How to Start a Wildly Successful Health Coaching Business (2024)

Want to start your own wildly successful health coaching business?

Good news: You’re closer to your goal than you might think.

If you want to help your clients create transformational and impactful change in their lives, read until the end. Today, you’ll learn how to become a health coach and get results like these (here’s what one of my health coaching students had to say):

Want to learn more? Let’s get started.

How to become a health coach:

1. Find your niche

2. Create a health coaching brand

3. Plan your business

4. Get certified

5. Create a health coaching package

6. Market your health coaching business

7. Get your first clients

8. Scale your business

What is a health coach?

As a health coach, you help people reach their health goals by giving them advice and guidance based on your expertise. In the process, you help them improve and transform their lives.

There are tons of health coaching niches and not all of them are about helping people get slimmer.

For example, you could help your clients with things like:

• Nutrition
• Reducing stress
• Managing chronic health conditions
• Reaching their fitness goals

My own health coach clients work in various niches. As you’ll see further down, they get paid to help their clients eat right, become more energized, and, well, basically change their lives for the better.

Take my student David, who helps people use herbs to take charge of their health.

He started his business after a family health emergency and having gone through his own weight loss struggles. Today, he’s helped 50+ clients lose a total of 1,000+ pounds.

The best part? You can replace your 9-5 income fast. The internet is FULL of your ideal clients who can’t wait to start working with you to achieve their health goals.

In fact, the health coaching market is expected to be a $24.94 billion market by 2029.

And by offering a premium health coaching package, you can quickly get a few clients and replace your income.

For example, if you sell a health coaching program at $2,000, you only need five clients to earn $10,000.

You do the math – you don’t need THAT many clients to get started.

But it doesn’t stop there. You can help even more people by offering online courses, group programs, workshops, books, retreats, talks, cookbooks, corporate wellness programs, or meal plans.

Sounds exciting? I thought so. It doesn’t even have to be overwhelming.

In this post, I’ll walk you through the exact steps you need to take.

Next, can YOU become a health coach?

Are you qualified to become a health coach?

Do you need a health coach certification or a degree?

It depends. Some health coaching niches do require one.

However, most of the time, your qualifications as a health coach are based on something else:

The results you help your clients get.

You see, most of the health coaches I’ve coached didn’t start by getting a degree. Instead, they started helping people get results, and that way, their businesses grew.

And the same applies to you.

Your experience and results matter for your clients, not your certifications.

Did you achieve a personal health goal? Have you helped others get results?

If the answer is yes, you’re qualified to become a health coach.

But you might be wondering:

“Can I become a health coach?”

That’s what we’ll look at next.

How to start a health coaching business

To start a thriving health coaching business, you need to be strategic from the start. What do I mean by that?

Instead of building your health coaching website, designing a logo, or ordering business cards, figure out your business first.

And what are the first steps you need to take?

Find a profitable health coaching niche. Here’s how to pick a niche you know WILL work:

1. Find your health coaching niche

Now, why can’t you just call yourself a health coach?

Because that’s way too general!

But if you go for something more specific, like a running coach, a weight loss coach, or a stress coach, your clients will instantly see the value you offer.

You also need to find your target audience.

A mistake people make? They target everyone. Or they niche down but end up with an audience who will never pay for their services.

I don’t want you to go through that! So choose an audience who is WILLING and ABLE to pay.

Think about it. People in secure jobs are much more likely to pay for your health coaching services than recent college grads who are still searching for their first job.

For example, my friend Nagina runs her multi-six-figure business where she teaches women how to lose weight with spices.

To find a profitable niche you know will work, ask yourself:

What health coaching experience do you have? What results have you helped people get?

Note that “experience” doesn’t necessarily mean work experience. You can use the skills you’ve taught yourself on the side.

For example, if you’re a runner and have trained for marathons, that’s a skill you’ve developed and can teach others.

Once you have a niche figured out, make sure it’s something people want.

How? Go to sites where your audience hangs out. These could be Facebook groups, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, or Google.

Are people already selling the service you want to get started with? Great, that’s a sign that there is a market for your service.

Need some inspiration?

Let’s look at a few different health coaching niches. But remember that there are tons of very specific niches you could focus on.

1. Fitness coaching business

As a fitness coach, you help your clients stay fit. For example, you can work as a private trainer (PT) and design workout programs. Or focus on a specific niche, like helping people build muscle or train for a marathon.

2. Nutrition coaching business

As a nutrition coach, you help people eat right. You might work with more general meal plans to help your coaching clients eat a balanced diet or lose weight. Or you can work with more specific nutritional needs, like allergies.

