Starting your own nutrition business is an exciting step, and it helps to stay organized by creating a detailed business plan. Creating a nutrition business plan may sound a bit intimidating, but chances are the document will contain aspects that you have already addressed.
Your business plan will clearly state your business objectives and give you the best opportunity to stay on target with strategies to grow your business. The plan will give you a picture of the market and business processes, and enable you to prioritize as your nutrition business develops. You can use the business plan for your nutrition practice to set milestones and track results so you can adjust your goals and strategies accordingly.
These are the key aspects of creating an effective nutritional business plan:
- Create an Executive Summary: Here you come up with a catchy name for your nutrition business and the products and services you offer. You may include some background information about why you elected to go into the nutrition business, and your milestones for introducing the main products to the marketplace. The Executive Summary also outlines your vision for the size of your company, who the key players will be, and the roles they will play, and how fast you expect the company to grow. Another crucial aspect of the Executive Summary is your plan for raising capital to get the business going and keeping it afloat.
- A Detailed Business Description: This section delves into the vision you hold for your nutrition business. Your vision is the first step toward branding your company and developing a mission statement to differentiate your company from the competition. List your company’s objectives and explain what you intend to achieve for the next year, in five years, and ten years down the road. The Business Description section of your nutrition business plan also states your form of ownership.
- Staffing: Include an organizational chart of management positions and their direct reports. Each position should have a job description. Project hires for the future.
- Marketing: Outline a marketing plan that includes trends driving the marketplace, such as technological advances and the economy. Determine how you will position your nutrition company in relationship to the competition. Look at demographics and define your ideal customer in terms of geographic location, age and gender. Armed with this information, create a marketing plan that includes public relations, Internet marketing, paid advertising, partnering with other healthcare professionals, and speaking, writing and networking opportunities.
- Product and Services List: Create a detailed list of the products and services you intend to offer.
- Timeline: Set a timeline for your action plan, and include elements such as finding a location, hiring staff and developing policy manuals. Think about a “Plan B” in case your action plan does not work out as planned.
- Financial Projections: Include a profit and loss sheet, a cash flow and gross margin analysis and a break even analysis. Explain when you expect to turn a profit.
Tip: Conduct online research to grow your nutritional business. Here are some interesting links:
If you ever need additional help creating a business plan for your practice, Edison Institute of Nutrition offers a comprehensive course called the Business of Wellness Consulting. The Business of Wellness Consulting Course is a 1‑on‑1 intensive mentoring course which bridges the gap between your wellness specialty and the operation of a successful practice. To enroll in this course, please contact us at 1.800.456.9313 or .
