August 23, 2025 • 10 mins
Struggling to commit to a niche?
In today’s Ask Allison, I’m sharing why your niche doesn’t have to be perfect—or permanent. You’ll learn how to approach niching without the pressure, why it’s more like dating than marriage, and what to do if you’re battling indecision or imposter syndrome. By the end, you’ll know how to choose a “good enough” niche for right now, move forward with confidence, and give yourself permission to pivot as your practice grows.
Sponsored by TherapyNotes®: Use promo code Abundant for 2 months free
Grab our free tools to grow your practice—weekly worksheets, the Tasky Checklist, and more: www.abundancepracticebuilding.com/links
🎯 Need help with your niche? Check out our Know Your Niche course (just $27!) and learn how to attract your ideal client effortlessly: www.abundancepracticebuilding.com/niche
Ready to fill your practice faster? Join the Abundance Party today and get $46 off your first month with promo code BDAY (note: this promo expires 8/23): www.abundancepracticebuilding.com/abundanceparty
Have a question for me about practice building? Submit it via our Ask Allison form, and I'll add it to the queue: https://www.abundancepracticebuilding.com/ask_allison
▶️ Prefer video? This episode is also available to stream on our YouTube channel!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:07):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to Ask Allison.
Y'all ask the questions about having a
fun and thriving practice and I answer them.
We have a worksheet for you today so
you can bring this answer into your life.
You can access that at abundancepracticebuilding.com slash
links where you'll also be able to ask
any questions you have for Ask Allison.
If you want more support, we've got some
free trainings in there too.
(00:28):
If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check
out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask
Allison library.
Welcome back to Ask Allison.
Here's today's question.
I know it is important, but I'm having
a really hard time committing to one.
You are not alone.
Okay.
Before I get into this, I want to
thank TherapyNotes for sponsoring Ask Allison.
(00:48):
I've talked about this practice management system for
years and you might know all their features
by heart, but I want to tell you
what really sets them apart and it's that
they genuinely care about your experience.
It's not just about troubleshooting problems you might
have.
They actively implement user-suggested features like secure
messaging, clinical outcome tracking, real-time insurance checks,
and their AI feature therapy fuel.
(01:11):
Everyone at TherapyNotes believes in the product and
they want you to love it too.
Plus they're independently owned, which means no venture
capital, no pressure to prioritize investors over customers.
This independence allows them to keep their prices
fair, their focus on innovation and prioritize their
customer experience.
With over a hundred thousand therapists already on
board, they've proven you don't have to compromise
(01:31):
success for quality.
If you're ready to see for yourself, try
TherapyNotes free for two months with the code
abundant at therapynotes.com.
So if you've been in the private practice
world for any length of time, you probably
heard this phrase a thousand times.
You need a niche.
It's crucial for your success.
And if you're anything like I was when
I was starting, you might be resisting the
(01:51):
idea.
Maybe you're overwhelmed with the pressure to find
the perfect niche, or maybe you just can't
seem to settle on one.
I get it.
The pressure's real.
The videos, the posts, the well-meaning advice,
all of it can start to feel like
this heavy weight on your shoulders.
And the last thing you want to do
is feel like if you don't pick the
right niche, your entire practice is going to
crumble.
(02:12):
But guess what?
That's simply, it's not true.
You don't have to get the perfect exact
right niche right out of the gate.
In fact, there's a better way to approach
this process that's actually going to help you
feel less stressed, more confident as you move
forward.
So let's break it down today.
We're going to talk about why a niche
is important, how to choose one without getting
overwhelmed and what to do if you're struggling
to make a decision.
(02:33):
By the end of this, I want you
to feel like you have a clearer path
forward.
So first things first, we're going to clear
up a big misconception.
Choosing a niche is like dating.
It is not like getting married.
I know you've been told time and time
again that you have to pick the right
niche and that your entire practice will revolve
around it for years to come.
But that's not true.
A niche does not have to be a
(02:54):
career long commitment.
Think of it like dating.
You can date someone for a little while.
If it's not working out, you can move
on with someone else.
That's how choosing a niche works.
It's not about locking yourself into something for
the next 30 years.
