Are you a coach struggling with the decision on finding a coaching niche? Are you afraid that focusing on just one niche will limit your opportunities? If so, guess what? There’s no need to fear getting in to a niche.

Niches work. Niches make it easier for you to become an expert – a recognized go-to person in that niche. Niches can be profitable – very profitable. Think “niche”, and you will be on your way to coaching riches – professional, personally, and financially.

Not convinced yet that niches work? Well, you will never really know until your try it, but here’s another opinion on finding a coaching niche for more profit and success:

http://www.coachingmillions.com/334/to-niche-or-not-to-niche/

Without any further ado:

The 5 Steps to Finding a Coaching Niche

Step 1 – What is a Niche?

You need to understand what a niche is before you can start looking for them. A niche is a hot, expanding market within your coaching specialty that makes you the big fish in the small pond. A niche is a need; a need that you can fill with your coaching.

Here is a brief list of potential niche markets for you to discover and build a practice around:

Life Coach…

For retirees
For working mothers
For divorce recovery

Career Coach…

For unemployed over 50
For single mothers
For work at home entrepreneurs

Health coach…

For joint replacement patients
For post-pregnancy weight loss
For chronic illness recovery

Others types of coaches…

Image or style coach
Social security benefits coach
Debt recovery coach

Narrower is better. Focus on a small sub-segment of a coaching field. But, there must be a need. Small market, big need is the key. Find that need and then learn all you can about solutions for that need. You also must learn how to market to those people with that need.

You can also focus on professions, especially if you have specific experience or knowledge with a profession. Here is a sample list of professions around which you can build a niche:

http://www.coachingmillions.com/1625/75-life-career-coaching-niches/

Step 2 – Follow Your Passions, but is There a Need?

Perhaps you are a wealth coach who loves real estate. You can narrow your focus and become a real estate wealth coach. Perhaps you are a female executive coach with a strong interest in women’s issues. You can begin to focus your attention and business on women executives.

Perhaps you are a wellness coach who enjoys competitive sports – start focusing on athletes who play sports competitively. Perhaps you love to try new things – skydiving, hiking, kayaking, white-water rafting, bungee-jumping. You can turn your coaching practice in to a specialized life coaching business with a focus on getting people to enjoy life by doing those things on their bucket or fantasy lists.

However, your passions won’t make you rich. The best niches come at the nexus of market needs and your passions. If there is no need which your passion fills, there is no niche.

Step 3 – Be Creative and Think Outside the Box

Use this video to learn how to be more creative in your decision making – it can help you discover and select the right niche.

Consider everything – your talents, your experience, and everything you enjoy and see if there is a need. Are you spiritual and want to help people understand how important faith is in life? Are you an atheist and feel the need to allow people to express themselves outside of a religious context? Are you an optimist and want to help others shed the shackles of pessimism?

Are there needs for any of these coaches? Is there an opening within a group of people which you can fill with your expertise and passion? If not forget it. If so, start building your niche.

The more creative you are, the more potential niche markets you will create. Brainstorm, peruse the Internet, ask peers, ask clients, and keep your eyes open for any possible niches. A niche won’t find you – you must find the niche. Create – don’t copy.

Step 4 – Niches Demand Solutions

You are only as good as the solutions you provide. Though it is nice to have the passion, the experience, and the expertise, clients don’t become or stay clients because of your expertise, your certifications, your experience, or your knowledge; they will be clients if you offer them solutions.

Clients want an outcome. Even if you find and fill an ideal niche, without solutions, you will not own that niche.

Step 5 – Build Your Niche

You must build your niche to make it work. Just because you identify a viable niche, doesn’t mean clients will come flocking to your door.

Building your niche requires:

• Analysis of the market
• Insight in to the needs of your potential clients
• Talking to and surveying prospects
• Identifying what’s missing for this market
• Finding working solutions
• Testing your solutions
• Persistence

Putting it All Together to Find a Coaching Niche

Once you have a list, now you must narrow it down. Remember, the narrower the niche, the better – as long as there is a need. You must separate the wheat from the chaff. To do this, you should ask yourself these three questions:

1. Can you think of three ways to get in front of at least 25 potential new clients who would be interested in your niche?
2. Can you determine what ultimate outcomes will motivate or inspire your targeted audience to invest in your coaching expertise?
3. Will your services stand out in a crowd?

These three questions will help you cross off many niche markets on your list. But, the ones that remain on the list may be pure coaching gold. They will have a need, you will know a way to get your name out to this group, and you will have solutions for them.

Not sure if you’ve found a profitable niche? Take a look at these ten suggestions on determining if you’ve found the right niche:

http://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/10-ways-to-know-you-have-a-good-coaching-niche/

Once you select a niche, your marketing efforts become more focused and it is easier to specifically position yourself and your services within a market. You don’t have to market to everyone about everything.

Finding a coaching niche also means you become a recognized expert in a specialized field. Once you are the recognized expert,you are in demand. Coaches in demand have higher visibility and higher rates.

You will be mining coaching gold because you used these five steps to find the perfect niche for you. Coaching gold = finding a coaching niche to get rich!

Hope you took some great value out of this post today! I’d love to hear your feedback, so make sure you leave a comment with your thoughts or questions. And also, you can click on the Twitter button below to retweet this article… Thank you!

Fred Philips
Business Coach
Writing Team, Coaches Training Blog Community