Let’s talk about a topic that’s pivotal for heart-centred entrepreneurs, but often gets swept under the rug because, honestly, it feels awkward. I want to have an honest conversation with you about niching—especially if you run a personal brand.
I’m going to be upfront: recording this episode makes me noticeably uncomfortable! The “niching conversation” comes up for me every single week, and I’ve always preferred to have it privately, one-on-one, where I can tailor my approach to the person in front of me. But right now, my job is to help you, so I’m gathering my bravery and putting it out there.
Let’s get into it…
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Grab my free Nail Your Niche training – tashcorbin.com/niche
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First, What Does “Niching” Even Mean?
Some marketing approaches will tell you your niche is just your topic area: relationships, fitness, parenting… I don’t see it that way. For me, and for the purpose of this episode, niching is about WHO you are focused on reaching and speaking to with your marketing. It’s about the specific person you’re writing for, the avatar of your ideal client, or that narrow group who most needs your work.
It’s not about “what” you do, or your modality (like kinesiology or EFT), or simply helping “anyone who wants kinesiology.” That’s not niching. I want you to get specific about who your marketing is actually trying to reach.
You Don’t Need To Announce Your Niche to Everyone
A common misconception is that once you decide on a niche, you need to run around telling everyone: “I help moms of toddlers who want to get fit and healthy!” But for many people, that feels uncomfortable and limiting. The truth is, your niche is mostly a behind-the-scenes decision. I almost never recommend you state it explicitly to your audience.
Instead, your niche choice informs all the foundational elements of your business, like your messaging, your offers, and even your marketing decisions. Without a clear niche, your messaging is too broad, your offers lack a tangible promise, and you’ll struggle to make sales. Think of niching as the secret ingredient that makes everything else WORK, rather than a label you shout from the rooftops.
Niching Means Decision-Making—But the Benefits Are Huge
Let’s try an example. Say you’re passionate about helping people discover their purpose. Sure, you could help both people in a job and business owners. But if you just say, “I help you find your purpose,” you’re mostly going to attract those who are already searching for it—often the “freebie seekers,” not necessarily people ready to invest.
But if, behind the scenes, you decide to focus on people in a job who feel lost, you can suddenly answer deeper, more specific questions:
- How is this affecting their work life?
- Why do they crave purpose?
- What frustrations show up daily?
- Why can’t they figure this out alone?
Your answers will be totally different for employed folks compared to business owners. The more specific you get about WHO you’re helping, the stronger, more practical, and more magnetic your message can be.
You Don’t Have to State Your Niche Directly
You don’t need to say, “I help employees discover purpose” in every piece of content; you can keep your messaging broader—but your content with the strongest traction will always come when it speaks directly to your ideal client’s experience. Imagine a social media post that starts with: “On the bus to work each day, you’re questioning whether you can do this for the rest of your life…” That’s far more resonant than just saying, “I am a purpose mentor.”
How to Think About Niching (It’s Not Just Demographics!)
I’ve used job situation as an example, but niching isn’t just about demographics. There’s a whole other layer—psychographics, challenges, desires, all that juicy stuff! I won’t go deep into how to niche here (I have a free Nail Your Niche training for that!), but I want you to know niching is not your public message. It’s the clarity behind your message.
Niche resistance is real—and it feels hard. I totally understand why: it feels limiting, like boxing yourself in. But I want you to see that, done right, niching is freeing and powerful.
Where Niche Resistance Comes From (Hint: It’s Not About You)
A LOT of business owners have been taught to niche based only on demographics and then go shout it online. That approach feels restrictive and disconnects you from your audience. What actually works is using your niche decisions behind the scenes to craft messaging that speaks directly to your person’s experience.
Here’s the heart of our awkward conversation: in order to niche and follow through with it, you have to de-centre yourself from your business. This gets tricky for personal brands! Building a personal brand seems to be all about making yourself the centre of your messaging, right?
Positioning: Are You the Hero, or the Guide?
