health coach business plan pdf

Health Coaching Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Health Coaching Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their health coaching companies.

If you’re unfamiliar with creating a health coaching business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a health coaching business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your health coaching business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to start a health coaching business or grow your existing health coaching company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your health coaching business to improve your chances of success. Your health coaching business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Health Coaching Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a health coaching business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for health coaching companies.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a health coaching business.

If you want to start a health coaching business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your health coaching business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of health coaching business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a health coaching business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of health coaching businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

Give a brief overview of the health coaching industry.
Discuss the type of health coaching business you are operating.
Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers.
Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team.
Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of health coaching business you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of health coaching businesses:

Fitness health coaching : Fitness health coaches work with clients to improve overall health by eating balanced meals and creating a comprehensive fitness plan.
Holistic health coaching: Coaches offer plant-based diets, along with integrated mind and body health platforms.
Wellness health coaching: Wellness health coaches concentrate on clients’ behavioral and mind-body integration.
Nutritional health coaching : Primarily focused on nutritional balance and performance in the body, nutritional health coaches work to reduce food allergies and other irritants to good health via selective eating plans.

In addition to explaining the type of health coaching business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

When and why did you start the business?
What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of clients served, the number of cases with positive outcomes, reaching X number of successful clients, etc.
Your legal business Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the health coaching industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the health coaching industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your health coaching business plan:

How big is the health coaching industry (in dollars)?
Is the market declining or increasing?
Who are the key competitors in the market?
Who are the key suppliers in the market?
What trends are affecting the industry?
What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your health coaching business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your health coaching business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, families, and HR personnel in corporations.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of health coaching business you operate. Clearly, individuals would respond to different marketing promotions than HR personnel in corporations, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

Finish Your Health Coaching Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other health coaching businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes medical clinics, alternative healers, and fitness gyms. You need to mention direct competition, as well.

For each direct competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

What types of customers do they serve?
What type of health coaching business are they?
What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
What are they good at?
What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

Will you provide options for the uninsured?
Will you offer health products or services that your competition doesn’t?
Will you provide better customer service?
Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a health coaching business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of health coaching company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide holistic health coaching with a balanced program of all components: mind, body, and spirit?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your plan, you are presenting the products and/or services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your health coaching company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your health coaching business located in a busy retail district, a business district, or in a standalone office? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your health coaching marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

Advertise in health and natural wellness magazines
Reach out to websites
Distribute flyers
Engage in email marketing
Advertise on social media platforms
Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your health coaching business, including answering calls, planning and providing coaching sessions, billing clients, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to book your Xth session, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your health coaching business to a new city.

Management Team

To demonstrate your health coaching business’ potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing health coaching businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a health coaching business or successfully running a small natural health store.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you see 10 clients per day, and/or offer packaged sessions? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your health coaching business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a health coaching business:

Cost of equipment and office supplies
Payroll or salaries paid to staff
Business insurance
Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office location lease or a list of insurance plans you accept.

Writing a business plan for your health coaching business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert and understand how to start a health coaching business. You will understand the health coaching industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful health coaching business.

Health Coaching Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my health coaching business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily write your health coaching business plan.

How Do You Start a Health Coaching Business?

Starting a Health Coaching business is easy with these 14 steps:

Choose the Name for Your Health Coaching Business
Create Your Health Coaching Business Plan
Choose the Legal Structure for Your Health Coaching Business
Secure Startup Funding for Your Health Coaching Business (If Needed)
Secure a Location for Your Business
Register Your Health Coaching Business with the IRS
Open a Business Bank Account
Get a Business Credit Card
Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
Get Business Insurance for Your Health Coaching Business
Buy or Lease the Right Health Coaching Business Equipment
Develop Your Health Coaching Business Marketing Materials
Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Health Coaching Business
Open for Business

Where Can I Download a Free Business Plan Template PDF?

Click here to download the pdf version of our basic business plan template.

Our free business plan template pdf allows you to see the key sections to complete in your plan and the key questions that each must answer. The business plan pdf will definitely get you started in the right direction.

We do offer a premium version of our business plan template. Click here to learn more about it. The premium version includes numerous features allowing you to quickly and easily create a professional business plan. Its most touted feature is its financial projections template which allows you to simply enter your estimated sales and growth rates, and it automatically calculates your complete five-year financial projections including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. Here’s the link to our Ultimate Business Plan Template.

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Health Coaching business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success. Click here to hire someone to write a business plan for you from Growthink’s team.

How to Create a Health Coaching Business Plan

Running your own business can be a daunting task. Does the thought of expense budgets and sales objectives throw you into a tailspin? The main reason many small businesses fail is because of poor direction and lack of forward thinking. Whether you are just starting out, or you are looking to expand your existing business, it’s time to write your business plan.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a guide that outlines your goals and allows you to plan or map out how to achieve them. A business plan does not need to be a long formal document. It can be as simple as planning how your business is going to work and how you are going to make it succeed. Your business plan will comprise of all of the aspects of your business, such as long-term and short-term goals, sales targets and expense budgets. What’s most important about a modern business plan is its development and the thought processes that go along with that. Writing a business plan is essential to the success of your business regardless of how big or small your business may be.

Who should write a business plan?

Are you just starting out.

If your business is in its infancy, writing a business plan will help you make sense of the uncertainty you may have about your business direction. It will help map out your projected income, budget for expenses, brainstorm milestones and create tasks. Putting together your business plan will make you more aware of when and where your expenses will come from, so that you can plan for these potential hurdles before they arise. A business plan for a new business should focus on explaining what you plan to do, how you are going to accomplish this, and why you are the right person to do this. Your start-up business plan will help you plan and strategize how much money you will need to invest during your initial growth phase, and hopefully set your business up to be successful financially.

Do you run an existing business?

There are many reasons why writing a business plan for your existing business is a smart idea. Whether you are you looking to expand or find a competitive edge in the market, a business plan will help you achieve your goals. The health, wellness and fitness industries are constantly evolving, so regrouping and re-strategizing your goals is vital to staying relevant and expanding your client/customer base. You may even find new business opportunities following your market research. A business plan for an existing business will reinforce strategy, establish metrics, manage responsibilities and goals, track results and manage and plan resources including critical cash flow. One of the most essential aspects of a business plan is to schedule for regular review and revision. Research from a 2011 study from Professor Andrew Burke, the founding Director or the Bettany Center for Entrepreneurial Performance and Economics at Cranfield School and Management revealed that business growth was 30% faster in businesses that use business plans , compared to those that relied on organic growth.

Why you should write a business plan

Writing a business plan will help you prioritize your goals . It will give your business direction and will help define your objectives. It will also help you map out strategies to achieve your goals. Prioritizing your goals will permit you to focus your resources and energy on what you need to do.

Writing your business plan will allow you to gain control over your business , no matter whether you are just starting up or whether you have been at it for a while. Taking this time away from your business to strategically plan for the future will pay off in the long run. Developing a business plan gives you the opportunity to step away from the day-to-day running of your business and allows you to critically assess what is working well in your business and what needs improvement. Putting your business plan together will help you learn about the different forces and factors that may affect your success. For example, if you are just starting your Health Coaching business, try and think about how many clients you think you can manage. Whilst growth is needed for a successful business, you don’t want to spread yourself too thin as this may lead to client dissatisfaction, client attrition, and less chance of a client recommendation. Writing your business plan will also help you see where you fit in the current market and it will allow you to see potential new areas for growth. You can identify challenges you may come across and work out strategies to avoid or overcome them. Setting specific goals, timeframes for achieving them, and how you will measure performance will also help you gain control of your business direction.

If you are interested in bringing in external finances , having a well thought out business plan is a must. You may be entitled to start up grant funding or you may look to investors or lenders to help get some initial cash flow. Potential lenders and investors will only risk their time and money if they are confident your business will be successful and profitable. You need to make sure you have done your research as this will show that you are serious about your business and it will help lenders and investors understand your business idea, including your predicted profits and income streams.

Analyze yourself and your business

Before writing your business plan, it’s important to critically assess yourself and your business idea. This will help identify your personal and business strengths as well as areas that you may need to pay particular attention to, or to gain outside help with. Some questions you may like to ask yourself include:

Do you have the necessary management skills to run your own business?
Do you have the industry expertise, technical skills, the finances and the long-term vision to grow and run a successful business?
Why are you starting your own business?
What are your business and personal goals?
Do you have the income you need to generate your initial start up expenses?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of running your own business?

What to include in your business plan

There’s no need to start your business plan from a blank sheet of paper. Freely available business plan templates are available online that you can use as a guide and to help you get started. Here are some key points to consider when developing your business plan.

Business summary

This is an overview of your business plan, and whilst it will be placed at the start of your plan, it is best to write this once you have put the rest of your business plan together.

Management and operations plan

This section will cover aspects of your business operations including your business structure, registration, your premises and location of business, any staff you may employ and the products and services you provide.

Market plan

This is where you include your market analysis. You need to identify your competitors and your customers and discuss key marketing targets and strategies.

Future plans

Discuss your future business plans, including your vision statement, business goals and key business milestones.

Finance plan

Your finance plan will discuss how you will finance your business, including costing and financial projections.

Keep it dynamic

Your business plan is a living guide that should develop alongside your business growth. Successful businesses review and update their business plans regularly, especially as their circumstances change. As a self-employed Health Coach, writing a business plan will give you a huge advantage in the health, wellness and fitness industries. It will enable you to project achievable goals and milestones and you will be able to assess where your potential bumps may arise. A little forward thinking and planning will set you and your business up for future financial rewards.

Now tell us what you think! Leave a comment below to start or join the discussion...

Ready to become one of the world’s most trusted, experienced, and knowledgeable health coaches get certified as a primal coach..

Establish clout. Elevate your career. Enrich your knowledge with the only comprehensive ancestral health certification program in existence.

Got questions? We have answers. Gain instant access to the Primal Health Coach Institute Course Catalog.

In course catalog, you will learn:

How to become a health or fitness coach in just 5–7 hours per week
Exactly what you will learn in each of our online courses
The professional opportunities available for health and fitness coaches
Ways to define your niche as a health or fitness specialist
The length, format, and graduation requirements of each course
The business tools and support we provide to all of our students
Please select one
Afghanistan
Åland Islands
American Samoa
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas (the)
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bouvet Island
British Indian Ocean Territory (the)
Brunei Darussalam
Burkina Faso
Cayman Islands (the)
Central African Republic (the)
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands (the)
Comoros (the)
Congo (the Democratic Republic of the)
Congo (the)
Cook Islands (the)
Côte d'Ivoire
Czech Republic (the)
Dominican Republic (the)
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Falkland Islands (the) [Malvinas]
Faroe Islands (the)
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern Territories (the)
Gambia (the)
Guinea-Bissau
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Holy See (the)
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Isle of Man
Johnston Island
Korea (the Democratic People's Republic of)
Korea (the Republic of)
Lao People's Democratic Republic (the)
Liechtenstein
Macedonia (the former Yugoslav Republic of)
Marshall Islands (the)
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Midway Islands
Moldova (the Republic of)
Netherlands (the)
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Niger (the)
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands (the)
Palestine, State of
Papua New Guinea
Philippines (the)
Puerto Rico
Russian Federation (the)
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin (French part)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Sierra Leone
Sint Maarten (Dutch part)
Solomon Islands
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Sudan
Southern Rhodesia
Sudan (the)
Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic
Taiwan (Province of China)
Tanzania, United Republic of
Timor-Leste
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands (the)
United Arab Emirates (the)
United Kingdom
United States
United States Minor Outlying Islands (the)
Upper Volta
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Virgin Islands (British)
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Wallis and Futuna
Western Sahara
Program Interest (Please Select One) *
Human Intestinal Microbiome in Health and Disease
Strength Training for Women
Health Coaching in Medical Practices
Functional Therapeutic Diets
Applied Ketogenic Diet
Functional Lab Testing for Health Coaches
I'm not sure yet

Achieve your dream of becoming a health or fitness professional.

Get Program Information

Download a Course Catalog
Access to our exclusive 72-Hour Virtual Tour
Discover how to build your dream career as a coach

Download your FREE eBook
Access our exclusive 72-Hour Virtual Tour
Learn 30 ways to earn a lucrative living as a Primal Health Coach

Talk to an Advisor
Your Cart ( 0 ) 0

Study Programs

Personal Trainer
NEW! Group Fitness Instructor
Health Coach
Medical Exercise Specialist
ACE Certification Course Bundles
NEW! YogaRenew (RYS®) Teacher Training Certification
Why Get Certified
Why Choose ACE
Health & Fitness Careers
How to Become a Personal Trainer
How to Become a Group Fitness Instructor
CPR/AED Certificate
Certification Exam
Register for Your Exam
Certification Renewal
ACE Answers
Military Financial Assistance

Continuing Education Pathways

CEC Power Pass ™

Get 24 months of unlimited learning.

Specialist Programs

Advance your career with in-depth programs.

Course Bundles

Grow your knowledge with curated sets of courses.

eCredits Save on CECs with upfront payment.
Magazine Quizzes Read Certified ™ and earn CECs.
Compare All Pathways

Safety Training

CPR/AED Certification
First Aid Certification

More Ways To Learn

Live Webinars
Certified ™ Magazine
ACE-Approved Courses

Find your perfect learning pathway!

For certified pros.

Career Support
Digital Credentials
ACE Insights Blog
Research & Studies

For Business Partners

Fitness Facilities & Health Clubs
Education Institutions
Healthcare Organizations
Corporate Wellness Programs
Continuing Education Providers
International Partners

For Everyone

Healthy Living Blog
Exercise Library
Website Builder
Tools & Calculators
Find an ACE Pro
ACE at a Glance
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
ACE Mover Method
Standards & Professionalism
Population Health

About ACE IMPACT

Our Mission
Community Impact & Initiatives
Science & Research
Community Resources
Get Involved

Get answers to all your questions!

Things like:

How long is the program? Is the program and exam online? What makes ACE's program different?

Your Cheat Sheet to Starting a Health Coach Business

View All Categories

Behavior Change
Cardiovascular Training
Disease Considerations
Exercise Science
Group Exercise
Healthcare System

Lifestyle Medicine

Mental Health
Overweight & Obesity
Program Design
Women's Health

Meet Our Experts

Lauren Shroyer
Jason R. Karp, Ph.D.
Wendy Sweet, Ph.D.
Michael J. Norwood, Ph.D.
Brian Tabor
Dr. Marty Miller
Jan Schroeder, Ph.D
Cassandra Padgett
Graham Melstrand
Margarita Cozzan
Christin Everson
Nancy Clark
Rebekah Rotstein
Vicki Hatch-Moen and Autumn Skeel
Araceli De Leon, M.S.
Avery D. Faigenbaum, EdD, FACSM, FNSCA
Dominique Adair, MS, RD
Eliza Kingsford
Tanya Thompson
Lindsey Rainwater
Amy Bantham, DrPH, MPP, MS
Katrina Pilkington
Preston Blackburn
Special Olympics
Elyse Miller
Wix Blog Editors
Samantha Gambino, PsyD
Meg Lambrych
Reena Vokoun
Justin Fink
Brittany Todd
James J. Annesi
Shannon Fable
Jonathan Ross
Natalie Digate Muth
Cedric X. Bryant
Chris Freytag
Chris McGrath
Nancey Tsai
Todd Galati
Elizabeth Kovar
Jessica Matthews
Lawrence Biscontini
Jacqueline Crockford, DHSc
Pete McCall
Shana Verstegen
Anthony J. Wall
Justin Price
Billie Frances
Amanda Vogel

Starting your own business can be intimidating, but this cheat sheet can help. It was created to guide you with clarity about how to make your business thrive without leaving you feeling overwhelmed. And the less overwhelmed you feel, the more you can focus on effectively coaching your clients.

