Most traditional business advice will tell you to niche down by age, gender, income, or location.
That might help you tick a few marketing boxes — but it rarely builds a business that feels aligned, ethical, or welcoming to marginalised folks.
That’s exactly why I created Inclusive Niching™.
As the founder of Inclusive Niching™, I developed this framework because the usual niching methods were actively reinforcing systems of privilege. They kept excluding the very people so many of us are here to support — people from marginalised communities.
So many business owners genuinely want to be inclusive, want their work to contribute to positive social impact, and want to dismantle oppressive systems… but they’re still using niching strategies built on the exact systems they’re trying to dismantle.
Traditional niching is rooted in the same hierarchical structures that have always excluded, marginalised, and oppressed. It’s not broken — it’s working exactly as it was designed to.
And that’s a problem.
Because a portion of your dream clients will always belong to marginalised communities.
The people your business is designed to support are often Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour (BIPOC), neurodivergent, disabled, LGBTQIA+, from lower-income backgrounds, or navigating chronic illness, fatphobia, racism, or other systemic barriers.
So why are mainstream niching strategies still not considering them?
Because we’ve normalised centring privilege in everything — including our marketing.
That’s where The Inclusive Niching Framework™ is different.
It’s a values-led, experience-aware, and justice-aligned approach to attracting your right-fit people — not just the ones who can pay you, but the ones you’re deeply aligned with and best positioned to support.
Let’s break it down.
First, What Inclusive Niching™ Is Not
Inclusive Niching™ isn’t based on demographics.
It’s not about narrowing down to “women aged 25–45 in urban Australia who earn 6 figures.”
Because that tells you nothing about whether your work is relevant, safe, or needed in their lives.
Instead, Inclusive Niching™ is built on 4 key layers (plus a bonus one!) that help you define who you’re here for — in ways that centre alignment, lived experience, values, and inclusion.
Layer 1: Energetic & Values Alignment
This is about the energetic landscape of your business.
What kind of energy do you naturally hold — and what kind of energy do you love working in?
For example:
I work best in about 65% feminine energy — intuition, creativity, spaciousness — and 35% masculine — structure, strategy, action.
That’s the dynamic I bring into my work. My clients thrive here because they value and feel safe in that same blend.
🔍 Ask yourself:
- What’s the energetic signature of your work?
- What kind of energy do your clients need to feel safe, seen, and supported?
Gender Considerations
Does your work feel safer (for you or your clients) when it’s gender-specific?
Does it feel more inclusive to offer spaces specifically for women, non-binary folks, disabled folks, or other communities?
That’s not exclusion — that’s intentional safety.
It’s totally okay (and often essential) to build spaces where people who are typically marginalised get to be centred. Every other space already centres the most privileged.
This is care. This is alignment. This is inclusion.
Shared Values: Your Non-Negotiables
For truly aligned work, you and your clients need to share key values. Consider:
- Worldview – e.g. justice, equity, sustainability
- Working style – e.g. depth, playfulness, creativity, clarity
- Transformation-linked – e.g. safety, autonomy, freedom, rest
💡 Choose at least one “must-have” value for each of these. If these values aren’t shared, the work likely won’t feel nourishing or aligned.
Layer 2: The Human Struggle
Your niche is also shaped by the real-life struggles your clients are facing.
What are they going through?
How does it show up in their day-to-day lives, work, or bodies?
And most importantly — what do they want instead?
Inclusive Niching™ helps you go deeper than surface-level goals.
It’s not just “they want to grow their business.”
It’s “they want to grow a business they’re proud of — one that honours their values and doesn’t cost them their health, family time, or soul.”
That depth builds trust. When your people feel seen, they lean in.
💥 This is the difference between offering cookie-cutter transformations and creating life-changing ones. When you understand your people deeply — their needs, limitations, lived experiences — you can support them powerfully, and in ways that feel safe and aligned.
Layer 3: Misunderstanding & Truth
If your people knew what the solution was, they wouldn’t need your help.
But most of the time, people come to you thinking they know what they need — and they’re wrong.
They’ve already tried what they think should work. It didn’t.
Now they’re frustrated, confused, or blaming themselves.
Your job is to bridge the gap between what they think will work — and what will actually help them move forward.
This requires empathy and gentle guidance. You’re not just solving problems — you’re shifting perspectives.
🔍 Ask yourself:
- What do they think the solution is?
- What have they already tried that didn’t work?
- What do they need to understand before they can receive the solution you offer?
This is where your unique framework, process, or container shines.
Layer 4: Inclusion Overlay
This is where Inclusive Niching™ truly sets itself apart.
Inclusion can’t be an afterthought. It has to be baked into every layer of your business — your offers, your marketing, your delivery, and your client experience.
Ask yourself:
- What happens if your dream client is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander?
- What if they’re neurodivergent, disabled, in a larger body, queer, a single parent, or living with chronic illness?
- Would they feel safe in your spaces?
- Would your marketing speak to them with care and respect?
- Would your programs be accessible to them?
This layer is about consciously creating a business where marginalised people can say:
✨ “This was made with someone like me in mind.” ✨
It’s about safety, access, dignity, and belonging — not just permission to join, but inclusion throughout the entire journey.
Bonus Layer: Your Lived Experience
If you’ve lived through what your clients are facing — own it.
That shared experience builds trust and connection. If you’ve walked their path, they’re more likely to believe that you can help them walk it too.
But if you don’t share the same lived experience, you can still build an inclusive niche.
The key? Be willing to learn, unlearn, and co-create spaces where everyone feels valued and respected.
Inclusive Niching™ Is Not a Box — It’s a Tapestry
Your niche isn’t a one-line elevator pitch. It’s a living, breathing ecosystem made of energy, values, lived experiences, struggles, desires, and care.
The Inclusive Niching Framework™ holds all of that — with integrity, depth, and intention.
So instead of trying to attract everyone, you’re calling in the people you’re here for. The ones who feel your energy. The ones aligned with your values. The ones who trust your process.
That’s not just good for business — it’s good for the world you’re helping to shape.
Reflection Time
Here are two gentle journaling prompts to begin uncovering your inclusive niche:
- What are three values you and your clients must share?
- What’s one way you could build more safety or inclusion into your offers?
And if this resonates — this is exactly the work we do inside my GROWTH 1:1 coaching program.
Because inclusive business doesn’t start with marketing.
It starts with deep alignment.
Let’s build that — together.
(You can learn more about GROWTH here → https://growth-program.louiseoreilly.com.au/)
Until next time, happy inclusive niching!
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