Want to Build a Career You Love While Helping Others Thrive? Here's How to Start a Health Coaching Business

Do you dream of making a living doing what you love while transforming the lives of others? If you're passionate about healthy living and want to guide others toward achieving their wellness goals, becoming a health coach might just be your calling.

This ultimate guide will walk you through everything you need to know to start your own health coaching business—from certifications and legal must-knows to setting up your services and finding clients. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll be fired up and ready to take the first step toward becoming a successful wellness entrepreneur!

Have questions as you read through this guide? Don’t keep them to yourself! Drop them in the comments—we’re here to help.

First Things First: What Exactly Is a Health Coach?

"A health coach is a wellness professional who guides clients to make lifestyle changes so they can achieve better health. Your job as a health coach is to guide your clients on the path to healthy living by listening to their concerns and helping them with problem solving. "

Picture this: You’re the trusted guide helping clients make lasting lifestyle changes for better health. That’s the essence of being a health coach. You listen deeply to their concerns, offer thoughtful advice, and empower them to solve their health challenges.

But here’s the deal. It’s crucial to understand what you can and can’t do as a coach. This not only ensures your clients get the help they need but also keeps you in the clear legally.

What You Can Do:

• Share wellness practices for healthier living.
• Recommend nutritious recipes or meal plans.
• Suggest general fitness tips.

What You Can’t Do:

• Diagnose or treat chronic health issues.
• Prescribe medications or therapies.
• Provide counseling for mental health conditions.

When you encounter situations outside your scope, refer clients to appropriate professionals. A trusted network of dietitians, therapists, or doctors can be a game-changer for your business.

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What Does It Take to Be a Health Coach?

"Being a coach requires patience, excellent listening skills, compassion, and a willingness to grow (since that’s what you’ll be teaching your clients to do!)."

Patience, compassion, and exceptional listening skills are the cornerstones of a successful health coach. But it doesn’t stop there. You’ll also need a strong foundation in nutrition, fitness, and behavior change to provide real value to your clients.

Thinking of starting your own business? Be prepared to wear multiple hats—not just as a coach, but also as an entrepreneur, marketer, and strategist. Don’t worry, it can feel overwhelming at first, but once you’ve got systems and tools in place, it gets easier.

By the way, having the right tools from day one (we’ll touch on this in a bit) will significantly reduce stress down the line.

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How to Become a Health Coach

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Step 1: Get Certified

Certification isn’t just important; it’s essential. It gives you the skills to guide clients professionally and credibility to market yourself. Start by researching programs to find one that aligns with your goals.

Got a growth mindset and a hunger for helping people? Great, you’re already halfway there! Certification will build on that foundation.

Step 2: Define Your Target Market

Who do you want to help? Getting clear on your target market will set you apart and make your offerings more appealing. Whether it’s busy parents, burned-out professionals, or retirees looking to renew their energy, identifying your ideal client will focus your efforts.

Not sure where to start? Begin broad and narrow your focus as you go. Many coaches start as generalists but eventually carve out niches based on their passion and expertise.

Step 3: Decide on Your Services and Products

As a health coach, one of your services should be a discovery call to get to know prospective clients. Most health coaches provide a free discovery session via phone or video chat so they can find out what clients are looking for, as well as attempt to make a sale. How you go about these calls is entirely up to you.

There are advantages to making a sale on the first call, and there are advantages to leaving the ball in your potential client’s court. You can always have a soft sales call and direct potential clients to your blog or website for more valuable information, giving them a little more time to get to know and trust you—after all, people are more likely to purchase from people they have come to trust.

You can also use a discovery call to learn more about your clients' needs, and then direct them to the most appropriate service or product you sell, whether that's one-on-one coaching, pre-made programs, or information products. Sure, individual coaching sessions are your bread and butter, but if that’s all you offer, you’ll run out of time to scale your business. Adding products like eBooks, courses, or programs can create passive income and free up your schedule.

Here’s an example to inspire you:

• Tier 1 Program: A downloadable checklist with access to a private Facebook group.
• Tier 2 Program: Everything in Tier 1, plus healthy recipes and a detailed meal plan.
• Tier 3 Program: Tier 1 + Tier 2 + the ability to email you two personal questions.

This gives potential clients the flexibility to choose what suits them best, increasing your chances of a sale while providing maximum value.

