You Can't Be a Jack of All Trades

Hone in on your specialty!  This is probably the most important thing you'll need to know as a coach – make sure that you put the time and effort into really focusing in on your specialty and deciding what you will (and won't) do for your clients.

Probably the biggest mistake that many business owners make – not just coaches – is not working through this step.  I know I had a problem with it for quite some time!  I thought I didn't need to narrow my focus or get specific about clients.  Let's face it - when you're just starting out, any client is better than no client at all!  But that's exactly the wrong approach.    Yes, you do need to build your client base, but trying to be all things to all people is a sure way to find yourself burned out and unhappy with your business.  Trust me, I know! 

Another reason it's important to focus on your specialty is because if you don't and you just start doing anything and everything, you're going to provide less-than-stellar services because you don't enjoy what you're doing.  This is not the way to build your reputation and credibility.  Instead, when you hone in on your specialty and know exactly what it is you'll be providing your clients, you'll go above and beyond what is expected of you because you enjoy what you're doing.  And this will make people become your raving fans.  And raving fans like to talk.  In a good way!

Let's take a look at an example of how to narrow down your offerings.  You can't just say you're a “coach” or even a “life coach.”  Those are two very general terms that don't describe your niche or specialty at all. A better option is to say your specialty is a business coach who works with women in their 40's to 60's who are just getting started, or want to get started, with a new business venture.  (Sound like anyone you know?)  You can narrow that down even further by offering coaching that specifically helps them with the start-up process of marketing their business (setting up social media profiles, creating a marketing plan, etc), choosing and establishing a business entity, or learning the ins and outs of profitable networking.

So, as you can see, focusing on your specialty will help ensure that you are only attracting people who fit your ideal client profile and who you will enjoy working with most.  This is exactly what you need when it comes to building a profitable coaching business you're excited about.

Now that you have your specialty narrowed down, it's time to move onto the next important stage of landing your dream coaching client.  And that starts with knowing who they are.  We'll talk about that tomorrow!