To Niche or Not To Niche – A New Coach’s Dilemma
Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash
If you are a creative person with a lot of interests, and the advice to niche down what you talk about makes you want to curl up in the fetal position in your closet, you are not alone, and you don’t have to, because if you’re that type of person, your niche isn’t the specific subject you talk about. It’s your value system…. If you can’t get yourself to pick a specific niche, then don’t. Simply create a lot of things and speak honestly from your viewpoint of the world. And that viewpoint will become your niche. Over time you will naturally focus in on specific topics as you find things that resonate with you. But it’s not the things that matter. It’s how you look at them.
Watch: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdKF45Qj/
@joshterryplays, TikTok, August 7, 2021
In the world of Life Coaching we live for the Ah Ha moment, and wow did this TikTok ever spark that Ah Ha moment for me. I’ve been watching Josh’s content for more than a year on TikTok, and this guy does exactly what he describes. He gives some good thought to a topic, writes out content for a 1-minute video, reads it out on screen, usually dropping gold. Simple and extremely effective. Today – he nailed it. Spoke to my dilemma perfectly.
As a newly minted Life Coach and ADHD Life Coach, I have been searching for what should or could be my niche audience and my perfect client. What area of life or common dilemmas can I specifically support through coaching? I’ll let you in on my though process in this post. It might be TMI (too much information) – but I wonder if you will resonate with some part of it. Let me know if something did! You can write me at connie@interpurpose.com.
So, what is my voice and my niche?
As a smart woman with ADHD,
As a middle-aged woman who lived her whole life with undiagnosed ADHD, until 2 years ago,
As an atheist who was raised in a faith community for good and for ill,
As a person who always had an eye on social systems and can imagine a better world,
As an adult educator who values dialogue, sharing ideas and forthright communication,
As an introverted extrovert who thinks the key to everything is community,
As an artist who sees creativity as a way to express in images what can’t be expressed in words,
As a person who is learning that self-expression is sacred, and we all need to fully ourselves in the world to thrive,
As a white mother of 2 black children who grapple with their place in the world,
As an entrepreneur who tends towards social enterprise – business ventures for the common good,
As a “big brain” person who has a new idea for a business almost every day,
As an observer who suspects that the world economic and political and social systems are about to go into a huge disruption,
As a woman with ADHD that can see that the skills and abilities and adaptability of people with ADHD may play a key role in getting through these disruptions without falling apart,
As a product of my private Christian school education (where I simultaneously thrived and was shut down), and watching the public education system failing my kids with ADHD, I can envision there is a better way to educate kids with ADHD that would actually help all children,
As a non-conformist who values quality of life over external social expectations,
As an emerging writer with a huge urge to share ideas,
As someone coming to grips with my own suffering due to undiagnosed ADHD and committed to having people with ADHD thrive rather than just survive,
As a mostly optimistic person who believes we really can change the world to be more equitable and inclusive,
Josh’s encouragement to speak from my values system rather than from a particular niche, rings powerfully true. I have been unable to choose which of these things to spend my time on, and which communities of people shall I serve as a Coach and Educator. Who should I work with?
Families with ADHD?
Parent with ADHD who have kids with ADHD?
Mid-life women newly diagnosed with ADHD?
All Entrepreneurs with ADHD? Or All entrepreneurs including those with ADHD?
Artists and Creatives?
Inter-racial families grappling with ADHD & the school system?
Create a social enterprise that supports a wide range of businesses led by people with ADHD?
Children and Teens with ADHD?
Non-conformists who are grappled with the constraints of social expectations?
People who are on a mission to creative an inclusive and equitable world?
People who want to articulate their own values after a lifetime of being told what they should value?
I really cannot choose.
And it’s been holding me back from confidently marketing my coaching practice.
But what is coming clearer and clearer are my values:
Community – having our circles of support, connection and interdependence is essential
Conversations – expressing our ideas, experiences authentically in a respectful and connected space feeds a very basic need, and is becoming somewhat of a lost art.
Continuous Growth – life is journey, not a destination, so learning self-compassion and resilience, and always looking for ways to make our day-to-day experience of life match our inner vision of “a good life”.
Self-Expression – no matter who we are or where we come from, we all have our inner life and desires, and feel discomfort when our essential self is supressed in some way. So much good can come from people honestly expressing their interests, values, personal style, how they like to help others, and where they need help.
Thriving Rather than Surviving – figuring out what my/our best life looks like and feels like for me/us. It’s something particular to every person.
Know Yourself – learn as much about yourself and your reactions, desires, needs, self-regulation and purpose so you can thrive and not get bogged down too long in pain and suffering.
More than a year ago, I called my company interPURPOSE – and in essence declared my values already then. The name came from me thinking that we all have an inner purpose the supports our own lives and external purpose that desires to support or be in community with others – and when we combine these purposes in community, in relationship, we learn the value of inter-connectedness. Inter-purpose if you will.
There are a lot of areas of life where, if we came from this premise of inter-purpose, we could revolutionize our economy, health care, education, mental health, and political systems. Can you see that too? If we see this for ourselves, must we not also see this, and create space for, everyone else to do the same?
Josh’s advice today has simultaneously settled and energized me. It feels like the missing piece. I may be writing about and reaching people in difference niche areas, but I think the values I hold are the ones I most want to share and can make a difference in many areas of life.
While I feel I can coach anyone towards the things they want for themselves, I don’t need to pick one social/societal niche. I am interested in values that touch everything. So I think that will be the focus of what I write and share, and if it resonates with someone who feels like I “get” them and we can get down to working on creating the life that works for them – I’m living my purpose too.
I am so glad to have come across this piece today. I’m glad his self-expression and ideas were put out into the world to make a difference for me today. His purpose just inspired my purpose. I’m going to try to share this with him so he knows the difference he’s made in one life… and maybe the lives I touch in the future.
Peace and Adventure to you all.