It's about finding something that works for you
right now.
Maybe you won't grow it in a few
months.
That's perfectly fine.
Changing your niche, especially at the beginning, is
(03:14):
something that's maybe going to happen.
And it's not as hard as you think
to shift it.
Yes, you're going to have to redo or
update your website, your listings, those kinds of
things.
It's not the end of the world.
It's not something you'll be doing every few
months.
So take the pressure off yourself.
If you're feeling stuck about choosing the perfect
niche, I want you to give yourself permission
to try something out, to pick something that
(03:36):
feels good now and see how it works
for you.
You can always change it if it doesn't
fit.
Now let's talk about something else that can
keep you stuck.
It's like forcing insight.
You can't just sit there thinking about niche
and land on a niche.
Choosing a niche is something that requires reflection,
yes.
But if it's not an easy answer, finding
your niche requires a deeper level of asking
(03:58):
yourself a series of questions about who you
do your best work with, who you enjoy
working with, and who you don't.
You can't meditate those answers into existence.
If you sit there trying to make a
decision without reflection, you're likely going to choose
something out of fear or anxiety, which is
not the best foundation for your practice.
If you need help with this, our $27
(04:19):
Know Your Niche course has clarified within an
hour to an hour and a half the
niche of thousands of other therapists at this
point.
You can DM the word niche and I'll
send you the link for it.
Or if you're listening, head to the show
notes.
Here's another big niche roadblock that many of
you are dealing with.
What if you already know your niche, but
you're feeling like you're not good enough for
(04:39):
it?
Here's that thing, imposter syndrome, right?
It's real, but it doesn't have to control
you.
You might have a niche in mind, like
working with high achieving professionals, which is more
of a demographic, like high achieving professionals with
panic disorder.
There's your niche.
But you might start doubting yourself.
Maybe you feel like you're not successful enough
to be the therapist for them.
(05:01):
Or perhaps you want to work with a
specific presenting issue, say combat trauma or eating
disorders, but you feel like you don't have
enough experience or training.
Let me tell you right now, you are
enough for whatever niche you choose.
Sometimes these feelings of inadequacy are rooted in
fear.
It's easy to think that you have to
(05:22):
be perfect before you can work with a
certain population.
But the truth is you don't have to
be perfect.
You do have to be willing to grow.
So sometimes those feelings of inadequacy are rooted
in fear.
Sometimes those feelings of inadequacy are rooted in
lack of experience and lack of education.
If you feel like you don't have the
training yet, that's what supervision and continuing education
are for.
They are there to help you develop and
(05:43):
expand your skills.
So if you know your niche, but you
feel like you're not ready, get support on
your way to the niche.
Start meeting with a colleague, attend a training,
keep a journal of all that you're learning
and what you're confused about, get consultation or
supervision, take clear actionable steps toward that niche,
and you're going to feel much more confident.
And when it comes to the fear that
(06:04):
your niche won't pay for your services, like,
oh, people with X disorder or people struggling
with Y, they're not going to pay out
of pocket.
That's just a myth.
Most niches, like the vast majority of niches,
are willing to pay for therapy if they
can.
So it's making sure, and there's like 1
% of niches, like working with an unhoused
(06:26):
population that cannot pay for services, but a
lot of people can.
So if you're holding back because you're afraid
your ideal client won't have the financial resources
to pay for your services, I want you
to dig deeper.
Are you offering real value?
Don't let your imposter syndrome answer that.
I want you to answer that.
Do you see clients, do your clients see
the work and the work you're doing?
(06:47):
Like, are your clients reaching their goals?
If so, they're going to find a way
to make it work.
You don't need to undercut yourself because of
assumptions about pricing.
No, you're not going to make, you know,
a ton of money working with an unhoused
population, but most of their presenting concerns are
experienced by people across the financial spectrum.
Another couple things to get in the way
(07:08):
are decisiveness versus perfectionism.
So let's take a step back and talk
about just like decision-making in general.
Are you decisive or do you tend to
struggle with decisions?
If you hesitated to even answer that question,
you're likely someone who struggles with decision-making.
And guess what?
You're not alone.
Many people have difficulty making decisions, and that
can spill over into choosing your niche.
