Why “Helping Women Thrive” Is Keeping You Broke
You’re not failing at positioning. You’re succeeding at invisibility.
Why do the words in your “About” section that feel most inclusive—that you’d think open the most doors—actually close them all?
Here’s what’s happening: You’ve spent decades building expertise. You know your stuff backwards. You can see patterns others miss. You solve problems in your sleep. And deliver transformations your clients rave about. But when you try to describe what you do online, it comes out sounding like... everyone else.
“I help women live their best lives.” “I empower professionals to find balance.” “I support people in discovering their purpose.”
Generic. Forgettable. Invisible.
And more importantly: what do you say instead when every fibre of your being resists “niching down”?
By the end of this post, you’ll understand why vague positioning isn’t kind—it’s commercial suicide. And you’ll know how to get specific without feeling like you’re abandoning everyone else who needs you.
The Logic That’s Lying to You
I see this pattern a lot with accomplished women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. They come to writing coaching with decades of real expertise. They’ve run therapy practices, earned coaching certifications, have consulting experience, and nailed leadership roles. They know their work has value.
But when I ask them who they serve, it gets vague:
“Well, I work with people who are going through transitions... career changes, relationship shifts, life reinvention. Really, anyone who’s feeling stuck and wants to move forward. I help them find a path and take action toward their goals.”
It sounds reasonable because they’ve helped hundreds of people with lots of different problems.
But here’s the fear underneath: If I get too specific, I’ll exclude people who need me. I’ll miss opportunities. I’ll limit my income.
The logic feels airtight. But it’s backwards.
What Happens When You’re Vague
Let me paint you a picture of what vague positioning looks like from your ideal client’s perspective.
She’s scrolling LinkedIn during her lunch break. She’s a 52-year-old former marketing VP who took a buyout and is trying to launch a consulting practice. She’s terrified. She’s been “successful” her whole career but has no idea how to sell herself. The corporate playbook doesn’t work when you ARE the product.
She sees your post about “helping professional women navigate change with confidence.”
Does she stop scrolling?
No. Because she doesn’t see herself. She sees... everyone. Which means no one.
Two posts later, she sees this: “I help former executives build consulting practices that don’t feel like selling your soul.”
She stops cold. She sends a DM. She signs up for a lead magnet. She joins a program.
Not because that person is a better coach than you. But because that person spoke to a specific woman with a specific problem at a specific moment of need.
Your vague positioning didn’t protect you from missing an opportunity. It guaranteed you’d miss it.
The Counterintuitive Truth About Specificity
Now, you’re probably thinking: “But I CAN help that woman. And I can help the 30-year-old changing careers. And the retiree starting a nonprofit. Why should I exclude any of them?”
Here’s the thing about specificity: It’s not about who you CAN help. It’s about who you’re KNOWN for helping.
Let’s talk about why this matters.
When you position yourself broadly, you’re competing with everyone. Every life coach/therapist/consultant who “helps people with transitions.”
You’re a small wave in an ocean of sameness.
When you position yourself specifically, you create a category of one. You become the obvious choice for a particular person with a particular problem. You’re not better than everyone—you’re the only one speaking directly to her.
Take the former marketing VP. When she sees 'I help women navigate change,' she scrolls past. When she sees the other message, she stops cold. Same coach. Same expertise. Different positioning. One gets the client.
Specificity doesn’t limit your opportunities. It creates them.
Because what actually happens: When you’re known for solving one specific problem, three things occur:
The right people find you faster. They’re not wading through generic promises wondering if you’re right for them. They know right away.
Other people refer to you more. “You need to talk to Sarah” is much easier to say than “You need to talk to Sarah, she helps with... well, lots of things, I’m not exactly sure if this is her thing but maybe?”
You charge more and deliver better. When you solve the same problem repeatedly, you get really good at it. You develop frameworks. You spot patterns. You know what works. Your clients get better results, which justifies premium pricing.
How to Get Specific Without Abandoning Your Soul
Okay, let’s get practical. How do you actually create specific positioning that feels true?
