Starting your own health coaching business is an exciting time. However, for many health coaches, leaving their day job isn’t a luxury that they can afford.
If you find yourself working in your current profession while running your health coaching business on the side, take comfort in knowing that you are not alone, and that many of your fellow health advocates started their business just like you.
Setting up your health coaching business while holding down your day job allows you to get a feel for what health coaching actually entails before jumping into the deep end, and for many people having the financial security behind you, especially when you’re first starting out, can relieve pressure and unwanted stress.
Here are five tips to help you get your health coaching business off the ground while still working your day job.
1. Set Aside Dedicated Time
Critically assess exactly how many hours per week you can feasibly commit to your health coaching without encroaching on other aspects of your life, including work, sleep, rest, social activities, cooking, grocery shopping, exercise and self-care.
Make a list of non-negotiable activities that are essential to your health, happiness and well-being and make sure you allow time in your week for them.
It’s absolutely essential that you do not sacrifice the aspects of your life that you love in order to run your business, as you want to create a sustainable lifestyle that you can manage long-term without being at risk of burnout or illness.
You may need to reduce the number of hours you commit to certain aspects of your life, but it doesn’t mean you need to eliminate them completely. Whether you can commit 5 hours or 20 hours per week to your health coaching business, it doesn’t matter. The most important thing is avoiding putting in additional time, as it is likely to encroach on other essential aspects of your life.
2. Be Organized
It’s imperative that you get organized during this phase of your life. You’re going to have a lot going on, so it’s important that you remain in control of the things you’re able to control. The best way to do this is to be organized.
Keep track of absolutely everything that’s going on in your life, from scheduling your gym sessions to when you’re going to do your grocery shopping. Every minute of your day is precious, so don’t waste it.
Use an online calendar app such as Google Calendar to keep track of your appointments and activities. You don’t want to cause unnecessary stress by double booking or forgetting your professional, personal and social obligations.
Save time by using a note taking tool like Evernote. You can access Evernote on multiple devices and you can even share projects with friends.
3. Write a Business Plan
Writing a business plan is an absolute must for all health coaches looking to run their own business.
Writing a business plan will help you set clear goals for the short and long term, and it will help you stay motivated and accountable. But most importantly it will help you turn your vision into an achievable plan.
When writing your business plan, consider how many clients you think you can manage given the number of hours you can dedicate to your health coaching. Your initial instinct may be to take on as many clients as you can, but it’s important to keep in mind that you don’t want to spread yourself too thin, as this may lead to dissatisfied and unhappy clients, and negative reviews. Set your business up for the greatest success by putting together a plan that will achieve steady and sustainable growth.
Finally, writing a business plan will help you identify what your initial startup costs will be and how much money you’ll need to invest to get your health coaching business up and running. Expenses may include hiring a lawyer to help you set up a template for client contracts and other documents. You may want to seek the services of an accountant to make sure your bookkeeping and taxes are in order. There are also the fees associated with setting up a website and printing business cards. Collecting quotes for these action items while putting together your business plan will give you some idea of the costs involved for these services.
4. Outsource and Delegate
There is absolutely no reason why you need to do every aspect of your business on your own. When deciding which aspects of your business to outsource and delegate, have a think about what your strengths and interests are in terms of running your business, as well as those tasks that you feel less confident or excited about doing yourself.
Upwork is a great platform to use if you’re looking for a skilled freelancer to help you with pretty much any aspect of running your health coaching business, from locating a website builder to finding an accountant.
Outsourcing and delegating will do wonders toward freeing up your time so you can be the most productive at the tasks that you’re interested in and experienced with.
5. How to Transition Out of Your Old Career and Into Your New One
If your ultimate goal is to ditch your day job and run your health coaching business full time, it’s important that you have a plan of action to make this happen.
Here are several financial considerations that you may want to explore before transitioning to full time health coaching.
Firstly, identify how much money you’ll need to cover your living and business expenses. Break this down into a monthly budget so you can get an accurate picture of what all your expenses are. This will be your revenue goal.
Secondly, identify how many clients you will need in order to create enough cash flow to cover your personal and business expenses. Take into account the high and low periods throughout the year. In general, health coaching is quieter during the summer months as people are on vacation, so it’s important to factor this into your calculations.
Next, you need to have an exit strategy from your day job. Depending on your profession and your employer, you may be able to gradually reduce your work hours as your health coaching business grows. If this is a real possibility for you, it will be give you a little more financial security while your business is still in the start up phase.
Lastly, take the plunge! When you’re consistently earning above the amount you set as your minimum monthly income, it’s time to seriously consider leaving your old profession and fulfilling your dream of becoming a full time health coach.
By now you should be confident in your own ability to drum up business, follow up on leads, provide quality coaching that has led to a sustainable influx of clients and has generated enough cash flow for you to make health coaching your full time profession.
Building your business before making the commitment to becoming a full time health coach has several benefits that aren’t purely financial. If health coaching is completely new to you, it gives you the opportunity to see if the profession is a good fit. It also allows you to build your reputation and your client base and gain practical experience that will give you the confidence to succeed. It will also allow you to explore the best way to run your own business without unnecessary pressure.
Here we’ve provided some practical advice on how to best manage your health coaching business while holding down a full time job. We’ve also discussed some helpful tips for you to consider if your long-term goal is to transition out of your old career and into your new profession as a full time health coach.
Each and every one of us will follow our own unique path, and ultimately it’s up to you to implement the strategies that work best for you so you can achieve your goal of becoming a full time health coach.
