so in this video i'm going to talk about what it takes to start an online coaching business
if you've been intrigued by the idea of starting your own business as a health or wellness coach
and you're wondering what you need in order to get started and what it takes to start your
business as a coach then keep watching because that is exactly what i'm going to get into
in this video if you're new to me i'm kim foster i'm an md turned wellness coach a business mentor
to my fellow health and wellness coaches and also the founder of the wellness coach academy an
online training school for coaches and i'm really excited about doing this video for you because we
are going to get down to the nitty-gritty of what it takes to build an online coaching business
as i was preparing you know the outline for this video um for you i was getting really excited that
i was putting it together and getting it out to you because i think this is such a perfect time
to be digging deep into preparation when it comes to your business today we're going to talk about
what it takes to build and launch an online health and wellness coaching business what are
the building blocks and what do you need now before we go any further with today's topic i
want to tell you about my free quiz that can help you to figure out for yourself if you've got what
it takes to start a business as a wellness coach it just takes a few minutes to complete but it is
so useful to have an idea of where you're at and what you need to work on so i'll put the link in
the description box below so be sure to head there and check it out okay that said let's dive in when
you're thinking about starting an online coaching business it's important that you know what you're
getting yourself into right from the start many people want to become their own boss and launch an
online business more so now than ever before given what has been happening in the world recently
and so many people gravitate toward coaching because it's one of those professions that is
highly paid and also allows you to feel really meaningful and excited about the work that
you're doing every day not only that coaching is something that you can do from home or you
can do it while you're traveling so you can take your business with you so is it really that easy
well let's talk about what it takes to launch a successful online coaching business after working
with hundreds of coaches over the last few years as a business mentor and helping them to build
their businesses i can tell you from experience what it really takes to launch and scale highly
profitable and successful business online this is the question that i get asked the most do i need
a certification or training program in order to build an online coaching business what qualifies
a person to become a coach and the answer is this technically you do not need a coach training or
certification program coaching is unregulated and there are currently no requirements however
that is not to say that there isn't value potentially in a coach training program because
for many people this is a very good idea if this is a new career move for you if you're brand new
to the health and wellness industry or if you are brand new to coaching then although you may be
able technically to set yourself up as a health and wellness coach it's going to be an uphill
battle and getting some training first is probably something that you're going to want to consider
like any profession it's hard to know what you're doing unless you've actually been
properly trained but the details of what that training will look like is very individual what
you need to do is figure out your goals where you want to be what your vision is what kind of
work you want to do and then be very honest with yourself about your gaps what is your skill set
are there actual skills and knowledge that you don't currently possess that you will need
to go forward in your chosen field or niche now from there you'll be able to seek out a training
course or a program that will provide you with the tools that you need bottom line with the
qualification issue figure out where you want to go first you know the kind of business that
you want to build and then reverse engineer seek out the training that will get you there and then
get started okay let's move on and talk about the next thing you need which is financial resources
the question is how much money or startup capital do you actually need and a lot of people ask
if they can launch their business for free they say that they want to do it themselves
and get started and make some money first and then reinvest the money that they have earned
into their business and when people ask me if this is a good idea if this is possible my answer is
no this is a bad idea if you ask any successful business owner in any industry they will always
tell you that starting a business takes some financial resources trying to patch a business
together completely for free this is the slow road to success it will take a very long time if it
works at all and because you're signing yourself up for years of struggle most likely you will give
up before you get any kind of liftoff these are the people who say this isn't working or there's
no money in the wellness industry or in this niche because they have not set the themselves up for
success in any way so how much startup capital do you actually need and what should you invest your
money on um in terms of how much you actually need to get started building an online coaching
business at the current time i usually tell my clients approximately five to ten thousand dollars
now i want you to know that this is a very broad ballpark and yours may be less or it may be more
but i wanted to give you an approximate benchmark to look at if you can plan for an approximate
investment of five to ten thousand dollars then you'll have a financial cushion to invest in the
support that you need to get your business off the ground and then actually recoup that investment
in fairly short order and i'm going to talk about the time frames and expectations in just a sec but
in terms of the initial startup investment that should kind of give you an idea of what you'll
need to invest to get things off the ground and if that number scares you i just want you to
remember that this is a business you are looking to start if you're serious this is not a hobby or
kind of a passing interest if you are legitimately talking about building a new career for yourself a
viable stream of income a business that's going to support you for years to come it's kind of naive
to think that you can start it with nothing or just start it for free think about anyone who has
started a business in the days when the only kind of business was really a brick and mortar shop or
you know something like that people don't just go into it expecting that they're not going to have
to put any money into it up front whether it's rent or fixtures or advertising stock hiring staff
whatever it is it costs money if you truly want to start a business you need to be willing to invest
in it up front as hard as that is because yes it is a leap of faith but that's what's required
in my opinion an online business is different of course you don't need the same things that a brick
and mortar shop needs but you are going to need other things to help you succeed and stand out
