May 2, 2018

If you’re just now beginning to read this series on the “Five Ways of Choosing a Coaching Niche,” I encourage you to go back and read each one.

As a coach, I never had anyone walk me through that process.  So, I started out, like many coaches do, as a generalist “Life Coach.”

Even with weak, non-specific, messaging, I was able to get some clients.  Most I really enjoyed working with,  but there were a few that I didn’t have as much chemistry with.

What I was taught in coaching school was that I could work with anyone.  But what I’ve learned, and what I teach our coaches in Jumpstart is, “just because you can work with anyone, doesn’t mean you should.  You’ll do your best work with the people you’re most passionate about working with.”

Fortunately, very early on, I started paying attention to the clients I most enjoyed working with.  I realized there were some specific reasons that included:

• They were driven.
• They were highly motivated.
• They were entrepreneurial.
• They were builders.
• They thought outside the box.
• They were on a mission that was greater than themselves.

I had a much larger list than this actually, and what I ultimately discovered is that I shared some of the same values and wiring of these people.

Most were 20 years older than me and much farther along than me in life, and I was fascinated with their stories, their approach to life, and the fact they were still hungry and in pursuit of something more.

Frankly, it was difficult to not be highly motivated every time I met with these clients.

It was then that I had my first epiphany about niches:

For the first time in my life, I could actually choose who I worked with.

And there wasn’t a selfish motivation with regard to this.  I realized and still believe that every client deserves to have a coach who looks forward to meeting with them.  Every client deserves to have a coach who believes in them and is fascinated with their life.

Every client deserves to have a coach who believes in them and is fascinated with their life.

But it still required some boldness on my part.

I wasn’t a fully booked coach yet, and any paying client – even less ideal ones – were still paying clients.

But I decided to go with these new guiding principles and make the decision that I would not work with anyone that I didn’t believe I would be passionate about working with.

In fact, I even started implementing a personality test that would enable me to be more certain that my future clients fit the profile of my ideal clients.

Eventually, that meant that I passed on some people who really wanted to work with me.   I referred these individuals to other coaches who I knew would really cherish them and help them achieve their goals.

That’s a scary prospect for a lot of new coaches, but there are more things that I learned about choosing to work with the people I’m most passionate about working with:

(Once again) You’ll do your best work as a coach if you’re working with the right people.

When you’re doing your best work, your clients will get extraordinary results.

When your clients get extraordinary results, you’ll never have to struggle to sell your business, because the door of referrals from existing clients will be wide open.

And finally…

Once you choose a very specific niche of the right people, they will mutually value and honor you and you will get paid a higher fee.

So make sure, even starting out as a coach, you choose the right people.  And if you’re still struggling to discover your niche, we have some amazing tools and mentoring support in Jumpstart Your Coaching Practice to empower you to thrive!