(07:29):
If you're someone who tends to avoid decisions,
then the thought of picking a niche might
feel like a huge burden.
But here's something I tell my students.
If you're struggling with indecision, just choose one
of the things on your list of the
ones you've cut down, like the few that
you are trying to choose between.
Just choose one.
Go with it for six months.
It doesn't matter if it's the perfect niche
(07:49):
for you.
It's about taking action and learning as you
go.
A good enough niche is good enough.
Even if you decide to pivot later, the
marketing lessons and the insights that you gain
from applying your strategies will transfer to whatever
niche you choose down the road.
Now, for those of you who are decisive
like me, you might be feeling a little
anxious that you haven't chosen your niche yet.
(08:10):
If you're someone who likes to make quick
decisions, then sitting with the unknown can be
especially uncomfortable.
And this is often driven by perfectionism.
Perfectionism has a way of making us freeze
because we're worried that the decision won't be
right or that we'll make the wrong choice.
And here's the thing.
There's no perfect niche.
There's only the niche that feels right for
you right now.
(08:30):
And if that changes in the future, that's
totally okay.
Sometimes you just have to take a leap
and trust that you're going to learn along
the way.
It's much more freeing than waiting for the
perfect answer to magically appear.
So at the end of the day, the
goal isn't to find a niche that's perfect
and unchanging for the rest of your life.
It's to find something that works for you
now.
A niche is a tool.
(08:51):
It helps you focus your marketing and attract
the right clients and also, you know, make
sure you don't get as burned out.
But it doesn't have to be set in
stone.
So if you're feeling overwhelmed by the pressure
to find the perfect niche, then take a
deep breath and give yourself permission to try
things on.
Start with something, get comfortable, and see how
it feels.
(09:12):
And remember, you don't have to rush it.
You don't have to have it all figured
out right away.
So if you're diving into this world of
niches, you've probably already heard the term ideal
client.
If you DM me the word sheets, this
week's free worksheet is niche versus ideal client.
You'll also get a link to all the
previous worksheets in the series to help you
(09:32):
navigate your practice with much more clarity and
confidence.
And if you want to nail down your
niche today, DM me the word niche.
I'll send you the link to our $27
know your niche course.
If you're listening on the podcast, it's in
the show notes.
All right.
Thanks for tuning in today.
I hope this helped take some of the
pressure off.
I'll see you next time on ask Alison.
(09:53):
If you're ready for a much easier practice,
therapy notes is the way to go.
Go to therapy notes.com and use the
promo code abundant for two months free.
I hope that helped.
If you have questions for ask Alison, or
you want to get your hands on the
worksheet for this episode, go to abundancepracticebuilding.com
slash links.
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to Ask Allison.
Y'all ask the questions about having a
fun and thriving practice and I answer them.
We have a worksheet for you today so
you can bring this answer into your life.
You can access that at abundancepracticebuilding.com slash
links where you'll also be able to ask
any questions you have for Ask Allison.
If you want more support, we've got some
free trainings in there too.
(00:28):
If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check
out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask
Allison library.
Welcome back to Ask Allison.
Here's today's question.
I know it is important, but I'm having
a really hard time committing to one.
You are not alone.
Okay.
Before I get into this, I want to
thank TherapyNotes for sponsoring Ask Allison.
(00:48):
I've talked about this practice management system for
years and you might know all their features
by heart, but I want to tell you
what really sets them apart and it's that
they genuinely care about your experience.
It's not just about troubleshooting problems you might
have.
They actively implement user-suggested features like secure
messaging, clinical outcome tracking, real-time insurance checks,
and their AI feature therapy fuel.
(01:11):
Everyone at TherapyNotes believes in the product and
they want you to love it too.
Plus they're independently owned, which means no venture
capital, no pressure to prioritize investors over customers.
This independence allows them to keep their prices
fair, their focus on innovation and prioritize their
customer experience.
With over a hundred thousand therapists already on
board, they've proven you don't have to compromise
(01:31):
success for quality.
If you're ready to see for yourself, try
TherapyNotes free for two months with the code
abundant at therapynotes.com.
