Episode #760: Afraid to Narrow Your Niche? Here's What Actually Happens

Summary

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Abundant Practice Podcast

Episode #760: Afraid to Narrow Your Niche? Here's What Actually Happens

Host: Allison Puryear
Guest: Rebecca Smith
Date: May 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode tackles a common fear for therapists launching private practices: narrowing down their niche. Host Allison Puryear and guest Rebecca Smith, a successful "Limitless Practice" grad, dispel myths about niching, share their own journeys, and explain what actually happens—professionally and emotionally—when clinicians get specific about whom they serve. Their discussion aims to empower therapists to leave agency jobs and create thriving, intentional practices by embracing niche marketing.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Real Fears Behind Niching

• Listener Question: Many aspiring private practice therapists hesitate to pick a specific niche, worrying it will limit potential clients. They oscillate between feeling too broad (like a "generalist with a vague Psychology Today profile") and too narrow.
• Rebecca affirms this is a real and common fear:

  "Every time I narrow down, I start panicking that I'm cutting off too many potential clients. And every time I broaden it, I feel like I'm back to being a generalist..." (00:49)

2. Niching and Expertise: It’s Personal, Not Just Clinical

• Rebecca describes the journey from generalist training to understanding true expertise comes from alignment with one’s own preferences and working style:

  "Expertise also comes with a bit of alignment in terms of your own preferences and your own working style... It doesn't have to be the most intense thing. It can be something that you really like, because then when you really like it, you usually like things you're good at, and your clients get really good results." (02:57)

• Allison and Rebecca both stress that your niche should "light you up," not just fit market demand.

3. The Seafood Buffet Analogy: Why Generalist Marketing Fails

• Rebecca uses a vivid analogy to highlight the unattractiveness of broad, generalist appeals:

  "It’s like a seafood buffet that also sells shoes. You’re not going to trust them for everything… People are trusting you to hold their secrets, to guide them through the scariest times in their lives... You want to be the boutique. You don’t want to be Walmart." (04:35)

4. Niching Expands Perceived Expertise, Not Limits It

• Allison reassures that specializing doesn’t limit referrals—instead, it shows prospective clients that you have deep expertise, and even those outside your niche will trust your competence:

  "The people that are within your niche think, ‘Thank God, this is somebody who really knows what they're doing.’ The people outside your niche see you and they're like, 'Oh, she can handle complicated grief after suicide. I promise you, you can handle my depression. I promise you, you can handle my anxiety.'" (05:03)

5. Marketing: Write to Your “One Person”

• Rebecca emphasizes the power of targeting marketing to a narrowly defined ideal client:

  "…Narrowing so specifically that you're really imagining one person. And it's remarkable how many people then think that them is them. They're like, 'Oh my gosh, you were writing to me.'" (06:58)

6. Can You Niche Too Narrow, Too Soon?

• Both hosts agree: There is no such thing as "too narrow, too soon." If you decide to change your focus later, it’s easy to shift your marketing. Niching helps you get full, fast, and you can always pivot.

  "You cannot go too narrow too soon. Doesn't exist… Worst case scenario, you're like, 'Oh, I decided I don't want to work in this niche anymore.' Okay, we can change it. It's going to be easier to get full and then be like, 'Oh, that's not who I wanted,' and then make a shift." (07:50 – 08:21)

7. Niching as an Ongoing Process

• Rebecca admits she recently revisited a niching course herself, two years after launching her successful practice:

  "Now, two years after I did Limitless Practice, I just did the Know Your Niche course again last week because I wanted to tweak a little bit." (09:43)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Rebecca (on generalist marketing):

  "It’s like a seafood buffet that also sells shoes. You’re not going to trust them for everything… You want to be the boutique. You don’t want to be Walmart." (04:35)

• Allison (on niching’s upside):

  "The people that are within your niche think, 'Thank God, this is somebody who really knows what they're doing.' The people outside your niche see you and they're like, 'Oh, she can handle complicated grief after suicide. I promise you, you can handle my depression…'" (05:03)

• Rebecca (on ideal client writing):

  "Narrowing so specifically that you're really imagining one person. And it's remarkable how many people then think that them is them." (06:58)

• Allison (on adaptability):

  "Worst case scenario, you're like, 'Oh, I decided I don't want to work in this niche anymore.' Okay, we can change it. It's going to be easier to get full and then be like, 'Oh, that's not who I wanted,' and then make a shift." (08:05)

• Rebecca (on long-term niching):

  "Now, two years after I did Limitless Practice, I just did the Know Your Niche course again last week because I wanted to tweak a little bit." (09:43)

• Allison (on marketing wisdom):