First Steps

To get started, you should:

Determine which structure best suits your business (e.g., a limited liability company or other designation).
Register your business in the state in which you live and work. More information on this is found at your Secretary of State’s website.
Set up a Federal EIN (Employer Identification Number).
Get a checking and savings account set up for your business to keep finances separate.
Acquire some type of business insurance.

NOTE: All of the above should be discussed with a legal and tax professional to confirm that you are set up legally and correctly.

After establishing the framework for your business, your next step is to acquire your first client (or keep a steady flow of clients). This is where this cheat sheet will come in handy, as it provides an outline of what you need to do and how to do it to earn your first clients and keep additional clients streaming into your business so you can help more people.

As you read through these tips, remember two rules:

Establish relationships. Be genuine in your desire to coach people; work to build a connection with clients to establish meaningful and trusting relationships. This helps to set the stage for open and honest collaboration between the client and coach.
Deliver meaningful coaching experiences. Offer the best coaching possible and make every interaction client-centered. And always seek excellence in your coaching by asking your clients how you can better serve them and make their experience better.

Here are the first major steps to building your health coaching business:

1. Identify your ideal client

If you try to help everyone , then you will likely help no one. You will have a more difficult time helping people, because your focus will be too spread out across client types. Instead, having a clear understanding of who your ideal client is makes it easier to seek out the clients you can help the most.

Ask yourself the following questions to create an ideal client avatar for your business:

Who are the ideal types of clients I would like to coach?
What are the main issues they have when it comes to their health?
What is the average age? Gender?
What do they do for a living? Are they full-time employees, entrepreneurs, students or retired?
What are their hobbies?
What activities do they enjoy?
What are their common goals when it comes to health? What is the number one thing you will help them with in their coaching journey?

Once you answer these questions, it will give you a clear idea of the kind of clients you will pursue in your health coaching business.

2. Find out Where Your Ideal Clients Like to Hangout

Looking at your ideal clients’ hobbies and favorite things, where do they like to spend most of their time in-person and online? What are their favorite shops, grocery stores, retail locations, brands, social media platforms, etc.? Identify at least one or two favorites in each category and start connecting with these places or with the social media group pages related to these things and offer advice if questions are asked. Of course, be sure to follow the groups’ rules or risk being banned or presenting yourself as disingenuous instead of as someone wanting to help people (remember rule number one, above).

3. Create Content that Answers your Ideal Clients’ Questions About Health

Sit down and think of at least 20 questions that your ideal client has about health and fitness — all of these questions are ideal topics for your content. The key here is to create social media content for your ideal clients’ questions, and not to create content for your peers. You are seeking to establish trust with your ideal clients, not impress your peers and other coaches. Remind yourself of this often.

4. When your Clients get Good Results, ask for Testimonials

Do not hesitate to ask for testimonials from your clients. To prove that you help provide results, you need to have a body of proof, and testimonials are a great way to earn trust from others. Ask for referrals as well. This is one of the best ways to build your business, because friends trust their own friends and will more easily contact you for coaching upon a friend’s recommendation.

5. Thank your Clients Often

Working with a coach is a personal journey that requires trust, patience, acceptance, and open communication to be effective. Your clients have likely opened up to you during the coaching relationship about personal challenges and successes they may not share with others. Be thankful for sharing in this experience with them. Offering a small token of appreciation, such as a journal, your favorite book or something that reflects something the client loves can add to the overall experience and may set you apart from other coaches.

While this is not an exhaustive list, it is enough to get you started in the right direction. Start with identifying your ideal clients and you may be surprised at how much clarity that offers you going forward.

Jen (Pn2, NASM-CPT, ACE Certified Health Coach) has been a coach in the fitness industry for almost 15 years. She's the host of the podcast Making Shift Happen and the owner of Shift Human Performance ( www.shifthumanperformance.com ), both of which allow her to share her purpose to help others create their best lives without spending countless hours in the kitchen and gym. In her spare time outside of the gym, she enjoys mountain biking, spending time outdoors in Colorado, and spending time with her family and silly rescue pup. Follow Jen on Instagram (@shifthumanperformance), Twitter (@shiftyourselfup), or contact her at jen @shifthumanperformance.com .

Stay Informed

5 Chest Stretch Variations

7 Core Stability Exercises

How to Find a Job as an ACE Certified Personal Trainer

Stuck in an All-or-Nothing Mindset? Here’s How to Break Free

The Benefits of Making Healthy Choices During Social Isolation

Student Login

Get in touch

Our team is here to answer all of your questions

Health Coaching
How Create Health...

How to Create a Health Coach Business Plan

Share this article:.

Through fostering a positive mindset around health and well-being, health coaches empower and motivate their clients to become experts on their health. Health coaches have the tools and knowledge to share with their clients about holistic health and how to enact sustainable behavioral changes.

Coaches empower clients to learn what makes them feel good, not just what they’ve been told is “healthy” or what they “should” or “shouldn’t” do as it relates to their health. They guide clients toward sustainable diet and lifestyle changes by equipping them with the mental and emotional tools to achieve great health, such as how to find the foods and lifestyle practices that work for them.

Health coaches can work in many different roles including at doctor’s offices, hospitals, spas, schools, gyms, and wellness centers. Many coaches begin their journey into small business ownership by creating their own health coaching business. But creating and building a successful business doesn’t happen overnight or without hard work – and you can set yourself up for success by creating a business plan.

What is a Business Plan?

Business plans are just what they sound like: a way to guide you through the stages of starting and managing a business. Business plans act as a map for how to structure, run, and grow your business, and they can be (and should be) tailored to you and your business’s unique needs. Your business plan can also aid in securing funding or new business partnerships. Investors will look for proof they’ll see a return on their investment, and your business plan is the tool you’ll use to convince them.

What to Include in Your Business Plan

As you create your business plan, you may come across competitive advantages you didn’t know you had or discover obstacles you need to overcome before you start taking on clients. Writing a business plan is a chance to outline how you want to run your business, and it can keep you accountable down the road.

Executive summary

This brief introduction to your business plan gives an overview of your company, skills, service offerings, and how you plan to run your health coaching business. Think of this section as the highlights – it needs to be able to draw people in.

Industry overview

People not currently involved in the health and wellness fields may not know what Health Coaches are or what they do. This section should cover the health coaching industry and where you fit into it. Use facts and statistics to back up your claims – like the fact that holistic Health Coaches contribute to improving health outcomes.

Mission statement

The mission statement of your business should be a direct, short statement that highlights your overall strategy and goals for your business. Your mission statement is the “why” behind your business; it shows potential investors the person behind the company.

Business structure and operations plan

This section will show who is involved with your health coaching business and how their roles contribute to its success. If you’re the sole proprietor and are running a one-person show, you can use this section to explain your credentials and discuss your earlier experience as a Health Coach. Make a clear and compelling statement about the unique value your company brings to the market.

The operations plan should explain the organization of how your business will run. How will you gain clients? Who will handle the day-to-day operations (if not you)? How will you be generating revenue? In this section, consider how your clients will be communicating with you, how you’ll interact with them , and how you’ll turn those interactions into long-term revenue streams. Discuss how you’ll measure what success looks like for your business.

Description of services

Describe what you’re selling or the services you offer. Explain how this will help clients and how you’ll keep them on long-term. The services section can also describe what clients can achieve with the help of your coaching business. Will you offer one-on-one meetings with clients ? Meal plan and create workout regimens? Provide financial counseling? Outline every service you intend to offer.

Target market and competition analysis

This section of your business plan may have been completed much earlier on in your business development process – conducting a SWOT analysis is a smart first step when coming up with any business idea. A SWOT analysis considers the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of your business or the health and wellness community. Strengths and Weaknesses look specifically at the business’s inner workings, where Opportunities and Threats focus on your specific industry and the market.

Once the SWOT analysis is completed, you should identify your ideal clients, target markets, and preferred customers. You can create one or two examples of the people you’re looking to attract to your health coaching business. These examples should highlight who your clients will be, what their lives and health look like, what they want to achieve, and any other demographics that can help you identify potential clients in your marketing plan.

Marketing plan

The marketing section of your business plan should explain how you’ll reach your target market through advertising and marketing. This should include what social media platforms you’ll be using (and their potential for conversion), how you’ll utilize your website, where and when you’ll advertise, if you’ll be partnering with any public relations firms or influencers, and your launch and pre-launch marketing plans. Provide examples of any flyers, ads, business cards, or branding guidelines that showcase your business.

Pricing overview

Detail the prices you will offer for your services and how they compare to your competitors. This should include any discounts you plan to offer, how you’ve come to the amount you’re charging, and any fees you anticipate having clients incur. You can also detail how you’ll coordinate bookings for appointments and point-of-sale solutions for processing payments.

Financial projections

The goal of this section is to show that your health coaching business will be successful financially. This section is incredibly important when it comes to seeking investors. They want to know that they’ll get their money back, should they support your business. Highlight featured services, explore the cost of running your business and your profit margins, and establish your revenue goals.

If you’ve got an already-established business, include income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements for the last three to five years. Use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business and what you hope to achieve.

The Bottom Line

Consistency is key when it comes to marketing yourself, and Integrative Nutrition’s IINBiz platform offers done-for-you content specifically curated for wellness entrepreneurs. IINBiz a premier marketing platform that provides graduates with ready-to-use marketing materials like client forms, handouts, newsletter templates, webinars, and more – to its graduates.

Starting any new business can be a daunting task, so it’s important to remember that you don’t need to be perfect to get started - but having a plan can help you start off strong. Starting with set goals, financial objectives, marketing strategies, and other targets will help keep your business on the path forward.

Katy holds a bachelor’s in English with a concentration in creative writing and advertising from Rider University. After jobs in the field of finance, she wanted to transition to an industry that focused on helping others be their best selves, and discovered IIN.

The Original Health Coaching Program

Learn more about IIN’s rigorous curriculum that integrates 90+ of the world’s leading experts in health and wellness, blending the scientific and the spiritual to create an immersive, holistic health education.

Blog Article Curriculum Guide V2 (small/tokens)

Health coach training guide, blog form - health coaching 101 guide.

Everything you need to know about Health Coaching, in one guide!

Powering the next generation of healthcare delivery

Integrate Healthie with your existing tools.

Letting you focus on delivering quality care.

For group practices and clinics.

Flexible, open, and ready to grow with you.

Recurring, relationship-based care at scale

A woman sitting in a park, engrossed in a phone conversation.

Creating a Health Coaching Business Plan

Learn how to create a business plan for health coaching. Healthie’s all-in-one platform helps health coaches build out their offerings.

Learn how to create a business plan for health coaching. Healthie's all-in-one platform helps health coaches build out their offerings.

Steps to Creating a Business Plan for Health Coaching

Starting a health coaching business can be an exciting and rewarding venture. However, like any entrepreneurial endeavor, it requires careful planning and strategizing to ensure long-term success. One essential tool that can guide you through the process is a well-crafted health coaching business plan. Allow us to outline the steps to create a comprehensive business plan specifically tailored for health coaching. Whether you're a seasoned health coach or just starting out, this guide will help you develop a solid foundation for your business.

Step 1: Executive Summary

The first step in any health coach business plan template is the executive summary. The executive summary provides an overview of your health coaching business. It should include a brief description of your services, target market, unique value proposition, and goals. This section should capture the attention of potential investors, partners, or lenders, and provide a snapshot of what your business aims to achieve.

Step 2: Company Description

Provide a detailed description of your health coaching business. Include information such as your mission statement, legal structure (sole proprietorship, LLC, etc.), and key personnel involved in the business. Explain your coaching approach, specialty areas, and the benefits clients can expect from working with you.

Step 3: Market Analysis

Conduct thorough research to gain a deep understanding of your target market, competitors, and industry trends. Identify your ideal client profile and demographics, their needs, and pain points. Analyze your competitors' strengths and weaknesses and determine how you can differentiate your services to stand out in the market. Use this information to develop effective marketing strategies and identify opportunities for growth.

Step 4: Services and Pricing

Describe the health coaching services you will offer and the pricing structure for each service. Outline the benefits and features of your coaching programs, including any additional resources or tools you will provide. Determine your pricing based on factors such as the value of your services, market demand, and the competition. Be sure to consider your target market's willingness and ability to pay when setting your prices.

Step 5: Marketing and Sales Strategies

In this section of the health coach business model, outline your marketing and sales strategies to attract and retain clients. Identify the channels you will use to promote your services, such as social media, website, referrals, partnerships, or speaking engagements. Develop a content marketing plan that includes creating valuable blog posts, videos, or podcasts to establish yourself as an authority in the health coaching industry. Outline your sales process, including how you will convert leads into paying clients and retain them for long-term engagement.

Step 6: Operations and Management

Detail the day-to-day operations of your health coaching business. Describe the systems and processes you will put in place to manage client onboarding, scheduling, and communication. Discuss how you will ensure client privacy and data security, particularly if you offer virtual coaching services. Outline your team structure, if applicable, and describe the roles and responsibilities of each team member. If you plan to outsource any aspects of your business, specify those tasks and the criteria for selecting reliable partners or contractors.

Step 7: Financial Projections

Create financial projections for your health coaching business, including income statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets. Estimate your revenue and expenses for the first three to five years. Consider factors such as marketing costs, office space or equipment expenses, software subscriptions, and professional development. Conduct a break-even analysis to determine the number of clients needed to cover your costs and start generating profits.

Step 8: Evaluation and Monitoring

The last step in this business plan for health coaching is establishing how you will evaluate and monitor your business. Define the key performance indicators (KPIs) you will use to measure the success of your health coaching business. These may include client retention rates, revenue growth, client testimonials, or social media engagement. Establish a regular review process to track your progress against these KPIs.

What To Do After You Have Created a Health Coaching Business Plan

Once you have written your health coaching business plan, it is time to take action and market your business to potential clients. It is time to identify your target market and build an online presence. Today, businesses with an online presence have the advantage of connecting with similar health and wellness businesses. Make good use of your new network and head to social media. Ask your new connections to collaborate on social and schedule an Instagram live or guest post. If you are in the same niche this is a great way to gain new leads. Be sure to regularly post fresh content that will generate new followers and keep your current audience engaged.

Here are a few steps to take once you have completed your health coach business model and established your audience.

Review and refine : Go through your business plan and ensure all sections are clear, concise, and aligned with your goals. Update any information that may have changed since you initially wrote the plan.
Seek feedback : Share your business plan with trusted advisors, mentors, or other health coaching professionals. Consider their feedback and make necessary revisions.
Create an implementation timeline : Develop a timeline that outlines the steps you need to take to launch and grow your health coaching business. Assign deadlines and prioritize tasks.
Monitor and adjust : Regularly review your business plan and track your progress. Evaluate the effectiveness of your strategies and make adjustments as needed.

By following these steps and taking action on your business plan, you will be well on your way to building a successful health coaching business. The next stip is partnering with a health coaching business platform desinged to help you scale. Healthie is an all-in-one telehealth platform tailored to the needs of health coaching businesses, and now is available to try for free!

The Healthie platform specializes in scheduling, billing, and client engagement. With Helathie you can

Send forms and collect client paperwork completely electronically
Store your clients’ notes and data in a cloud-based EMR, designed for small practices
Send bills or pre-filled insurance claims, and receive card payments via Stripe
Feel confident you’re maintaining complete HIPAA compliance

Launch, grow & scale your business today.

Open & flexible infrastructure, ready to scale

Connect to the tools that you already use to run your business.

The best scheduling tool in healthcare with full API support.