So if you've been in the private practice
world for any length of time, you probably
heard this phrase a thousand times.
You need a niche.
It's crucial for your success.
And if you're anything like I was when
I was starting, you might be resisting the
(01:51):
idea.
Maybe you're overwhelmed with the pressure to find
the perfect niche, or maybe you just can't
seem to settle on one.
I get it.
The pressure's real.
The videos, the posts, the well-meaning advice,
all of it can start to feel like
this heavy weight on your shoulders.
And the last thing you want to do
is feel like if you don't pick the
right niche, your entire practice is going to
crumble.
(02:12):
But guess what?
That's simply, it's not true.
You don't have to get the perfect exact
right niche right out of the gate.
In fact, there's a better way to approach
this process that's actually going to help you
feel less stressed, more confident as you move
forward.
So let's break it down today.
We're going to talk about why a niche
is important, how to choose one without getting
overwhelmed and what to do if you're struggling
to make a decision.
(02:33):
By the end of this, I want you
to feel like you have a clearer path
forward.
So first things first, we're going to clear
up a big misconception.
Choosing a niche is like dating.
It is not like getting married.
I know you've been told time and time
again that you have to pick the right
niche and that your entire practice will revolve
around it for years to come.
But that's not true.
A niche does not have to be a
(02:54):
career long commitment.
Think of it like dating.
You can date someone for a little while.
If it's not working out, you can move
on with someone else.
That's how choosing a niche works.
It's not about locking yourself into something for
the next 30 years.
It's about finding something that works for you
right now.
Maybe you won't grow it in a few
months.
That's perfectly fine.
Changing your niche, especially at the beginning, is
(03:14):
something that's maybe going to happen.
And it's not as hard as you think
to shift it.
Yes, you're going to have to redo or
update your website, your listings, those kinds of
things.
It's not the end of the world.
It's not something you'll be doing every few
months.
So take the pressure off yourself.
If you're feeling stuck about choosing the perfect
niche, I want you to give yourself permission
to try something out, to pick something that
(03:36):
feels good now and see how it works
for you.
You can always change it if it doesn't
fit.
Now let's talk about something else that can
keep you stuck.
It's like forcing insight.
You can't just sit there thinking about niche
and land on a niche.
Choosing a niche is something that requires reflection,
yes.
But if it's not an easy answer, finding
your niche requires a deeper level of asking
(03:58):
yourself a series of questions about who you
do your best work with, who you enjoy
working with, and who you don't.
You can't meditate those answers into existence.
If you sit there trying to make a
decision without reflection, you're likely going to choose
something out of fear or anxiety, which is
not the best foundation for your practice.
If you need help with this, our $27
(04:19):
Know Your Niche course has clarified within an
hour to an hour and a half the
niche of thousands of other therapists at this
point.
You can DM the word niche and I'll
send you the link for it.
Or if you're listening, head to the show
notes.
Here's another big niche roadblock that many of
you are dealing with.
What if you already know your niche, but
you're feeling like you're not good enough for
(04:39):
it?
Here's that thing, imposter syndrome, right?
It's real, but it doesn't have to control
you.
You might have a niche in mind, like
working with high achieving professionals, which is more
of a demographic, like high achieving professionals with
panic disorder.
There's your niche.
But you might start doubting yourself.
Maybe you feel like you're not successful enough
to be the therapist for them.
(05:01):
Or perhaps you want to work with a
specific presenting issue, say combat trauma or eating
disorders, but you feel like you don't have
enough experience or training.
Let me tell you right now, you are
enough for whatever niche you choose.
Sometimes these feelings of inadequacy are rooted in
fear.
It's easy to think that you have to
(05:22):
be perfect before you can work with a
certain population.
But the truth is you don't have to
be perfect.
You do have to be willing to grow.
So sometimes those feelings of inadequacy are rooted
in fear.
Sometimes those feelings of inadequacy are rooted in
lack of experience and lack of education.
If you feel like you don't have the
training yet, that's what supervision and continuing education
are for.
They are there to help you develop and
(05:43):
expand your skills.
So if you know your niche, but you
feel like you're not ready, get support on
your way to the niche.
