The Difference Between a Niche and a Coaching Method
- Laura
- Jun 4
- 8 min read
You might’ve heard a million different voices telling you to “find your niche” or “create your signature method” - and maybe you’ve wondered, aren’t those the same thing? If I know who I help, don’t I just start coaching? Or if I have a cool process, won’t the right people just come?
Your niche and your method are not the same. One is a marketing strategy... the other is a coaching strategy. And when you understand how they work together, your whole business becomes clearer, more effective, and a whole lot more joyful.
Let’s break this down.
First, your niche is about who you help and what they need help with. It’s the focused group of people you feel called to serve - based on a shared identity, a common struggle, or a specific desire. Think of it as your invitation to the people you’re meant to reach.
Your coaching method, on the other hand, is the how. It’s the intentional process, framework, or journey you take someone through to help them get from stuck to thriving. It’s what happens after they say ‘Yes, I’m the who with the what that needs your help’.
Here’s how I like to think about it:
Your niche draws them in.
Your method helps them transform.
Your niche is the door.
Your method is the path.
Your niche answers: WHO and WHAT.
Your method answers: HOW.
I want to explain them both so you can see how they work together. So to summarize before we dive in so you can have a little context-
A niche might be:
Women navigating a midlife transition
Christian moms of teens
Former ministry leaders trying to find their next chapter
Creative entrepreneurs who feel emotionally stuck
Now your method? That’s how you support them. That could be:
Using story work and journaling
Teaching a framework like PEARL
Holding space with active listening and Scripture
Blending coaching and consulting (which we’ll talk more about in episode 313)
NICHE IS WHO + WHAT
A niche is not just a cute label or a demographic. It’s a decision to focus. It says:
“This is who I feel responsible for. This is whose breakthrough I care about.”
And when you can speak directly to that person’s struggle, desire, and story - they’ll feel it. They’ll hear themselves in your message. And they’ll trust that you get them.
The purpose of a niche in business
To clarify messaging and marketing
To establish trust and authority
To help clients self-identify and say “That’s for me”
More niche examples:
Christian moms trying to rediscover identity after their kids leave home
Burned-out healthcare workers ready to transition into purpose-led work
Women 40+ breaking free from codependent relationship cycles
All of these are people groups with specific pain points and longings. My niche is women who are looking for a way to make an impact and create an income by using their own life experience so they can help others and themselves at the same time. They feel stuck in the day-to-day, they feel powerless to help their family financially, and they love helping others but don’t want to burn out doing it.
To find your niche, start by asking:
What have I personally walked through? What personal story or expertise do you carry?
Who do I naturally attract or help already? What patterns do you see in those you naturally help?
What burden won’t leave me alone? What problem do you feel driven to solve?
What results do I feel confident helping people get?
Where does the need and transformation intersect?
Also, what can happen is that you start out caring about one group of people getting breakthrough and over time you pivot to a new or slightly different group of people. I did, and it’s totally okay for you to experience your own growth and shift your niche as you transition into your own scalability and sustainability.
You do want avoid making your niche too broad like “I help women live their best life”... or too vague like “I help people with mindset.” Too intangible like, “I help people with mindset” (needs to be tied to tangible outcome).
Those aren’t wrong - they’re just unclear. And unclear offers don’t convert.
Now - once you know who you help and what they need - that’s your niche. That’s your invitation to focus on the exact people you care about getting transformative results.
You can get the Niche Clarity Course that will help you figure all of this out for you and I put the link to it in the show notes.
Most of us discover our niche through our own story. You went through something. You grew through something. And now, you can walk with someone else through it. That’s the gold I help you dig for in the Niche Clarity Course.
METHOD IS HOW
This is where your coaching method comes in. This is the system, process, or framework you lead them through. It’s not about giving advice or winging it. It’s a pathway to transformation. A coaching method is the system, process, or framework you use to get your client from Point A to Point B.
But your method is something you build over time. It might include tools, frameworks, styles of coaching, or even your personality—how you intuitively ask questions, what stories you share, what kind of container you create. It’s how you guide people.
Here’s where people get mixed up: they try to sell the method when what people want is a solution to their problem.
No one wakes up and says, “You know what I need today? A six-step reflective coaching model with a soul-centered framework.”
They say, “I feel stuck. I need someone who gets it and can help me move forward.”
Your method helps you:
Stay confident and clear in your sessions
Show thought leadership
Deliver consistent results
Scale your coaching without burnout
To provide structure, safety, and clarity in the coaching relationship
To differentiate your work and show thought leadership
To increase your confidence and deliver repeatable results
Let me give you a few method examples of my own:
PEARL Practice: Paradigm, Emotion, Action, Result, Legacy
Identity Encounter: Discover true identity, find fresh purpose, design your future
Confidence CACHE: Confidence, Action, Clarity, Hindsight, Emotion
StoryMakers Lab: Take personal responsibility, get honest with yourself, define and clarify your new story, create a massive action taking strategy.
Each of these is structured but flexible. They guide the journey while leaving room for the Holy Spirit, the client’s uniqueness, and your own intuition as a coach.