3. Weight loss coaching business

As a weight loss coach, you help people who struggle with losing weight. You might do it with exercise and/or nutrition plans.

4. Stress coaching business

As a stress coach, you help your clients overcome stress in their lives. You can work with their overall health and mindset.

5. Sleep coaching business

Sleep coaches help people who struggle with insomnia or sleep quality. They might also help children and/or babies.

6. Health coaching for midlifers

As a health coach, you can target a very specific audience (after all, as people age or their life situation changes, they need help in different ways). For example, you might work with midlifers…

7. Health coaching for baby boomers

…Or an audience like baby boomers. See how they are completely different audiences with their own needs and goals?

8. Productivity/habit coaching business

Lots of people struggle with productivity or maintaining healthy habits. As a health coach, you can help them change that, for example by keeping them accountable.

9. Health coaching for families

Just like you might focus on midlifers or baby boomers as an audience, you can focus on families as your target audience and help them live healthier lives.

10. Vegan health coach

Or why not work with an audience like vegans, who want to keep to specific diets AND live healthily?

11. Wellness coach

As a wellness coach, you help people improve their wellbeing. This might be through exercise, mindset, nutrition, habits, or other life changes.

Other niches include:

• Nurse health coaching
• Mindfulness coaching
• Anxiety coaching
• ADHD coaching
• Mental health coaching
• Lifestyle coaching
• Behavioral coaching

2. Create a health coaching business brand

Now that you know WHO to target and WHAT to offer, the next question is:

How do you stand out with your health coaching offer among all other health coaches?

In this quick video, I share my best strategies:

Take me as an example.

When I started this business, I wasn’t sure how to stand out as a business coach.

The market was SO saturated. What did I have that wasn’t already out there?

But after digging a bit deeper I realized:

I DID stand out even if I am pretty “normal” without a rags-to-riches story. For example, my background is in engineering so my approach is very analytical. And I even stand out with tiny personality traits, like the fact that I love TV shows. That makes me feel more human and real.

One of the best ways for health coaches to stand out?

Think about how you help your clients get results, your “secret sauce.”

David, my student, helps his clients lose weight with herbs.

My friend Nagina does it with spices.

Kayla Itsines, a multi-million dollar fitness personality, started her business by offering a program that only requires 30 minutes every day and can be completed anywhere (including your living room).

Another of my clients offers customized trainings.

And yet another uses the power of mindset.

Ask yourself:

What’s YOUR secret sauce? How does what you offer your clients differ from what other health coaches offer?

3. Plan your business

The next step to becoming a successful health coach?

Set up your business.

Decide on your:

Business structure and licenses

The most common business structures are LLC and sole proprietorship. LLCs offer benefits like tax breaks and legal protection, while a sole proprietorship is simple to start.

Next, look up whether you need to get licenses and certifications. In most cases, you don’t need them, but some health niches are more regulated than others.

For more information, take a look at the SBA website.

You can also read more about health coaching insurance here.

Financials

What do your business finances look like?

Set up a business bank account so that you keep your private and business financials separate.

And make a plan for when you’ll go full-time as a health coach.

That time is typically once you’ve doubled your monthly salary.

Why doubled? Because you’ll have money to spend on business expenses and taxes so you don’t have to stress about your income.

But if doubling your income feels far off, don’t worry. It’s closer than you might think.

Let’s say you price your package at $2,000 (more on that in a bit).

That means just four clients to get to $8,000. And if you raise your prices from there, you’ll soon get to $10,000 by working with two to three clients.

I talk more about building a business on the side of your full-time job here.

4. Get certified

If you want (or need) to get certified, then look at credible programs accredited by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC). The International Coaching Federation (ICF) is another recognized accreditation organ.

Alternatively, look at programs by reputable universities.

After all, the coaching certification industry isn’t regulated and you could end up spending both time and money on a useless certification.

Here are a few certifications to research:

• Integrative Health Coach Training (Duke University): Duke University’s remote, 10-week program is one of the first health and wellbeing coaching certification courses and one of the first NBHWC-accredited courses. Price: $6,940.
• Wellness Coach Training Program (Mayo Clinic): This NBHWC-accredited program is a 12-week program. On top of that, you’re expected to complete 50 hours of coaching to earn your certification. Price: $4,900.
• Health Coach Certification (American Council on Exercise): This program is accredited by NCCA (National Commission for Certifying Agencies). You’ll need three to six months to go through the program. Price: $1,649.

I share more health coaching programs here.

5. Create a health coaching package

Next, figure out what you offer.

Your coaching offer

This is where most people make a mistake that keeps them from making any sales and growing their businesses. Instead of selling what people WANT, they offer them what they NEED.

