If you’ve been sitting with that nagging feeling that your niche isn’t quite right anymore, you’re not alone. Whether you’ve fallen out of love with your topic, your interests have shifted, or something just feels off about the direction you’re heading – this is one of those conversations that so many coaches are having privately but not always openly.

So let’s talk about it!

Because “pivoting your niche” gets thrown around a lot, and I think it’s worth slowing down and actually unpacking what it means, what the different options look like, and whether a pivot is actually what you need in the first place.

Listen to this episode on The Wholehearted Business Show Podcast: Listen on Apple Podcasts / Listen on Spotify

First things first: is a pivot actually what you need?

This is the question I always start with when a coach comes to me feeling like their niche isn’t working, and I want to be honest with you here: more often than not, a niche problem isn’t really a niche problem.

In my experience working with health and life coaches for over ten years, what’s usually going on when someone feels like their niche isn’t working is actually a marketing issue, a sales issue, or a messaging issue. The niche itself is often absolutely fine. But because we’re looking for something to explain why it’s not working, the niche becomes the thing we want to change.

And the costly mistake here is that you pour a huge amount of energy into re-niching, you confuse your audience, you get overwhelmed — and you come out the other side still at square one, just with a different niche and less time.

So before you do anything else, get really honest with yourself (and ideally, talk to someone who can help you work through this) about what’s actually driving the urge to pivot. Because if it’s genuinely that your interests have shifted, you’ve fallen out of love with your topic, or your scope of practice needs to change — brilliant, let’s explore that. But if it’s because you’re worried the business isn’t working, that’s a different conversation entirely.

The three types of “pivot” (and they’re not all the same)

Here’s something I think gets missed in a lot of conversations about pivoting: there are actually three quite different things that can fall under that umbrella, and how much work each one involves is very different.

1. Focusing in

This is where you’re staying within the same general space but getting more specific about who you help or what you help them with. Think of it as narrowing your lens rather than changing direction altogether.

This is actually the least dramatic of the three options, and it mostly involves a re-messaging rather than a full rebrand. You’re reviewing your website, your offers, your content — and you’re making sure everything speaks more directly to that focused group of people. It takes time, but you can do it in stages, and nothing will feel wildly out of whack because you’re still in familiar territory.

2. A true pivot

This is where you’re making a more meaningful shift — but still within the same kind of universe. A good example: moving from hormones for fertility to hormones for perimenopause. There’s still a thread of continuity. Some of your existing audience will follow you, because there’s crossover. But you are changing direction, and your content, offers, and messaging will need to reflect that.

With a pivot, you can usually keep your existing branding, but you’ll want to go through your website and marketing with a fine-tooth comb. You might need new offers, new freebies, new lead magnets that make sense for this slightly different audience. And importantly — you can do this gradually, communicating the shift to your audience over time rather than just switching overnight and confusing everyone.

A three-month transition timeline, where you start gradually shifting the focus of your content, can work really well here.

3. A full re-niche

This is the big one. Completely different niche, completely different audience, potentially a completely different brand. Think career coaching pivoting to divorce coaching — there’s no natural overlap in audience, and you’re essentially building something new.

Now, I want to be clear: this doesn’t mean you’re starting from scratch. You’re bringing your skills, your tech setup, your experience, and potentially some crossover audience with you. But it does mean more work, more time, and a different approach.

My honest advice for a full re-niche? Build the new thing alongside the existing business, keep the income coming in while you establish yourself in the new space, and then make the switch when the time is right. Give yourself a year for this. I know that sounds like a long time, but trying to rush it is where people come unstuck.

You’re not starting from scratch (even when it feels like it)

One of the things that stops coaches from making a change they genuinely want to make is the fear that they’re throwing everything away. And I really want to push back on that, because it’s just not true.

No matter how dramatic the change, you are bringing so much with you. Your experience. Your skills. Your way of working with people. Probably a big chunk of your infrastructure. And often, more of your audience than you’d expect.

And here’s the thing — if you’re a heart-centred, highly sensitive coach who’s a bit multi-passionate (we know who we are!), wanting to change direction because it genuinely lights you up to do something different is completely valid. The passion you have for your topic is what fuels your content, your conversations, your client work. If that’s not there anymore, it shows. And that’s reason enough.

My own story

I went through this myself. I was a health coach for years — working with women around weight, hormones, self-care, hypothyroid and amenorrhea. I had a successful blog, group programmes, memberships, courses — the works. And I loved it.
But over time I started supporting other health and life coaches too, because people kept asking me how I was making it work. That grew into its own thing, and I essentially had two businesses running in parallel.

When my daughter arrived at the end of 2019, I knew I couldn’t sustain both. So I made the decision to let the health coaching go. It wasn’t because it wasn’t working — it was because I’d reached a point where I’d put everything I had to give into that space, and it just felt complete. I created a final course called Wholehearted, and it felt like a beautiful full stop on that chapter.

Moving into supporting coaches full-time felt right. Not because it was the easier or more logical move — but because it was where my energy was going anyway.

How long will it actually take?

For focusing in or a true pivot: a couple of months of intentional work, depending on how much time you have in your business.
For a full re-niche: give yourself a year. Wind one thing down while you build the other up. Don’t try to do it all at once.

And throughout any of it — communicate with your audience. Don’t just switch direction overnight and hope for the best. Bring people with you gradually, explain what’s shifting and why, and give them the chance to stay on the journey.

Before you do anything, talk to someone

I cannot stress this enough — especially if you’ve got an established business that’s generating some income. Please talk to someone who’s got experience in this space before you make any big moves.

A pivot or re-niche done for the wrong reasons, or without a clear plan, can be a really time-costly mistake. But done thoughtfully, with the right support, it can be one of the best things you ever do for your business and your energy.

If you want to explore this with me, I do offer 1:1 Mentoring — including one-off sessions if you just need a focused conversation to get clarity. You can also find out more about Wholehearted Business®, my group programme for coaches in the early stages of building their businesses. And if you’d like to have a chat first, a Clarity Call is a great place to start.

Whatever you decide, I hope this has helped you feel a little clearer and a lot less overwhelmed about the whole thing. You’ve got this!

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