---
title: "Urban Coaching Myth: You Need to Find Your Niche"
description: You won't find coaching success wandering down blind alleys. Beware of Urban Coaching Myths.
---

[Coaching Blog](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/coaching-blog)

# [Urban Coaching Myth: You Need to Find Your Niche](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/coaching-blog/bid/23660/Urban-Coaching-Myth-You-Need-to-Find-Your-Niche)

 Written by [Julia Stewart](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/coaching-blog/author/julia-stewart) | Jul 14, 2009 11:14:00 PM

#### **You'll never find success wandering down blind alleys.**

**That's what Urban Coaching Myths are: blind alleys for you and your coaching business.** Coaches beware!

**This particular coaching myth is so insidious and so routinely embraced,** that it has probably hamstrung dozens (if not thousands) of coaching businesses. What a crime!

**It's sourced in half-understood truths about marketing, a failure to make important distinctions, hearsay and just plain bad coaching.** I may get hate mail for saying this, but somebody needs to tell the truth!

#### **The myth, *"You need to know your coaching niche before you can market your coaching business",* is a lie!**

**How do I know this?** I've experienced it myself and I've coaching zillions of coaches who have been stumped by this bad advice.

**For example,[Chris Barrow, "The Million Dollar Coach"](http://7connections.com/100growthsystem/)<http://7connections.com/100growthsystem/>built his million-dollar grossing coaching business by specializing in coaching dentists in the UK.** He didn't know that dentists were his niche until he had coached a lot of them, realized that he had become an expert on building a thriving dental practice in the UK (previously he knew nothing about dentistry), and noticed that dentists were referring a lot of friends to him. Then he started making a million dollars a year. That's a real niche. Anything else is just play acting.

**Trying to find your niche before you've coached a lot of people is really just putting the cart ahead of the horse.** It's a waste of time and energy because the truth is...

1. You need to coach a lot of people, first, in order to find your niche.
2. You can build a successful coaching business even without knowing your niche. 

#### **Which do you really want, a coaching niche or a successful coaching business?**

**Where does this myth come from?** Here's an assortment of possibilities:

- Internet marketing "gurus"
- Marketing courses
- Inexperienced mentor coaches
- Buddy coaches
- Coaching listserves
- Coaching chapters

**It's the old "they say" circuit that's been a source of misinformation of all kinds since the dawning of human communication.** None of the above is bad in and of itself. Used well, all are very good. However, ineffective advice never helped anybody.

**And those distinctions I mentioned?** I've placed a few them in a quick quiz to help you distinguish whether you really need a niche in order to coach, or whether you need to coach before you'll ever find your real niche.

#### **Quick Quiz**

> **1. Are you:**
> 
> > a) A professional coach
> > 
> > b) An internet marketer
> 
> **2. Do you want to sell:**
> 
> > a) Your coaching services
> > 
> > b) "Widgets" and digital products
> 
> **3. Do you want to focus on:**
> 
> > a) Building a long-term profitable coaching business
> > 
> > b) Making a quick killing selling a product
> 
> **4. Are you:**
> 
> > a) Someone who is smart and sensible
> > 
> > b) Someone who believes everything you hear
> > 
> >  

**If you answered mostly "b", you need a niche to succeed. If you answered mostly "a", you need to coach in order to succeed.** (Okay, maybe question #4 was unfair.)

**If I sound a bit cranky, it's because this myth is very costly to coaches and their potential clients.** Don't be blinded by it. If you're going to wander down dark alleys, at least carry a flashlight.

#### [**Get a flashlight: Take Coach 100 courses to learn a lot more about what it really takes to build a successful coaching business.**](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/life-coaching-courses/)

[View full post](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/coaching-blog/bid/23660/Urban-Coaching-Myth-You-Need-to-Find-Your-Niche)

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