A Coach Without A Niche

A Coach Who is 'The Niche'

The range of human knowledge today is so great that we are all specialists, and the distance between specializations has become so great, that anyone who seeks to wander freely among them almost has to forgo closeness with the people around them.

-Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Does this quote stir anything in you?

Photo by Tetiana Strilchuk on Unsplash

I’ve Never Been Good at Defining Myself

The quote above reminds me of the word ‘niche’ in the context of a small business. I’ve been wrestling with this idea, hoping that in the struggle I’d uncover some clarity. Things are still opaque. I don’t remember obsessing over anything growing up no one topic ever kept my interest.

As an undergraduate student I started out as a Biology major, I switched to History due to my collegiate workload that included lots and lots of running. As a collegiate athlete on a scholarship, I felt obligated to take my sport seriously. So I found a path that balanced my workload. My decisions weren’t based solely on interest, but overall management of my life at the time. If I wanted to specialize in Biology I would have stayed the course. 

As a graduate student I studied international relations, even then, I remained a generalist as long as possible. I only narrowed my focus to adhere to a requirement. Also, I was told it would be really beneficial for future employment. I suppose they were right, but this hasn’t convinced me that ‘niching down’ is necessarily the way to run my business. 

If in my business I choose a specialty, am I improving my odds of generating a profit? If on the other hand I choose to not specialize, am I choosing not to be successful? I’ve started thinking of an absurd compromise to this dilemma. The idea is absurd because it contradicts much of the business literature I’ve read and the things I’ve been taught, but it’s a compromise.

A Compromise

I am ‘the niche’, and so are you. There isn’t another human on earth like me, or like you. My expertise is in reading, writing, deep listening,and thinking.

I’ve learned an important lesson so far in my adventures as a coach. Often, the problems we first articulate aren’t the actual problems we want fixed. Our problems don’t always require experts, sometimes they just require ventilation. Nothing ventilates better than well thought out relevant questions, which I provide. As a bonus I do offer up some pretty ingenious ideas as well.

I have multiple years of experience being a health forward, diabetic human, endowed with a growth mindset, and I have certifications that qualify me as a health and life coach. With all that said, here are a few words that describe how I’d like you to feel if we ever work together:

• Heard

• Encouraged

• Creative

• Challenged 

• Resilient

If Interested, Here’s a Possible Next Step

I can’t tell you what to do to fix your experience, I really do believe you already know that. I can help you build your ‘How’. Life is an experiment, and if you’re reading this you're living it, same as me. 

If there’s an obstacle you’re facing and you’d like to practice and grow your ingenuity, please schedule a no cost discovery call and see how it might feel to work with me.

Talk to you Friday.

Survey and Complimentary Discovery Call 

I’m really enjoying Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.