Build long term relationships for better health outcomes

A single, integrated back office to manage complexity.

An EHR purpose-built for recurring, collaborative care.

Flexible, open and ready to grow with you.

Recurring, relationship-based care at scale.

A mother tenderly kisses her baby while they both sit on a couch, creating a heartwarming moment of love and affection.

Get instant access to the API that we use to build our own product.

Committed to ensuring enterprise grade security and compliance.

Scale your care delivery with Healthie+.

Guides & Templates

Learn how to create a successful health coach business plan, learn how to create a successful health coach business plan and launch your company. we’ll also discuss why creating an actionable business plan matters..

You have what it takes to become a health and wellness coach . If you deeply understand the human body, enjoy watching people achieve their health goals, and perhaps have earned a certification in your field, you’re ready to set up shop.

But having the skills and education necessary to excel at health coaching doesn’t mean you’re a business strategy master. And launching a health coaching company isn’t as easy as renting office space.

Creating a business plan should be the first step of your roadmap. This plan will guide the rest of your career, laying a foundation you can tweak when necessary.

In this article, we’ll explain how to make a health coach business plan that’ll get your company up and running as efficiently as possible.

A guide to making a business plan for coaching

If you’re a first-time entrepreneur, we’ve got good news. Business plans are fairly standardized documents you can easily customize to suit your coaching specialty . They typically include the following sections:

An executive summary: Provide a high-level view of your mission, services, and goals, including what makes your business unique and the purpose it intends to fulfill.
Market analysis: Successful business owners understand their competition. Research other health coaching companies in your area, their services, and how much they cost. Figure out their target market — this is likely yours as well. This information will help you create a successful health coach marketing strategy.
Organization and management: As your business scales, you’ll need help. Define any resources and employees you expect to take on, their roles, and expected salaries.
Services offered: Describe the health coaching services you’ll provide and any programs or unique plans you’ll run, outlining how you plan to deliver your services (in-person or online ). Your business description may include a specific wellness focus or information on any specialized health coaching programs you offer, like a long-term stress management course . Use this space to describe the projected costs of each service.

After writing your business plan, you can use this information to plan the first steps you’ll take after launching:

Marketing and sales: One of the first steps after completing your business plan is looking for prospective clients. You’ll do this by implementing your marketing strategy. A twenty-first-century marketing plan needs to go beyond flashy business cards. You’ll need a website and social media accounts. You may also want to use paid online or print advertisements. Outline your target audience, the marketing tactics you plan on employing and when, and how much you expect everything will cost. ‍
Financial projections: This section is non-negotiable — it must be included in your plan. Outline your operational costs, overhead, and any debt you accrued through an initial investment to get your business running. Set short and long-term goals and milestones you hope to reach in specific time periods. If possible, include balance sheets and cash flow statements.
‍ Pitch to investors: A business plan isn’t just a guide for the person creating it — it’s a resource for investors. Once you’ve outlined what services you’ll offer and how profitable they’ll be, you can find someone to invest in your business to help you hit the ground running.

If you’re a startup that’s creating your first business strategy, try a business plan template that outlines each section and helps you organize your information.

The benefits of having a business plan

A business plan helps us know our next move, just as action plans help our clients. It gives us an understanding of where we’re at, what we want, and how to get there.

Here are some specific reasons creating a business plan is worthwhile:

It provides the information necessary to gain financial backing. If you’re looking for investors or plan on getting a bank loan, the information in this document will help them assess your financial status and how serious your business will be. ‍
It helps you understand your audience. You’ve studied health and coaching, but not necessarily your local market. Making a business plan will help you set reasonable prices in line with what potential clients are willing to pay for this service based on where you live and how experienced you are. ‍
It’s an opportunity to learn. The more you understand about health and wellness coaching and those that need it, the more prepared you’ll feel and the more reputable your business will become. Creating a business plan offers you the opportunity to learn more about this industry and the needs of your ideal client.

I made my business plan. What’s next?

Now for the exciting part: launching your business. Once it’s legally registered, you can kick off your marketing tactics. Consider offering a discount to your first clients to get people through the door. Once you’ve had a few successful experiences with clients, ask them to leave a good review online or write a testimonial for your website.

We recommend starting with just a few clients while you get the hang of things. You can scale as you become more comfortable managing multiple plans at once. Remember to update your business plan as you gain hands-on experience and learn more about this profession.

A final tip

A business plan provides a solid foundation for starting your company, but you must also create a base for receiving new clients.

A customer relationship management (CRM) tool will help you stay organized. Practice allows you to safely store documents such as client intake forms and coaching proposal templates , communicate directly with clients, and schedule appointments. Plus, you’ll join a welcoming community of coaches. Try it today .

Give your clients a simple and professional experience

Simple client management designed for teams, free form templates from practice.

A simple and effective template to help you provide your clients with the best executive coaching feedback. Get the most out of your coaching sessions with this form.

Get a complimentary wellness consultation template to help you provide personalized health advice for your clients. Start optimizing their wellness today!

Gain valuable insights from your nutrition coaching clients with this easy-to-use feedback form template. Get the information you need to help them reach their goals!

Create an Amazing Life-Coaching Business Plan

How To Become a Personal Development Coach

How To Create an Effective Life Plan (With Examples)

Here’s How to Create a Client Communication Plan Template

Diving Into What a Business Coach Is

How to Create a Successful Coaching Program with a Checklist

Educational Empowerment: Developing a Tutoring Program That Transforms Learning

Learn How To Become an Accountability Coach

Best Practices

5 tips to start coaching your team for performance improvement.

Marketing and Sales

Using social media as a coach.

Unlocking Potential with Student Accountability: 8 Powerful Examples

About Practice

8 crm best practices every business needs to know.

Coaching Questions To Use in Your Sessions

4 Reasons Why Using a CRM is a Good Idea

5 Ways to Practice Gratitude

Professional Development

Coaching examples to get inspired by before your next session.

Health Coaching: Your Ultimate Template Toolkit for Success

Health and wellness coaching involves working with individuals and groups and empowering them to achieve self-determined goals centered around wellbeing (Moore et al., 2016).

Coaches encourage clients to increase wellbeing and wholeness and ensure their essential needs are met (Arloski, 2014).

This article explores health coaching and introduces templates and tools to assess and motivate clients on their path toward wellness.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques to create lasting behavior change.

This Article Contains:

8 skills of effective health coaches, 3 techniques for your sessions, how to use motivational interviewing, 9 health coaching templates, forms, and worksheets, 10 extra tips to become the ultimate health coach, 7 helpful assessment tools you can use, most fascinating health coaching books, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

Effective coaches support clients in maximizing their personal and professional potential. And yet, clients are not always ready or willing to make the changes needed to improve their health (Moore et al., 2016).

Moore et al. (2016) suggest that health coaches should go beyond improving diet and exercise to address the whole person and avoid ordering, providing solutions, shaming, or arguing with their clients.

Therefore, being successful requires a set of advanced and overlapping skills, including the following (Moore et al., 2016):

Assisting clients in figuring out what they need and want
Helping them find their way through nonjudgmental yet challenging and stimulating engagement
Supporting the client as they “carve away life’s clutter to reveal their best selves” (Moore et al., 2016, p. 13)
Helping foster the ideal conditions for the client’s brain to adapt, grow, and change
Eliciting intrinsic motivation (rather than extrinsic self-motivation) in the client (for example, exercising because they want to rather than being told)
Working with the client to build their confidence by fostering positive emotions
Engaging authentic positivity and using it as a resource for recovering from obstacles and setbacks
Coaching clients toward achieving health goals by structuring processes and tracking progress

When the client is reasonably confident and self-motivated, they will begin to make changes – even small ones – that will further improve their confidence and motivation (Moore et al., 2016).

Accept and respect that patients are resourceful.
The coach is an enabler rather than an expert.
Health coaching should take a whole-life approach.
The client owns and brings the agenda to the session.
Coach and clients are equals in the coaching process.
Coaching is for change and action.

When combined, these principles assert the client’s ability and capacity to be resourceful and ultimately responsible for their health (Rogers & Maini, 2016).

Creating a wellness plan

Co-creating a wellness plan with the client is invaluable in providing a clear map for health-related change and coaching sessions. Rather than the coach telling the client what to do, the client must take “responsibility for their own health and wellness” (Arloski, 2014, p. 155).

Therefore, rather than being prescriptive, which is typically ineffective, the wellness plan becomes a tool to help clients (Arloski, 2014):

Identify and capture ways they would like to work on improving their lifestyle
Plan how to measure and track progress on their journey
Secure the support needed
Define target outcomes so they know when they’ve reached their destination

The wellness plan should also consider the client’s motivation, obstacles that may get in their way, and available support.

Create a wellness vision

Coaches and clients should work together to arrive at a vision of what wellness looks like to the client. The client creates a list of qualities they would like in their ‘best possible lives,’ such as (modified from Arloski, 2014):

Healthy relationships with friends, partners, and coworkers
A healthy body, ability to move effortlessly and vigorously, ability to enjoy sports and activities they love
A sense of meaning and purpose
Being free of tobacco or reducing unhealthy eating and alcohol intake (as appropriate)

The client can use the list to create a wellness vision statement, such as:

My vision is to become fit and active so that I can enjoy playing and engaging in activities with my young children while maintaining good health as I age.

The client uses their personal and specific statement to create a crystal-clear picture of what wellness and being healthy mean to them.

Determine and live client goals

The client chooses several areas of focus for wellness (for example, increasing variety in their diet, improving physical fitness, reducing reliance on alcohol, etc.) and arrives at goals that define success in each area.

The client and coach can break these goals down into a series of action steps, such as taking a vigorous walk with the dog each morning or increasing the number of vegetables they eat.

The following questions can help the client focus their attention (modified from Arloski, 2014):

Desires – What do you want from each area of focus?
Current location – Where are you now with this area?
Destination – Where would you like to be?
Committed course – What are you committing to do?
Challenges – What are you up against?
Strategies – How will you overcome the obstacles you meet?
Support – Who can provide you with support along your journey?

SMART goal setting can ensure realistic, specific, achievable, challenging, and time-based goals.

Download 3 Free Goals Exercises (PDF)

These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques for lasting behavior change.

Download 3 Free Goals Pack (PDF)

By filling out your name and email address below.

Email Address *
Your Expertise * Your expertise Therapy Coaching Education Counseling Business Healthcare Other
Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“Motivational interviewing (MI) is used to evoke and reinforce individuals’ inner motivation to change their behavior toward better health” (Hagger et al., 2020, p. 661). It is non-confrontational and client centered yet discourages cognitive dissonance.

Practitioners using motivational interviewing must be proficient in the following (modified from Hagger et al., 2020):

Relational skills and adopting the spirit of MI
Applying MI-consistent techniques
Increasing the frequency of client utterances about behavior change – known as change talk
Reducing the frequency of talk that sustains problematic behaviors – known as sustain talk

MI can be a standalone intervention or a motivational prelude to other behavioral change techniques and includes the following (Hagger et al., 2020; Miller & Rollnick, 2013):

Affirmation The coach clearly affirms the client’s actions and personal attributes. For example, “With your busy day and the bad weather, I really appreciate it that you made the appointment.”
Elicit–provide–elicit The coach asks to talk about a subject then asks (elicits) what the client already knows.
Identify strengths The coach identifies strengths by what the client says, then repeats them back. For example, “You are great at following through on the promises you make.”
Desire – “I really want to stop drinking alcohol.”
Ability – “I could cut down.”
Reason – “I would be healthier.”
Need – “I have to stop now.”
How would you like to make a start? (commitment)
What are you ready to do now? (activation)
When and how will you take this step (taking steps)

3 Best forms for your sessions

1. focusing health choices.

Clients often arrive at health coaching with some idea, consciously or unconsciously, of the lifestyle they seek.

Use the questions in the Focusing Health Choices worksheet to capture a complete list of the health and lifestyle choices the client would like in their lives.

2. Wellness Map

A wellness map focuses both client and health coach on planning and charting coaching success (Arloski, 2014).

Use the Wellness Map to capture desired changes, readiness for change, actions to be taken, and success indicators.

3. Health Coaching Foundations

The client is the expert regarding their health coaching needs and “comes from a unique place in their thinking and their interactions with their world around them” (Arloski, 2014, p. 293).

The Health Coaching Foundations worksheet supports the coach as they get to understand what the client wants and how best they can be helped. It lays the foundation on which to build the coaching plan.

Coaching agreement templates

Use this free Instructor Feedback Form to organize and obtain feedback for clients to understand and agree on the intention and value of coaching sessions.
The Behavior Contract identifies and captures behavior aligned with improved wellbeing and environments that offer support.
Use and modify the free intake form to capture the reasons for seeking treatment and any indicators or triggers that require immediate action.

Crafting a session plan: 3 Examples

While session plans are specific to the needs of the client, the following general coaching tools will help.

The free Goal Planning and Achievement Tracker is a valuable tool for recording weekly goals, accomplishments, and successes and crafting session plans.

Try out the SMART+ Goals Worksheet for setting and delivering specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely goals.

The Session Feedback Form is highly effective for planning future coaching sessions that ensure the client’s needs are met.

One of the most critical factors for a positive outcome from health coaching is to “create a powerful clinical consultation” where coach and client are partners (Rogers & Maini, 2016, p. 43). The following coaching skills can help (Rogers & Maini, 2016; Starr, 2021):

Create the right first impression You never get a second chance, so make sure that you are professional and friendly when meeting a client.
Build rapport The client is unlikely to take risks in sharing what is going on for them or engaging fully in coaching conversations without rapport.
Create a relationship of equals Coaching conversations require you to suspend judgment and recognize that the client is the expert in their consultation.
Talking about yourself Some judicious sharing of personal details may be acceptable and helpful but can easily lead to swapping roles.
Effective goal setting is crucial Goals should be co-created with the client and restricted in number.
Keep language positive Negative comments, even a throwaway remark, can have a lasting and harmful impact.
Active listening Pay attention to verbal and nonverbal cues – how the client sits, their tone, and their gestures – and take what they say seriously. Read more here about Active Listening techniques .
Use intuition Know where to take a conversation and when to redirect.
Practicing effective questioning “Remove barriers, unlock hidden information and surface potentially life-changing insights” (Starr, 2021, p. 88). The best coaching questions have a simple purpose yet open doors to a smooth flow of conversation.
Giving constructive feedback Support client self-awareness and learning.

Assessing clients’ Basic Needs Satisfaction is a powerful way to understand their intrinsic motivation for change.
The Five A’s were created as a framework for assessing and intervening in clients’ unhealthy habits.
The Decisional Balance worksheet offers a simple assessment tool for capturing the pros and cons of health-related change.
Assessing Life Wants is an excellent way to better understand the health-related changes a client would like to see in their lives.

3 Questionnaires for health coaches

Health coaches need to form a clear understanding of their clients’ existing lifestyle and the changes they would like to see in their lives.

SurveyMonkey’s Health Coaching Questionnaire provides a series of questions to capture which areas clients would like to work on.
The WDEP (Wants, Doing, Evaluation, and Planning) Questionnaire is particularly helpful for understanding what the client wants from health-related changes, what have they tried so far, and what they plan to do
Use the Abstraction Worksheet to capture in detail the goal of health behavior change and the steps needed to get there.

We have included three of our favorite books on health coaching below.

1. Masterful Health and Wellness Coaching: Deepening Your Craft – Michael Arloski

The book focuses on the theory and tools required to ensure the hoped-for lifestyle changes for the client and the opportunity for a successful future.

Find the book on Amazon .

2. Coaching for Health: Why It Works and How to Do It – Jenny Rogers and Arti Maini

This combined approach aims to provide a radical new message for health coaching that focuses on reducing the coach’s stress while ensuring the best outcomes for clients.

