Many people aspire for a career with a purpose they are connected to and a meaningful impact. Many people also aspire to work for themselves and build something entirely of their own throughout their career. For individuals passionate about health and wellness, starting a health coaching business can be the fruition of these two major career goals.
What are 5 simple steps to starting a health coaching business? When starting a health coaching business, you will want to:
- Get certified as Health Coach
- Choose an Area of Specialization
- Decide on Your Products and Services
- Promote Your Business
- Build Credibility
Yes, many people can envision a health coaching career for themselves, but only a fraction pursue it. This is because navigating a new business can be intimidating and tricky for someone without experience. The list below will give you 5 simple steps that will make a start to your health coaching business clearer.
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5 Simple Steps Health Coaching Business to Starting a
Every business and business owner will find themselves faced with unique circumstances, goals, and challenges. While every business is different, some steps will set up a good foundation for any health coaching business.
Step 1: Get Certified as a Health Coach
Certification as a health coach validates your knowledge, skills, and training to clients, potential jobs as a health coach, and potential business partners. If you are looking to begin a professional health coach career, attaining a certification from good program that aligns with your goals should be the first step.
Like any other level of higher education or training, a health coach certification will open more doors. Here are just a few ways a health coach certification gives you an important edge that will help drive your career.
- Many employers require a certification to hire a health coach. Some even look for an undergraduate degree in a related field.
- Many clients claim a certification is very important to them while looking for a health coach.
- A certification ensures you have crucial information and knowledge on health and wellness, and possibly about a niche.
- A certification program teaches about interpersonal and business skills health coaches regularly use.
- Certified health coaches are more likely to earn more money and more likely to maintain a health coaching profession than those who are uncertified.
(Source)
Step 2: Choose an Area of Specialization
Health and fitness is a 30-billion-dollar industry and has been growing 3-4 percent annually for the last decade. Within the industry are many independent coaches, personal trainers, and businesses. What this means is that there is lots of opportunity and money to go around, but the market is saturated with many people offering the same services.
By identifying yourself within a specific niche, you can hone your knowledge, focus your effort on recruiting clients, and stand out to those looking for coaching in a specific area or with a specific approach.
Health is a very broad term, and so, there are many niches a health coach can fall into, including plant-based nutrition, stress-reduction, creating a healthy lifestyle for busy adults, and many more. Consider what you are passionate about and know most about when deciding on an area of specialization.
Do not see this decision as set in stone, as you can diversify your clients as you gain more interest or if you find the specialization you initially choose is not for you.
Step 3: Decide on Your Products and Services
Especially after deciding on what your area of specialization will be, you will want to decide what products and services you will have to offer to new clients. Many health coaches begin their business with one on one coaching. This is the most conventional and well-recognized service health coaches provide, but not the only one!
You can expand what your offer and how you are making money by exploring other services such as partner or group coaching, books or ebooks, a related blog, and more!
It is okay to start small and develop new services and products as your business grows, but by offering even a small variety of services, you will appeal to a wider audience. Further, products like a premade program allow potential clients to try your services, perhaps leading them to become returning customers or clients of individualized services.
Step 4: Promote Your Business
Once your business is all set up, you will need one last, crucial element- clients. Getting your first few clients can feel like an uphill battle if you are starting your own business. Since you are brand new, you are building it up from nothing, and it is up to you to get the word out about your business.
Promoting in a way that gets your name and business out there, without being pushy and uncomfortable is the key. Here are a few ideas to promote your business:
Post Some Free Content Online
It may seem a bit frustrating to be giving content away for free when you want to start making money, but remember, the purpose of this content is to draw viewers to your business for more. Consider doing blog posts or videos talking about common health issues and how you can help.
If you have a pre-made program or book, perhaps put out just the first chapter or section.
This content will allow people to see what you and your business are all about and how it can help them. It also lets them see that your business is knowledgeable and legitimate before they invest their money and trust.
Advertise at Related Locations
Speak to local businesses like gyms, yoga studios, health food stores, and supplement stores. See if you can leave behind flyers or business cards. Inquire about if their location does masterclasses or workshops. Conducting one is a great way to recruit clients.
Some businesses may want you to promote them in return, consider how this is beneficial, and if it aligns with your business.
Team Up with Another Health Coach
If you know another health coach whose quality of work your respect and vision you share, collaborating can be a great way to promote you both! A one-time workshop, video, or program can be a minimal commitment but get your names out to each other’s audiences!
Step 5: Build Credibility
As a health coach, potential clients will assess your credibility using qualifications (like a certification), past client results, and testimonials.
