Choosing or refining your niche isn’t just a task for new business owners. Even 5+ years in, your niche may be the reason your visibility, revenue, or lead quality has plateaued.

Especially with interest-based content becoming the norm on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, your niche must be clear, compelling, and immediately relevant — even to people who’ve never heard of you.

In this episode, I walk you through exactly how to define a niche that is both aligned and profitable — and how to avoid the most common mistakes that keep established entrepreneurs stuck in outdated or overly narrow positioning.

🎯 What you’ll learn:

• What actually makes a niche profitable
• How to define the problem in the buyer’s language (not your own)
• The most BASIC way to define a niche vs the most profitable
• Why you may need to redefine your niche even after years in business
• What makes a niche too narrow and how to adjust without starting over
• Why your niche must reflect current market behavior, not just what worked in 2020

Questions this episode will answer:

• What makes a niche profitable?
• Why does it take so long for people to buy from me?
• Why do people only buy from me when they get referred?
• How do I know if my niche is still working?
• Am I too niche or not niche enough?
• Why am I getting leads who aren’t the right fit?

🎧 Tune in if you’re ready to refine your message, attract aligned clients, and grow your visibility without burning it all down.

How to work with me:

• Schedule a discovery call with me so we can talk about exactly how I can help you
• DM me on Instagram to grab a spot for Telegram coaching ($700) or to schedule a 90-min Content Intensive
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00:00 - Intro: Why experienced business owners need to revisit their niche

02:15 - Why visibility is down even when you're booked out

05:30 - The difference between being followed and being searchable

08:45 - What makes a niche profitable (and how to know)

11:10 - The 3 levels of defining a problem

14:25 - Why your niche must reflect actual buyer behavior

18:50 - How to define the “right fit” client without over-niching

22:40 - The danger of passion-based niching

26:05 - Positioning your method as your differentiator

30:00 - Signs your niche is too narrow (and what to do about it)

35:45 - Final thoughts and client examples

As someone who spent my whole adult life with my emotions being invalidated, I used to be so triggered by the idea that my emotions shouldn't impact my marketing.

Until I realized that while emotions will always be present in business, we can’t let them be in the driver’s seat—or we won’t make money consistently. And as a single parent breadwinner, I can't afford to "wait to feel better." So this episode covers what I have done instead.

There’s a difference between honoring your emotions and letting them be the CEO, marketing director or sales manager.

This episode isn’t about bypassing your emotions. It’s about creating safety in your business so you’re not dependent on motivation, confidence, or creativity in order to show up.

I’m walking you through 4 ways that have helped me and my clients reduce emotional dependency in business—so they can keep marketing and making sales even when life is life-ing.

These are typically the four reasons I see clients stop showing up, stall their sales, or go quiet—because their emotions become drivers vs passengers (your emotions will always be present in the vehicle).

Here’s what I walk through:

• The question I ask myself (and clients) to interrupt emotional spirals
• Why your content strategy must run on facts—not feelings
• How isolation quietly magnifies shame and self-doubt
• What it looks like to add nervous system care to your CEO job description

This isn’t a checklist. You don’t need to do all four.

But even one of these may be the thing that helps you feel safer showing up consistently—and that’s what’s required to build a sustainable business.

Because if your business only makes money when you feel good, you’ll never feel safe in your business.

👉 This is exactly what I help my clients with inside private coaching—creating a business that doesn’t collapse based on your humanity.

Schedule a call to discuss private coaching

Join the waitlist for Reclamation Mastermind

I recorded this as an Instagram Live and a podcast episode at the same time, so you’ll hear me talk to both audiences throughout — but that’s also what gives this episode its live energy.

In this episode, I’m walking you through three reasons your business growth feels harder in 2025 than it used to, what’s actually missing, what to do instead leading up to 2026, and how we are doing this inside Reclamation in Q4.

These are the things that worked in the beginning but eventually stop working — and if you’re feeling like your results aren’t matching your effort anymore, this will help you understand why.

Here’s what I cover:

1️⃣ Selling through likability and referrals but not converting new people (cold leads)

This is where most of us start. You get clients because people like you and trust you as a person — not necessarily because your offer was super clear, but because they knew you or someone referred them.

That can work for a few years, but eventually you run out of warm leads.

