Congratulations! You may be close to completing or have already graduated from a diploma course in nutrition. You are ready to see clients and help them move towards health. You may know where you want to set up your business or may have already set up your business, but it may not be advancing as quickly or as profitably as you had hoped. What are the steps you need to take to create a successful business of wellness?
Step One: Change Your Story
Take a breath! The belief you have about who you are shapes every decision you make. It determines what you believe is possible and how you show up in the world. We are not our past behaviours. Be careful about how you define yourself. It becomes your invisible script. Don’t get stuck in the story that no longer serves you! Surround yourself with successful people. Keep educating yourself. Create an identity of joy, success, and prosperity. In business, our identity is called our Brand.
Walk Your Talk. Your personal example is powerful, how you look, what you eat, the energy you exude are crucial. People are more likely to trust and follow who practises what they preach. Believe in yourself. You can do this!
Step Two: Setting Up Your Practice
What is your Mission Statement? Do you have one? Is it clear and concise? Does it tell your prospective clients your purpose? Does it inspire and support lasting health? Your Mission Statement outlines the reason you are in business, the service you provide, and who you serve. It tells you and your target audience your core purpose and priorities and gives you a clear direction when deciding how your business will operate.
Registering Your Business:
Will your business be a sole proprietor or partnership or a team of practitioners? If it is a partnership, remember to sign a partnership agreement. This could save you many future headaches – even if your partner is your best friend. A group working together? Have everyone sign a proper contract. Join an association to receive your designation and purchase Errors and Omissions insurance.
Where will you operate your business? Will you be working from home, online, renting an office, or, perhaps, working in a medical office, clinic, or exercise studio?
Step Three: Defining your Niche and Target Audience
Your choice depends on your personal goals, strengths, and your market. Both have pros and cons. By narrowing your focus, you make it easier for potential clients to identify what you do and whether you can help them. You become an expert in that area. Your marketing becomes focused and you and your target audience know exactly who you will be working with in your practice. On the other hand, does a niche practice limit the potential size of your practice? Could you become burned out while working with the same issues day after day?
A general practice allows you to serve a wide variety of clients with different needs which can help you build a larger client base. You could support anyone that is looking to achieve improved health and wellness whether it is for weight loss, managing a chronic health condition, or improving their diet and lifestyle to achieve a long and happy life.
Step Four: Your Business Plan
Here is where you will be creating your pricing strategy. How much will you charge? By the visit, hour, or will you offer package deals? What services and programs will you offer? What is the length of each session? How often will you see each client? Will you sell products from your office or just send them to the local Health Food Store?
Developing a Business Plan will help you to answer these questions and set the foundation for achieving your income goals. This will be essential, particularly if you are financing your business.
As you add other modalities to your practice like Live Cell Microscopy, Iridology, Homeopathy, or the Clinical Holistic Cancer Practitioner certificate, you will be able to increase your fees.
Practice Management Tools can be very helpful in organizing your practice. There are many software companies that can help with scheduling, billing, client reminders, forms, and nutrition plan templates. Or, you can choose to do it on your own, with an appointment calendar or the calendar on your cell phone, to schedule clients at the end of each appointment, receive an E‑transfer instantly after each consultation, and keep client files in a filing cabinet or on your computer.
Your Business Plan should include start-up costs, software & tools, website, branding, marketing, continuing education, membership to professional associations and liability and office insurance. It should also include revenue projections for the coming year and a way to measure your success at the end of each year.
Step Four: Creating Meal Plans
When creating meal plans, please know that a “one-size-fits-all” diet will not work for every client. It is important to consider the client’s lifestyle, work, family, health issue, appetite, budget, digestion, stress levels, and what they are willing to give up or change. Your plan should be flexible and adaptable to each client.
Step Five: The Initial Appointment
Before seeing the client for the first time, you will need to send them intake forms that they can complete and bring with them or send to you in advance. No assessment should take place until the client reads and signs their Client Statement confirming that they understand your scope of practice.
You may give them recommendations during the appointment or email them after creating your protocol following the appointment. Remember to have them set up their follow-up appointment before leaving your office. Asking clients to call you when they are ready to see you is a rookie mistake that can mean you may never see this client again. Always have a method for them to reach you between appointments to clarify your assessment, to ask questions, or let you know if they are having any aggravations based on current recommendations. I prefer emails or texts which can be answered in a speedy and efficient manner to phone calls which can be lengthy.