When clients are on the market for a health coach, most of them want to see your results before committing to work with you. If you are new, this is more difficult. There are a few ways to grow your bank of testimonials and ‘before-and-after’s when you are just getting started.
Use Your Own ‘Before-and-After’ photos.
Show and tell people about your health and fitness journey, ensuring that if you could do it, you have the information to help them make the same changes.
Offer Your First Few Clients A Discounted Price in Exchange for A Promised Testimonial.
This can help you pick up those first few clients and strengthen your credibility.
Offer Your First Few Clients A Discounted Price to Document Their Journey with ‘Before-and-After’ Photos.
A major health change and the journey can be personal, so do not push and be respectful of people’s boundaries. However, many people are open and would like to document their journey anyway, making this deal a win-win!
Do Health Coaches Need a License?
This, unfortunately, is less of a yes or no question than it may appear. Whether or not a health coach needs a license or licenses will depend on what services you are providing and where you are operating your business from. Health coaches will need to research the requirements for businesses to obtain licensing on their state and local level.
Health coaching is a quickly expanding and developing field, which is great for those seeking opportunity and to grow a business, but means the laws surrounding it are developing too. It is very important to make sure your business is set up legitimately to ensure its longevity, avoid any fines or legal trouble, and appear trustworthy and professional to clients.
Additionally, businesses may consider outsourcing their legal work or establishing a strong in-house legal team. Careful consideration should be given to the hiring process, particularly for health coaching businesses, as it is essential to assemble the best possible team. Business owners can either manage the hiring process themselves or seek the assistance of legal recruiters.
So, how do up and coming life coaches cover all their bases? It will require taking the time to carefully research. Check your state, city, and county websites for their business operating regulations. If you find yourself needing legal guidance, you can consult with a lawyer who would be well-versed in the legal responsibilities of small business owners.
How Do I Succeed as a Health Coach?
Success is objective for anyone, but especially for a versatile title like health coaching. To determine how you will succeed, you will have to determine what your goals as a health coach are. Here are a few questions to consider:
- Do you want to health coach part-time in conjunction with another job?
- Do you want health coaching to replace your current job as your main source of income?
- Do you want to use health coaching to develop a platform and influence?
- Do you want to make a positive difference for individuals for your career simply?
Regardless of what your idea of success is, there are some key components to job coaches who have established their business, created positive change with their work, and reached their idea of success.
They are Consistent
Consistency is truly key when it comes to job coaching. In the beginning, when you may not be seeing as much engagement or demand as you would like, it can be easy to slack and start to give up. Without anyone but yourself to hold you accountable and enforce the deadline, some people may start to get too lenient. In both gaining and keeping clients, consistent is crucial.
Clients are investing both their money and their trust in you to help them reach goals that are highly personal and important to them. They will want to see that you are competent and just as invested as they are. So, consistently delivering services and quality is a must.
They are Always Learning
After you finish your in-person or online health coach certification it can feel like you know it all, and the book work is done, but this should not be the case. New science and research on health and wellness are always in the works, and as a health coach, you should be aware of the most recent, accurate information to give and apply to your clients. If you are passionate about health and wellness, diving into new research and ideas should be an exciting part of your work.
This is where having a specialized niche can be very handy. If you focus your business on one area, it is much easier to keep up with everything you need to know. If you can promise clients the latest, science-based information and approaches, this will give you an edge on the competition, and you do not want to lose credibility and trust by delivering outdated advice.
They are Flexible
Many health coaches who have made coaching their full-time job and main source of income will say that their business is not what they imagined starting. Successful health coaches learn from experience and are flexible enough to go with the flow of what works. This may mean following the demand of a specific market, analyzing which service of yours is most successful and expanding on it, or listening to customer reviews and making changes accordingly.
Keep your core values and motivators at heart, as to not lose your passion and integrity, but while on the path to success, do not have such strict tunnel vision that you miss out on new opportunities and dismiss innovative ideas.
Take Those First Steps
With a new business, there is a lot to tackle and considerable risk, so the prospect of starting can be rather daunting. Many health coaches will say the beginning was the hardest as they learned the ins-and-outs of running a business and had to carve out their own space in the market.
“The hardest part is getting started.” (Source: goodreads.com )
While it can be difficult at first, keep your goals and the pay-off in mind. Do not let the major factor putting off your career as a health coach; be you procrastinating the start! Whether it’s your Health Coach Certification or you’re interested in pursuing your Nutrition Certification Online, just start! You’ll thank yourself.
These steps are designed to help you start as strong as possible. When combined with a passion for health coaching, hard work, and consistency, you will be off to a great start!