What’s missing:

You need to be able to convert cold leads — people who find you on a Tuesday and pay you on a Wednesday. That comes from thought leadership (not just problem-solution content) and messaging that’s anchored in your clients’ words, not yours.

2️⃣ Solving your business problems through content only vs. lead gen and marketing

In the early days, your audience might have grown just by you posting content or through word of mouth. But at a certain point, that stops working — not because you’re doing something wrong, but because the algorithm and your audience have changed.

What’s missing:

Lead generation, not just audience growth. They’re not the same thing.

You need visibility beyond your own platform — third-party credibility that centers your expertise and thought leadership so new, qualified people are finding you consistently.

#1 (Cold leads) and #2 (lead gen) go together.

3️⃣ Delivering results that are bigger than what you’re charging for

This one can be sneaky because it still feels like success — you’re fully booked, but something feels off. Your expertise has outgrown the people you’re serving.

What’s missing:

You need to start talking to your best clients, not all of them.

That might mean solving a higher-level version of the problem or introducing a higher-level way of thinking about it.

Recap: Three things that make your growth feel harder than it used to:

• Selling through likability and referrals but not converting new people (cold leads)
• Solving your problems with content vs. lead gen and marketing
• Delivering results that are bigger than what you’re charging for

And what’s missing:

• The ability to convert colder leads through thought leadership and messaging anchored in your clients’ words
• Lead generation and third-party credibility beyond your own platform
• Talking to your best clients and positioning your work at your current level of mastery

Reclamation Mastermind will help you solve all three of these before the end of November — through a series of Demand Gen done-with-you workshops we’re running inside the program this quarter.

Doors close TONIGHT, October 9th at midnight, and we start the week of October 20th.

Apply and schedule your call now at the link below:

www.marieladelamora.com/reclamation

What if you weren’t afraid of being fully booked—but of what it might cost you?

That was a quiet concern Betty carried—and one so many First Gen entrepreneurs know too well.

As a daughter of Chinese-Burmese immigrants and an Authenticity coach, being booked out initially didn’t feel like freedom. It felt like pressure, perfectionism, and losing space to be.

And yet - Betty became a booked-out coach with a 2-month waitlist while in Reclamation Mastermind. 

This is Betty’s second round inside Reclamation and second time on the podcast (my first ever two-time guest!)

In the first round of the mastermind, Betty hit their biggest revenue quarter and landed paid speaking engagements and workshops for big brands like Olly Vitamins.

And this round? She’s fully booked, beyond what was expected as a ‘booked out’ number.

We talk about what it really means to hit your version of capacity, especially when your business is rooted in identity, depth, and alignment—not just strategy.

In this episode:

• How Betty ended up fully booked without chasing it
• Feeling safe to be booked out after a lifetime of over-functioning and overworking
• Why quiet seasons were the key to sustainable growth
• How Reclamation helped structure her marketing to further support and stabilize what was already working (her referrals), while growing her thought leadership, leads and visibility through speaking, LinkedIn and YouTube.

If you’ve been wondering how to grow without changing what’s working—this one’s for you.

If you saw yourself in Betty’s story - know that it can be yours too.

You belong in Reclamation. Doors are open so apply now - we won't reopen again until March 2026.

• Apply for Reclamation: www.marieladelamora.com/reclamation
• Join Betty's newsletter
• Betty's Youtube
• Betty's website

If you’ve ever had a big sales season but no idea how to repeat it…

If you’ve been relying on referrals that feel unpredictable…

If you’ve second-guessed your pricing, or worried demand will dry up the moment you slow down…

If you’ve felt the tension between wanting to serve high-level clients and attracting entry-level ones…

…this workshop replay is for you.

The truth is, your next level of demand never come from doing more. It comes from closing three key gaps in your business FIRST:

• The Messaging Gap — what you’re saying
• The Marketing Gap — where you’re saying it
• The Identity Gap — who you’re being

And the one thing that closes all three? Thought Leadership Marketing.

Thought leadership marketing sharpens your message so it lands with power.

It expands your reach beyond your own platform, so you’re visible in rooms you didn’t have to build yourself.

And it helps you step into your identity as a thought leader — knowing you don’t need to water down your story, your voice, or your values to create consistent demand.