Start meeting with a colleague, attend a training,
keep a journal of all that you're learning
and what you're confused about, get consultation or
supervision, take clear actionable steps toward that niche,
and you're going to feel much more confident.
And when it comes to the fear that
(06:04):
your niche won't pay for your services, like,
oh, people with X disorder or people struggling
with Y, they're not going to pay out
of pocket.
That's just a myth.
Most niches, like the vast majority of niches,
are willing to pay for therapy if they
can.
So it's making sure, and there's like 1
% of niches, like working with an unhoused
(06:26):
population that cannot pay for services, but a
lot of people can.
So if you're holding back because you're afraid
your ideal client won't have the financial resources
to pay for your services, I want you
to dig deeper.
Are you offering real value?
Don't let your imposter syndrome answer that.
I want you to answer that.
Do you see clients, do your clients see
the work and the work you're doing?
(06:47):
Like, are your clients reaching their goals?
If so, they're going to find a way
to make it work.
You don't need to undercut yourself because of
assumptions about pricing.
No, you're not going to make, you know,
a ton of money working with an unhoused
population, but most of their presenting concerns are
experienced by people across the financial spectrum.
Another couple things to get in the way
(07:08):
are decisiveness versus perfectionism.
So let's take a step back and talk
about just like decision-making in general.
Are you decisive or do you tend to
struggle with decisions?
If you hesitated to even answer that question,
you're likely someone who struggles with decision-making.
And guess what?
You're not alone.
Many people have difficulty making decisions, and that
can spill over into choosing your niche.
(07:29):
If you're someone who tends to avoid decisions,
then the thought of picking a niche might
feel like a huge burden.
But here's something I tell my students.
If you're struggling with indecision, just choose one
of the things on your list of the
ones you've cut down, like the few that
you are trying to choose between.
Just choose one.
Go with it for six months.
It doesn't matter if it's the perfect niche
(07:49):
for you.
It's about taking action and learning as you
go.
A good enough niche is good enough.
Even if you decide to pivot later, the
marketing lessons and the insights that you gain
from applying your strategies will transfer to whatever
niche you choose down the road.
Now, for those of you who are decisive
like me, you might be feeling a little
anxious that you haven't chosen your niche yet.
(08:10):
If you're someone who likes to make quick
decisions, then sitting with the unknown can be
especially uncomfortable.
And this is often driven by perfectionism.
Perfectionism has a way of making us freeze
because we're worried that the decision won't be
right or that we'll make the wrong choice.
And here's the thing.
There's no perfect niche.
There's only the niche that feels right for
you right now.
(08:30):
And if that changes in the future, that's
totally okay.
Sometimes you just have to take a leap
and trust that you're going to learn along
the way.
It's much more freeing than waiting for the
perfect answer to magically appear.
So at the end of the day, the
goal isn't to find a niche that's perfect
and unchanging for the rest of your life.
It's to find something that works for you
now.
A niche is a tool.
(08:51):
It helps you focus your marketing and attract
the right clients and also, you know, make
sure you don't get as burned out.
But it doesn't have to be set in
stone.
So if you're feeling overwhelmed by the pressure
to find the perfect niche, then take a
deep breath and give yourself permission to try
things on.
Start with something, get comfortable, and see how
it feels.
(09:12):
And remember, you don't have to rush it.
You don't have to have it all figured
out right away.
So if you're diving into this world of
niches, you've probably already heard the term ideal
client.
If you DM me the word sheets, this
week's free worksheet is niche versus ideal client.
You'll also get a link to all the
previous worksheets in the series to help you
(09:32):
navigate your practice with much more clarity and
confidence.
And if you want to nail down your
niche today, DM me the word niche.
I'll send you the link to our $27
know your niche course.
If you're listening on the podcast, it's in
the show notes.
All right.
Thanks for tuning in today.
I hope this helped take some of the
pressure off.
I'll see you next time on ask Alison.
(09:53):
If you're ready for a much easier practice,
therapy notes is the way to go.
Go to therapy notes.com and use the
promo code abundant for two months free.
I hope that helped.
If you have questions for ask Alison, or
you want to get your hands on the
worksheet for this episode, go to abundancepracticebuilding.com
slash links.
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