Start with the Client, Not the Service
Stop describing what you DO. Start describing who you SERVE and what changes for them.
Instead of: “I’m a leadership coach helping professionals develop their potential.”
Try: “I help women CTOs stop second-guessing themselves in rooms full of men.”
See the difference? The first could apply to thousands of coaches. The second creates instant recognition for one specific woman.
Layer Your Specificity
You don’t need to pick just one dimension. Stack them.
WHO: Former corporate women (demographic)
DOING WHAT: Starting consulting practices (situation)
STRUGGLING WITH: How to sell without feeling gross (specific pain point)
WANTING: Six-figure income doing meaningful work (desired outcome)
Positioned: “I help former corporate women build six-figure consulting practices without sales tactics that make them shudder.”
That’s not excluding everyone else. It’s creating a beacon for someone specific.
Test It With the “She Thinks You Read Her Mind” Standard
You know your positioning is specific enough when your ideal client reads it and thinks: “How did she know?”
Not: “Oh, that’s interesting.”
Not: “I should probably work on that someday.”
But: “Wait a minute, is she reading my diary?”
That level of recognition only comes from specificity.
Use Their Actual Words
Generic positioning uses professional language. Specific positioning uses client language.
Last month, a client told me: 'I feel like a fraud every time I try to sell my services.' She didn’t say, 'I need to work on my mindset around sales.' The raw version is always better.
Use her words. Name the 2 am thoughts she’s too embarrassed to say out loud. The ones she confessed to you when you spoke on the clarity call. That’s positioning that lands.
Stack Your Credibility
Here’s the part no one tells you: Specificity gives you permission to use your actual experience.
When you’re positioned broadly, your decades of expertise become generic credentials. When you’re positioned specifically, they become proof you’re the right person for THIS.
Generic: “I have 20 years of experience in organizational development”
Specific: “I spent 20 years watching smart women get passed over for leadership because they couldn’t learn to brag. Now I teach them how.”
See how specificity transforms credentials from resume-speak into relevant authority?
What This Means for Your Business (And Your Sanity)
A client last year struggled to write for peers. Why? Because she was drawn to write for her younger self, the shy beginner. Once she zeroed in on her, the words flowed.
Here’s what changes when you get specific:
Your writing gets easier. When you don’t try to speak to everyone, you stop writing in careful, hedged language.
Your offers become obvious. When you know exactly who you serve and what they need, you stop agonizing over what to create.
Your energy stops leaking. You’re not chasing every opportunity, wondering if it’s “your person.” You know. You can say no without FOMO.
Your people find you. Not through complicated funnels, but through the simple recognition of “Oh my god, she gets it.”
But here’s the deeper shift: Specific positioning is an act of generosity, not exclusion.
When you try to help everyone, you help no one particularly well. Your writing stays surface-level. Your offers stay generic. Your clients get okay results.
When you commit to serving someone specific, you go deep. You develop real expertise in solving their actual problem. You create frameworks that work. You get transformational results. That specific person gets genuinely helped.
And the secret? Once you’re known for solving one problem well, the other opportunities don’t disappear. They come to you as referrals, as expanded offerings, as natural next steps. But they come because you’re known for something, not because you’re trying to be everything.
Your Positioning Isn’t a Limitation—It’s Your Launchpad
Your decades of expertise are ready. Your ability to help is proven. The only thing keeping you invisible is the belief that being specific is risky.
It’s not. Staying vague is.
So here’s your assignment: Write one sentence that makes your ideal client think you’re psychic. Use her actual 2 am words. Stack who she is, what she’s doing, what she’s struggling with, and what she wants instead.
Test it by sending it to three people who know your work. If they say ‘that’s interesting,’ you’re still too vague. If they say ‘wow, I know exactly who needs this,’ you’ve got it.
Now go get specific.
While reading this post, I felt the seismic shift that comes with clarity, like clouds opening up to make way for the sun. Thank you, Jeanette.
This is so helpful, Jeanette!