Inside this workshop replay, you’ll learn:

• Why repeating past success has felt so hard (and what actually changes that)
• How the three gaps keep you from consistent demand — and how thought leadership marketing closes each one
• Tangible steps to book out your offers without more hustle
• What it looks like to grow a business rooted in who you are, not in performance or pressure

✨ You’re already sitting on a gold mine of thought leadership. This workshop shows you how to turn it into peaceful, profitable, and sustainable six- and multi-six-figure growth.

Reclamation mastermind is now open for enrollment!

Inside, you’ll book out your offers through your thought leadership, attract invitation-only speaking opportunities where dream clients will find you on every platform, and grow inside a powerhouse community of first-gen and women of color entrepreneurs.

You’ll do all of this with the support of a 20-year marketer, business, and leadership coach who deeply understands what it takes to build demand and visibility as a woman of color entrepreneur.

💡 Apply by Friday, October 3rd to receive the Book Out Without Burnout strategy call bonus. Can't wait to see you inside!

➡ Learn more about Reclamation Mastermind: www.marieladelamora.com/reclamation

➡ Follow Mariela on Instagram: @marieladelamora

➡ Connect on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/marieladelamora

➡ Visit the website: www.marieladelamora.com

Sometimes the key to booking out is solving a more "expensive" or complex version of the problem you're already solving now, which attracts higher level clients.

When Eunice first joined Reclamation in summer 2024, her son was just a month old. She wanted to build a business that supported her family, allowed her to be present as a mom, and reflected the full range of her expertise and lived experience.

Inside Reclamation, she repositioned her offer to serve daughters of immigrant entrepreneurs—bringing together her somatic expertise, her decade in tech and startups selling future visions to C-suite executives, and her identity as a daughter of immigrants.

The result? Eunice booked 10 high-ticket clients in just 3 months, raised her prices by 60%, and has remained fully booked for months ever since. She’s now on an active thought leadership campaign, collaborating on aligned platforms that need her expertise.

In this episode, you’ll hear the story of how she found product market fit, booked out quickly, and continues to grow sustainably.

✨ Reclamation doors open Wednesday October 1st at 3pm PST!

Apply here to join the mastermind. If you apply in the first 48 hours, you’ll also receive a Book Out Without Burnout Strategy Call with me.

What if booking out isn't your goal but you still want to increase your revenue?

Or what if you can't technically "book out" because you're an agency owner or service provider who already has team members or subcontractors that allow you to take on as many clients as you want?

For some of my clients, booking out looks like raising their prices so they can double their profit without adding more calls or client delivery to their calendar. For others, it's streamlining their team and capacity to serve more clients.

The truth is, booking out can look different for everyone — and it doesn’t have to mean exhaustion, over-delivery, or delivering offers that no longer fit your future vision.

In this episode, I’m sharing four ways Thought Leadership Marketing will help you increase your income — without tripling your workload.

These are the exact pathways my Reclamation clients have used to move from six to multi-six figures while staying aligned with the business they actually want to run.

✨ In this episode, I’ll share:

• Why raising your prices isn’t just about believing you’re worth more
• How third-party credibility builds trust so clients say yes faster
• Why org contracts are more accessible than you think
• The connection between thought leadership, retention, and referrals
• How paid speaking and workshops open doors to higher-ticket opportunities

And because women of color are naturally thought leaders because we created what we once needed, Thought Leadership Marketing is available to you now. And it can help you make 6 to multiple six figures and beyond while remaining true to your values and making a deep impact.

And that’s exactly what I’ll be teaching at my upcoming workshop on Oct 1st: Make 6 to Multi-6 Figures While Posting Less Through Thought Leadership Marketing

• Register here for the workshop
• Learn more about Reclamation Mastermind

Some of the sneakiest forms of self-sabotage don’t feel like sabotage at all.

They feel like tightening up your calendar. Making a “smart pivot.” Pressing pause after a launch. Saying no to support because “it’s just faster to do it myself.”

But if you’re a high-achieving First Gen entrepreneur, especially a woman of color, chances are what you’re calling strategy... is actually self-protection.

In this episode, I break down 5 business behaviors that are actually Survival Mode in disguise, and how they keep high-achievers stuck even when things are working:

These are the patterns I see come up most in my clients that are behind some of their biggest breakthroughs.

