When you’re considering starting a coaching business, one of the very first things you do is decide which type of coaching business you want to build. But although this is one of the first decisions you’ll make, it’s also one of the toughest ones since it will decide the trajectory of your company as a whole.

Today I’d like to help you make that potentially difficult decision by discussing some ways to choose the right niche for you and your future business.

Firstly, decide what you’re passionate about…

One of the biggest factors in making a business work is perseverance. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your business won’t be either. There are times in all new business ventures when you’re not seeing as much progress as you’d like, so you have to have powerful motivation behind you in order to keep pushing through those times.

If you’re trying to build a business that you’re not passionate about, then the chances that your motivation will wane increases. So it’s important that you choose a niche that excites you, and that you’ll stay inspired by.

For instance, some people feel that they’ve mastered a certain skill; it could be cooking, sports, etc. And they want to share their knowledge of that skill with others, so that they too can take advantage of it. But others might be more passionate about helping people adjust their mindsets, these would be known as mindset coaches.

You need to figure out which niche of coaching you’re the most passionate about, and let that factor into your decision.

Secondly, decide which niche you could add unique value to…

People only want to buy a product or service that will provide them with some sort of value; and additionally, they’re more likely to make the purchase if they can’t find that value anywhere else. So there are two aspects to consider here.

• You need to find a niche that you know a lot about, or are willing to learn a lot about; otherwise you can’t offer valuable coaching.
• Additionally, you need to be able to find a unique angle within the niche in order to make more sales. So always ask yourself the question of what can you do within a niche to make your offers different than others. If you can’t come up with anything then it may not be the niche for you.

Thirdly, take a look at the most popular coaching niches out there…

This is the step in which you have to take emotion out of it, and simply look at numbers. You don’t have to choose niche based on the statistics of that niche alone, but shouldn’t ignore this variable either. Keeping that in mind, let’s look at some of the more profitable coaching niches that exist…

Life Coaching –

Life coaching is a coaching category that focuses on transforming all aspects of a person’s life. You give your client direction, and help them mold their lives into the form they’re looking for. There are many different sub-niches within this, mostly ones that focus on various age groups or stages of life.

• Life Coaching for Children
• Life Coaching for Teens
• Life Coaching for Young Adults
• Etc

Life coaches make about $50,000 per year, and that isn’t factoring in the added potential available from starting a business.

Relationship Coaching –

Relationship coaching is another highly used coaching niche which focuses on helping people improve their relations with a variety of people. For instance, a relationship coach could focus on…

• Romantic Relationships
• Familial Relationships
• Workplace Relationships
• And more

Relationship coaches make anywhere from about $50,000-$60,000 per year, without the extra money a good business model could generate.

Skills Coaching –

Skills coaching is a great market, especially if this is where your passions lie. A skills coach focuses on helping their client hone a specific skill or set of skills that the coach has expertise in. Examples would be…

• A Language Coach
• A Blogging Coach
• A Social Skills Coach
• Etc

Skill coaches make an estimated $35,000-$50,000 per year just from regular (non-business) salaries.

Career Coaching –

And the last niche of coaching that we’ll be listing today, although there are many more, is career coaching. It is what it sounds like and is coaching based around teaching people how land their dream jobs. It can take on many different forms such as…

• Resume Coaching
• Interview Coaching
• Career Transition Coaching
• Etc

Career coaches earn around $45,000-$50,000 per year, without the added income possible from a business.

How Do You Tie All These Things Together?

I ordered these factors in order of importance. Step one is finding a niche that you love, step two is making sure it’s something that you know well and can provide value to consumers with, and step three is ensuring that there’s money to be made from it as a business owner.

And I also want you to keep in mind that if you succeed in finding a coaching niche that works with the first two steps, you can make it work! By forming a coaching business and not simply working as a coach, you’re opening up a lot of unique opportunities for expansion that will increase your income.

With any coaching niche you can…

• Create multiple services and products
• Hire other coaches to help with demand
• Invest your money back into the business for more expansion
• And grow as a brand

If you’re willing to make the jump creating your own business.

So although it’s an important decision, follow your heart as well as your head!