"If you’re a coach, the obvious choice for a service is one-on-one coaching sessions. But if you do only these, your potential for earning will stagnate very quickly. There are several ways to earn money as a health coach, from one-on-one sessions, to eBooks, to pre-made programs, to public speaking and more."

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Building Your Online Presence

"An online presence as well as a community presence are important for getting your health coaching business off the ground. Being present both in person and in the online space will help you to become known as an expert in health coaching."

Want people to find you? You’ll need to be visible both in your community and online.

At a minimum, create a professional website. Think of it as your digital storefront, answering potential clients’ questions and making it easy for them to buy. Need help getting started? You’ll find platforms like WordPress, SquareSpace, and Wix incredibly beginner-friendly.

Once your site is live, take it up a notch by setting up a blog. Share content that resonates with your target audience. Are you catering to busy parents? Write about meal prep hacks or self-care for time-strapped moms. Pitching wellness plans to corporations? Focus on boosting productivity through healthy habits. Tailor your content to connect deeply with the people you want to serve.

And don’t forget about social media! Pick one platform where your audience hangs out, and start building relationships. Whether it’s Instagram, LinkedIn, or Pinterest, consistency and authenticity will help you grow your presence.

Quick Tip:

Want to build authority? Sign up for HARO and get quoted in publications read by your target audience. You can sign up as asource to pitch answers to reporters and writers. You could then be quotedin popular publications as an expert in the health coaching field.You can sign up as a source to pitch answers to reporters and writers. You could then be quoted in popular publications as an expert in the health coaching field.

Technology has made it possible for coaches to work with clients around the globe—but those clients aren’t going to fall on your lap. You’ll need to do some marketing to get people to get to know you. Setting up a website is one of the key ingredients to your online marketing plan.

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Get Your Business Systems in Shape

Running a business means lots of behind-the-scenes work. From appointment scheduling to bookkeeping, staying organized will save you time and stress. Lucky for you, there are tools designed to make life easier.

Check out these indispensable options:

• Meal Garden: Great for creating meal plans and even selling programs.
• Healthie: A hub for client records, scheduling, and more.

Both tools have free trials, so give them a whirl to see what works best for you!

Finding and Retaining Clients

Landing your first clients is both the most exciting and challenging part of starting your business. Begin with your existing network. Tell friends, family, and colleagues about your new venture. Attend local events, give talks, join networking groups, and reach out to health professionals for referrals.

Online marketing will also play a crucial role. Ensure your website has search-engine-friendly content, set up a lead-generation system (like a free downloadable guide), and nurture trust through your email list.

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Charge What You’re Worth

One of the trickiest decisions? Deciding how much to charge. Rates depend on factors like your experience, location, and the value you bring to clients. Here’s the golden rule: don’t undersell yourself, but stay competitive. Tailoring your rates for individual clients (e.g., a stay-at-home parent versus a corporate exec) can also help you close more deals. Here are a few considerations:

• Compare rates for people with similar experience
• Cost of living in your location
• Cost of business
• Time spent with your clients and planning for them (but time spent is not nearly as important as the results you bring).

Create Specialty Services to Stand Out

Want to take your business to the next level? Offer niche services. Whether it’s nutrition guidance, mindfulness coaching, or goal-setting workshops, going deep on a specific topic will help you become the go-to expert in your area of focus. Just be mindful of regulations in your region when offering specialized advice.

Most clients looking for a healthy lifestyle change are looking for advice on nutrition, so offering a nutrition service makes sense, but remember your scope of practice. As a health coach, there are considerations about legality which vary by province or state. In most of Canada and the U.S., health coaches can provide the nutrition advice clients are looking for while keeping themselves from legal trouble.

You can do this by providing generic tips, recipes, and meal plans for the general population, ensuring never to say that your plans will cure health conditions, and by avoiding the words prescribe, treat, diagnose, or cure. You can use software like Meal Garden to offer exactly what your clients are looking for and still staying within your scope of practice.

Other specialty services you can provide include goal setting, vision forming, time management, mindfulness training, exercise advice, and more. Remember your target market, and develop specialty services that will solve their biggest struggles when it comes to healthy living.

Becoming a health coach is an exciting and rewarding journey. You’ll not only create a career you love but also make a tangible difference in people’s lives.

What’s holding you back from starting your health coaching business? Drop a comment below and share your thoughts—we’d love to help you take the leap!

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