Starting a new coaching business or transitioning to a new market?
One of the first things any business coach or marketing pro will tell you is that you need to find your niche.
Of course, it’s helpful to identify a niche and target your message to serve your ideal clients.
I’m not going to go into the ways in which that is helpful because a quick Google search will reveal a million and one reasons why you need a niche and how to do that.
I also see that for so many of my clients, the fixation on finding a niche like a good little student is no longer serving them.
So let’s consider another perspective…
What if you don’t need to “find a niche” to do what you love and make money at it?
What if it’s a lot simpler?
#1 – Finding your niche is like falling in love.
Most new entrepreneurs and coaches go about finding a niche by answering the ideal client questions (helpfully provided by the guru du jour) and thinking their way to it.
It’s like they’re trying to “pick” your niche like you’d grab something off the shelf in a grocery store.
In my experience, niching your business doesn’t really work like that. It’s a cool starting point, but it’s not going to lead to soulmate client connection.
Finding your niche is more like soon-to-be lovers meeting eyes across the room.
Your eyes lock. Your curiosity (and possibly something else) is aroused. You’re magnetically drawn to each other.
How does it happen?
Instinct. Attraction. Feeling.
You find each other and get closer to see what might happen next.
So rather than trying to “decide” your way into a niche, notice what draws you. Who is most inspiring? Who is drawn to you?
This is the organic, natural way to discovering your niche.
#2 – Your “niche” is made up of people who are so much more than a set of demographic or psychographic traits.
Isolating the common characteristics of your target audience by listing them on a piece of paper makes them easier to identify logically.
But these are people you want to connect with, not data or vital statistics.
The soulmate client niche that you’ll come to recognize is a co-creation that results from the message you’re broadcasting and those who respond to it.
If you prematurely limit your niche by a pre-defined set of traits, you miss the authentic connection.
Instead, let your soulful, heartfelt message lead the way.
Your voice is the beacon that naturally draws them in.
#3 – You might serve a niche that defies the typical markers of age, sex, background, geographic location or common interests.
The topic of finding a niche and identifying your ideal client often comes up in my conversations with coaches, therapists and creative entrepreneurs.
In one such conversation with a coach, I asked her name three clients who were both inspiring and profitable to work with.
Typically, a set of commonalities unfolds that can help identify your ideal client.
In this case, her soulmate clients were quite different. They were different ages, facing different life situations, and came to her with different specific problems.
They did have in common a need to “break out” from external circumstances that appeared to be blocking them and were drawn to do transformational work either personally or professionally, but her niche didn’t seem to be confined by demographics.
“What if you draw them in by describing the experience, not their specific situation?” I suggested.
The coach lit up. “You mean, I don’t have to do that?”
No, she didn’t.
And you don’t, either. Unless it’s working for you.
#4 – “Finding your niche” can become a roadblock to connecting with soulmate clients and creating money.
Your “niche” isn’t something you figure out; it’s something that happens to you.
Too many new or transitioning entrepreneurs get stuck trying to define a niche.
If you weren’t fixated on “nailing down your niche,” what would you be doing instead?
You’d be sharing your message. Creating content that inspires you. Talking to people you like hanging out with both on and offline.
Do that. Your niche will reveal itself in the natural process of relating.
#5 – Your niche will change over time.
Going back to our original relationship analogy, the soulmate clients you attract will naturally shift over time as you grow and change.
We’re always teaching what we’re learning, and learning what we’re teaching.
When I first began teaching people how to market online, my content focused on following the rules of marketing. I attracted those who hadn’t been exposed to these ideas and who needed the structure of a step-by-step system.
Over time, as I experienced the limitations of Business As Usual, I began to attract entrepreneurs who’ve taken the courses and done the systems with some results…but who were now feeling misaligned and frustrated.
My soulmate client niche changed along with me. Naturally and organically.
Let me reiterate something here:
If you’re feeling called to “define your niche” in specific detail, DO IT.
Following what you know if the most important thing.
But chances are good that if you’ve found your way to me…
You’re ready for a different way of doing business. One that flows from your source of inspiration, guidance and inner wisdom.
One that doesn’t necessarily conform to the rules of Business and Marketing As Usual.
Welcome to the game. 🙂
Yours in creative play,
Steph
P.S. I’m looking for creative entrepreneurs who are ready to craft and broadcast their powerful message with soul aligned marketing designed to attract their ideal clients.
If you’ve already got your awesome sauce going on and are ready to grow to the next level…
Let’s have a virtual coffee and Wild Creation date to explore what’s possible!
P.P.S. You can also get inspired on a journey of Wild Creation in this new free guided visualization.
