“Health is wealth”

The reality of this statement became much more pronounced when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020. Health professionals became the ultimate superheroes— saving the day in their blue attire, with face masks to match.

No one could’ve predicted the magnitude of Covid-19 or its numerous impacts not to mention the anxiety, uncertainty, panic, and depression that came along with it.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the health sector has been shown more attention, support, and solidarity than ever. This has further shown that health is a major priority and not one to be taken with levity. Hence, people have placed more importance and priority on their health.

However, most healthcare systems across the globe were not prepared to deal with the pandemic, meaning, individuals had to seek health-boosting services and programs on their own. One sector of the health and wellness industry that saw a particular increase in attention was personal health and wellness coaching.

Kristin Thomas, a business coach for health and wellness coaches (and former health coach herself) affirms this with one simple observation: “the pandemic brought forth an increased need for a solid health management system.”

The Essence of a Health Coach in Today’s World

The importance of a health coach cannot be undermined. Health and wellness coaches assist individuals in adopting a healthy lifestyle. A health coach works hand-in-hand with clients to help motivate, and properly direct them towards finding their unique path to mental, physical, and overall well-being. 

And with the predominance of Covid-19, which has led to varying amounts of social isolation and anxiety, there is even more demand for health coaches all around the globe. This has resulted in a huge and thriving market for the health and wellness industry, and also a demand for health and wellness “training” for those who want to become a coach.

Kristin Thomas, the founder of the Health & Wellness Business School— which teaches health and wellness practitioners how to build sustainable, profitable, and heart-centered businesses, says that even some physician and non-physician providers are starting to depend on health coaches to help them improve a patient’s lifestyle and overall well-being.

According to the CDC, over half of the U.S population has been diagnosed with at least one chronic medical disease. This calls for the intervention of health coaches because most chronic conditions can be improved and prevented dramatically with the aid of someone who can look at the data from another angle, as they work hand-in-hand with the patient to help eliminate risk factors such as poor sleep, poor diet, stress, and even drinking and smoking.

This means there’s a growing market and demand for these specialized powerhouses of the wellness industry. And for most health coaches, there’s often a personal trigger that spurs them into the health & wellness niche.

This is seen in how Kristin Thomas decided to become a functional health and wellness coach herself. She says; “Midway through starting my first business (a marketing agency), I was diagnosed with an autoimmune health condition, ulcerative colitis, and after seeing doctor after doctor to no resolution,  I decided to hire a health coach as I believed they could help me in a way my doctors could not. 

I was so inspired by this work (because I went into remission so quickly) that I felt a deep desire to become a health coach myself. I wanted to give back and reach people earlier on in their health journey than I was by the time I even found out that health coaching was a thing. So I jumped right in to become certified as a functional health coach and took all of my entrepreneurial and marketing skills, and started to grow the business rapidly.” 

The Business of Health and Wellness Coaching

As a kind of bridge that transforms the general well-being of an individual’s life, health and wellness is quite the delicate niche. As a health coach, it is necessary to have sound mental health before taking on all of the client’s needs. 

When asked how to be a successful health coach, Kristin says it is important to understand all of what it entails and have a solid foundation on which to build a business. The Covid-19 brought about an explosion in the demand for more coaches to come on scene, and with that, the need to learn how to build their business. 

Kristin affirms this; “with so many more people looking for health coaches, it caused a massive increase in demand from health coaches in what we do here at Health & Wellness Business School, so in response to that, we doubled our expert coaching staff, doubled our curriculum of live calls to support coaches as they grew their business to meet the demand, and witnessed our clients have their biggest revenue and growth months to date during COVID.” 

So many forget that a successful business starts with a solid foundation grounded in strategy, and that means acquiring training on the business side of things from a health & wellness business school that specializes in the nuances of growing a health coaching business. 

This includes how to create a unique program that stands out in the crowded industry, the delicate art of doing sales in the health sector, marketing while staying compliant, and creating a transformative experience for clients that enables them to achieve holistic health and well-being of mind, body, and soul.

“As more health coaches come into the market, about 90% or so lack business skills, and more than 50% of them will fail within the first 3 years without business support. That’s why it’s essential to attend a school that is built specifically for health and wellness coaches,” Kristin says.

Kristin says she journeyed into the “schooling” aspect of health and wellness because she wanted to help other coaches to be better at their craft. She says; “I was at a place where I was like, either I keep doing health coaching and help the number of people that I could serve, or I could magnify that impact and help to elevate all these other coaches and make a much bigger impact where we could reach millions of people. And to me, that was more meaningful.”

Final Thoughts

As a career path that requires working across lifestyle habits to help improve health, wellbeing, and provide lasting solutions to behavioral change, health & wellness coaching is germane to individual health and the health industry at large. It also requires a firm foundation to be adept and successful.