Most people do not choose health coaching for the money, although many are able to make a substantial living doing it, many more health coaches are barely breaking even and not even close to making a living at it.
And the economic situation doesn’t help.
If you rely only on one on one coaching, having multiple income streams may help to make your practice more sustainable. This is true whether or not you offer online or in person services. When there is economic uncertainty people may be less willing to invest in high end coaching.
If you offer launch based programs, then having multiple income streams can help in between your launches, or if a launch doesn’t go as good as you’d like.
One on one coaching
One on one coaching is the method used by most in person coaches and by many online coaches. If you offer a high ticket program this can be quite a lucrative income stream, but it is also the most variable.
If you are charging thousands of dollars for your coaching the difference in losing a client can mean going from a fantastic month to an OK month.
One on one coaching also is dependent on your time and your energy. There is only so much time to see one on one clients, especially when you add in other things. That is why I recommend setting up a program even if you only see one on one clients. And don’t forget the emotional energy you’ll invest when dealing with one on one clients.
Group coaching
Because group coaching is usually lower cost than one on one coaching, it is less dependent on the current economic situation. But you’ll still likely see lower numbers when there is more financial uncertainty. Group coaching also means you need a bigger audience to attract enough clients to fill a group.
Since group programs usually run on a launch model, you’ll have ebbs and flows in your income. And if a launch goes poorly, you’ll be scrambling to make up for it. Group coaching is easier with an online model, but if you have a local following it can be possible to run something at a gym or fitness center.
You may still want to include some online content for easy access.
5 Things That Hurt Client Experience
In your online wellness programs
Evergreen programs
Evergreen programs are harder to run, because people are at different stages in the program. But you can have steadier income with this model than with a launch based group program.
Memberships
Memberships can take on many models and can compliment group coaching and one on one coaching. The nice thing with a membership is that you’ll have a more steady monthly income.
Some content that could be added to memberships include weekly exercise instruction, nutrition themes, meditations, meal plans, recipes or mindset lessons. Memberships can also work well with habit based programs.
Courses
Courses take a different approach to programs. With a program the focus is on the outcome, but a course is more focused on the learning aspect. An example of a course could be a course on how to meal plan.
In fact you might want to break out parts of your program into stand alone courses to create a different revenue stream.
Challenges
Short challenges work well as a free offer, but longer challenges are also useful as short term paid products. 28 or 30 days is probably the longest you’ll want to do for a challenge. You’ll want to make sure that the time is well used and you keep people engaged throughout the challenge. You can have a different theme each week, or provide daily challenges.
Ebooks
If you have been doing content marketing for a while, or you have a lot of knowledge in a specific area, ebooks make a good low cost offering for people that don’t want to pay for a full program. People who want your advice, but don’t need support will benefit from an ebook.
In Person Speaking
You can get paid to offer in person speaking on topics that you are knowledgeable about. Talk to local recreation centers, community associations, and churches. Some businesses also offer lunchtime wellness programs so that is also an option.
You may have to do the first few as free talks until you become more well known. But this is also a great way to grow your audience.
Online Workshops
Online workshops are less popular now than they were during 2020 and 2021, but they are still a thing. You can offer free or paid workshops. Free workshops are usually shorter and usually have a pitch at the end. Paid workshops usually are longer, and go more in depth. They can still have a pitch for a bigger program but should offer some value. The recordings can be repurposed and sold as a course or evergreen workshop.
Summary
There is no one best way to make money as a health coach. My advice is to have more than one stream of income to ride out economic uncertainty and to best serve your audience. It’s up to you to decide which streams of income are best for your audience and for you.