Building a personal brand often means positioning yourself as an expert, an authority, a leader. I did this too—“Tash Corbin” is my brand. But very quickly, I learned something important about how business relationships work.
Let’s borrow from the “Hero’s Journey.” In your own business story, you’re the hero facing obstacles, seeking success, maybe leaning on sage advisors. But if you want clients, you need to get out of hero mode and become the sage advisor in your client’s journey. THEY are the hero. You’re there to guide them.
This is where the magic—and the awkwardness—happens. You must de-centre yourself. You can still position yourself as knowledgeable and relatable, but you shift focus from “me” to “how can I help the hero (your client)?”
Why Niching Helps You Find Your Place in Their Story
Every sage advisor in a story has their own backstory. Your experiences make you the perfect person to help a specific hero at a specific stage. When you niche, you give context and reason for sharing your story—not to pump up your own tires, but to show why you’re uniquely equipped to help YOUR person.
Instead of the tired “I’m better at this than you” (patriarchal model), think of business as a flat, matriarchal model: both you and your client are whole human beings. You could be a marketing expert and buy from a style expert, and vice versa. Niching is key to making this kind of business WORK.
Focus on Your Audience, Not Yourself
When you get clear on your niche, your messaging stops being all about you, and starts focusing on their journey. Your potential client is the hero. You become the trusted guide—chosen not because you’re the “best at everything,” but because you’re the perfect advisor for them right now.
Why does someone choose you? Not because you claim to help everyone, but because it feels like you’re speaking directly to their challenges, their stage, their dreams.
Personal Branding Can Feel Weird—Here’s Why Niching Fixes That
Let’s be honest—building a personal brand can feel a bit narcissistic! It’s common to resist talking about yourself or even naming your business. The irony? Without a clear niche, you end up feeling you have to overshare your story and position yourself as the main character—the hero. You focus on what you overcame (“I figured it out, I’ve got the secret recipe!”) trying to prove why people should buy from you.
But if you look at the hero’s journey, that’s NOT why the hero chooses the advisor. It’s not about being all-knowing or all-powerful. The advisor is flawed, human, evolving—just like the hero. When you realise this, there’s so much relief.
I much prefer being a peer, a human advisor. For that to work, I have to niche.
Letting Go of Ego—The Final Piece of Niche Resistance
Here’s the hardest, most uncomfortable truth: If you understand the logic of niching, but you’re still resisting, the last stumbling block is EGO. If you’re still holding onto being “the answer for everyone,” you stay stuck. You need to let go, step out of the spotlight, and make the conscious decision to focus your business foundations on helping your specific hero. That will unlock messaging that resonates, offers people want to buy, and marketing that actually attracts your people.
I want to be gentle here: The Heart-Centred Business Podcast attracts people who are often over-givers, not egomaniacs. This ego resistance isn’t usually conscious—it’s built on fears like “if I niche, my business shrinks,” “I won’t be good enough,” “people won’t resonate.” But hopefully, you’re seeing now that focusing on the hero isn’t selfish—it’s empowering, loving, and gets much better results!
Niching is the Missing Link
If you’re stuck between “that sounds nice,” and “I NEED YOU,” niching is often the missing link. If you get it logically, but something’s still holding you back, it might be time to shift your focus from yourself to centring your clients as the hero, and yourself as their trusted advisor.
And a really important point: your hero is a very specific person. It’s not generic, it’s not “you from two years ago,” and it’s not just anyone who could use your advice.
Want More Support? I’ve Got You!
I have a new, improved Nail Your Niche training—short, practical, punchy, and more powerful than ever. It’ll help you deepen your understanding and make niching really tangible for your own business. You can grab for free at: tashcorbin.com/niche
When you sign up for the free training, you’ll get follow-up emails with extension activities and questions to deepen your learning. I really want this to be a conversation, so please reply and share your process!
Niching is the key to great messaging, effective marketing, irresistible offers, content that actually resonates, and audience growth. I see so many people struggle with these parts of their business—niching is the not-so-secret ingredient that makes everything easier.
Thank you so much for sharing this uncomfortable—but important—conversation with me.
Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.