1. Stopping what was working because you’re no longer triggered into action
2. Solving for over-giving at the expense of your own profit vs setting normal business boundaries
3. Fixating on what’s missing vs what's working
4. Anticipating and avoiding rejection in normal business activities
5. Hyper-independence that blocks you from having the team support you need or from accepting help from your partner because you feel ashamed for accepting help.

I also share reflection questions and shifts you can make now—so you can lead from trust instead of protection.

🎟 My free workshop, Scaling Beyond Survival Mode for WOC Entrepreneurs, is happening October 1st. I’ll be coaching through these exact patterns and showing you how to grow without abandoning your nervous system.

Register via the links below.

📲 Want to be in the room with me as I coach on this in real-time? I’m also sharing more on this topic all month inside my new Instagram broadcast channel (@mariela.delamora)

Links mentioned in episode:

• Register for Scaling Beyond Survival Mode for WOC Entrepreneurs on Oct 1st: www.marieladelamora.com/webinar
• Continue the conversation in my new Instagram Broadcast Channel - Cycle Breakers & Money Makers: https://www.instagram.com/channel/AbYEcHdrsaN1m1V7/?igsh=bng3c3Izbms0M2J6
• Turn who you are into your biggest competitive advantage through my NEW private podcast - Identity ROI: www.marieladelamora.com/identity-roi

Burnout doesn't always come from overworking. Sometimes it's a delayed reaction to finally feeling safe enough to stop hyper-functioning and let a different part of you lead.

This typically happens after you've shown yourself you know how to make money.

In this episode, I’m sharing why burnout shows up differently for First Gen entrepreneurs—especially daughters of immigrants—and why so much of the advice out there is unhelpful or even harmful.

You’ll hear what I’ve learned from coaching First Gen and WOC clients through this specific type of post-success burnout, what happened when my own capacity disappeared after hitting my biggest launch ever, and how I kept my business running while letting a new version of me take the lead.

This isn’t a conversation about hustle. It’s about identity, capacity, and evolution.

Here’s what I’m breaking down:

• Why First Gen burnout has less to do with how much you've been working recently and MORE to do with how safe you feel to stop suppressing and over-functioning
• The difference between situational burnout and generational burnout
• Why your high-functioning self can’t carry you forever (and isn’t meant to)
• How burnout can hit when your nervous system finally stops overriding everything
• What it means to run a business with D+ capacity—and how it can actually serve you
• How to work with the season you're in without burning it all down

🎙 Plus: I’m sharing a peek into my upcoming workshop, Scaling Beyond Survival Mode as a WOC Entrepreneur, happening Oct 1st, and how I restructured my own business to stay profitable even while recovering from burnout.

Quick links:

Register for the workshop

Join the waitlist for Reclamation Mastermind - Doors open Oct 1

I didn’t grow a multi-six figure business because I changed my offers.

I did it because I changed how I held my business—and myself.

In this episode, I’m walking you through the real, unglamorous shifts that helped me go from a 150K year to consistent 20K months in private coaching—before ever switching to a group model.

These are the exact mindset, nervous system, and identity shifts I’ve seen take people out of business if they don’t happen.

And I get it. In 2021, I expected the success of my first six-figure year to continue. What I didn’t realize was that without healing, support, and emotional maturity, I couldn’t hold it. I got isolated, overstimulated, and my undiagnosed ADHD left me stuck in shame.

But everything changed in the last 2 months of that year—and I want to show you what made that shift possible.

You’ll hear me talk about:

• What allowed me to go from 70K in 10 months… to 80K in 2 months
• Why therapy and emotional processing—not just mindset work—kept me in business
• How shame and hyper-independence can sound logical but sabotage your growth
• Why getting a job isn’t a failure, and how I reframed safety
• The moment I stopped asking my business to rescue me from my feelings
• Six shifts that changed my leadership, capacity, and revenue forever

If you’re stuck, rushing, or on the edge of burnout… this episode is your lifeline.

AND, I will be covering what business decisions you need to make off the back of this in my upcoming workshop "Scale Beyond Survival Mode as a WOC: How to book out your next chapter without burning down your business" on Oct 1st.

→ Register here: www.marieladelamora.com/webinar

Work with me:

→ Join the waitlist for Reclamation Mastermind

→ Apply for private coaching. Options are on the application.

→ DM me on Instagram @mariela.delamora to ask about $700 month-to-month Telegram-only coaching (no calls)