Through fostering a positive mindset around health and well-being, health coaches empower and motivate their clients to become experts on their health. Health coaches have the tools and knowledge to share with their clients about holistic health and how to enact sustainable behavioral changes.

Coaches empower clients to learn what makes them feel good, not just what they’ve been told is “healthy” or what they “should” or “shouldn’t” do as it relates to their health. They guide clients toward sustainable diet and lifestyle changes by equipping them with the mental and emotional tools to achieve great health, such as how to find the foods and lifestyle practices that work for them.

Health coaches can work in many different roles including at doctor’s offices, hospitals, spas, schools, gyms, and wellness centers. Many coaches begin their journey into small business ownership by creating their own health coaching business. But creating and building a successful business doesn’t happen overnight or without hard work – and you can set yourself up for success by creating a business plan.

What is a Business Plan?

Business plans are just what they sound like: a way to guide you through the stages of starting and managing a business. Business plans act as a map for how to structure, run, and grow your business, and they can be (and should be) tailored to you and your business’s unique needs. Your business plan can also aid in securing funding or new business partnerships. Investors will look for proof they’ll see a return on their investment, and your business plan is the tool you’ll use to convince them.

What to Include in Your Business Plan

As you create your business plan, you may come across competitive advantages you didn’t know you had or discover obstacles you need to overcome before you start taking on clients. Writing a business plan is a chance to outline how you want to run your business, and it can keep you accountable down the road.

Executive summary

This brief introduction to your business plan gives an overview of your company, skills, service offerings, and how you plan to run your health coaching business. Think of this section as the highlights – it needs to be able to draw people in.

Industry overview

People not currently involved in the health and wellness fields may not know what Health Coaches are or what they do. This section should cover the health coaching industry and where you fit into it. Use facts and statistics to back up your claims – like the fact that holistic Health Coaches contribute to improving health outcomes.

Mission statement

The mission statement of your business should be a direct, short statement that highlights your overall strategy and goals for your business. Your mission statement is the “why” behind your business; it shows potential investors the person behind the company.

Business structure and operations plan

This section will show who is involved with your health coaching business and how their roles contribute to its success. If you’re the sole proprietor and are running a one-person show, you can use this section to explain your credentials and discuss your earlier experience as a Health Coach. Make a clear and compelling statement about the unique value your company brings to the market.

The operations plan should explain the organization of how your business will run. How will you gain clients? Who will handle the day-to-day operations (if not you)? How will you be generating revenue? In this section, consider how your clients will be communicating with you, how you’ll interact with them, and how you’ll turn those interactions into long-term revenue streams. Discuss how you’ll measure what success looks like for your business.

Description of services

Describe what you’re selling or the services you offer. Explain how this will help clients and how you’ll keep them on long-term. The services section can also describe what clients can achieve with the help of your coaching business. Will you offer one-on-one meetings with clients? Meal plan and create workout regimens? Provide financial counseling? Outline every service you intend to offer.

Target market and competition analysis

This section of your business plan may have been completed much earlier on in your business development process – conducting a SWOT analysis is a smart first step when coming up with any business idea. A SWOT analysis considers the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of your business or the health and wellness community. Strengths and Weaknesses look specifically at the business’s inner workings, where Opportunities and Threats focus on your specific industry and the market. 

Once the SWOT analysis is completed, you should identify your ideal clients, target markets, and preferred customers. You can create one or two examples of the people you’re looking to attract to your health coaching business. These examples should highlight who your clients will be, what their lives and health look like, what they want to achieve, and any other demographics that can help you identify potential clients in your marketing plan.

Marketing plan

The marketing section of your business plan should explain how you’ll reach your target market through advertising and marketing. This should include what social media platforms you’ll be using (and their potential for conversion), how you’ll utilize your website, where and when you’ll advertise, if you’ll be partnering with any public relations firms or influencers, and your launch and pre-launch marketing plans. Provide examples of any flyers, ads, business cards, or branding guidelines that showcase your business.

Pricing overview

Detail the prices you will offer for your services and how they compare to your competitors. This should include any discounts you plan to offer, how you’ve come to the amount you’re charging, and any fees you anticipate having clients incur. You can also detail how you’ll coordinate bookings for appointments and point-of-sale solutions for processing payments.

Financial projections

The goal of this section is to show that your health coaching business will be successful financially. This section is incredibly important when it comes to seeking investors. They want to know that they’ll get their money back, should they support your business. Highlight featured services, explore the cost of running your business and your profit margins, and establish your revenue goals.

If you’ve got an already-established business, include income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements for the last three to five years. Use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business and what you hope to achieve.

The Bottom Line

Consistency is key when it comes to marketing yourself, and Integrative Nutrition’s IINBiz platform offers done-for-you content specifically curated for wellness entrepreneurs. IINBiz a premier marketing platform that provides graduates with ready-to-use marketing materials like client forms, handouts, newsletter templates, webinars, and more – to its graduates.

Starting any new business can be a daunting task, so it’s important to remember that you don’t need to be perfect to get started - but having a plan can help you start off strong. Starting with set goals, financial objectives, marketing strategies, and other targets will help keep your business on the path forward.