The coaching business has grown exponentially over the past few years. A 2023 ICF Global Coaching Study (GCS) provided an up-to-date picture of the coaching profession. In the report, coaching experienced

“robust growth in both the number of coach practitioners worldwide and in annual revenue, indicating that the coaching industry has emerged stronger from the pandemic.”

That said, the coaching industry is wide, and to grow faster you should understand which coaching niche makes the most money.

Let’s go through the top 10 highest-paying coaching niches in 2023 in life and business coaching!

Why choose a coaching niche?

Like any other business, you need to attract a specific group of people to succeed. The same applies to coaching.

Niching out means offering services to people who are interested in your services.

Specializing in a niche makes you much more valuable than a jack of all trades. Moreover, choosing a specific niche will make your marketing strategies more effective and attract your dream clients.

But how do I find my coaching niche? Well, here is what you should do:

Start by solving a problem and getting paid for it. Research what’s already being offered in the market to see the type of programs that exist, what people are paying for, gaps in the market, etc.
Explore the problems you can solve and figure out which one’s the most profitable. Here’s where you define your passion and strengths to ensure you’re most confident and interested in that niche. Remember, you don’t have to come up with an original idea. Just be sure to focus on a niche people are willing to pay for. A good place to start is by doing something you already have experience with.
Now, it’s time to get specific on your coaching career by letting your target audience know exactly how you can help them. That is, match the who and the what. “What kind of people would I be more interested to help?” “Who would benefit more from my services?” etc.
Last, but not least, research how marketable your niche is. To be profitable and to build a successful business, check whether what you intend to offer is in high demand. Basically, people are willing to pay for three things in particular:

To have… financial freedom, more money, a better relationship/career, etc.

To be… more productive, less stressed, hot, more attractive, etc.

To feel… healthy, happy, confident, loved, contented, etc.

These three aspects can guide you when niching down!

Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty…

High-paying life coaching niches

Life coaching is one of the fastest-growing areas of expertise in the world today. Most people turn to life coaches when they need help with their personal, professional, or spiritual growth. That means life coaches are in high demand.

Life coaches help clients identify their personal, professional, and spiritual goals and how to achieve them. There are several fields that life coaches can specialize in.

1. Success Coaching

If you have a deep understanding of goal-setting, personal development, and motivation, then a career as a success coach can be highly rewarding. It involves helping clients achieve their personal and professional goals by identifying and overcoming challenges and obstacles.

Your roles will include helping clients clarify their vision, stay motivated and accountable, and create a plan of action to achieve their vision. Success coaches often work with high-achieving individuals and can be lucrative since clients can achieve tangible and measurable results that can be life-transforming.

A success coach’s salary falls between $38,206 and $56,533.

2. Transformational Coaching

Transformational coaching aims at facilitating radical changes in a client’s mindset, identity, and behavior. It focuses on addressing deep-rooted beliefs and behaviors to create a lasting change in a client’s life. Transformational coaches help clients overcome limiting fears, beliefs, and patterns that hold them back from living to their maximum potential.

To excel as a transformational coach, you need to possess empathy, strong communication skills, and the ability to guide clients through a challenging self-discovery process. The transformative nature of this coaching niche can lead to long-term relationships, which means higher fees.

The national average salary for a transformational coach is $89,825 per year, according to ZipRecruiter.

Read also: 11 Easy Income Streams For Coaches

3. Performance Coaching

A performance coach helps individuals, employees, writers, athletes, entrepreneurs, musicians, and even actors improve their skills and perform better. Whether it’s public speaking, swimming, arts, managing a business, or running a marathon, the coaches have the expertise and ability to help clients overcome mental and physical barriers to success.

A good example is swimmer Michael Phelp who attributes his high performance to his coach. The high level of specialization in performance coaching can lead to getting a more exclusive clientele, and higher earnings.

Here’s another great example from surgeon Atul Gawande in his TED talk, explaining how coaching helped improve his performance and quality of work as a surgeon.

The average salary for a performance coach is $74,960 per year.

4. Leadership Coaching

Leadership coaching aims at helping executives, managers, and high-potential leaders to develop and refine their leadership skills. They focus on helping clients unleash their potential, gain self-awareness, and clarify their goals, as well as achieve their development objectives.

They also empower their clients to effectively lead teams and companies. Leadership coaches provide support and guidance to clients through successes and failures. They also help them overcome barriers that might be holding them back from excelling at their jobs.

According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a leadership coach is $82,595 per year.

5. Mindset Coaching

You’ve probably heard or even read about “growth mindset” and “fixed mindset”. These terms were coined by Carol Dweck in her book Mindset. A mindset coach focuses on helping clients transform their thoughts. They do so by helping people understand that their actions are influenced by emotions, which stem from the beliefs and thoughts they hold about themselves and the world.

Your role as a mindset coach is not so much about getting your client to develop the “right” mindset, as it is about helping them discover what beliefs and perspectives best fit their lifestyles, goals, and values.

As a mindset coach, you can niche down even further and explore sub-niches like:

Motivation coaching
Habit coaching
Performance coaching

This type of coaching is very result-oriented and requires regular check-ins with clients. This means more sessions booked and higher earnings as you strive to help them achieve their goals.

A mindset coach can make up to $53,327 per year.

6. Lifestyle Coaching

Lifestyle coaching is a top contender for the highest-paying coaching niches in 2023. It is one of the most common responses when you ask people “Who do you think of when it comes to life coaches.”