The authors provide clear explanations for working with virtually any client to ensure they gain the confidence required to manage their health.

3. Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness – Dawn Clifford and Laura Curtis

The authors discuss the value and power of motivational interviewing in regular interactions with clients and in working through ambivalence to create lasting and positive health behavior changes.

This helpful book shows the potential of moving from ‘sustaining’ behavior conversation to ‘changing’ behavior conversation.

Health coaching techniques can help clients regain control of their health and lifestyles.

Why not download our free goal achievement pack and try out the powerful tools contained within? Some examples include:

Realizing Long-Lasting Change by Setting Process Goals Setting and working toward goals is a powerful technique for behavioral change.
Goal Visualization Visualizing the changes we wish to achieve can motivate changes and reduce the likelihood of relapse to unhealthy lifestyles.

Other free resources include:

Self-Care Checkup Practicing self-care and self-compassion can be the first steps toward adopting new, healthy behaviors.
The 14-Day Commitment Use this commitment tool to track healthy habits over two weeks.

More extensive versions of the following tools are available with a subscription to the Positive Psychology Toolkit© , but they are described briefly below:

Step one – Begin by rating satisfaction levels across 10 categories.
Step two – Identify low scoring areas and clarify what this need means to you.
Step three – Identify the actions required to work toward getting those needs met.

The wheel provides a visual and intuitive way to track positive change.

Preparing for Change Motivation interviewing can enhance intrinsic motivation for encouraging health-related changes. Use the DARN acronym for a series of open-ended questions that uncover the client’s desire, ability, reasons, and need to make positive changes.

Besides mentioning all the skills a health coach has, you would find our article sharing 5 Best Wellness & Health Coaching Certification Programs equally useful.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others reach their goals, check out this collection of 17 validated motivation & goal achievement tools for practitioners. Use them to help others turn their dreams into reality by applying the latest science-based behavioral change techniques.

17 Tools To Increase Motivation and Goal Achievement

These 17 Motivation & Goal Achievement Exercises [PDF] contain all you need to help others set meaningful goals, increase self-drive, and experience greater accomplishment and life satisfaction.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

We often have more control over our health than we recognize. Even relatively straightforward changes in health-related behavior, such as drinking and smoking less, eating more healthily, and exercising more, can dramatically influence our wellbeing.

Health coaching involves the client partnering with a coach to make behavioral changes that encourage wellness and living according to their lifestyle goals.

Maximizing our potential is never easy. Coaches must help the client figure out what they want, create the ideal conditions for meeting their psychological and physical needs, and build confidence to transform their lives.

The coach and client co-create a plan and a vision for a new way of living that supports wellbeing. Techniques such as motivational interviewing can be particularly effective at engaging in more positive and helpful ways of looking after themselves.

This article introduces some of the skills needed to be a successful health coach, valuable tools to bring out the best in each session, and books for further reading. We hope you enjoyed it and that it will be instrumental in living healthier.

Don’t forget to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free .

Arloski, M. (2014). Wellness coaching for lasting lifestyle change . Whole Person Associates.
Arloski, M. (2021). Masterful health and wellness coaching: Deepening your craft. Whole Person Associates.
Clifford, D., & Curtis, L. (2015). Motivational interviewing in nutrition and fitness. Guilford Press.
Hagger, M. S., Cameron, L. D., Hamilton, K., Hankonen, N., & Lintunen, T. (2020). The handbook of behavior change . Cambridge University Press.
Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational interviewing: Preparing people for change . Guilford Press.
Moore, M., Jackson, E., & Tschannen-Moran, B. (2016). Coaching psychology manual . Wolters Kluwer.
Normand, M. P., & Bober, J. (2020). Health coaching by behavior analysts in practice: How and why. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice , 20 (2), 108–119.
Rogers, J., & Maini, A. (2016). Coaching for health: Why it works and how to do it . McGraw Hill Education.
Starr, J. (2021). The coaching manual: The definitive guide to the process, principles and skills of personal coaching . Pearson Education.

Share this article:

Article feedback

Let us know your thoughts cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Personal Development Goals: Helping Your Clients Succeed

In the realm of personal development, individuals often seek to enhance various aspects of their lives, striving for growth, fulfillment, and self-improvement. As coaches and [...]

How to Perform Somatic Coaching: 9 Best Exercises

Our bodies are truly amazing and hold a wellspring of wisdom which, when tapped into, can provide tremendous benefits. Somatic coaching acknowledges the intricate connection [...]

How to Create a Personal Development Plan: 3 Examples

Personal development involves individual growth and transformation and is often facilitated by a positive relationship with a counselor or coach (Rose, 2018). For successful change, [...]

Coaching Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Coaching Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Coaching business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Coaching businesses.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Coaching business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Premier Health Coaching Services Is a startup health coaching company located in Seattle, Washington. The company is founded by Tracy Hoffman, a health coach who holds a Master of Science degree in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Washington. She is a certified health coach in the state of Washington, and has successfully counseled over 300 clients during the past six years as a health coach employed by a corporate medical health plan provider. Her expertise has brought her “celebrity” status. Her blog and podcasts have brought over 20,000 followers as she speaks about nutrition and health matters. Her client base of over 300 clients has already committed to follow her when she makes this professional move to start her own company, Premier Health Coaching Services.

Premier Health Coaching Services will provide a comprehensive array of health-related products and services, including holistic care, skeletal and muscular alignments, sports nutrition, nutrition and diet support, balanced lifestyle counseling and other health services. This will be a broad-based service, meeting the needs of individuals from all walks of life and in all health-conditional lifestyles. Premier Health Coaching Services will be the top-performing health coaching company within the Seattle, Washington regional area.

Product Offering

The following are the services that Premier Health Coaching Services will provide:

Individual and group health coaching services
Nutritional and physiological body assessments
Skeletal and muscular alignments
Holistic healing: aromatherapy, acupuncture, massage
Physical therapist services
Weight assessment and counseling
Work-life balance alignments
Balanced lifestyle counseling
Product sales: nutritional supplements; health-related products

Customer Focus

Premier Health Coaching Services will target everyone in the Seattle, Washington regional area, including Bellingham and other outlying areas. In particular, they will target those individuals who seek assistance with physically therapeutic and lifestyle balance services. They will also target those individuals who are sports professionals and those who are dedicated to a sports lifestyle. Adults of all ages, including seniors, will be targeted as customers and Premier Health Coaching Services will address the needs and serve each individual with the best possible service and support team.

Management Team

Premier Health Coaching Services will be owned and operated by Tracy Hoffman. She has recruited her former associates, John Blackwell and Melissa Rodriquez, to become associates in leading her team.

Tracy Hoffman holds a Master of Science degree in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Washington. She is a certified health coach in the state of Washington and has successfully counseled over 300 clients during the past six years as a health coach employed by a corporate medical health plan provider. Her expertise has brought her “celebrity” status, and her blog and podcasts have brought over 20,000 followers as she speaks about nutrition and health matters. Her client base of over 300 clients has already committed to follow her when she makes this professional move to start her own company, Premier Health Coaching Services.

John Blackwell is a well-known and much-admired health coach, overseeing 100 clients on a regular basis. He specializes in sports nutrition and already has the commitment from each client to follow him as he makes this professional move to Premier Health Coaching Services.

Melissa Rodriquez is much-beloved by her weight management and nutritional balance clients and is known for her emphasis on holistic solutions to health problems. Her client base of over 100 clients has committed to follow her as she makes this professional move to Premier Health Coaching Services.

Success Factors

Premier Health Coaching Services will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

Friendly, knowledgeable, and highly qualified team of professional health coaches, counselors, nutritional experts, and holistic care providers.
A comprehensive menu of services available during daytime and evening hours, including health coaching, lifestyle and nutritional coaching, holistic care, physical therapy and natural health and healing products.
Premier Health Coaching Services offers modest pricing, setting a price structure that best meets the health insurance plans of all individuals. Comparatively, the service is a lower-cost option than competitors.
Products offered, including nutritional supplements and natural health products, are priced lower than retail health food stores.

Financial Highlights

Premier Health Coaching Services is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its Premier Health Coaching Services. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the location space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the marketing campaigns. The breakout of the funding is below:

Office space build-out: $20,000
Office equipment, supplies, and materials: $10,000
Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
Marketing costs: $10,000
Working capital: $10,000

The following graph outlines the pro forma financial projections for Premier Health Coaching Services.

Premier Health Coaching Services Financial Projections

Company Overview

Who is premier health coaching services.

Premier Health Coaching Services is a newly established full-service coaching and health management company in Seattle, Washington. Premier Health Coaching Services will be the most reliable, total health-directed, and effective choice for clients throughout Seattle and the surrounding communities. Premier Health Coaching Services will provide a comprehensive slate of coaching services, natural health treatments, and natural products for all clients to utilize. Their full-service approach includes an extensive list of health and holistic-related services and products.

Premier Health Coaching Services will be able to manage and service up to 50 clients at any time, with the ability to increase hours of operation to add more clients. The team of professionals are highly qualified, certified, and experienced in coaching, life-balance counseling and nutritional health. Premier Health Coaching Services removes all the headaches and issues of searching for and finding the right fit for the services of various coaches in multiple locations, as all services are now offered under one roof. In addition, Premier Health Coaching Services will be known for delivering the best customer service.

Premier Health Coaching Services History

Since incorporation, Premier Health Coaching Services has achieved the following milestones:

Registered Premier Health Coaching Services, Inc. to transact business in the state of Washington.
Has over 50 client contracts already in place with Premier Health Coaching Services. Has natural health providers in acupuncture, massage, aromatherapy, and physical therapy under long-term contracts.
Began recruiting a staff of assistants and office personnel at Premier Health Coaching Services.

Premier Health Coaching Services

The following will be the services Premier Health Coaching Services will provide:

Industry Analysis

The health coaching and related services industry is currently at $15,653M, and is expected to grow over the next five years to over $23,587M in 2028, with a CAGR of over 7% during the forecast years. This substantial increase will be due to clients who are increasingly aware and in need of better performance in physical activity, nutrition and eating habits, weight management, diabetes prevention, and medication adherence.

These specific areas are all covered under health coaching, group coaching and lifestyle coaching, which are increasingly in step with the continued growth and concern regarding these health-condition specific issues.

The growth will be driven by key players in the industry, such as major health insurance companies, governmental oversight and other agencies, who will adopt effective strategies to combat continuing health conditions. As they do; the industry sector is expected to expand further, presenting numerous opportunities for advancement.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Premier Health Coaching Services will target those individuals requiring health coaching, nutritional counseling, holistic care and other natural services in Seattle, Washington. They will target former clients who may choose to contract for services with this new all-inclusive slate of services, those who are personal contacts through years of professional experience, corporations with employee health services under expiring contracts, and individuals who are referred by professionals throughout the region.

The precise demographics for Premier Health Coaching Services are:

Customer Segmentation

Premier Health Coaching Services will primarily target the following customer profiles:

Individuals seeking contracted health coaching and life counseling services
Insurance companies seeking expanded services for insured clients
Corporations seeking health service contracts on behalf of employees
Individuals seeking natural health and healing products

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Premier Health Coaching Services will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Pacific Health & Physical Therapy Group

Pacific Health and Physical Therapy Group provides muscular, skeletal and physical therapy for individuals who are referred to the service by employers under contract with the group. Contracts are yearly, endorsed by the corporate human resources managers. The group provides a variety of services for clients, including a therapy spa, physical therapy services, muscular and skeletal exercise routines, and other kinesiology-related services.

The promise by Pacific Health & Physical Therapy Group is to provide accurate, detailed plans to better the lives of their clients through muscular and physically therapeutic services. The emphasis is on corrective treatments, including exercise. The Pacific Health & Physical Therapy Group provides a 4-Step Treatment Plan that covers diagnosis; analysis of treatment; care routine; extended therapy. This is a plan that is personally designed for each client and care providers follow the plan during each client visit.

Seattle Physical Therapy Associates

Seattle Physical Therapy Associates is composed of ten physical therapists, each with a roster of clients who routinely book a minimum of twenty therapy visits each. This solidifies the basis for revenue for Seattle Physical Therapy Associates and creates an on-going program of increased health properties for clients as visits continue.

Seattle Physical Therapy Associates is focused on providing physical therapy; as such, the pricing for services is higher than other full-service centers. The motto is: Creating the Best Environment for Our Clients’ Best Results. Clients are treated at least twice a week, as physical therapy continues. As the favorite physical therapy group in Seattle, the company can demand higher pricing levels, and those levels are paid by primarily corporate clients, as a result.

Ballard Holistic Health Company

Ballard Holistic Health Company is headquartered in Ballard, located in northwest Seattle. The region is a mixed-population of older university students, young couples with children, and senior residents with longevity in the region. Housing is a mixture of condos converted to apartments, older single home dwellings and multi-use leased homes. The clientele for the Ballard Holistic Health Company is generally seeking holistic treatments as curative or preventative alternatives to western medicine. The company is housed in a former home, large enough to showcase natural health and healing products. Weekly classes directed to nutrition, healthy living styles, and vegan/vegetarian living topics are discussed in group sessions. Merchandise for sale includes books, tapes, vegan foods and protein alternatives, such as plant-based foods. Also offered are a wide array of natural health products and nutritional supplements.

Competitive Advantage

Premier Health Coaching Services will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

A comprehensive, all-inclusive menu of services available during daytime and evening hours, including health coaching, lifestyle and nutritional coaching, holistic care, physical therapy and natural health and healing products.
Products offered, including nutritional supplements and natural health products, are priced lower than direct competitors.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Premier Health Coaching Services will offer the following unique value proposition to its clientele:

Highly-qualified team of certified professionals who are able to provide a comprehensive slate of services and products to meet consumer demand for solutions for medical conditions, lifestyle choices, and other physical or mind-body needs.
Substantial number of long-term contracted clients, as well as corporate clients who utilize services for employees.
Reliable natural health and healing products sold below retail costs at competitive natural product stores.
Pricing structure for corporate and individual clients is modest and reasonable.

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Premier Health Coaching Services is as follows:

Word of Mouth/Referrals

Premier Health Coaching Services has built up an extensive list of contacts over the years by providing exceptional service and skilled expertise for clients. They have communicated to Premier Health Coaching Services that they will continue renewing their contracts because they are highly-satisfied with the services provided at the former place of business. Once advised by the professionals that they were leaving the former company, the clients were eager to sign new contracts to continue coaching services with Premier Health Coaching Services. Former and current clients were also willing to offer referrals and spread the word of the new company starting comprehensive services just ahead.

Professional Associations and Networking

Tracy Hoffman, John Blackwell and Melissa Rodriquez are each well-established within their chosen fields and will spread the word of the new startup within their professional associations. Networking among corporations within the region will also begin, as corporate clients can offer large, long-term contracts for employees who require multiple visits or treatments.

Social Media Marketing

With the high number of followers who track Tracy Hoffman, the use of social media marketing will be pivotal to the startup. Multiple social media marketing campaigns will be launched, identifying the professionals who are starting the company and inviting new followers to engage with each via posts and comments. Former and current clients will also be included in short video reels, offering testimonials regarding the service received by these professionals. A social media marketing manager will be hired for three months to cover the costs of startup campaigns.

Website/SEO Marketing

Premier Health Coaching Services will utilize the services of the social media marketing manager to create website content and images to announce the opening of the company. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all services that Premier Health Coaching Services is able to provide. The website will also list their contact information and link to an easy reservation site for clients to book appointments online. The social media marketing manager will also oversee SEO marketing tactics so that anytime someone types in the Google or Bing search engine “Seattle health coaching” or “natural health or holistic services”, Premier Health Coaching Services will be listed at the top of the search results.

