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How to Pick a Niche When You’re Brand New to Setting Up Your Service-Based Business
- Jess Bates
- Jan 28
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 2
Starting your own business is equal parts thrilling and terrifying, especially when you’re staring at a blank canvas wondering, What’s my niche? You know you need to figure it out because everyone and their dog is saying, “You need a niche to succeed!” But what does that actually mean? And how do you pick one without feeling like you’re stuck in a box forever?
Here’s the good news: finding your niche doesn’t have to feel like an existential crisis. Let’s break it down into some actionable steps.
Understand What a Niche Actually is
To Pick a Niche, Start with your Skills and Interests
My Journey (if you're interested!)
1. Understand What a Niche Actually Is
A niche is simply the specific group of people you serve and the problem you help them solve. It’s not about excluding everyone else; it’s about speaking directly to the people who are most likely to benefit from your services.
Being everything to everyone leads to being invisible to most. Specificity wins.
2. To pick a niche, Start with Your Skills and Interests
Ask yourself:
What am I good at? Think about your strengths, qualifications, and the skills people often compliment you on.
What do I enjoy doing? Your niche should energise you, not drain you. If you love it, you’re more likely to stick with it.
What’s my story? Often, your personal experiences can inspire your niche. Maybe you overcame a challenge that others are now facing, and you’re in the perfect position to help them.
Example: If you’re a health coach who overcame burnout as a working mom, your niche could be helping other working moms find balance and regain their energy.
TOP TIP - Lean into the true you. Don’t do something because you think it will be successful or because someone else is doing it. Once you realise that the thing that LIGHTS YOU UP. The thing you can share with such passion because you fucking love it, know everything about it and can help people go through the journey with this particular thing. You’ll become MAGNETIC.
My Journey(If you're interested!)
Don't put too much pressure on yourself here. Follow your instincts and as you go through the journey, the right thing will come to you. In my case, I started off wanting to help women in corporate with imposter syndrome and confidence (something I’m really passionate about from my own experiences). This led me to leadership coaching because I wanted to broaden the number of women who felt able to step into their potential as leaders and lean into their authentic selves to lead with true power and ease.
I still didn’t feel like this was fully aligned because the corporate world wasn't really the place I wanted to be. What I really wanted was to help people create a life outside of that structure.
This led me to business coaching. It incorporated all the same coaching skills around confidence, imposter syndrome and stepping into that authentic energy as a leader, it also included my skills and knowledge around social media and marketing of small businesses.
Now, another theme that has run through my life has been mindset work. I grew up in a family rooted in psychotherapy alongside… I’ll call it more alternative forms of support. Like reiki, acupuncture, kinesiology, law of attraction, so that world is very familiar to me. The point I’m making is that I have this quite scientific, logical structured side to me, that has always entwined beautifully with more alternative themes.
FINALLY, as I built my business coaching programme and offer suit, it gave space for me to realise the things that light me up to an even HIGHER level. That is tapping and quantum energy leaps to enable individuals to reach the new levels they need to ROCK business development and growth. This stuff sets me on FIRE. Honestly, I am passionate BEYOND what is possible around this and I think I would spend all day helping people create these energy shifts if I could.
I only came to these realisations and utilisation of my entire skillset and toolbox of methodologies, theories, interests and skills by going through the journey. And I am sure it's not over. We develop over time right?! We gradually learn how to listen to our gut, find new passions and add new skills or knowledge.
3. Identify a Specific Problem You Can Solve
People pay for solutions, not services. So instead of thinking about what you want to do, think about the problem you want to solve.
Ask yourself:
What challenges do my ideal clients face?
What’s keeping them up at night?
How can my skills or expertise make their life better?
Example: If you’re a virtual assistant, your niche might be helping creative entrepreneurs streamline their admin tasks so they can focus on their craft.
For me, I know that people trying to set up their service based businesses face some SERIOUS challenges. Where to start, how to start, how to overcome fears around getting visible (literally the main thing you have to do if you want to market your business effectively). And that is the problem I solve. I take my clients on a journey through setting up their business basics including niching, mapping out their USP, getting super clear on their offer and the language around this, all the way through to marketing and selling, with a whole heap of mindset work in there.
I solve a very specific and real problem for people.
4. Research Your Target Market
Now that you have a general idea, it’s time to test the waters. Look for:
Who is already serving this market? Check out competitors and see what’s working for them. (This is market research, not copying!)
What gaps exist? Maybe there’s a sub-group being underserved or a specific angle no one is focusing on.
What are people asking for? Join Facebook groups, scroll forums, and pay attention to what your potential clients are complaining about. (Goldmine alert!)
5. Choose and Refine Your Niche
Once you’ve done your homework, it’s decision time. Here’s how to narrow it down:
Be specific but not microscopic. Instead of “I help everyone with everything,” go for “I help new mums regain their confidence through fitness and mindset coaching.”
Check for alignment. Does this niche align with your skills, passions, and goals?
Test it out. Your niche isn’t set in stone. Start with one and adjust as you learn more about your audience and yourself.
6. Don’t Overthink It
The truth? Your niche will evolve as you grow. You don’t need to pick the “perfect” one right out of the gate—you just need to start. Clarity comes from action, not overthinking. That was my journey for SURE. Start taking steps and let it grow and evolve until it feels truly aligned.
Final Thoughts
Picking a niche is like dating—you’re not committing for life, just finding a starting point. The most important thing is to choose something that feels exciting and aligned with who you are. From there, you can tweak and refine as you go.
So, take a deep breath, trust your gut, and start showing up for the people you’re meant to serve. You’ve got this!
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