We're talking to The Coaching Academy's coaches about their uniquely inspiring niches! Today we talked to Carole MacDonald to discuss her coaching niche, helping patients confidently plan a way forward after finishing with a counsellor.

Today we interviewed Carole MacDonald to discuss her coaching niche, helping patients confidently plan a way forward after finishing with a counsellor.

What is your niche?

My niche is to coach people who have finished with a counsellor and have all the tools and motivation to move forward, but are unsure where to go next.

What made you decide on your niche?

I have experience as a client to counselling and I have some counselling qualifications. Then, after studying and learning about coaching, I wished that there could have been a coach in my niche after I, myself, had finished with my counsellor.

Why are you passionate about your niche?

To finish with a counsellor is a daunting experience and it can leave you feeling very flat and almost depressed. The counsellor will have helped the client: to work towards the future, to see why the future was so hard to see and why the present was even harder to deal with. Clients who have previously worked with a counsellor have often developed newfound skills and confidence, and yet, they usually do not know how to use these skills and confidence moving forward. I have experienced this personally.

So, after learning about coaching and the way it can empower a client to use their own resources and strengths, I fell passionate about using my coaching skills to help a client to become both empowered and motivated.

What sorts of challenges do you help people solve?

The challenges for the client can seem huge as they take the first steps unaided. Counselling has often helped my clients to reflect on the past, so looking forward can seem impossible. I help my clients to be able to use newfound positivity and tools, to strengthen them and to put them into practice, empowering them to move forward.

What benefits do you see your clients get from coaching?

My clients benefit from coaching as they can set positive, forward-focussed goals, as well as the steps to reach them. They can draw on their own strengths in order to realise what they are able to achieve.

Where do you find your clients?

My husband is a therapist and so I have many connections in the counselling world, both privately and within the NHS.

How do you market yourself?

Marketing is currently a struggle for me. I am looking into the option of advertising in some counselling magazines and literature.

What other services do you offer, if any, such as workshops or conferences?

I am looking into the possibility of running a wellbeing workshop and inviting private counsellors in the area, in order to show them what hiring a coach can offer their clients.

Defining your coaching niche can be the crucial first step to marketing your coaching services. Although coaching is not a replacement for for medical help and therapy, Carole found a way to make a difference to the lives of her clients.

Have you found your niche as a coach? Or are you strating to think about how your passion could become your coaching niche?
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