The pricing of Premier Health Coaching Services will be moderate and on par with competitors so customers feel they receive value when purchasing their services.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Premier Health Coaching Services. Operation Functions:

Tracy Hoffman will be the Owner and President of the company. She will oversee all staff and manage client relations. She has spent several months recruiting the executive staff: members:
John Blackwell, a well-known, certified, and much-admired health coach, will be the Vice President, overseeing 100 clients on a regular basis. He specializes in sports nutrition.
Melissa Rodriquez, a professional counselor in weight management and nutritional balance, will be the Strategic Manager. Her client base of over 100 clients has committed to follow her as she makes this professional move to Premier Health Coaching Services.
Gary Ragan, an accountant with ten years of experience, will become the Staff Accountant, providing all client accounting, tax payments, and monthly financial reporting.

Milestones:

Premier Health Coaching Services will have the following milestones complete in the next six months.

5/1/202X – Finalize contract to lease company staff, client and workroom space
5/15/202X – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for the Premier Health Coaching Services
6/1/202X – Finalize contracts for Premier Health Coaching Services corporate clients
6/15/202X – Begin networking at industry events
6/22/202X – Begin moving into the Premier Health Coaching Services building location
7/1/202X – Premier Health Coaching Services opens its office for business

Tracy Hoffman holds a Master of Science degree in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Washington. She is a certified health coach in the state of Washington, who has successfully counseled over 300 clients during the past six years as a health coach employed by a corporate medical health plan provider. Her expertise has brought her “celebrity” status, as her blog and podcasts have brought over 20,000 followers. She is dedicated to nutrition and health-balance matters. Her client base of over 300 clients has already committed to follow her when she makes this professional move to start her own company, Premier Health Coaching Services.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Premier Health Coaching Services are the fees they will charge to the clients for their services. Secondary revenue drivers will include the natural health and nutritional supplement products sold at the company location.

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to properly staff Premier Health Coaching Services. The expenses will be the payroll cost, rent, utilities, office supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Premier Health Coaching Services is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its health coaching and natural health service company. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the location space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the social media marketing and association memberships. The breakout of the funding is below:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

Number of Contracted Clients Per Month: 1,200
Average Fees per Month: $50,000
Office Lease per Year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, coaching business plan faqs, what is a coaching business plan.

A coaching business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your coaching business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your Coaching business plan using our Coaching Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Coaching Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of coaching businesses , some examples include: Business coaching, Career coaching, Life coaching, Performance coaching, and Wellness coaching.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Coaching Business Plan?

Coaching businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Coaching Business?

Starting a coaching business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Coaching Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed coaching business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your coaching business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your coaching business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Coaching Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your coaching business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your coaching business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.

7. Acquire Necessary Coaching Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your coaching business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation.

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your coaching business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.

Learn more about how to start a successful coaching business:

How to Start a Coaching Business

Life Coach Business Plan Template

Are you thinking of starting your own life coaching business? Use Carepatron’s life coach business plan template to start turning your dreams into a reality.

By Alex King on Mar 06, 2024.

Fact Checked by Ericka Pingol.

‍ What is a life coach business plan?

Life coaches help their clients to succeed with their personal goals through coaching, support, and creating action plans. Life coaching can be an alternative to traditional therapy or counseling, which typically focuses more on mental health issues rather than practical coaching. Life coach plans aim to achieve life goals for those who do not feel they need additional mental health support. As you don’t need a specific degree or qualification to become a , many people change their careers to take on life coach responsibilities in order to help others.

This free life coaching business plan will help you kick off your life coaching business to a great start. Starting a business is a huge life decision, so if you have made it this far, congratulations! It’s time to turn those dreams into reality by making a practical and comprehensive business plan for your life coaching business. This plan is designed to help you get your ideas onto paper and provide a solid starting point for your business. You may have been dreaming about your marketing strategy or sales pitch for months now, but you may not have considered other important aspects yet. This template is designed to help you organize your ideas into a robust overview of how your life coaching business will fit into the existing market.

Printable Life Coach Business Plan Template

Check out these business plan templates for life coaches to improve the growth of your practice and streamline your operations.

How To Use This Life Coach Business Plan

It can be intimidating to start on your first business plan, so we have made our template super simple and customizable to use. Just follow these steps to use our life coach business plan template.

1. Download the PDF

The first step is to download the free PDF life coaching business plan template. You can either fill this PDF in digitally using the interactive text boxes, or you can print it out and fill it in by hand if you prefer.

2. Executive Summary

The first section of our life coaching business plan template is the executive summary. This is the overview of some of the key parts of your business including your mission statement, life coaching packages offered, team members and key roles in your business, and the type of company your life coaching business will be.

3. Competition and Customer Analysis

This section is an important one for differentiating your business from the competition. In this section, you will compile an overview of the market you will be entering, an analysis of your competitors, unique selling points for your business, and establish the target demographic for your life coaching business.

4. Marketing and Finance Plan

This section is for the practical side of things. How will you market your services? Once you have an interested potential client, what will be your sales strategy? How much will you charge for your services? What is your start-up budget, and what expenses will you have?

5. Management and Growth Plan

Finally, your business is bound to change as you grow, and nobody can predict the future. However, having a plan in mind for how your business will remain sustainable and develop as it grows is a great idea to include in your business plan. This section also includes the milestones you plan to reach to measure your progress, this could be measured in the number of clients you see, engagements with your marketing, or your client’s satisfaction with their life coaching.

Life Coach Business Plan Template Example (sample)

Some of the headings in this business plan template might be unfamiliar to you, so to help you understand this life coach business plan template, we have provided an example life coach business plan. This example is a completed version of the template designed to illustrate what this template could look like once all filled in.

Take a look at our sample business plan template:

Life Coach Business Plan Template Example (sample)

Who Can Use This Life Coach Business Plan Template?

This life coach business plan template is designed for people looking to start their life coaching business, but it could also be used for established life coaches looking to refresh their business model. This is in addition to other prospective coaching professionals such as business coaches, sales coaches, health and wellness coaches, personal coaches, or relationship coaches.

Whether you have been planning your business for a long time but have never taken the first step of developing a business plan, or if you have only just heard of life coaching and immediately realized it was for you- this business plan template can help you get off to a great start.

Why Is This Template Useful For Life Coaches?

Analyze your competition.

To understand where your business fits in the life coaching market , it’s important to understand the other businesses operating and the services they offer. Use our life coaching business plan template to assess your competition and figure out what you can offer.

Differentiate your business

Once you have an understanding of your competition, you can start working on differentiating your business to ensure it stands out. This template is designed to help you do this through the unique selling point, target demographic, and marketing strategy sections.

Realize your marketing strategy

Maybe you’ve been brainstorming marketing content already, or maybe you’ve never heard of Facebook ads! Either way, our business plan template can help you actualize your marketing plan.

Why Use Carepatron for Life Coaches?

Carepatron is a state-of-the-art practice management software packed with features to take your life-coaching business to the next level. Carepatron is designed to save you time on administrative and management tasks, so you can get back to coaching your clients. Here are just a few things you can do in Carepatron to set your life coaching business apart from the competition:

Sick of no-shows? Automate SMS or email appointment reminders for your life coaching clients in Carepatron and ensure your clients remember their appointments.
Digitally manage your life coaching clients using Carepatron’s customizable tags system, and monitor the progress of your clients.
Offer your clients access to their own Carepatron client portal on mobile or desktop.
Take progress notes for your clients and store them securely with Carepatron’s HIPAA-compliant data storage.

You’ll find this PDF life coaching business plan template and many more in Carepatron’s community template library packed with time-saving digital templates.

Commonly asked questions

Life coaching and therapy have often been confused as both methods can help people with similar problems. One of the biggest differences is that therapists are licensed mental health professionals, whereas life coaches focus on helping their clients achieve goals and take positive actions rather than treatment of mental health issues.

That’s okay, we all have to start somewhere! If this is the case for you, you can leave the management team and key roles sections blank. Alternatively, you could establish several roles to fill in the future once you expand as part of your growth plan.

A mission statement will look different for every life coaching business, and there is no one formula for writing your mission statement. The mission statement should capture the identity of your business, as well as address how your business will solve problems for your clients in a way that differentiates you from your competition.

Related Templates

Enneagram Test

Enneagram Test is a psychological assessment tool that identifies personality types. Download this Free PDF to seek enlightenment about your inner self.

Emotional Intelligence Test

Discover your emotional intelligence level with our free printable Emotional Intelligence Test PDF.

Big 5 Personality Test

Discover your personality traits with the Big 5 Personality Test. Get a free printable pdf sample and learn how to use and score the test.

High Fiber Foods

Get a free downloadable High Fiber Foods List and help clients improve their health. Access the PDF template and example here.

Life Coaching Template

Enhance your life coaching sessions with our free Life Coaching Template. Streamline your coaching process and empower your clients to achieve their goals.

Life Coaching Contract

Discover what life coaching contracts are, their importance, and how to use them effectively. Access our free PDF download of a sample life coaching contract.

Coaching Business Plan

Discover how a Coaching Business Plan can drive success in your coaching practice. Define the vision, identify the target audience, and strategize growth.

Coaching Evaluation Form

Discover the importance of a Confidentiality Statement in our comprehensive guide on Coaching Evaluation Forms. Download our Free PDF example.

Coaching Plan

Enhance your coaching process with our free Coaching Plan template. Streamline your sessions and achieve better results with this user-friendly PDF.

Weekly Goals Template

Discover the power of weekly goal-setting with our free and customizable weekly goals template. Stay organized, achieve more, and download the PDF now.

Coaching Agreements

Download a free Coaching Agreement template and example. Safeguard yourself and your clients with our professionally written agreement.

Leaves On A Stream Scripts

Explore the calming practice of meditation with our free Leaves On a Stream Script. Download the PDF to help clients experience tranquility and mindfulness.

Popular Templates

8-Week Group Counseling Plan

Discover a flexible template for creating effective 8-Week Group Counseling Plans, tailored to meet diverse needs and foster growth.

PTSD Treatment Guidelines

Download our PTSD Treatment Guidelines template to access evidence-based treatment plans, diagnostic tools, and personalized care strategies.

DBT House PDF

Learn about DBT House and use it to help patients work through their issues.

Dysarthria Treatment Exercises

Discover effective dysarthria exercises to improve speech clarity. Download our free guide for tailored speech therapy techniques.

Thinking Traps Worksheet

Unlock a healthier mindset with our Thinking Traps Worksheet, designed to identify and correct cognitive distortions. Download your free example today.

Coping Cards

Coping Cards can aid clients in managing distressing emotions. Explore examples, download a free sample, and learn how to integrate them into therapy effectively.

EFT Cycle Worksheet

Download our free EFT Cycle Worksheet example and discover the benefits of integrating it into your practice.

Psychophysiological Assessment

Explore Psychophysiological Assessments with our free template. Understand the link between mental processes and physical responses. Download now.

Coping with Auditory Hallucinations Worksheet

Use our Coping with Auditory Hallucinations Worksheet to help your patients manage and differentiate real sensations from hallucinations effectively.

Gender Dysphoria DSM 5 Criteria

Explore the DSM-5 criteria for Gender Dysphoria with our guide and template, designed to assist with understanding and accurate diagnosis.

Integrated Treatment Plan

Explore the benefits of Integrated Treatment for dual diagnosis, combining care for mental health and substance abuse for holistic recovery.

Assessing mania symptoms is crucial for mental health awareness. Download Carepatron's free PDF example of a mania test to understand the evaluation process better.

Clinical Evaluation

Explore the process of conducting clinical evaluations and its importance in the therapeutic process. Access a free Clinical Evaluation template to help you get started.

Discover PROMIS 29, a comprehensive tool for measuring patient-reported health outcomes, facilitating better healthcare decision-making.

Dependent Personality Disorder DSM 5 Criteria

Learn about Dependent Personality Disorder DSM 5 Criteria, understand symptoms and treatment to form healthy relationships. Download the free PDF now.

Mood Disorder DSM 5 Criteria

Explore a comprehensive reference tool to help diagnose bipolar and depressive disorders.

DSM 5 Criteria for Social Anxiety Disorder

Discover the DSM 5 Criteria for Social Anxiety Disorder and learn more about the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options. Download for free.

Workout Form

Master the proper way to exercise with the Workout Form. Avoid serious injury and achieve your fitness goals effectively. Start your journey now!

DSM 5 Antisocial Personality Disorder

Explore the DSM-5 criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder with our comprehensive guide, aiding mental health professionals in accurate diagnosis.

Critical Thinking Worksheets

Unlock the power of critical thinking with our expertly crafted Critical Thinking Worksheets, designed to foster analytical skills and logical reasoning in students.

CAGE-AID Questionnaire

Explore using the CAGE-AID Questionnaire as an initial screening tool for substance use disorder and the severity of drinking or drug use.

Therapy Letter for Court

Explore our guide on writing Therapy Letters for Court, offering templates and insights for therapists to support clients' legal cases effectively.

Conduct Disorder Assessment

Learn about conduct disorder assessment criteria and get Carepatron's free PDF download example for a comprehensive understanding of this mental health disorder.

Facial Massage Techniques PDF

Unlock the secrets of rejuvenating facial massage techniques with Carepatron's comprehensive PDF guide. Learn how to enhance your skincare routine and achieve a radiant, glowing complexion.

Substance Use Disorder DSM 5 Criteria

Understanding substance use disorder, its symptoms, withdrawal symptoms, causes, and diagnosis through DSM 5 criteria. Download our free Substance Use Disorder DSM 5 Criteria

Mental Health Handout

Learn key insights into mental health conditions, warning signs, and resources. Access a free Mental Health Handout today!

SNAP Assessment

Learn more about SNAP Assessment, its purpose, and how to use it effectively. Download a free example and learn about scoring, interpretation, and next steps.

Obesity Chart

Explore our free Obesity Chart and example, designed to help practitioners and patients monitor overall health risks associated with obesity.

Self-Destructive Behavior Test

Uncover patterns of self-destructive behavior with our comprehensive test. Identify self-sabotage, understand its causes, and take steps toward healing with our free PDF download.

Cognitive Processing Therapy Worksheets

Download our free CPT Worksheet to tackle traumatic beliefs and foster recovery with structured exercises for emotional well-being.

End-of-Year Reflection Worksheet PDF

Gain a deeper understanding of your journey over the past year with our End-of-Year Reflection Worksheet PDF. Reflect, evaluate, and plan for growth.

Argumentative Personality Disorder Test

Explore our Argumentative Personality Disorder Test for insights into conflict behaviors and steps towards healthier interpersonal dynamics.

Self-Report Inventory

Access a free self-report inventory tool to add to your psychological assessment toolkit. Download your free PDF here.

Counseling Theories Comparison Chart

Explore a tool to differentiate counseling theories and select approaches that can work best for each unique client.

Access our comprehensive OCD Chart, including subtypes, symptoms, treatment plans, and a downloadable example.

Solution-Focused Therapy Questions

Find a handy guide when working with clients in exploring their goals and solutions with our helpful list of solution-focused therapy questions.

Mental Health Risk Assessment

Understanding mental health risk assessment is crucial for identifying potential risks and implementing appropriate interventions. Learn about the importance and steps involved in this process.

Safety Plan for Teenager Template

Discover our comprehensive Safety Plan for Teenagers Template with examples. Download your free PDF!

Speech Language Pathology Evaluation Report

Get Carepatron's free PDF download of a Speech Language Pathology Evaluation Report example to track therapy progress and communicate with team members.