  "There's a whole phrase in marketing: The riches are in the niches. So, like, yeah. Love a rhyme." (08:33)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:49 – Listener question about the fear of going "too narrow"
• 02:57 – Rebecca discusses how personal alignment trumps “market need”
• 04:35 – Seafood buffet vs. boutique analogy
• 05:03 – Allison on how niching increases trust and referrals
• 06:58 – Power of marketing to your "one person"
• 07:50 – 08:21 – There's no such thing as "too narrow, too soon"—niche boldly!
• 09:43 – Niching is not a one-and-done; Rebecca revisits her choice after two years

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Practical Takeaways

• Your niche should reflect your strengths, interests, and working style; this alignment increases client success and personal satisfaction.
• Being specific is far more attractive and trustworthy to clients; don’t try to be everything to everyone.
• You cannot niche “too soon” or “too much”—it’s always easier to refine or pivot later than to struggle as a generalist.
• All marketing should speak to your ideal client, even if you serve others.
• Niching is a process: revisit and refine as you and your practice evolve.

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Resources Mentioned

• Free Worksheet: "Niche vs. Ideal Client" available via show notes/caption.
• Know Your Niche Course: 1.5–2 hour course to help therapists identify their niche ($27).

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For more info, worksheets, or support in niching and practice-building, visit Abundance Practice Building.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Welcome to Ask Abundance. Y' all ask the questions about having a fun and thriving practice. We answer them. We have a worksheet for you today so you can bring this answer into your life. If you want support in your practice, we have you covered with on demand or one on one support. Links for the worksheet and support are in the show. Notes can't get enough Ask Abundance. Check out our YouTube channel for the entire library. Welcome back to Ask Abundance. Today I'm joined by Rebecca Smith. Rebecca is a limitless practice grad who came aboard Team Abundance. She has a premium fee private pay practice in New Orleans and is great at helping Abundance therapists imagine what's possible for them. She's going to tell us today's question.

[B]

Yes, I will. Let's see, today we've got this. I've been sitting on launching my practice for months, partly because I can't land niche that feels specific enough. Every time I narrow down, I start panicking that I'm cutting off too many potential clients. And every time I broaden it, I feel like I'm back to being a generalist with a vague Psych Today profile.

[A]

That's a.

[B]

That's a healthy fear. I understand that. How specific does a niche actually need to be before you start putting yourself out there? And is it possible to go too narrow too soon?

[A]

Okay, good question.

[B]

Like it?

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. So before we dive into it, I want to thank our sponsor, TherapyNotes. I've talked about them for years and know their features by heart. But what truly sets them apart is that they genuinely care about your experience. It's not just about troubleshooting. They actively implement user suggested features like Therapy Search, secure messaging, Clinical outcome tracking, and their AI notes feature. Therapy fuel. Everyone at TherapyNotes believes in the product and wants you to love it too. Plus, they're independently owned, which means no venture capital, no pressure to prioritize investors over their customers. This independence allows them to keep their prices fair, to focus on innovation, and to prioritize customer experience. With over 100,000 therapists already on board, they've proven that you don't have to compromise success for quality. If you're ready to see for yourself, try TherapyNotes free for two months with the code abundanttherapynotes.com all right, good one.

[B]

I like it.

[A]

It is a good one. And I will say I love that you know, that niching is a thing because a lot of people who are in the early stages just kind of like hop in and they're like, why don't I have any Clients. And I literally was having a conversation with somebody earlier today about this exact fear of this. Niching feels like it's leaving people out, and that's really scary when you need clients. So I'm guessing you probably went through some version of this. Rebecca, I think I remember you going through a version of this.

[B]

I remember you holding my hand as I was going through this version.

[A]

Tell us how you came to understand niching and what helped soothe some of that fear for you.

[B]

I think that that's a good question. I think most of us are trained as generalists, and most of us imagine that our training is where we get our expertise. And I think that learning more about niching down made me realize that that's not always true because I think expertise also comes with a bit of alignment in terms of your own preferences and your own working style and what you like and et cetera. And I know even though I was trained as a generalist, when I started working with you about how to find my niche, I was working on it, trying to figure out what is needed by the mark, like, who, what. What's a good niche that people will come to me for, which is the wrong way. Instead, it's more like, what do I. What lights me? What do I like to do? And I. And I am allowed to like that.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

It doesn't have to be the joke that I was telling my friend doesn't have to be kittens with eating disorders. It doesn't have to be like, the most intense thing. It be something that you really like, because then when you really like it, you. You usually like things you're good at, and your clients get really good results. So there's this, like, symbiosis kind of thing that happens on the other side. Their joke that I was making with a friend, I can't remember, but I like that they said, I know that the boilerplate psych today generalist thing is not. And I think it's not attractive. I was describing it to somebody. It's like a seafood buffet that also sells shoes. Like, you're not. You're not going to trust them for everything. And you're definitely not eating shrimp there. Like, we're not doing this. People are trusting you to hold their secrets, to guide them through the scariest times in their lives, to help them build their futures. And, oh, that you they're talking about. And if you're oysters and these, you're like, what are we doing? You're like, I just make this one type of food, and it's Perfect. Every time is so much sexier. And we're definitely going to be able to market that.