Think about it:

YOU know that your clients need to take certain steps to solve their problem and live a healthier life. It’s easy to think that’s what you should offer them.

But THEY don’t know it. They want the outcome. A flatter stomach, abs, more energy, or glowing skin. And that’s how you need to phrase your offer.

Plus, your offer needs to be tangible.

You don’t just help people feel less stressed. Instead, you help them reduce their stress in two weeks with a few simple steps.

For example, remember my student David? He doesn’t help people “get healthy” or “lose weight.” Instead, he helps them “jumpstart their weight loss with the right food (without eating less or moving more).”

This is key to being able to position your coaching package as a premium offer.

Your pricing model

How should you price your health coaching offer?

The average hourly rate is $40/hour.

However, I strongly recommend you use package pricing because you’ll be able to help your clients get far better results.

Now, in the long run, $2,000, $5,000 or even $10,000 health coaching packages are quite normal.

(That’s right. People do care about their health and are willing to pay for it!)

But we all need to start somewhere.

When I first started my first coaching business, I priced my package at $5,000. I had chosen that price based on my hourly salary at the time.

While my first client said yes without hesitation, I had trouble getting more people to sign up.

I would regularly get messages like these…

Why? Because I hadn’t built up enough trust. People needed to see that my services were worth it… But how could they when I hadn’t worked with other clients and proved myself?

That’s why I decided to lower my rate to $1,500 for a three-month commitment, even though that rate was lower than what I was making at my job at the time.

Once I had a few of those clients, I went back to $5,000… And never looked back.

Today, most of my clients, health coaches included, start with a three-month coaching package priced at $1,500.

It’s easier for people to say yes and you can earn that social proof you need to increase your prices. And three months give your clients enough time to see results.

6. Market your health coaching business

What’s the first thing on your list of marketing activities to get clients?

Not a website! That’s right. Instead, as a coach, you first need to build trust and relationships by providing as much value as you can.

That’s what I did with my first client. I gave her an insane amount of free information and support until she asked if we could work together.

Note that I didn’t have a website until I had signed several clients. And even then, it wasn’t the fanciest website out there.

But how do you provide value to people at scale? So: How do you not get stuck in helping people one by one, hoping one of them will convert?

Choose one marketing strategy:

• Social media: Not just ANY social media. Instead, a platform where your clients already hang out. Whether that’s Facebook, Quora, Pinterest, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, or YouTube.
• Podcasts: Get interviewed on podcasts. Pitch smaller, relevant podcasts to get in front of your audience. And yes, they DO want to interview you because you have valuable experience to share with their audience.
• Your network: Do you have family, friends, or co-workers who might be interested in your services? Have people asked for your advice before?
• Events and partnerships: Go to relevant events where your clients hand out. (Check out events on sites like Meetup.com.) Or, partner up with other coaches or service providers who share your audience. For example, are there gyms in your area where you might be able to promote your services?

Take my client Cristina Cantu (a naturopathic doctor) got one of her first clients on Instagram. Cristina de la Fuente, a wellness and mindfulness coach for leaders, found her first client on LinkedIn.

7. Get your first clients

How do you get your first client?

While you can use any of the marketing strategies above, let’s take a look at social media as a strategy.

For example, let’s say your audience hangs out on Reddit.

Go to Reddit and type in a relevant keyword in the search box. If you’re a weight loss coach, that keyword could be “weight loss.”

You’ll now get a list of groups where your clients are.

The same goes for Facebook. Type in a health-related keyword and you get several groups full of your ideal clients.

Once you’ve found those platforms and groups where your audience spends their time, you want them to notice you.

And not just notice, but think: “Oh, wow! This resonates SO much with me. Wonder if there’s a way for me to work together with this person?”

How do you do it? With these three steps:

#1: Answer questions

Be helpful and answer relevant questions. By giving helpful advice, people (who are struggling with what you help them with) will quickly notice your expertise.

#2: Post valuable content

Post content in groups and start discussions with people. But not just any content. You see, most people will go for “informational” content.

I know because I did it when I first started marketing my business in Facebook groups.

But here’s the thing:

On social media, people want to be entertained. Give them short, fun, and interesting content and you’ll quickly get noticed by your ideal clients.

#3: Livestreams

If you use a platform that lets you broadcast live videos, use them to your advantage.

That’s what I did early on:

Because video is a powerful tool for building engagement, livestreams are a great way to quickly connect with your audience and show you’re an expert.

In fact, when I was new to coaching, a lot of my own private clients found me after watching my livestreams.

#4: Keep consistent

The MOST important piece of the puzzle?

Keep consistent with your social media plan. If people start seeing you in their newsfeeds on a regular basis, they’ll be a lot likelier to notice you and see how much value you give.