Anger Assessment Quiz

Access our Anger Assessment Quiz to help you assess clients' anger responses to form a tailored anger management plan. Download your free PDF here.

Family Therapy Interventions Handout

Explore how family therapy can address mental health, behavioral issues, and life transitions, improving family functioning, communication, and resilience.

People Pleasing Worksheet

Unlock the secrets to overcoming people-pleasing behaviors with our comprehensive worksheet. Learn to establish healthy boundaries and prioritize your needs with our free PDF download.

Personal Training Questionnaire

Access a comprehensive Personal Training Questionnaire to integrate when onboarding new clients to ensure a personalized fitness plan.

Agoraphobia DSM 5 Criteria

Explore a helpful documentation tool to help screen for the symptoms of agoraphobia among clients. Download a free PDF resource here.

Adaptive Skills Checklist

Get access to an Adaptive Skills Checklist to help assess functionality and independence among clients. Download your free PDF tool here.

Histrionic Personality Disorder Test

Explore the diagnosis & management of HPD with insights on symptoms, DSM criteria, & effective strategies for mental health professionals.

Seasonal Affective Disorder Test

Explore our Seasonal Affective Disorder Test template, designed to help healthcare professionals assess and manage SAD symptoms effectively.

Adjustment Disorder DSM 5 Criteria

Explore our Adjustment Disorder DSM-5 Criteria Template for mental health professionals, and provide accurate assessments for your patients.

Healthy Liver Foods List

Explore our Healthy Liver Foods List to support liver health with the right diet. Learn how Carepatron aids healthcare professionals in managing nutrition plans.

CVICU Report Sheet

Streamline CVICU patient care with our free Report Sheet example. Enhance communication and ensure continuity of care. Download now.

ABC Scale Scoring

Assess balance confidence effectively with our ABC Scale Scoring example. Download now for a standardized evaluation of mobility and fall risk!

Sensation Emotion Wheel

Learn how to use the Sensation Emotion Wheel effectively to promote mental health and emotional well-being.

Body Sensations Associated With Emotions PDF

Enhance emotional awareness and improve coping skills with our Body Sensations Associated With Emotions PDF template. Download now!

Sleep Hygiene Handout

Discover effective strategies for improved sleep with our Sleep Hygiene Handout. Download for free!

DSM 5 Criteria for Conduct Disorder

Discover the DSM 5 Criteria for Conduct Disorder and its impact on mental health. Learn about diagnosis, treatment, and research in our comprehensive guide.

Coping Skills for Anger Handout

Explore effective anger management techniques with our free Coping Skills for Anger Handout. Learn to manage emotions and improve well-being.

Burns Depression Checklist

Evaluate depression severity with the Burns Depression Checklist. Learn how to interpret findings and guide treatment decisions effectively.

MET Activity Chart

Unlock the power of MET Activity Charts to tailor your workouts, optimize energy expenditure, and achieve your fitness goals efficiently.

Coping Skills for Psychosis PDF

Learn about coping skills for managing psychosis symptoms. Download Carepatron's free PDF with examples of effective strategies to help individuals navigate challenging situations.

Death Anxiety Test

Explore the Death Anxiety Test as a tool to gain an understanding of death anxiety among clients. Access a free PDF resource here.

Anger Level Chart

Learn about anger management, its importance, and how to help clients address anger issues effectively with our Anger Level Chart.

Integrity Test

Uncover the essentials of integrity with our Integrity Test Template. Designed for mental health professionals, this tool aids in evaluating ethical behavior.

List of Mood Disorders

Use our List of Mood Disorders as a handy guide in screening for critical symptoms to help clients going through these challenges.

Neurological Vital Signs

Understanding neurological vital signs is crucial for assessing a patient's brain function. Get Carepatron's free PDF download with examples to deepen your knowledge.

DSM 5 Criteria for Schizophrenia

Explore the DSM 5 Criteria for Schizophrenia and learn more about the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options. Download a free PDF for your reference.

Compassion-Focused Therapy Worksheets

Explore a free compilation of Compassion-Focused Therapy Worksheets useful for working with clients to build self-compassion and acceptance.

Visualization Meditation Script

Elevate mental health with our Visualization Meditation Script. Enhance awareness as you practice meditation for holistic well-being.

DSM 5 Criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Access a helpful tool to help screen for symptoms and representations of Narcissistic Personality Disorder using our DSM-5 criteria checklist.

Temperament Test

Click here to learn more about the four temperaments test and how this test can support clients to uncover their true selves and put their puzzle pieces together.

Psychosexual Evaluation

Explore our Psychosexual Evaluation: A comprehensive tool for assessing sexual behaviors and risks, aiding legal decisions, treatment plans, and risk assessment.

Self-care Inventory

Try our Self-care Inventory Template, designed to help healthcare professionals and patients assess and improve self-care habits. Treat yourself to a better you.

DSM 5 Criteria for Binge Eating Disorder

Explore the DSM-5 Criteria for Binge Eating Disorder with our comprehensive template. Understand the diagnosis, impact, and treatment options for BED.

EMDR Client Handout

Access our free EMDR Client Handout to receive guidance on trauma processing. Explore how EMDR therapy addresses distressing memories for healing.

Body Dysmorphia Worksheet

Improve body functionality and image perception with our Body Dysmorphia Worksheet. Break negative patterns and enhance overall well-being.

Morning Routine Checklist for Adults PDF

Transform how you spend your mornings through our Morning Routine Checklist for Adults. Access a free PDF resource here.

Life Goals Worksheet

Unlock your potential with our Life Goals Worksheet Template, designed for life coaches to help clients set and achieve meaningful goals.

7 Stages of Grief PDF

Understand the expanded version of the grief model through the 7 Stages of Grief PDF resource and how we could apply this in client work.

DSM 5 Criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder

Explore the DSM 5 Criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder. Understand BPD diagnosis and its impact on mental health professionals and patients.

WDEP Worksheet

Discover the power of goal-setting and self-reflection with our WDEP Worksheet. Clarify wants, evaluate actions, and plan for success. Download now!

Work-Life Balance Worksheet

Achieve work and personal life harmony with our Work-Life Balance Worksheet. Assess, prioritize, and improve your balance for a happier, healthier you.

Couples Therapy Intake Form

Learn the key to successful couples therapy with our comprehensive guide and example of a Couples Therapy Intake Form. Free PDF download available.

Primary and Secondary Emotions Worksheet

Download our free Primary and Secondary Emotions Worksheet to aid clients in exploring their emotional experiences and fostering emotional resilience.

Psychology Career Test

Take this test to determine your suitability in the role of a psychologist. Use this template as a self test or with clients considering new occupational roles.

Autism pattern recognition test

Explore the Autism Pattern Recognition Test to understand pattern recognition in autism. Access a free example and download the test for practical use.

Rebuilding Trust in a Relationship Worksheets PDF

Learn how to help couples rebuild trust in their relationships through a collection of our worksheets. Download your free PDF resource here.

Schizophrenia Test

Efficiently diagnose schizophrenia symptoms with our test & examples. Free PDF download available for practical practitioners.

Starting a Coaching Business Checklist

Build your coaching business right with our comprehensive checklist covering the essential foundations of a successful coaching business.

List of Behavior Intervention Strategies PDF

Explore a comprehensive guide to help you encourage positive change with our List of Behavior Intervention Strategies. Access our free resource here!

Life Coach Plan

Unlock your potential with Life Coach Plan: personalized healthcare guidance for holistic wellness and fulfillment.

Gastrointestinal Soft Diet Food List

Check out our Gastrointestinal Soft Diet Food List: tailor meals for digestive health, ease symptoms, and promote recovery with our comprehensive guide.

Workout Planner

Maximize your fitness goals with a Workout Planner. Organize workouts, track progress, lose weight, and avoid injuries for an efficient and effective fitness journey.

YBOCS Symptom Checklist

Assess the severity of your patient's OCD symptoms with a YBOCS symptom checklist. Click here for a free template and more information.

South Oaks Gambling Screen

Explore the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) for identifying gambling disorders. Designed for diagnosing and managing gambling-related issues.

ACT Treatment Plan

Download our free ACT treatment plan example for evidence-based strategies to address anxiety and depression and enhance emotional resilience.

Military Family Care Plan

Learn about the essential Military Family Care Plan: providing healthcare support and resources for military families in need.

Nutrition Handout

Download Carepatron's free PDF Nutrition Handout and example to help you understand the basics of nutrition and make healthier food choices.

Anxiety Fact Sheet

Learn more about anxiety, its causes, symptoms, and treatment options. Download a free Anxiety Fact Sheet to educate your patients better.

Autism Fact Sheet

Explore how autism differs from other forms of developmental disabilities with this comprehensive Autism Fact Sheet. Download a free PDF for your reference in this guide.

Nutrition Care Plan

Developing a nutrition care plan is crucial for individuals to improve their health and well-being. Download Carepatron's free nutrition care plan PDF example here.

Refusal Skills Worksheet

Develop assertive communication and decision-making with our Refusal Skills Worksheet. Practice strategies to navigate peer pressure and prioritize well-being.

3 Generation Genogram

Explore your family’s legacy with our 3 Generation Genogram Template! Discover new connections, and visualize family patterns to uncover your family’s story.

Golo Diet Food

Explore Carepatron's Golo Diet Food List: Your guide to balanced, healthy meals for effective weight loss, blood sugar management, and enhanced wellness.

Wheel Of Life

The Wheel of Life is a powerful tool used to assess your client's current level of life satisfaction. Download our free worksheet and learn how to use this tool in your coaching practice.

Join 10,000+ teams using Carepatron to be more productive

Coaching Solutions

How To Write A Life Coaching Business Plan: 5 Templates

If you’re passionate about helping others fulfill their potential and reach new heights, life coaching could be a truly rewarding career for you.

This guide will show you how to create a coaching business plan that will help you turn your ideas into reality, so that you can start creating value and deliver real results to your life coaching clients.

5 Tips For Starting Your Life Coaching Business

Starting out as a life coach can seem like a big move, and there’s plenty to consider. For many experienced life coaches, it’s balancing the support, guidance, and coaching theory side of things business admin that can be a little tricky.

Maybe you see yourself more as a development professional than an entrepreneur, or perhaps you’ve helped others professionally but never quite had your own practice.

Regardless of where you are in the coaching game, here are some tips that can help you get started building a life coaching business of your own: [1]

Decide on a clear, unique value offer. Life coaching is incredibly popular, and that’s not changing anytime soon. To distinguish yourself as a coach, think about the unique value you’ll create for your clients – what’s original about the results you can help them achieve, or how you help them get from A to B?
Consider accreditation. The right life coaching certification can arm you with useful skills and knowledge in your field while boosting your credibility as a coach. There are plenty of qualifications available online for coaches, and you may find one that goes a long way to enhance your marketability.
Set your business up, practically. Various states, regions, and countries have different systems for registering and starting an online coaching business. Make sure you allow time to collect or create all the coaching forms you’ll need to enroll and manage your clients.
Develop or curate your coaching resources. To practice, you’ll need tools such as life coaching worksheets , lessons, exercises, videos (if you’re using them), and more. Create a database of all the coaching tools you’ll need so you know just where to find them when you land your first client!
Create an online presence. Think about how you’ll reach out to clients, and prepare the things that will help you be discovered online. Some examples include a coaching website , social media profile, or listings in online coaching directories. A strategic way to approach this is by developing a marketing strategy, which covers all the ins and outs of how you’ll grow your visibility.

How To Write A Coaching Business Plan: 2 Examples

A coaching business plan should help you clarify why and how you’ll start and run your coaching practice, as well as the tools you’ll need to help others.

Creating a life coaching business plan might sound terrifying, don’t be put off. You can go into more detail if you prefer a comprehensive organizational roadmap, but your business plan should quite simply help you:

Clarify your “Why” – What is the ultimate purpose of your business? What is your desired future vision for your practice and clients?
Solidify your “How” – What are your coaching objectives/your mission? What approaches will you use to achieve them?
Determine your “What” – Understand the interventions, tools, lessons, or solutions that will help you on your mission.

Depending on the depth of detail you’d like to go into, you can break your plan up into more or fewer sections.

The following two coaching business plan examples illustrate this.

Example 1: Lean Life Coaching Business Plan

A lean business plan is ideal for explaining your coaching practice succinctly, or if you’re planning a small coaching business.

Using this USA Small Business Administration sample as a guide, your lean coaching plan might include the following headings: [2]

Business identity
Target client
Client pain points
Your solution
Your competition
Revenue streams
Marketing activities
Team and their key roles, and

Lean coaching business plans can be particularly helpful if you’re keen to refine and enhance your business plan as you learn and gain experience.

Example 2: Life Coaching Business Plan Template

This life coaching business plan template from Profitable Venture is a more comprehensive example, starting with an executive summary and ending with a startup expenditure budget. [3]

SWOT and market analyses are used for an in-depth assessment of potential opportunities, threats, and rivals in the coaching industry.

3 Helpful Templates and Samples For Your Plan

Here are a few good examples of coaching business plans, including some extra sections you might want to include:

9 Steps to a Lean Life Coaching Business Plan from Coaching Online – this covers a few more sections such as your competition, marketing, and finances [4]
Traditional Business Plan from the USA Small Business Administration – a traditional business plan that may work well for larger coaching practices [5]
Business Plan Template for a Startup from Score.org – a 9-step template for new business owners. [6]

Creating A Business Plan For Your Online Coaching Business

Once you’ve decided on the most relevant format for your business plan, you’ll want to formalize it by writing it all down.

You will most likely be referring to it regularly, as you structure, run, manage, and grow your coaching practice, so it’s critical to keep your plan along with the rest of your business documents.

A quick, straightforward solution for most coaches is to create a digital business plan, as we’ve started to do below using Quenza:

Using Quenza’s Activity Builder , you can create custom sections for each element in your plan, as well as text boxes for all the information that will go into your tool.

This helps you store your plan in your coaching portal alongside your Client profiles, activities, and other coaching tools, so your plan is always near at hand as you start to build your business.

To create your own coaching business plan using Quenza’s Activity Builder, simply:

Open and title a new Activity
Create sections for each header of your plan, and
Save your Activity to your Library when it’s done!

You can also print your plan as a PDF, or access and edit at any time on Quenza’s client app, as shown below:

how to start an online life coaching business Quenza

There’s no right or wrong way to create a coaching business plan template, so don’t be afraid to add in headers or sections as your plan grows. As long as your plan takes you through each milestone of building and running your business, you’re on the right path to creating a successful, growing practice.

Best App and Software For Your Coaching Business

Quenza is a state-of-the-art solution for coaching professionals, regardless of where you are in the process of running your business.

Not only can you plan out your business as a first-time coach, but Quenza’s tools can help you deliver solutions, stay in touch with clients, and even market your business as you gain traction.

With Quenza’s features, for example, you can:

Design, build, and deliver personal and group life coaching solutions
Craft coaching programs, curricula, or entire e-courses from your existing tools
Drip feed your solutions to coaching clients automatically, on a schedule
Create and customize all your coaching contracts , coaching agreements, and feedback forms
Collect and securely store all your clients’ data with Quenza’s HIPAA-compliant app and coaching platform
Offer clients a centralized online coaching portal
Stay in touch with and engage your clients throughout the course of your programs, using notifications, reminders, and multimedia,
Track, monitor, and evaluate your clients’ progress in real-time, and
Document your sessions with Quenza’s Client notes.

5 Unique Features Included in Quenza

We’ve already seen how important it is to carve out your niche as a life coach – and of course, you’re most efficient when you decide on your own workflow, processes, and style.

With Quenza’s custom features, you have all the flexibility you need to get creative with solutions and market yourself in a way that suits you.

