The burnout one filled up fastest, got the best feedback, and gave me real language to use from real people. It made my messaging way stronger.

Plus, I paid attention to what drained me and what energized me after each session. Energy is data. If you dread showing up, that ain’t your niche.

If you’re still not attracting the right kind of people, you might also want to look at how to attract coaching clients based on your niche-specific messaging.

Bonus Tips That Saved Me Months of Stress

• Use your story. The mess you went through becomes the message someone else needs. People love coaches who “get it” because they’ve lived it.

• Avoid picking a niche just because it’s trendy. I almost niched into “high-performance coaching” ‘cause it sounded cool. But I would’ve hated it. Go where you connect, not where the buzz is.

• Don’t overthink your credentials. You don’t need to be the #1 expert in your field — you just need to be one step ahead of the person you’re helping.

• Let it evolve. Your niche doesn’t have to be forever. Mine shifted three times before it stuck. That’s not failure — that’s feedback.

And once you’re ready to grow, don’t miss this list of advice on scaling your coaching business. It’s full of real, actionable steps.

Also, make sure you know how to build a coaching brand online because even the best niche won’t land clients if no one remembers who you are.

To Wrap It Up

Choosing your niche isn’t a one-and-done thing. It’s messy, iterative, and honestly kinda emotional. But when you find it — that sweet spot where your passion meets your people’s pain points — everything clicks.

And once it clicks? Marketing gets easier, content flows naturally, and coaching becomes way more fun.

So yeah… don’t rush it. Try stuff. Listen closely. And trust that your niche is often hiding in plain sight — in your own story.