Want to learn more? Take a look at this quick video:

8. Scale your health coaching business

Once you have a few health coaching clients, you’ve replaced your income, and your health coaching business is growing nicely, it’s time to scale your business.

You see, you can only scale so much with a one-on-one coaching offer because you can’t really add extra hours to your day.

That’s what happened to me.

When I had grown my first coaching business to six figures, I had a problem.

I couldn’t continue growing that business because I only had so many hours every day to use on client calls.

At the same time, I wanted to scale my business faster and create a more flexible schedule for myself. One that didn’t require me to be on every sales call or work one-on-one with every client.

That’s where group programs and online courses are your best friend.

You see, with these offers, you can help more people without taking on a lot of extra work.

To put this into perspective:

With my first coaching offer, I made six figures. In my first year, I made a million with two online courses. I couldn’t have done that by personally working with every client.

While scaling your business, I recommend that you keep your offers lean. You don’t need a ton of different offers and programs. Still today, I only work with a few different offers – one-on-one coaching, a group program, and a few flagship online courses.

Group programs

Group programs work much like your one-on-one offer, except you’re now helping a group of people who also benefit from getting to know like-minded people.

You basically take your health coaching one-on-one program and apply it to a group with group calls instead of individual coaching calls.

See how this helps your clients get amazing results while you scale your business?

Online courses

An online course fully detaches you from your offer. Your customers download your training material as an e-course and learn by themselves.

After having worked with your private clients, you can quickly set up your courses. You see, you can use your coaching outline and create your online course based on that.

For example, the courses my clients have created based on their coaching offers include weight loss courses and courses that help people with their nutrition.

Meal plans and other digital products

But what about meal plans and other digital products you can create as a health coach? Maybe a membership site? Recipe ebooks?

What do I recommend? Wait with creating those. You first want to focus on products that let you scale your business.

Think about it:

An online course can be priced at around $500-$2,000.

A recipe book or a meal plan? About $20-$200.

It’s MUCH easier to first scale with your online courses than with smaller offers. So stick with online courses until you have a manageable five- or six-figure business!

Read more about digital products here.

Health coaching business examples

Want to see how others are doing it?

Here are some of my students who are using their expertise and results to build their health coaching businesses (and yes, they’re crushing it).

1. Jamie Ballew helps stressed-out entrepreneurial women improve their energy levels

My client Jamie started her business after she experienced a car crash that made her feel drained and miserable but that ultimately helped her realize she could turn her life around.

Today, she helps other women implement habits in their lives to get great health results.

2. Cristina de la Fuente helps leaders apply mindfulness and neuroscience

Cristina helps people apply mindfulness and neuroscience to become better leaders. She improves their wellbeing, while having a real impact on how organizations are led.

3. Cristina Cantu is a naturopathic doctor

As a naturopathic doctor, Cristina helps her clients treat things like allergies, boost their immunity, and overcome stress and headaches.

4. Adrienne Ngia is a nutritionist

Adrienne is a registered dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE), and MSc in nutrition. With more than seven years of experience as a dietitian, she has coached thousands of clients and helps busy professionals lose weight for good and build a healthy relationship with food.

Frequently asked questions about becoming a health coach

How much income can you make as a health coach?

A normal health coach salary?

That’s a trick question because there isn’t one. Instead, you decide how much you earn.

You can do this as a side business or you can build your business to a five-, six-, or even seven-figure business.

How do I know it’s possible?

Because so many of my health coaching clients have been where you are today. They’ve gone on to create a life that lets them work with what lights them up while earning more than they did in their 9-5.

Is health coaching profitable?

You can start a highly profitable health coaching business because you’re selling your existing skills. Plus, your business doesn’t have a lot of startup costs. And, as it’s an expert-based one-on-one service, you can charge a premium price for your services.

How much does it cost to start a health coaching business?

You can start a health coach business with a laptop and an internet connection. Sure, there are tools that make it easier for you to run your business (such as Zoom and Calendly). But those tools are around $10-$20/month. If you decide to get certified, you’ll have slightly higher startup costs. A health coach certificate costs anywhere between $1,000-$30,000.

Want to build your own health coaching business?

Feel pumped and ready to get started? You should because YOU can become a health coach and get all those things you want in life, whether that’s income, impact, or time.

But, you might be worried about making mistakes that will hold you back…and you don’t want to figure out everything on your own. (After all, that will take years…)

Get my FREE blueprint where I share the exact steps thousands of my students have used to start their own coaching businesses on their own terms.

Get it now!

Read more:

How to Create a High-Ticket Coaching Funnel

The Top Coaching Products to Sell

How to Use Email Coaching