Your Biggest Professional Mess Is Your Coaching Goldmine

Everyone's telling you to "find your niche" as a coach.

But here's what they're not telling you: your niche isn't something you find. It's something that finds you — usually during your messiest, most challenging moments when you least expect it.

I learned this the hard way after spending two years trying to be the "perfect" wellness coach. You know the type — green smoothies on Instagram, meditation quotes, the works. I was getting clients, sure, but I felt like I was wearing someone else's skin.

Then I read about Liz Durant, and everything clicked.

The Story That Changed How I See Coaching

Liz was crushing it. 25 marathons, ultra-running, three kids, demanding career — basically living the superhuman lifestyle we're all supposed to aspire to. Then life happened. Menopause hit. Her body started breaking down. The schedule that once energized her became impossible to maintain.

Most coaches would see this as a failure story. I see it as a masterclass in finding your true calling.

Because here's what Liz did next: instead of pretending everything was fine, she leaned INTO the mess. She got help, adjusted her approach, and then — this is the key part — she realized that her struggle was exactly what other women in their 50s needed to hear about.

Why "Follow Your Passion" Is Terrible Coaching Advice

We've been fed this myth that successful coaches just "know" their niche from day one. That they wake up with perfect clarity about who they serve and how.

Bullshit.

The most powerful coaches I know didn't find their niche by doing market research or competitor analysis. They found it by surviving something difficult and realizing they could help others navigate the same storm.

Liz's story proves four unconventional truths about building a coaching practice that actually matters:

1. Your Rock Bottom Is Someone Else's Roadmap

When Liz hit her breaking point in her early 50s — dealing with hot flashes, injuries, burnout — she could have hidden it. Instead, she made it the foundation of her entire coaching philosophy.

Think about it: who better to help women navigate the chaos of midlife transitions than someone who's been through it herself? Not someone who studied it in a textbook or read about it online, but someone who lived through the 3 AM hot flashes and the frustration of a body that no longer responded the way it used to.

Your clients don't want a perfect coach. They want a real one.

Try this: Write down the three most challenging periods of your life. Now ask yourself: what skills did you develop to get through each one? Those skills are your coaching superpowers.

2. Niching Down Means Getting Uncomfortably Specific

Liz didn't just decide to coach "women." She didn't even stop at "women over 50." She went deeper: active women in their 50s dealing with hormone changes, life transitions, and the challenge of maintaining their identity while their bodies and circumstances were shifting.

That's scary-specific. And that's exactly why it works.

When you try to help everyone, you help no one. When you get so specific that you feel like you're excluding 95% of potential clients... that's when you know you're onto something.

Liz offers three different packages (Sprint, Marathon, Ultra — see what she did there?), flexible delivery methods, and even pivoted her marketing to focus on Instant Pot cooking demos because that's what resonated with her actual audience.

Try this: Take your current coaching description and make it 50% more specific. If that feels scary, make it 50% more specific again. Keep going until it feels almost ridiculous. That's your starting point.

3. Stop Marketing, Start Having Conversations

Facebook ads didn't work for Liz. You know what did? Instant Pot cooking demos on Facebook Live.

Why? Because she stopped thinking like a marketer and started thinking like her ideal client. What do 50-something active women care about? Efficient meal prep. Simplifying their lives so they have more time for what matters.

The best marketing doesn't feel like marketing. It feels like a friend sharing something genuinely useful.

I see too many coaches burning out trying to master every social media platform, optimize their sales funnels, and create "content that converts." Meanwhile, they're not spending nearly enough time having real conversations with real people who have real problems.

Try this: For the next month, spend zero time creating promotional content. Instead, create only content that would be genuinely helpful to your ideal client, even if they never hired you. See what happens.

4. Your Mission Matters More Than Your Methods

Here's what really struck me about Liz's story: she's not just helping individual clients. She's on a mission to change how an entire generation of women thinks about self-care.

"I feel like there's a notion in my generation that a big part of our purpose is to care for other people, even at the expense of our own health. I want to change that."

That's what separates sustainable coaching businesses from ones that burn out. It's not about the perfect program or the slickest website. It's about having a mission that's bigger than your business.

When you're clear on the change you want to create in the world, everything else becomes easier. Your messaging gets clearer. Your ideal clients find you. Your work feels meaningful instead of draining.

Try this: Complete this sentence: "The world would be different if more people believed..." Your answer might just be your mission.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Authenticity

Look, I know this approach isn't for everyone. It requires vulnerability. It means admitting you don't have all the answers. It means building your business on your struggles instead of your successes.

But here's what I've learned from studying coaches like Liz: authenticity isn't a marketing strategy. It's a business model.

When you build your coaching practice around your real story — including the messy parts, especially the messy parts — something magical happens. You stop competing with thousands of other coaches trying to be everything to everyone. You start attracting the exact people you're meant to serve.

Your Next Step (And It's Probably Not What You Think)

Forget about finding your niche for a minute. Instead, ask yourself: what's the hardest thing you've ever gone through? What did you learn? How did you change?

Then ask: who else is going through that same thing right now?

Your coaching business might be hiding in that answer.

Liz Durant turned her midlife crisis into a thriving practice serving women who desperately needed to hear her story. What would happen if you did the same?

Because here's the thing: your biggest professional mess isn't something to overcome and forget about. It's your coaching goldmine.

What story have you been afraid to tell? How might that story be exactly what someone else needs to hear?