Characteristics of a good method
Adaptable but structured
Results-focused
Easy to communicate
Rooted in your core philosophy and strengths
How to develop your method
Start with the transformation your niche wants
Reverse engineer the internal shifts required
Identify 3–6 key steps or phases
Name your method (optional but powerful)
Test and refine it in real sessions
Ask yourself this:
What consistent results do I want to help create?
What internal shifts are needed to get those results?
What steps or phases show up every time I work with someone?
What’s the journey from problem to transformation?
You don’t need a complicated or perfect system. You just need a clear path you can communicate and lead someone through.
And obviously, I would tell you to book a LegacyBuilder session with me if you need help working this out.
EXAMPLES OF CONFUSED COACHES
Let’s talk about the main reasons why coaches get confused between niche and method.
1. They Name Their Method as Their Niche
Example: “I coach people using the Enneagram.”
Why it’s confusing: The Enneagram is a tool or part of a method – not a niche. It doesn’t tell us who you help or why.
Clarification: A niche would be: “I help Christian women use the Enneagram to heal relational patterns rooted in people-pleasing.”
2. They Focus on the Tool, Not the Person
Example: “I use breathwork, somatic healing, and scripture in my coaching.”
Why it’s confusing: That’s a list of how you help, but not who you help or what result they’re looking for.
Clarification: “I help women who feel numb and anxious reconnect to their body and spirit through breathwork, somatic tools, and biblical truth.”
3. They Confuse Their Passion With Their Audience
Example: “I’m really passionate about identity and purpose.”
Why it’s confusing: That sounds like part of a method or a theme, but it doesn’t tell us who you serve or what outcome they want.
Clarification: “I help midlife women rediscover their identity and purpose after divorce.”
4. They Assume Their Story Is Their Niche
Example: “I went through postpartum depression, so I help women heal.”
Why it’s confusing: It’s a great starting point, but healing is too vague. What kind of women? What kind of healing? What kind of outcome?
Clarification: “I help new moms recovering from postpartum depression rebuild their confidence and connect with their baby.”
5. They Say a Method but Think It’s a Niche
Example: “My framework is the Rise Method: Recognize, Integrate, Strengthen, Emerge.”
Why it’s confusing: That’s a great method – but who is it for? What do they want to rise from?
Clarification: “I help women in toxic work environments find their voice and transition to healthy leadership using the Rise Method.”
6. They Talk About (Market) the Method Instead of the Result
Example: “I take people through a 5-phase model of transformation.”
Why it’s confusing: Most people don’t want to buy a model - they want results.
Clarification: “I help women who feel stuck in survival mode finally step into peace and clarity – using a 5-phase transformation model I created.”
So…
The niche draws them in - the method keeps them and grows them
Marketing says: “I help [niche] go from [struggle] to [desired result]”
Delivery says: “Here’s the journey I’ll walk you through to get there”
If you have a niche and a method already, here are some questions to reflect on-
Does your method speak directly to your niche’s needs?
Can you clearly communicate both to a potential client?
Are you marketing your method or your niche? (Check your language!)
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
So now here’s the flow:
Your niche brings the right person to the table. Your method helps them walk the path to transformation.
Try this:
Craft a one-sentence niche statement. It’s okay to experiment here.
“I help [specific people] overcome [specific challenge] so they can [specific outcome]”
Sketch a simple method framework. Take a wild guess at what you might do to help them.
Step 1 → Step 2 → Step 3, aligned to your client journey
Audit your content
Are you leading with transformation for a specific person or just sharing tools?
Let’s say your niche is women in ministry going through a major life transition. Your method might be something like the “Soul Map Process” - where you help them rediscover who they are, reconnect to their calling, and step into their next chapter with peace and clarity.
Or maybe your niche is women recovering from narcissistic relationships. Your method could be “The Freedom Framework” - guiding them through rebuilding self-trust, establishing boundaries, and rewriting their story.
You get to create something that feels like you - rooted in your lived experience and led by your values. Just remember, creating from your healed scars not from your open wounds will have more impact and bring you even more healing. Making offers that allow you to trauma dump what you’ve been through and still need to process serves no one in the long run. Including you.
WRAPPING UP
Coach, if you’ve felt stuck trying to figure out what your coaching business is really about - maybe this is the piece that brings clarity. You don’t have to choose between being creative and being strategic. Between heart and business. Between Spirit and structure.
You can be creative AND strategic.
You can have heart AND business savvy.
You can operate with the Spirit AND a structure.
You can be a coach with a heart for people and a framework for change.
Your niche is your message. Your method is your ministry. Together, they make your coaching business powerful and personal.
And if you're still figuring it out- that's okay. Start with your story. Who were you a few years ago? What helped you most? Who do you naturally draw in when you share?
That’s your niche whispering to you!
You can grab the Niche Clarity Course if you’re ready to dive into this work. I’ll show you how to determine your core message and turn it into a coaching offer that helps solve specific problems for specific people so your coaching can make the greatest impact.
Reader Challenge: Answer these questions-
Who do I feel most called to serve, and what problem are they trying to solve?
What process naturally flows from me when I help someone through this?
Am I trying to sell my process or meet a person where they are?
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