I see you. You think you’ve narrowed down your niche. But now you’re left wondering, “But how do I know if I have a profitable niche?” Well, I’ve got you covered. I’ve created a complete “profitable niche” checklist with 10 things for you to consider when determining if you have the right niche or not.

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Outline your skills, passions, and past experiences.

Mining your personal story opens a door to your niche. You might think that your niche should only be focused on your ideal client and what they need and want. But when you do this, you’re missing an important piece, alignment with who you are. In order to find a niche that’s aligned with who you are, it’s important that you dive into your own unique story.  You want to consider what you’re good at and passionate about.  And you want to consider the things you’ve overcome in your own life. From your experiences, passions, and skills you can more easily decide what you want to focus on in your business.

Gain clarity around your ideal client’s desires, needs, and willingness to pay for the result you help them get. Their willingness to pay is key to a profitable niche.

Spend time thinking about your ideal client on a regular basis. Get in their head.  Consider what they think about first thing in the morning.  Think about what worries them or what they fear. Get clear about what they wish they had more than anything else. Think about what they want so much that they’d be willing to pay almost anything for the result it would give them.  Make sure that your niche is focused on helping your ideal client get what they want most and what they’re willing to pay for.

Find out if there is competition within your niche. (Competition doesn’t mean your niche isn’t profitable!)

Having competition is good. Typically having competition shows you that there’s a need for what you’re offering. This means it’s likely a profitable niche.  So, do some research and find out if other coaches are offering what you are. Notice who they’re marketing to and what their offers are specifically. I like to think of others who have the same niche as I do less as competition and more of a sign that I’m on the right track with my niche.

Get clear about what makes you unique and helps you and your offer stand out among the competition.

While competition is good, you also want to determine how you stand out among your competition. Think about what makes you unique. One way I’ve found to do this is to consider the things that I’ve been insecure about in the past. These insecurities that have been roadblocks in the past can be a way to connect with others. The insecurities you’re willing to share allow you to seem human and relatable.  They’re a way for you to share your message while infusing the unique parts of who you are within it. This is how we build the know, like, trust factor.

Determine if you can find around 100 potential clients who need what you’re offering.

Part of the process of finding a profitable niche is deciding if there is an audience for it. One way to do this is to go out and do some market research.  Decide where you think your ideal client is and search for any information that’s available that would help you figure out who might be interested in your offer. If you’re able to find at least 100 potential clients, that’s a good indicator that enough people want what you’re offering to make it profitable.

Create a clear picture of what your ideal client wants and is ready to invest in right now.

As you reach out and connect with people, make it a point to learn more about your ideal client. Get to know what they say they want right now. Listen to what they say they’re struggling with most.  Notice what questions they’re asking and what they’re saying they need help with.  And notice whether or not they’re ready to invest in a solution to their problem.

Determine where your clients are in the buying process.

There are 6 main stages a consumer goes through. Knowing at which stage your ideal client is will help you more easily connect with them and meet them where they are.

Problem Recognition

  The first stage is problem recognition. In this stage your ideal client isn’t aware of the possible solutions to their problem. For example, they know they aren’t sleeping but they might not know it’s because their hormones are imbalanced. In this stage you want to educate them on their problem and the solutions you have that can help them.

Information Search

The second stage is information search. In this stage your ideal client is aware of their problem and they’re looking for a solution. To attract your ideal client in this stage make sure your social media account home pages clearly showcase your niche. And make sure your social media feed is filled with content that provides value your ideal client is looking for.  This will help you stand out as the go-to person in your niche. Your ideal client will see you as an expert in the area they want help solving.

Evaluation of Alternatives

Stage three is the evaluation of alternatives. Your client is searching for various options to help them solve their problem. This is where consistency is important. The more consistently you show up and provide value specific to your niche, the more you’ll stand out.

Purchase Decision

Purchase decision is the fourth stage.  In this stage your ideal client is ready to make a decision.  You want to be top of mind when they get to this stage.  If you’ve focused on getting to know your ideal client, building a relationship with them, and providing value, you will likely be someone they consider buying from.  Think about what you can do today to serve your ideal client who might be in this stage. Remember, you don’t have a profitable niche if your ideal clients aren’t making the decision to purchase from you based on your niche.

Purchasing

In the fifth stage your ideal client is purchasing. The goal here is to make the purchase experience easy and enjoyable for your client. Consider things you might be able to do to eliminate any unnecessary steps and simplify the buying process for your client in this stage.

Post-Purchase Evaluation

And finally, post-purchase evaluation is the final stage of the buyer’s journey. Consider how you want to interact with your client once your work together is finished.  Think about how you will manage feedback, both positive and negative. And consider how you want to continue to foster this relationship after you’re finished working together.

Be honest about whether or not you would invest in your offer and yourself as a coach if you were your ideal client.

Journal about your thoughts about yourself as a coach and your offer.  Be honest.  If you were your ideal client, clearly identify the reasons you would invest in yourself as a coach.  Do the same with your offer.  If you wouldn’t invest in either of these, get clear about why you wouldn’t.

You want to make sure your mindset and beliefs around your skills and the value you provide support who you want to be. The more awareness you have around your thoughts, the more you can use the tools you teach your clients to help grow your belief.

If there’s anything you’d like to change about your coaching or offer, also be honest with yourself about what those changes might be.  Then go to work to create more of what you want.

Side note: If you wouldn’t invest in yourself why do you think anyone else would?

Outline your coaching process specific to your niche.

Once you gain clarity about the results you help your clients get, then you can go a layer deeper. This will help you clearly understand the process you use to help your clients get results.  Consider what tools you use to help your clients get from where they are to where they want to go. If you’re not sure, think about the tools you’ve used to get your own transformations.  Decide how you could incorporate those into your coaching to help your clients get results. The tools you use and the way you guide your clients from point A to point B is your process. Own that!

Decide how you will measure the impact of your coaching.

You will want some way of measuring the impact your coaching has on your clients. Think about where your clients are when they start with you.  Then determine what tangible results they’ll get from working together with you.  What will they be doing that they weren’t doing before? What will they no longer do that they were doing before? How will they feel after working with you? What results will that create in their life? Which thought work tools will they know how to use after working with you? What result will they have from using those tools? Use these questions to help you decide how you will measure the impact of your coaching.

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There you have it!  There’s your complete “Profitable Niche” checklist! 

Resource: (blog post) 10 Reasons Having a Niche Is Important

Resource: (blog post) How to Determine if Your Niche Is Profitable

Resource: (blog post) 7 Profitable Life Coaching Niches That Make a Difference

One Last Note!

Are you wanting the step before this? If you want help with the beginning step of narrowing down your niche, I’ve got something just for you. Grab my free guide, Nail Your Niche and Identify Your Ideal Client below. I think you’re going to love it!