Step Six: Supplement & Remedy Toolkit
Your office dispensary will make it easier for the client to access the best supplements, maximize your profits, and ensure that each client will achieve the best possible results. Never recommend a product line or products that you personally have not used. It is the best way to know if it works without any aggravations. Keep your standards high when choosing a professional supplement line to work with – ones that ensure that they have pure ingredients, perform assays, batch testing, and 3rd party testing. Beware of companies using GMO ingredients and with contaminants that could include heavy metals.
Step Seven: Building Your Brand and Online Presence
Initially, you will find a name for your practice, create a logo, and build a website that contains the content that entices potential clients and tells them who you are, your credentials, and what you can do for them. The next step involves writing and responding to emails, phone calls, or requests, social media posts, blogs, podcasts, workshops, creating client handouts, and monthly newsletters. AI can be a huge plus but you need to learn how to use it properly, which one to use, and how to maintain your own ideas and techniques while using this great modality. What you post depends entirely upon you.
In addition, don’t forget to make sure that people can find you on social media, Google search, by word of mouth and referrals, networking, a booth at a health show, public speaking at local bookstores or libraries, and attending community events.
Don’t be embarrassed to ask your success story clients for testimonials and reviews. The best time to ask is right after results are achieved. They build trust and can be used on your website, social media, in newsletters, and presentations.
Step Eight: Continuing Education
Nutrition is a constantly evolving field so continuing education seminars, summits, webinars, and courses will keep you current with the latest research. Education doesn’t end upon graduation. That is just the beginning. It is not about collecting certifications but staying competent, confident, and having integrity with the people who are putting themselves in your hands. You are making the best investment – in yourself.
Take advantage of free courses offered by companies that you are recommending. There are many free Online Summits being offered today. Sign up for newsletters. Listen to podcasts and read blogs. Choose the practitioners and companies that resonate with you and learn from them.
An important course to take is one that offers you a method of energetic testing. This is a must! One that is very popular with practitioners is muscle testing. It allows you to get a “yes” or “no” response from the body. Instead of guessing what the client needs, let their body tell you what it needs. Muscle testing will tell you which supplement, which line, dose, and for how long. Test, don’t guess!
Whew! You have just learned that graduating from a nutrition school is just the first piece.
Don’t let this stop you. One of the best continuing education courses that you can take is a business of wellness course. The Nutritional Preceptorship Program has created the perfect Business of Wellness (BOW) Course.
For a One-Time Fee of $299!
NPP Webinars offers a 4‑Part Online Course, created with you in mind. This course consists of 3 full instruction videos with our expert practitioners plus a full consultation video by Lynne Hinton which includes an assessment using Live Cell Microscopy. The complete program encompasses and expands on everything discussed in this blog — and more!
But that is not all:
Enjoy unlimited access to the complete Business of Wellness (BOW) Course! You will have the freedom to watch and revisit all four instructional videos whenever it suits your schedule and your needs. Benefit from the knowledge, guidance, and support of our experienced practitioners as you continue to build, grow, and strengthen your own wellness business.
For more details and/or to register, go to www.nppwebinars.com. Watch the Free Preview!
Learn at your own pace. Revisit whenever you need. Build a business that works for you.
FAQs
- Who would benefit from taking the Business of Wellness (BOW) Course?
The BOW Course is designed for nutrition graduates, new practitioners preparing to establish their own practices, and experienced practitioners who want to improve, expand or grow their existing wellness businesses.
- What will I learn in the Business of Wellness Course?
You will explore the practical aspects of running a successful wellness practice, including developing your business identity, creating a business plan, establishing your services and fees, attracting clients, marketing your practice and managing client relationships. You will also learn how to use AI as a support tool when writing emails, creating marketing campaigns, social media posting, designing newsletters, blogging, etc… The course also addresses the challenges and opportunities involved in building a sustainable business.
- Who are the presenters, and what experience do they bring?
The course features Lynne Hinton, Marlene Marshall, Jenn Bowerman and Gilda Rovan, who together bring more than 100 years of combined clinical experience. Each presenter contributes practical knowledge and real-world insights gained from their own professional experience.
- How is the BOW Course presented?
The course is delivered through four comprehensive videos: three instructional videos featuring our experienced practitioners and a full client consultation video presented by Lynne Hinton, which includes an assessment using Live Cell Microscopy.
- Can I watch the course at my own pace?
Absolutely! The BOW Course is an online, video-based program. With unlimited access following a one-time payment of $299, you can watch all four videos whenever it suits your schedule and revisit the material whenever you need a refresher.
- Is the course useful if I already have an established nutrition practice?
Definitely! Whether you are just starting out or have been practising for years, there is always room to improve and expand your business. The course offers ideas, practical strategies and professional insights to help you evaluate your current practice, identify new opportunities and continue developing your business.