[A]

Yeah. And I think this idea of like, oh, if I niche down, I'm excluding people that would otherwise be interested. Like, that's a valid fear. I get where it comes from. But here's what happens when you niche down. The people that are within your niche think, okay, thank God, like, this is somebody who really knows what they're doing. The people outside your niche see you and they're like, oh, she can handle complicated grief after suicide. Right. Like, one of my students specializes in suicide bereavement. Right. If I see somebody is working with people in suicide bereavement, like, I promise you, you can handle my depression. I promise you, you can handle my anxiety.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Like, it. It extends you, your expertise to things that are less intense or things that are congruent or there's like a Venn diagram overlap. Right. So, like, in working with eating disorders, for so long of my career, that's all I marketed. But I got so many clients who didn't have eating disorders, but they had raging anxiety. Because the way I describe the anxiety that exists within my clients with eating disorders was like, oh, yeah, that's me too. Just minus the eating stuff. So it doesn't limit you in the same way. But I promise, if you are broad and you have a long list. Exactly. Like Rebecca said, if you're showing or saying, if you're saying you can do all the things or even a lot of unrelated things, it's a very different experience for a client to land on that website than one that speaks directly to what they're struggling with. It's such an easy choice for them to go with the niched therapist.

[B]

Absolutely. And I think that you should, especially in your. In your writing and your. In your marketing, narrowing so specifically that you're really imagining one person.

[A]

You are.

[B]

You've got this one person in mind and you just to them. And it's remarkable how many people then think that them is them. Like, they're like, oh, my gosh, you were writing to me. That's crazy.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Because everybody is specific and everybody is individual, and that comes across in that writing. But also anxiety sounds like that anxious voice, the OCD voice, the depressed voice in your head has a pattern, and that's why we're experts in it. And you know what that pattern sounds like, and it sounds the same for all of these different clients, and it allows them to feel seen a very specific way rather than like you. You want to be the boutique. You don't want to be Walmart.

[A]

Yes. Especially if you're private pay.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah. Amazing.

[B]

I think really the answer too is like, you cannot go too narrow too soon. Doesn't exist.

[A]

Right. Yeah. Thank you for catching that question. That part of it. Yes. The narrower the better. As soon as possible. Yeah. Yeah. And worst case scenario, you're like, oh, I decided I don't want to work in this niche anymore. Okay, we can change it. It's going to be easier to get full and then be like, oh, that's not who I wanted, and then make a shift. But you're not like, broke and wondering if you should niche.

[B]

Yeah. And it's unlikely that your new niche will be vastly different. It might be like a little addition or a slight shift. Just narrow, needle thin people.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's scary. And also, it's what works. And it's not just in the therapy world. It's like, there's a whole phrase in marketing, the riches are in the niches. So, like, yeah, love a rhyme. Maybe it's the riches are in the niches. Awesome. Okay, so today's free worksheet is niche versus ideal client. Because, like, if you've listened to this and you're like, okay, I'm convinced a niche is possible and it is good, and it's where I'm headed. That's a great first step. And then all your marketing needs to be geared towards this one ideal client, which is just a marketing exercise. It doesn't mean that you only see this one type of person. Exactly. And so it kind of helps parse that out for you to make it easy. You can access that in the show notes or in the caption. Yeah.

[B]

Yay.

[A]

And if you need help with your niche, you can also reach out to us. We've got to know your niche course. That is amazing. You will. If you do the worksheets. If you do the worksheets, you will have a niche by the end of it. So hour and a half, two hours, you will have your niche. And it's only $27, so we will also put that in the show notes also.

[B]

So now, two years after I did limitless practice, I just did the know your niche course again last week because I wanted to speak a little bit. So, like, thanks, friend.

[A]

Good. Yes. Another satisfied customer. All right, well, I will see you soon. Rebecca, thanks so much.

[B]

Awesome. Thanks, Alison.

[A]

If you're ready for a much easier practice, therapy notes is the way to go. Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo code abundant for two months free. I hope that helped. Please get in touch with any of your questions for ask abund if you're listening. You probably need some support building your practice. If you're a super newbie, grab our free checklist using the link in the show notes. I'd love for you to follow rate and review, but I really want you to share this episode with a therapist friend. Let's help all our colleagues build what they want.