Let me tell you something I've learned over 23 years in this game: being a coach or mentor online is hard. Not "kinda tricky" hard. Actually brutal. And if nobody told you that before you signed up for this life, let me be the one who does it now.
The internet is loud. Like, painfully, exhaustingly loud. There are millions of coaches and mentors all screaming into the void, trying to be heard. And most of them are doing it wrong. Not because they're bad at coaching. Not because they don't care. But because they're trying to be everything to everyone, and that's the fastest way to disappear.
I know because I watched myself do it for way too long. I thought breadth was a strategy. I thought if I could just reach enough people, something would stick. It doesn't work that way.
The Biggest Trap: Trying to Be Everything to Everyone
Here's what I see happening constantly: a new coach gets online, they're excited, they want to help people, and they think the way to maximize their impact is to speak to absolutely everybody. Spiritual people. Business people. New moms. Retirees. People who want to lose weight. People who want to make money. People who want better relationships.
Sound familiar?
The problem isn't that you care about helping people. The problem is that when you try to speak to everyone, you end up speaking to no one. Your message gets watered down until it's so generic it doesn't actually move anybody. You become background noise in a very crowded room.
Your message, your style, your process — it resonates with a specific type of person. Your job isn't to find everyone. Your job is to find the people who already think the way you think, feel the way you feel, and want what you have to offer. Those people are out there. But they can't find you if you look like everybody else.
Why Boundaries Aren't Restrictions — They're Power Moves
One of the biggest mindset shifts I made was realizing that boundaries aren't restrictions on your business. They're power moves. When you decide who you're NOT for, you instantly become more magnetic to the people you ARE for.
Think about it. Who do you trust more: the doctor who says "I treat everything from a cold to cancer" or the specialist who says "I focus specifically on heart conditions and I've been doing it for 20 years"?
Same thing in coaching. The coach who says "I help ambitious women who want to grow their online business" is going to attract more of the right people than the coach who says "I help people with whatever they need."
Setting rules and boundaries in your business — what you do and don't offer, how you work with clients, what your process looks like — isn't limiting your impact. It's making your impact focused and powerful.
Consistency Beats Perfection Every Time
The coaches and mentors who thrive online aren't the ones with the prettiest websites or the most polished content. They're the ones who show up consistently, over and over, for years.
I used to spend weeks perfecting a single blog post. Obsessing over every word. Rearranging paragraphs at 2 AM. And then I'd publish it and feel a tiny rush of satisfaction for about four hours before the anxiety about the next one kicked in.
Meanwhile, the coaches who were winning were publishing imperfect content every single week. Their stuff wasn't better than mine. It was often messier, less polished, more "live from my brain." But it was out there. And out there beats perfect and unpublished every single time.
Show up. Put stuff out. Adjust. Show up again. That's the whole game.
Finding Your People: Stop Chasing, Start Attracting
One of the most powerful things you can do in your coaching or mentoring business is to get really clear on who your person is. Not vaguely. Specifically.
Not "women who want more." But "35-45 year old moms who left corporate careers and are now building their first online business and feel completely lost in the tech side of things."
Not "people who want to get healthier." But "dads in their 40s who have let their health slip, are starting to feel the physical consequences, and want someone who won't judge them for where they are right now."
The more specific you get, the more you attract. Because when someone reads your content and feels like you're talking directly to them — like you understand their exact situation, their exact fears, their exact hopes — they don't want to work with just any coach. They want to work with you.
You can't manufacture that feeling. But you can create the conditions for it by getting radically specific about who you serve.
The Online World Rewards Realness, Not Performers
Here's what I've seen kill more coaching businesses than almost anything else: pretending to be something you're not. Acting like you have it all figured out. Performing success you haven't earned yet.
The internet sees through that stuff almost instantly. And people don't trust it.
The coaches and mentors who build real, lasting, profitable businesses online are the ones who are willing to be honest about the mess. About the failures. About the moments when they didn't know what to do. About the fear.
That kind of honesty is disarming. It makes people feel like they're dealing with a real human being, not a polished brand. And real human beings who also happen to be excellent at what they do? That's the combination that builds businesses.
The Question You Need to Answer Right Now
If you're feeling stuck — if your content isn't landing, if your offers aren't selling, if you're working harder than ever and seeing fewer results — here's the question I want you to sit with:
Who is the specific person I'm here to serve?
Not "coaches." Not "entrepreneurs." Not "people who want more." Who. Is. That. Person.
Get clear on that, and everything else starts to shift. Your content becomes more magnetic. Your offers become more aligned. Your energy becomes more focused. And the people who are meant to find you start finding you.
The online world doesn't need another generic coach. It needs you — whatever that means for the specific people who need what you carry.
Now get out there and be specific about it.
Ready to stop generic and start magnetic? Join Wealthy Coach Academy for $197/month + get access to our $4.95 class to start building your coaching business the right way.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find my niche if I have too many interests?
The key is to find the intersection of what you're genuinely good at, what you genuinely enjoy, and what people are actually paying for. You don't have to abandon your other interests — just recognize that focus creates magnetic pull. Start with one specific person and one specific problem. You can expand later.
Do I need a huge following to be a successful coach?
No. I've watched coaches with 500 highly engaged followers outearn coaches with 50,000 disengaged ones. It's not about the size of your audience — it's about how well you understand and serve your specific person. A smaller audience you actually connect with will always outperform a larger one you're trying to shout at.
How long does it take to build a coaching business online?
I've seen people start making money within weeks and I've seen people struggle for years. The difference isn't talent — it's usually focus and consistency. If you get clear on your niche and show up every single day in some form, you'll see traction faster than you think. Most people quit right before the breakthrough.
Should I specialize or offer general coaching?
If you're just starting out and don't have a track record yet, a general offering can help you get experience. But as quickly as possible, get specific. General coaching is a commodity. Specialized coaching is valuable. The moment you can say "I work specifically with X type of person on Y specific problem," your business transforms.
What if my niche feels too small?
If it feels small to you, it's probably the right size. The coaches who struggle are the ones who think small niches limit their income. The coaches who thrive know that a small niche served deeply is far more profitable than a big niche served shallowly. Go narrower than feels comfortable. You'll be surprised what happens.
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About Jeremiah Krakowski
Jeremiah Krakowski is a coaching business mentor who helps coaches, course creators, and consultants scale from $3k/mo to $40k+/mo using direct response marketing, AI systems, and proven frameworks. He runs Wealthy Coach Academy and has 23+ years of experience in digital marketing. Learn more →