You have what it takes to become a health and wellness coach. If you deeply understand the human body, enjoy watching people achieve their health goals, and perhaps have earned a certification in your field, you’re ready to set up shop.
But having the skills and education necessary to excel at health coaching doesn’t mean you’re a business strategy master. And launching a health coaching company isn’t as easy as renting office space.
Creating a business plan should be the first step of your roadmap. This plan will guide the rest of your career, laying a foundation you can tweak when necessary.
In this article, we’ll explain how to make a health coach business plan that’ll get your company up and running as efficiently as possible.
A guide to making a business plan for coaching
If you’re a first-time entrepreneur, we’ve got good news. Business plans are fairly standardized documents you can easily customize to suit your coaching specialty. They typically include the following sections:
- An executive summary: Provide a high-level view of your mission, services, and goals, including what makes your business unique and the purpose it intends to fulfill.
- Market analysis: Successful business owners understand their competition. Research other health coaching companies in your area, their services, and how much they cost. Figure out their target market — this is likely yours as well. This information will help you create a successful health coach marketing strategy.
- Organization and management: As your business scales, you’ll need help. Define any resources and employees you expect to take on, their roles, and expected salaries.
- Services offered: Describe the health coaching services you’ll provide and any programs or unique plans you’ll run, outlining how you plan to deliver your services (in-person or online). Your business description may include a specific wellness focus or information on any specialized health coaching programs you offer, like a long-term stress management course. Use this space to describe the projected costs of each service.
After writing your business plan, you can use this information to plan the first steps you’ll take after launching:
- Marketing and sales: One of the first steps after completing your business plan is looking for prospective clients. You’ll do this by implementing your marketing strategy. A twenty-first-century marketing plan needs to go beyond flashy business cards. You’ll need a website and social media accounts. You may also want to use paid online or print advertisements. Outline your target audience, the marketing tactics you plan on employing and when, and how much you expect everything will cost.
- Financial projections: This section is non-negotiable — it must be included in your plan. Outline your operational costs, overhead, and any debt you accrued through an initial investment to get your business running. Set short and long-term goals and milestones you hope to reach in specific time periods. If possible, include balance sheets and cash flow statements.
- Pitch to investors: A business plan isn’t just a guide for the person creating it — it’s a resource for investors. Once you’ve outlined what services you’ll offer and how profitable they’ll be, you can find someone to invest in your business to help you hit the ground running.
If you’re a startup that’s creating your first business strategy, try a business plan template that outlines each section and helps you organize your information.
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The benefits of having a business plan
A business plan helps us know our next move, just as action plans help our clients. It gives us an understanding of where we’re at, what we want, and how to get there.
Here are some specific reasons creating a business plan is worthwhile:
- It provides the information necessary to gain financial backing. If you’re looking for investors or plan on getting a bank loan, the information in this document will help them assess your financial status and how serious your business will be.
- It helps you understand your audience. You’ve studied health and coaching, but not necessarily your local market. Making a business plan will help you set reasonable prices in line with what potential clients are willing to pay for this service based on where you live and how experienced you are.
- It’s an opportunity to learn. The more you understand about health and wellness coaching and those that need it, the more prepared you’ll feel and the more reputable your business will become. Creating a business plan offers you the opportunity to learn more about this industry and the needs of your ideal client.
I made my business plan. What’s next?
Now for the exciting part: launching your business. Once it’s legally registered, you can kick off your marketing tactics. Consider offering a discount to your first clients to get people through the door. Once you’ve had a few successful experiences with clients, ask them to leave a good review online or write a testimonial for your website.
We recommend starting with just a few clients while you get the hang of things. You can scale as you become more comfortable managing multiple plans at once. Remember to update your business plan as you gain hands-on experience and learn more about this profession.
A final tip
A business plan provides a solid foundation for starting your company, but you must also create a base for receiving new clients.
A customer relationship management (CRM) tool will help you stay organized. Practice allows you to safely store documents such as client intake forms and coaching proposal templates, communicate directly with clients, and schedule appointments. Plus, you’ll join a welcoming community of coaches. Try it today.