For instance, you can make use of Quenza’s:

Multilingual client app – to translate your own or your clients’ Quenza app into 16 different languages, and custom brand colors
Group or private chat – to share feedback, reminders, or encouragement
White label feature – to promote your brand by adding your logo to tools, forms, and programs
Wheel of Life feature – to design personalized life Wheel of Life assessments , and
Expansion Library – for customizing popular and evidence-based coaching exercises without starting from scratch!

Final Thoughts

These tips, templates, formats, and examples will help you craft a strategic business plan that can get your coaching practice up and running – even if you’ve never started a business in your life.

If you have a template of your own to share with your fellow coaches, do let us know in the comments below.

We hope this article was helpful. Don’t forget to start your 30-day, 1 dollar Quenza trial for all the tools you need to bring your business plan to life!

Quenza’s practitioner tools will help you craft and deliver powerful online coaching solutions from any connected device, and contains everything you need to run your life coaching practice digitally for brilliant client outcomes.

^ Truex, L. (2021). How to start a home-based coaching business. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-start-a-coaching-business-1794520
^ SBA.gov. (2021). Sample Lean Business Plan. Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2017-12/Sample%20Lean%20Business%20Plan%20-%20Wooden%20Grain%20Toy%20Company.doc
^ Profitable Venture. (2021). Life Coaching Business Plan Template. Retrieved from https://www.profitableventure.com/life-coaching-business-plan/
^ Coaching-Online.org. (2021). 9 Steps to a Lean Life Coaching Business Plan. Retrieved from https://www.coaching-online.org/life-coach-business-plan/
^ SBA.gov. (2021). Write Your Business Plan. Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/write-your-business-plan
^ Score.org. (2020). Business Plan Template for a Startup Business. Retrieved from https://www.score.org/resource/business-plan-template-startup-business

Download free guide (PDF)

Discover how to engage your clients on autopilot while radically scaling your coaching practice.

Coach, This Changes Everything (Free PDF)

Health Coach

7 Steps to Create a Health & Life Coaching Business Plan

Becoming a health and life coach already holds plenty of benefits, not just in your career and financial progress, but in your holistic personal growth.

Now, imagine these benefits multiplied when you build your very own health and life coaching business .

While building any type of business takes time and effort, these seven steps for success will help guide you to coaching glory.

What Does It Take to Have Health and Life Coaching Success?

Having your own health and life coaching business requires a hefty amount of determination and passion. There can be challenges along the way that could discourage you from pursuing your goals. This is true for any goal worth pursuing.

But don’t let that deter you from going after your dreams of living your healthiest life and helping others do the same! If you know exactly what milestones to aim for throughout your coaching business journey, the path toward success can be a whole lot smoother. So, here’s your step-by-step guide; follow it closely and prepare to welcome in financial abundance and clients who can’t wait to work with you.

7 Steps to Build a Profitable Health Coaching Business

If you’re wondering how you can ultimately build a profitable health and life coaching business, look no further. Here are seven simple steps to get you started.

1. Complete an Accredited Health & Life Coaching Course

If you are starting from scratch, the first thing you need to secure is a certification from an accredited health coach training program .

Online courses are proliferating nowadays. However, in selecting the program that could guarantee a workable path to a successful health and life coaching business, it’s imperative to consider the accreditation the course holds.

Health Coach Institute’s Become a Health & Life Coach program is Continuing Coach Education (CCE) accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF). Both the Health Coach and Life Coach portions of the training have been reviewed by ICF and have been given program accreditation approval via the CCE designation.

2. Get Your Health Coach and Life Coach Certificate

Most health coach training programs only award a Health Coach Certificate upon completion of the program. Health Coach Institute’s Become a Health & Life Coach program offers a dual certificate for Health Coach AND Life Coach upon completion.

Getting certified as a health coach enhances your reputation and reliability in the field. It’s a necessary step if you are committed to further monetizing your health coaching practice. In addition, having the dual certification opens doors of opportunity that other courses just don’t offer.

3. Establish a Network With Successful Health & Life Coaches

A business, after all, depends heavily on people.

In this sense, a health and life coaching business relies on the kind of relationship you have not only with your clients but with other practitioners in the field. And in the business world, networking can be a game-changer .

As a health and life coach, you may benefit from establishing a healthy relationship with those who have already established themselves in the profession. Doing so may give you access to strategies and industry secrets that can catapult you into a successful health and life coaching career.

The Health Coach Institute offers you the ability to connect with a like-minded community via online groups and live networking events. Your peers will support, stretch, and encourage you to build the career and life of your dreams.

4. Successful Coaches Create a Business Plan

Once you’re ready to rock your business, you’ll want to put all the awesome thoughts and ideas bouncing around in your head onto paper, and sort them into an actionable plan that propels you down the path to coaching success. You’ll do this by creating a business plan. (Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds.)

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan contains your specific targets and the corresponding actions you need to take so you can hit (or even surpass!) those targets.

Your business plan encompasses your SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely), budget allocations, marketing strategies and revenue projections.

Now, if some of those words make you cringe, don’t panic. As part of the Health Coach Institute’s Pillar 4 of training, you’ll receive all the tools and resources necessary to create your health coaching-specific business plan. No stone goes unturned in the training, and you can feel confident you’ll have all the info you need.

Why Should Coaches Create a Business Plan?

Business plans are imperative for you to have full control, vision, and accountability over your coaching career. They allow you to scale growth in a sustainable way. For instance, a business plan can help you figure out how many clients you’d need to take on in order to make back the cost of your health coach enrollment fee.

A strong business plan will also enable you to set goals, measure performance and track progress. Writing down your business plan also encourages you to get extremely specific about your coaching niche, identify any potential challenges within that niche, and observe how other coaches within that niche are pricing their products.

What Should Your Health and Life Coaching Business Plan Include?

Your business plan will be personal to your professional goals, so there isn’t one specific template you should be following. Though you’ll definitely want to include information on your specific offerings, your coaching niche and a financial plan.

Other things to potentially include in your business plan:

Coaching/company mission statement
Overarching business plan (also called an executive summary)
Marketplace statistics around your niche
Target audience demographics
30-60-90 day goals

5. Develop a Marketing Strategy for Your Health and Life Coaching Practice

Even before you launch your business, you absolutely need to develop a viable marketing strategy that attracts your target clients.

To market your health coaching business, study where your target market spends most of its time. Keep in mind that although digital marketing is all the rave nowadays, we cannot discredit the effectiveness of traditional marketing such as word of mouth or referrals. The latter becomes even more effective if you have built your credibility in the field.

Health Coach Institute will give you a successful Health Coach business marketing plan to build from as part of your training.

6. Set Up Your Website

Now more than ever, health and life coaching is in demand, and businesses (like yours!) can easily be set up online. You can even meet clients through virtual meetings and follow-up via online private messaging.

How exactly do you do it?

Easy! Set up your website and work your way to becoming an authority in the field. Your own website is beneficial in the following ways:

It helps your credibility
It increases your chance to get more leads
It makes communication more efficient
It expands your digital marketing options

There are many ways to create your website. The most basic way is to add your business listing to Google My Business so that your services are able to be found on the web. There are also plenty of free or low-cost website builders like WordPress, Squarespace, GoDaddy and Weebly. But if you want an even more professional looking website, you can always hire an expert to take over this step.

Regardless of which way you take, a website will increase your value as a committed health and life coach.

7. Find Your First Clients

When all the logistics are set, you are now ready to welcome your first clients. Remember, it’s perfectly natural for this step to take some time (though you’ll learn loads of tips and techniques in your Become a Health and Life Coach training). Don’t feel discouraged if you’re not inundated with clients on day one—just keep moving toward your goals and lean on the HCI community for encouragement whenever you need it.

Here are some other great tricks:

Conduct a workshop
Connect with your previous clients
Network with doctors and other healthcare professionals for referrals
Join online forums or social media groups
Offer a free discovery call to your potential clients

Attracting clients for your online health coaching business on a monthly or weekly basis requires consistency but can also be really fun. When you’re showing up for yourself and your clients, your enthusiasm shines though, and can go a long way in establishing long-term client-coach relationships that lead to referrals.

Final Thoughts on Building a Profitable Health & Life Coaching Business

To become a board-certified health coach requires a real passion for helping other people.

And while your dreams of a lucrative career may certainly become a reality, you’ll need the drive and determination to stay consistent in your business. Luckily, you’re in a career that strengthens not only your physical health but your mental wellness, too. (Plus, you’ll have an amazing community of like-minded friends to back you up!)

Sounds like a winning recipe for success, wouldn’t you say?

How to Enroll at the Health Coach Institute

Ready to start the next chapter of your life? This is the sign you’ve been waiting for. Head here to learn more about our six-month Become a Health & Life Coach program. There you’ll be able to download the course catalog, get 72-hour access to the program, and join a free upcoming live workshop. If you’re looking to talk to somebody directly, connect with a Clarity Coach at 1-800-303-2399 and they can answer your questions and address any concerns.

By: Health Coach Institute

More to explore, you might also like, pathway to holistic wellness: laura butler's inspiring health coaching journey, from newsroom to coach: richard taliaferro's professional pivot, 3 top webinars we love, the history of health coaching, what is health coaching, why you should enroll in health and life coaching this summer, 6 questions to ask before enrolling in a health coach mastery program, how to find a health coach, ready to learn more.

REQUEST INFO or call 1-800-303-2399

Download the Course Catalog
Get 72-hour access to test-drive the program
Join a FREE Upcoming live workshop
United States (+1)
Canada (+1)
United Kingdom (+44)
Australia (+61)
New Zealand (+64)
Custom (+)

By clicking SUBMIT, you agree to be contacted at the email and number provided, including by text, and that we may send you information about our services. Message rates may apply. See our privacy policy to learn more.

8+ SAMPLE Coaching Business Plan in PDF

Coaching Business Plan

8+ sample coaching business plan, what is a coaching business plan, starting a coaching business plan, different types of life coaching, how to write a coaching business plan, why is a coaching business plan important, what are the steps of a business plan, what is the advantage of hiring a coach.

Coaching Business Plan Template

Coaching For New Business Plan

Coaching Business Plan Outline

Coaching 3 Month Business Plan

Coaching Business Plan Example

Coaching Business Magazine Plan

Printable Coaching Business Plan

Standard Coaching Business Plan

Coaching Business Plan in PDF

Step 1: vision and mission, step 2: business description, step 3: target market, step 4: marketing strategy, step 5: competition, step 6: financial strategy, share this post on your network, file formats, word templates, google docs templates, excel templates, powerpoint templates, google sheets templates, google slides templates, pdf templates, publisher templates, psd templates, indesign templates, illustrator templates, pages templates, keynote templates, numbers templates, outlook templates, you may also like these articles, 5+ sample investment company business plan in pdf.

What do you do when you have tons of spare cash lying around your home or burning a hole in your wallet or expensive jeans pocket? For some people, the…

41+ SAMPLE Unit Plan Templates in PDF | MS Word

As a teacher, you might know about every school policy, the steps to keep classrooms safe for intellectual development, how to set up an organized classroom, and the proposed…

browse by categories

Questionnaire
Description
Reconciliation
Certificate
Spreadsheet

Information

privacy policy
Terms & Conditions

Google Plus
sign up for OUR newsletter
Privacy Policy
Find a Coach
Coach Directory
What is Life Coaching?
Life coach reviews
Life coaching advice
Coaching Shop
Coaching Software
Pricing & Packages

Find a coach

Life coaching Advice

For Coaches Home
Resources For Coaches

What Are The Types of Business Plans?

There are two primary business plan categories: traditional business plans and lean start-up business plans . Traditional business plans are lengthy, detailed, and more common. In this post, we will focus on the traditional business plan.

A lean start-up business plan is a quick summary of all your business ideas and often covers only one page. It is usually presented in the form of illustrations, such as charts, graphs, and tables, for easy perusal. In addition, lean business plans are easier to amend because of their brief nature.

Neither business plan is superior to the other. In deciding which to use, you’ll have to examine your business needs first. Whichever one you choose to go with, what matters is ensuring your business plan is concise, easy to understand, and fact-based.

What Do You Do Before Writing a Business Plan for Life Coaches?

The answer? RESEARCH.

You would hear from business coaches about the importance of research to assess possible strengths and opportunities as well as weaknesses and threats (SWOT) before embarking on a business venture, and they would be right.

Your coaching business may be similar to another. However, it would still require its SWOT analysis to identify what sets your coaching products and services apart from others, create strategies for business growth, and avoid hassles later down the line.

I recommend that the outcome of your research addresses and answers the following questions:

What type of coaching practice do I want? Your coaching practice is a business, so you should run it as one. Therefore, setting up a legal structure for your company is essential. It is also crucial to pinpoint the right coaching style for your new business to make planning smoother.
What is my niche? Knowing my target niche clarifies the path I’d follow toward business success. It also sets the stage for determining my business and marketing strategy.
What solutions am I offering? The products and services you offer should solve your ideal client's problems. That’s the only surefire way to get new clients and build a solid portfolio.
What steps must I follow to grow the business? Your research must help determine the steps you’d take to expand your life coaching practice.
Is my coaching business client-focused? It’s common to have a business plan focusing on the owner and what it plans to accomplish. However, it is better to create a business plan focusing more on the client and the benefits they would be getting. Your clients become return clients who cost less to keep, spend more and market your business better on your behalf.
How will I finance my coaching business? If, like many others, you’re starting your business with limited funds, you’d have to clearly state how you intend to finance your business, especially during the early stages until it begins to profit.

Ok, so we’ve done our research, and we’ve been able to detect what we can excel at, where we thought wrong, and areas we can improve upon based on our initial guesses. We can now decide if we can proceed with the business or return to the drawing board.

If we’re ready to roll, it’s time to write our business plan.

Life Coach Business Plan Template

If you’re just starting, you could make a simple business plan using the template below. Then, as time goes by, you could expand each section to make it more robust. This template outlines every vital aspect of your coaching business.

Mission statement
Overview of business
Business contact information
Target market
Coaching niche
Unique selling point
Short-term and Long-term goals
Strategic objectives
Tactical plans
Products and services you offer
Product differentiation
Benefits to your clients
SWOT analysis
Target market valuation
Market trends
Profile of competitors
Competitive advantage
Pricing model
Marketing Strategy
Marketing platforms
Advertising and promotion
Sales strategy
Distribution channels
Organizational charts
Training and development
Procurement
General operations
Source of funding
Key assumptions
Profit and loss accounts
Balance sheet
Cashflow projections

With this template, you can remain focused on building your business rather than chasing every shiny object you see or hear about, as is the case with entrepreneurs without proper business plans.

Business plan for life coaches: a checklist

Now, let’s take each section at a time.

How To Write a Life Coach Business Plan (Step-By-Step)

1. Executive Summary

Think of the executive summary as a way of introducing your business to a potential client, lender, or the general public. Therefore, it should include what you do as a business, how you do it, who you do it for, and what value you provide. You should try to keep your executive summary concise at one to two pages maximum.

It may be easier for you to write the executive summary after completing other sections because you would have highlighted notable points throughout the plan.

2. Company description

As the section already states, I would describe my coaching business in detail and include the following:

My registered business name
Address and contact information
Legal business structure
Executives or directors (if any)
My coaching niche
Who my target market is
My unique selling point

I would also be sure to point out what sets my coaching business apart from the competition and how my company maximizes its opportunities.

3. Goals and Objectives

What are your business goals?

This section will state my short-term and long-term goals and the tactical steps my coaching business will take to reach those goals. For instance, if I plan to make X amount in annual revenue by a specified year, I would provide a realistic, research-based breakdown of how I’d reach that goal.