Your focus as a lifestyle coach is helping clients create a balanced, fulfilling life by addressing various aspects of their well-being, including health, relationships, and personal growth. Essentially, it aims at helping clients live a lifestyle that aligns with their passions, goals, and values.

One of your major roles will be to work with clients to create a balance between work and life, so they can find more joy and fulfillment in their daily activities. The holistic nature of the lifestyle coaching niche can attract high-value clients and increase your earnings.

Lifestyle coaching salary ranges between $33,705 and $42,179 per year.

High-Paying Business Coaching Niches

The term “business” is quite broad, which means business coaching can apply to areas like entrepreneurs, small business owners, corporate office managers, or large organizations. Business coaches focus on helping clients with various aspects of running and managing their businesses, such as strategy, sales, marketing, team management, finance, and more.

However, most coaches prefer to specialize only in one category. Here are the highest-paying business coaching niches:

7. Team Coaching

In his video above, surgeon Atul Gawande mentioned how Harvard and Yale got involved in one of the first American football games. Yale hired a head coach, and Harvard didn’t. Here’s what happened. Over the next three decades, Harvard won just four times, forcing them to hire a coach.

This is evidence of how effective coaching can be for teams. Whether it’s a small team or a large team, hiring a team coach can help team members improve their performance, collaboration, communication, and culture, all of which contribute significantly to the success of a team.

Team coaches empower teams by showing them how to align their vision, goals, and values, as well as resolve conflicts and leverage their strengths and diversity in their various roles. To excel as a team coach, you must possess a deep understanding of group dynamics, team-building strategies, and conflict resolution.

Team coaches can make between $31,616 and $40,000 per year.

8. CEO Coaching

CEO coaching is a high-paying coaching niche that focuses on helping CEOs, and other high-ranking professionals improve various aspects of their lives, including decision-making, performance, and leadership skills.

CEO coaching can benefit clients in multiple ways, such as:

Enhancing their leadership skills, such as the ability to delegate, inspire teams, and communicate more effectively.
Increasing their self-awareness. CEO coaches help CEOs gain insights into their strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots, allowing them to address those areas and capitalize on their unique capabilities.
Greater emotional intelligence. Coaching facilitates CEOs to develop their emotional intelligence, enabling them to better understand, manage, and respond to their own emotions and those of their teams.

9. Agile Coaching

Most organizations implement Agile processes into their project management to deliver results faster and with fewer obstacles. In Agile, teams break down projects into several phases and deliver work in small, but consumable increments.

As an Agile coach, you’ll help organizations and businesses adopt and implement Agile methodologies to improve their project management and product development processes. Your roles will involve helping organizations establish Agile teams, cultures, and processes that foster collaboration, adaptability, and innovation.

Agile coaches require a greater understanding of Agile principles, practices, and tools to excel.

On average, Agile coaches make $113,405 yearly.

10. Money Mindset Coaching

Most people want to improve their financial health and achieve monetary goals but don’t know how. That’s where money mindset coaches come in. This niche involves debt management, budgeting, and investment strategies.

Money mindset coaching can help improve a client’s financial decision-making, financial confidence, and money management skills. In addition, it can lead to greater financial freedom and reduced financial stress.

An effective money mindset coach needs to possess certain qualities, such as:

A strong financial background
Excellent communication skills
Empathy
Flexibility and adaptability

Money mindset coaching can have a transformative impact on clients’ financial well-being and the overall quality of their lives. As a coach, you’ll help them develop and practice money management skills and empower them to take control of their financial future.

The average salary of a money mindset coach is $78,985 per year.

FAQs

How to choose a profitable coaching niche?

Follow these steps to choose a profitable coaching niche:

Identify and assess your passions and areas you have a strong interest, knowledge, or experience.
Research market demand to determine the demand for coaching services in your chosen niche. Figure out the trends, gaps, and opportunities that indicate a need for specialized coaching.
Identify your target clients. Consider their demographics, needs, and challenges to ensure your niche aligns with their requirements.
Evaluate the competition. Who are the competitors in your chosen niche? Use this analysis to look for unique selling points that can put you ahead of the game.
Test and refine your niche. It’s crucial to test your niche on a small group of clients to gauge their response and interest, and gather feedback. Doing so will help you refine your approach and validate the profitability of your chosen niche.
Can I become a coach with no experience?

Yes, it’s possible to start a coaching career without experience. Coaching is a skill that can be trained and learned with proper guidance. Therefore, you’ll need to invest in education, training, and practicing.

Consider enrolling in a reputable program, preferably those accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). This will provide you with the necessary certifications, knowledge, and skills to kickstart your coaching career.

You can also find a mentor to support you in your journey.

What coaching niches pay well in 2023?

Some of the coaching niches that pay well in 2023 include:

Financial and money mindset coaching
Team Coaching
CEO and executive coaching
Performance Coaching
Agile Coaching

Keep in mind that the profitability of a coaching niche depends on various factors like competition, demand, and your ability to effectively offer high-quality and result-oriented services.

Final Words

The highest-paying coaching niches in 2023 reflect the evolving needs and priorities of individuals and businesses seeking specialized coaching services. From leadership coaching to lifestyle coaching to performance coaching, these niches address the unique challenges and aspirations of clients.

Overall, you need to stay informed about market trends, continuously seek to develop your skills and remain adaptable to the ever-changing landscape of the coaching industry. This way, you’ll position yourself for success as you make impactful changes in your clients’ lives.