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There are several myths about having a coaching niche. They come up again and again. Here are the most common.

Myth 1. You lose out on attracting business because you're niched.

This is supposedly because you lose people who are not in your niche, either because you turn them down, or they are not attracted to you anymore.

Many coaches who have no niche believe this. No coaches who have a niche believe this, as they all have evidence to the contrary. When you're active in a niche, you get known fast, through word of mouth and through other communication channels. People outside of your niche will get to hear about you, and ask if you can coach them.

Assuming your practice is not completely full, you can coach them, if you choose to!

Myth 2. It's best to have a huge amount of coaching experience (100 people? 200 hours?) before you niche.

Being competent as a coach is essential, of course. But the difference between a dentist with an income of $40K and one of $400K is not in how they fill teeth. It's in how they market themselves.

Coaching skill and marketing skill are not dependent on each other.

If you're sure there's a hungry market, and you know you can supply their needs, why wait?

Myth 3. If I'm niched, my income will go down, as I appeal to less people.

Look at Dentist Coach Chris Barrow, if you believe this. When he specialised in coaching Dentists, his income went up in significant hikes. Chris enjoys a 7-figure coaching income and reports that he has 12 weeks holidays a year.

I've just got hold of the 2009 Annual Sherpa Coaching Survey. Here's a comparison with annual incomes of undifferentiated, un-niched life coaches and coaches with a niche, in this case Executive Coaches.

Life Coaches' Income

In 2008-9, life coaches with less than 3 years, 3-5 years and more than five year's experience, earned $ 28,200, $ 35,230 and $ 77,000 respectively.

Executive Coaches' Income

In 2008-9, executive coaches with less than 3 years, 3-5 years and more than five year's experience, earned $ 64,000, $ 88,300 and $ 134,800 respectively.

Note the $ 35,800 difference in annual income between a coach with a niche (executives, in this case) and the undifferentiated life coach, both with less than 3 years experience.

Which income would you prefer? So now would you like a niche?

So why Should Coaches Niche?

It's profitable, as we can see. It makes your marketing effort easier, as you get known more quickly in a narrow market. And the trouble is, if you don't have a niche, you're trying to appeal to everyone. In trying to appeal to everyone, you'll risk appealing to no-one.

In the current economic climate, unless you're appealing specifically to a narrow target market, supplying exactly what your prospects want, you're less likely to get the business.