in the online marketplace so what you invest your money in depends on the specifics that you want to
do but there will always be an initial upfront investment into your business so that you can get
everything off the ground and started the right way you may need to pay for your training program
as we talked about a minute ago or you know perhaps you need a business mentor or other
contractors or consultants to help you to build your brand or build your website or help you
put together a marketing plan you may also be investing some startup capital in a photo shoot
or some online tools and systems and later you may need to invest some capital on advertising and
you know things along those lines now let's shift gears and talk about the mindset that is required
when i say mindset here i'm really talking about your commitment so let me ask you how committed
are you to really launching a successful business on a scale from one to ten where one is just
kind of thinking about it and 10 means you are as committed as they come where do you stand really
ask yourself that question because what i know is that in order for you to grow your business and
overcome challenges and face your fears and put yourself outside your comfort zone
you need to be all in you need to be fully committed and 100 in when a potential client
contacts me to work together i always ask how committed she is and if she says anything less
than an 8 out of 10 i don't usually work with her and that's because if you're less than an
8 you are probably just you know kind of looking into this idea maybe you're just in the initial
dreaming stages or exploring this idea and maybe it's it is a great idea for a business but you're
not necessarily 100 in and what i know is that in order for you to be successful as a business owner
you need to be 100 committed you really need to be a 10 out of 10. so if your degree of commitment
right now isn't at that level maybe now it's just not the right time for you to get started now this
is another thing that aspiring coaches ask me about all the time how long will it take as in
what's a realistic time frame for how long it will take their business to achieve a certain
level of success now my preamble to this piece is that there is a lot of marketing and hype out
there in terms of hitting certain milestones in a very short time frame and some of it can be very
seductive six figures in 30 days or seven figures in three months and all kinds of claims and
while those things are possible i mean anything is possible in the online business world because
the potential reach is so huge but these kinds of milestones are not realistic for most people
so i want to give you more realistic expectations so you don't get overwhelmed
or frustrated and disappointed with yourself so when you're getting yourself
into business it's important to look at what is feasible for you and what your
income expectations are and this will of course look different for everybody the question is
if you're aiming to leave a nine to five job how much income do you need to replace i have
worked with doctors and executives who needed to replace a multi-six-figure income and i've
also worked with women who needed to replace a much lower annual income so it really depends
what i know from experience is that most new coaches who are very strategic about
getting things set up right are able to do the work once they have finished whatever training
program they were in and as long as it was a training program that gave them everything that
they needed to actually build their business they should be starting to earn money within
a few months of completing their training and then from there working toward consistent income by the
time that they're reaching the 12 month mark now this is not a guarantee or a claim or anything but
this is what i have seen from experience you could be hitting those consistent earning milestones
a lot more quickly than that or it might take you a bit longer there are no guarantees in
business so you need to be ready to do the work and have realistic expectations and also to keep
going if you're not making money right away and there's no giving up because this is your dream
and your passion and you are totally committed to making it work this is what's required now
let's talk about how much time is required on a weekly basis because many clients ask me
when they're just getting started and especially if they are already have a full-time job they're
asking how much time they're going to need to devote to building their business it's important
to have realistic expectations around work and how much time it's going to take and this is a tricky
one to answer and make generalizations about i've had clients who had a full-time job and also had
kids to take care of and they've had an hour maybe two at most every day to work on their business
i've also had clients who did have the luxury of being able to work on their businesses
full-time so they were able to spend eight to ten hours every single day working on their business
but i have to say i have not noticed a strong correlation between the number of hours
available to you and your success i have come to believe that your mindset and your determination
are much more important some of my most successful clients have had young kids at home
plus a busy job somehow they find the time if you are committed you'll find the time sure it may not
be quite as much time as somebody who doesn't have those responsibilities but you can be sure that
you're going to use those little wedges of time to really good effect when you do carve them out
and in general if you can manage to find an hour or two each day to work on your business that's
a good minimum you can make progress if you can create that kind of time for yourself however at
the same time it's important to know that everyone needs to go at their own pace you are not like
everyone else and so you have to go this journey at your own pace so it may take you three months
or six months or maybe even 12 months to have a fully functioning and profitable business but what
matters the most is that you get started right now because the other thing that i know is that life
is never perfect and just like there is no perfect time to have kids there is no perfect time to get
started on building your business or your future there will always be complicating factors or
reasons to delay or wait or hold off but the question is are you going to let those things
stand in your way you only have one life so what matters the most is that you get started
right now go on this journey and don't give up on your way to building a successful business
for yourself okay that's what i've got for you today in terms of what it takes to get started
building a business as a health or wellness coach and now i would love to hear from you
what is holding you back from starting a coaching business what are the things that are unknown
for you right now that are stopping you from taking action and getting started is it time
is it money is it confidence let me know in the comments below this video and let's have
a conversation if you liked this video be sure to hit the like button and don't forget to subscribe
so you don't miss it when i upload new videos take care and i will talk to you again soon