Creating Your Health Coaching Business

It’s a new year and with it, you may have new personal and professional goals. If one of those includes starting your own business, then this article is for you. Here are some general points to consider when creating your health coaching business.  

 

Start With Prayer: Start your journey with prayer. Be honest with yourself and with The Lord about your desire and the real motive for starting your business. Does The Lord want you to create a business? Will it glorify God or yourself?  

 

Write Your Vision and Business Plan: Once you have the assurance that The Lord is leading you, write down your vision and create a business plan. Both will help you organize your thoughts and plans for your business. At this point, I strongly recommend speaking to a business lawyer, business coach, or mentor to guide you. This individual can help you decide what business structure to have, calculate your startup costs, decide on a business location, and learn what state laws and licenses you will need to consider. You can find help by going to Adventistlawyer.com, Score.org, or your local ASI chapter (1). Meeting professionals at Adventist conferences and attending entrepreneurial workshops was especially helpful in my journey. 

 

Secure Your Brand: Prayerfully and strategically consider your brand or business identity. What will be your business name? Will you need a logo? Can you secure the domain name and social media handles that you want? Within this category, you should also learn how to protect your intellectual property with copyrights and trademarks (2). Some brand-protective services are very costly, so hiring a qualified expert in this field will be beneficial. 

 

Get Insured: To protect yourself, your employees, and your clients, you will need insurance. First, obtain professional liability insurance, then consider general liability, commercial property, and cyber insurance (which covers data breaches and cyber security attacks) (3), if applicable. There are other types of policies to consider, so do more research before deciding which policies work for you.  

 

Set Up Your Office: As with all office setups, you will need to have business documents (contracts, service agreements, financial forms), mobile and digital communication tools (business phone, email address, collaborating tools), a business bank account, a HIPAA-compliant (4) health management system and other protocols to ensure your client’s information is secure. 

 

The health coaching field is not state or nationally regulated (5) but that does not mean you can do anything you want. Some states have laws that forbid coaches from offering certain services and selling some items. Because of this, joining the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC) (6) helped me connect with like-minded individuals, learn more about setting up my business, and learn how to remain in my scope of practice.   

 

Marketing and Advertising: When your business is set up, it is time to let the world know. Who are your ideal clients? How and where will they find you? What types of advertising and marketing will you utilize? Will you do it yourself or hire someone else? How much will you budget for this expense? 

 

It may seem overwhelming to create your own health coaching business, but with the right mentor and support, the process can go smoothly. Don’t rush it; the Bible reminds us to “let all things be done decently and in order” (7). So, take your time and carefully go through each category methodically. Remember health coaching is a service ministry, so as you affect peoples’ lives for now and eternity, “do all in the name of The Lord Jesus” (8) and represent Him as you create a business that will glorify Him.