There are a number of ways you can start your business as a Holistic Nutritionist. You could be in private practice, you could share space with other alternative medicine practitioners, you could work in corporate wellness as an advisor, or even start your own online nutrition consulting business. The choice is yours. There are some practical matters you will need to take care of as well, and we will look at a few of those in this blog post.
Do you want to have a single corporate client with which you work to help their employees learn how to eat and what to eat? Or do you want to have many clients you work with to improve their diets, and therefore their lives? Only you know what you love to do, and neither one is better than the other. In any case, you will be helping people live better and feel better. It all comes down to what you like to do. But no matter what you choose, remember it is a business, not a hobby, and it will require many hours of research, hardwork and determination.
Marketing
You may find that you will receive referrals from other places readily, or you may need to develop an online marketing and advertising stategy. That can come in the form of paid ads on websites, or you can concentrate on social media campaigns. The upside to social media is that it is free, but it can also be a bit of a gamble in that if your efforts are not noticed and shared, you will not gain the traction that you want.
Whichever way you go, you will want to have a solid website, so make sure you set aside some of your marketing dollars for a website designer who can make a visually intriguing and user-friendly page for you. It should also include a way to capture information from your visitors, whether they get a free e-book for registering on your site, or you sign them up for a newsletter. That e-mail information is going to be essential to help grow your business.
Traditional tools like business cards are an absolute must as well. They can be handed out freely at events or left on community bulletin boards at the local coffee shop. Either way, they are an important part of your marketing plan.
Decide if you will see clients in an office or in a workshop
You can be a consultant who visits other places of business, or you can be an entrepreneur who sets up workshops and invites clients to come see & hear your educational presentations. You can have an office or you can see clients in a neutral setting such as a library. The choice is yours. There are some tax issues you will need to know about as well when considering where to set up your business, so be sure to ask your accountant.
The nuts and bolts
You will need to determine how you will bill your clients, whether by he hour or by the project. This is partly determined by how you will operate – private clients you will typically charge by the hour or number of sessions, versus workshops or corporate clients which you will usually charge by the project.
Having a team of people who will be able to advise you on the business part of your company is going to be crucial, so you can focus on what you do best. A business lawyer and an accountant as well as a webmaster will free you up immensely.
Schedule your time as a business if you work from home so you don’t have too many distractions that will keep you from being successful.
You will also need to check with your state for the requirements on business licenses and if you chose to work from home, zone permits for home offices.
It will take some time to build your business, so having cash reserves of 6-12 months that you can use to live on will relieve a lot of financial stress that you otherwise might have.
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