By providing a breakdown of how I’d accomplish my goals, I’d also be generating trust and confidence in the minds of potential investors or lenders about my business if I intend to seek funding.

4. Products and Services

In this section, you’ll describe your business's products or services to your target market. These would not be limited to coaching packages, coaching subscriptions, masterclasses, courses, books , etc.

Give a detailed description of each product or service you will offer. Explain how your goods and services are different from or better than your competitors’ offers on the market, and don’t forget to include your pricing model. You would also clearly state the benefits your target market gains by using your products and services.

5. Market Analysis

Here, you would analyze the coaching industry in which you plan to do business during your research phase before writing the business plan. A comprehensive analysis of the industry would provide valuable information such as:

a. Results from SWOT analysis

b. Target market valuation

c. Market trends

d. Profile of your competitors

e. Competitive advantage for your coaching business

f. Benefits your clients stand to gain

Explain in-depth what prompted your decision to set up your coaching business within that sector and what your competitors are doing. You should also explain how you can improve upon what they aren’t doing well enough to enhance your bottom line but, more importantly, deliver value to your clients.

6. Marketing and Sales Strategy

Having a fantastic product that creates admirable transformations in clients is one thing. It’s another thing to publicize enough to reach those clients. Your marketing and sales strategy is supposed to convince your clients that your products will provide the solutions they seek.

First, you´ll develop a marketing budget to meet your spending needs. You’d also write a detailed plan for marketing and advertising your products and services to your target market. Which channels would you use?

E-mail marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Social media marketing
Search Engine Marketing
Print materials
Networking, e.t.c.

Earlier, I mentioned the importance of having repeat clients because they are some of the best and cheapest marketing tools for your business, so it is crucial to know how to sell your coaching services . In this section, you’ll explain your strategy for turning your clients into repeat clients and building customer loyalty. Be sure also to include your sales strategies. For example, which sales distribution channels will you use?

Direct sales
Sales representatives
E-commerce channels

7. Operations

In this section, I will discuss the day-to-day running of my coaching business. I will explain how I’d operate the business through employees, freelance workers, and business partnerships. I would include an organizational chart to illustrate the internal structure of my coaching business and how employees would contribute to the growth and success of the company.

I’d discuss in detail how I plan to staff my company and what salaries or wages I would pay my staff. I’d then enumerate the freelance workers I may hire, their roles, and their remuneration. I would then discuss my plans for staff and training development.

Finally, I’d give a clear plan for other general operations like procurement of materials and equipment required for the start-up of my coaching business. Such equipment may include video conferencing equipment, software, and personal computers. I would also note essential information about all suppliers and vendors with whom I work.

8. Financial analysis and projections

As a new coaching business, I don’t expect you to be able to pluck out figures from past performance. However, I hope you would have done your research based on the coaching niche you plan to set up shop in.

When you’ve done this, you should make financial plans and projections for a five-year periodhttps://costhack.com/business-plan-cost to begin with. Five-year plans give you enough room to meet and exceed SMART goals . You may refresh any goals you don’t meet in your five-year plan, if need be, and insert them into the following timeline until you achieve them.

It is important to note that this is the section every lender and investor is particularly interested in, so you must take extra care to be factual in your illustrations and realistic in your projections. If you’re seeking start-up funding, this is where you state it. Explain how you’ll use the investment and communicate the expected returns.

Don’t blow up figures to entice them because what you’d do is leave a wrong impression because they’d probably see through it. Instead, make your projections align with what your competitors are also achieving, and if you surpass those goals, great.

For an existing coaching business, you’ll want to include:

Financial statements
Profit margins

I’ll advise you to speak to an accountant who will guide you better in putting all the required information together.

9. Appendix

The appendix is where you put in any other necessary information that may not have fit anywhere else in the different sections of the business plan. These may be documents such as:

1. Certifications

2. Your resume

3. Resumes of key team members

4. Licenses

5. Contracts

6. Marketing materials e.t.c.

7. Market research report

With the above guide, you’d have a well-written yet concise report to keep you on track and direct your business toward success.

Knowing what your competition is doing gives you insight into exploiting areas they may be neglecting, thereby giving you a competitive advantage.

You may wonder how long it’ll take to write a business plan. Ideally, it shouldn’t take more than a few months to complete the research and write the business plan. However, if you take longer than a few months may disrupt other vital activities in the start-up process.

Can I Hire Someone To Write My Life Coach Business Plan?

Ok, I get it. Life can get hectic. You’re being pulled from every angle and can’t find the time to write your business plan.

Fortunately, you can hire a professional business plan writer or consulting firm to provide the service. Professional business plan writers cost from $2,000 to upward of $20,000 to write a business plan for a small to medium size business. If hiring a writer instead of a firm, verify all credentials and portfolios to ensure they meet your needs.

If you decide to hire a consulting firm, it’ll cost you more. However, the upside is the breadth of expertise they offer. Other factors that may affect the plan's cost are the length, turn-around time, editing, review, and any additional support service.

I would advise putting together as much information as you can on your own before approaching a professional because you would have a better idea about how the plan is woven together. A professional would then develop a foolproof plan, especially one that captures investments if you’re seeking start-up funding.

Common Business Plan Mistakes Life Coaches Must Avoid

Although I’ve mentioned some mistakes to avoid, I figured it was best to state them clearly. If you make mistakes while developing a business plan, they could jeopardize your business. Some of these mistakes to avoid are:

Inadequate research: Avoiding research or doing insufficient research before writing your business plan is a dangerous mistake you don’t want to make. If you still go ahead to write the plan, you may not identify all the risks involved. As a result, your coaching business plan may be based on non-factual information and lead to inaccurate projections, which you may never meet.

Overestimating your financial projections: Avoid padding up figures in your business plan to impress lenders and investors. Lenders and investors are experts and analyze financial information for a living, so injecting false estimates into your plan may make you lose those opportunities altogether.

Ignoring the competition: Knowing what your competition is doing gives you insight into exploiting areas they may be neglecting, thereby giving you a competitive advantage.

Not setting a target niche: This is a common mistake. Many new life coaches attempt to get any and every client and end up losing focus. Without setting a target niche, your business will have no direction.

When your business has no direction, you can’t establish workable goals. In other words, you’d be everywhere and nowhere simultaneously. As a result, your business will not be operating optimally and may remain stagnant after a little while.

Ignoring future trends: Times change and economies evolve. Imagine you started your coaching business pre-internet and remained stuck in paper-based marketing after the arrival of the internet, social media, and email marketing.

What do you think would happen?

That’s right. Your business won’t be able to keep up and will fold up in no time.

Creating unrealistic goals: This is also a mistake many people make. If you create unrealistic goals, there won’t be measurable targets to track your progress, and soon enough, you’ll stop taking action.

Establishing a rigid plan : A business plan that isn’t flexible enough to accommodate changes can also negatively impact the business. No life coach can predict the future of their business. There’ll be ups and downs. A flexible plan gives room for unforeseen changes without disrupting the long-term goal.

Download your free life coachng business plan template

Ok ready to get started? Download a free business plan template here .

Download a free life coaching business plan template

Join our coaching community

Life Coach Hub will propel your coaching business to the next level.

Are you a Coach? |
Coaching Software |
Advertise |
Affiliates |

IMAGES

Health Coach Business Plan Template
Developing a Business Plan for Health Coach Practice
Health Coaching Business Plan Template
How To Write A Business Plan For Life Coaches (With Free PDF Template
Coaching Business Plan Template Free
Coaching Business Plan Template Ad Create A Professional Business Plan

VIDEO

HOW TO BECOME AN ONLINE COACH IN 2022
How to Organize Your Health Coaching Business
How to Make $1000 in 7 days as an Online Health and Fitness Coach
2024 Game Plan: Kicktail Business Planning Strategies with Leigh Brown
Start Your Health Coach Podcast in 3 Steps
[Coach the Coach] A Different Way To Define Your Target Market

COMMENTS

Health Coaching Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]
Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P's: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a health coaching business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following: Product: In the product section, you should reiterate the type of health coaching company that you documented in your company overview.
Health Coaching Business Plan Template & Example
The business plan template is a guiding light when laying the groundwork for your health coaching venture. It facilitates your meticulously planning your initial steps and adeptly maneuvering through the intricacies of setting up a new business. This foundational document aids in crystallizing your vision, defining your unique value proposition ...
PDF COACHING BUSINESS BLUEPRINT
THE ULTIMATE COACHING BUSINESS BLUEPRINT coachesconsole.com [email protected] (540) 391-0746 MIND MAP OF A THRIVING COACHING BUSINESS On the next page, you'll see the VERY BIG PICTURE of the Mind-Map of a Thriving Coaching Business. It's hard to read since we had to resize it so it would all fit on one page.
Health Coaching Business Plan [Free Template
Writing a health coaching business plan is a crucial step toward the success of your business. Here are the key steps to consider when writing a business plan: 1. Executive Summary. An executive summary is the first section planned to offer an overview of the entire business plan. However, it is written after the entire business plan is ready ...
Coaching Business Plan & Example
Step 1: Executive Summary. Start with an executive summary that provides an overview of your coaching business. This should include your business name, location, the services you offer, and your unique value proposition. Include keywords relevant to your business for SEO purposes.
How to Create a Health Coaching Business Plan
Writing a business plan will help you prioritize your goals. It will give your business direction and will help define your objectives. It will also help you map out strategies to achieve your goals. Prioritizing your goals will permit you to focus your resources and energy on what you need to do. Writing your business plan will allow you to ...
Your Cheat Sheet to Starting a Health Coach Business
Deliver meaningful coaching experiences. Offer the best coaching possible and make every interaction client-centered. And always seek excellence in your coaching by asking your clients how you can better serve them and make their experience better. Here are the first major steps to building your health coaching business: 1. Identify your ideal ...
Heath Coach Business Plan: Guide
Starting with set goals, financial objectives, marketing strategies, and other targets will help keep your business on the path forward. Through fostering a positive mindset around health and well-being, health coaches empower and motivate their clients to become experts on their health. Health coaches have the tools and knowledge to share with ...
Creating a Health Coaching Business Plan
Step 1: Executive Summary. The first step in any health coach business plan template is the executive summary. The executive summary provides an overview of your health coaching business. It should include a brief description of your services, target market, unique value proposition, and goals. This section should capture the attention of ...
Learn How To Create a Successful Health Coach Business Plan
An executive summary: Provide a high-level view of your mission, services, and goals, including what makes your business unique and the purpose it intends to fulfill. Market analysis: Successful business owners understand their competition. Research other health coaching companies in your area, their services, and how much they cost.
How to Start a Wildly Successful Health Coaching Business in 2024
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.
PDF Health Coaching Business Plan Business Plan Example
Upmetrics' step-by-step instructions, prompts, and the library of 400+ sample business plans will guide you through each section of your plan as a business mentor. 1. Executive Summary. An executive summary is the first section of the business plan intended to provide an overview of the whole business plan.
Health Coaching: Your Ultimate Template Toolkit for Success
Co-creating a wellness plan with the client is invaluable in providing a clear map for health-related change and coaching sessions. Rather than the coach telling the client what to do, the client must take "responsibility for their own health and wellness" (Arloski, 2014, p. 155).
Coaching Business Plan Template (2024)
1. Develop A Coaching Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed coaching business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.
Business Plan Template for Wellness Business Owners
Download this document and get: A completely customizable business plan template in Microsoft Word for your wellness business. Integrated Microsoft Excel spreadsheets within your business plan that help you to keep your important financials in mind. Download our free business plan template to create a comprehensive plan to achieve your goals.
Life Coach Business Plan Template & Example
The first step is to download the free PDF life coaching business plan template. You can either fill this PDF in digitally using the interactive text boxes, or you can print it out and fill it in by hand if you prefer. 2. Executive Summary. The first section of our life coaching business plan template is the executive summary.
How To Write A Life Coaching Business Plan: 5 Templates
Example 1: Lean Life Coaching Business Plan. A lean business plan is ideal for explaining your coaching practice succinctly, or if you're planning a small coaching business. Using this USA Small Business Administration sample as a guide, your lean coaching plan might include the following headings: [2] Business identity. Target client.
6 steps to start an online health coaching business (2021 guide)
Step 6: An Effective Touchpoint Strategy Based On Regular, Concise "Nudges". The value of your offering is largely based on the perceived value you or your staff bring to the program - your blog, book, worksheets, etc can only move the needle so much. YOU are the most important variable in this equation.
How to Start an Online Health & Life Coaching Business Plan
Here are seven simple steps to get you started. 1. Complete an Accredited Health & Life Coaching Course. If you are starting from scratch, the first thing you need to secure is a certification from an accredited health coach training program . Online courses are proliferating nowadays.
Sample Life Coach Business Plan: Complete Template & PDF
This sample life coach business plan contains a detailed operating and marketing plan for a life coaching business, including life coaching services, target market, marketing strategies, competition, and financial projections. It is a downloadable coaching business plan example that is available as a Google Doc, which can be used in Microsoft ...
8+ SAMPLE Coaching Business Plan in PDF
Step 2: Business Description. In this section, write about your company so that readers can learn more about it. In your coaching business plan, make sure to mention your specialty, services, and products. Set your specialty; the coaching niche will provide a clear picture of your company.
How To Write a Business Plan for Life Coaches (With Free PDF Template)
How To Write a Life Coach Business Plan (Step-By-Step) 1. Executive Summary. Think of the executive summary as a way of introducing your business to a potential client, lender, or the general public. Therefore, it should include what you do as a business, how you do it, who you do it for, and what value you provide.

Health Coaching Business Plan Template

Health Coaching Business Plan

What Is a Business Plan?

Why You Need a Business Plan

Sources of Funding for Health Coaching Businesses

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

Executive Summary

Company Overview

Industry Analysis

Customer Analysis

Finish Your Health Coaching Business Plan in 1 Day!

Competitive Analysis

Marketing Plan

Operations Plan

Management Team

Financial Plan

Income Statement

Balance Sheets

Cash Flow Statement

Health Coaching Business Plan FAQs

How Do You Start a Health Coaching Business?

Where Can I Download a Free Business Plan Template PDF?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

How to Create a Health Coaching Business Plan

What is a business plan?

Who should write a business plan?

Do you run an existing business?

Why you should write a business plan

Analyze yourself and your business

What to include in your business plan

Business summary

Management and operations plan

Market plan

Future plans

Finance plan

Keep it dynamic

Now tell us what you think! Leave a comment below to start or join the discussion...

Achieve your dream of becoming a health or fitness professional.

Study Programs

Continuing Education Pathways

CEC Power Pass ™

Specialist Programs

Course Bundles

Popular Course Topics

Safety Training

More Ways To Learn

Find your perfect learning pathway!

For Business Partners

For Everyone

About ACE IMPACT

Get answers to all your questions!

Your Cheat Sheet to Starting a Health Coach Business

View All Categories

Lifestyle Medicine

Meet Our Experts

First Steps

1. Identify your ideal client

2. Find out Where Your Ideal Clients Like to Hangout

3. Create Content that Answers your Ideal Clients’ Questions About Health

4. When your Clients get Good Results, ask for Testimonials

5. Thank your Clients Often

Stay Informed

5 Chest Stretch Variations

7 Core Stability Exercises

How to Find a Job as an ACE Certified Personal Trainer

Stuck in an All-or-Nothing Mindset? Here’s How to Break Free

The Benefits of Making Healthy Choices During Social Isolation

Get in touch

How to Create a Health Coach Business Plan

What is a Business Plan?

What to Include in Your Business Plan

Executive summary

Industry overview

Mission statement

Business structure and operations plan

Description of services

Target market and competition analysis

Marketing plan

Pricing overview