32 Pros & Cons Of Starting A Wellness Coach (2024)

Updated: January 18th, 2023
Become A Wellness Coach

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Trying to understand the pros and cons of starting a wellness coach?

Here are all of the pros and cons of selling health and wellness coaching online:

Pros Of A Wellness Coach

Pros Description

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Little startup costs required

The cost to start a wellness coach costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 62 to 43,446.

Rewarding work

Starting a wellness coach can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a wellness coach. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

Pick & choose the clients you work with

Wellness Coaches have the ability to choose the clients they work with. You have the freedom to work with only a few loyal clients or with hundreds of clients!

Gain exposure and experience

This career allows you to gain experience working for multiple different businesses - which will benefit your resume and also keep things interesting for you!

Daily physical activity

Wellness Coach's typically involve a much greater degree of movement than other lines of work. Most days, you will spend your day walking, running errands for your business, and performing a multitude of tasks. This can have a positive impact on energy levels and your overall health.

Local Community

One of the best parts of becoming a wellness coach is that you can develop a local following by selling your products at craft shows, farmers' markets, or even local storefront businesses! This gives you access to additional revenue streams and loyal customers.

Predictable income stream

Your businesses income stream tends to be predictable based on the number of customers you have signed up. This makes financial planning and outlooks much more seamless!

Higher likelihood of getting referrals

This business is all about referrals, which can be a a very impactful way to attract and retain customers. It's critical that you have a great referral program in place that incentivizes your customers to tell their friends about your product.

Location is everything!

When operating a physical storefront, the location often speaks for itself and serves as it's very own marketing tool! It's important to choose a location in a high traffic area so you can spark curiosity and get people through your door!

Face to face interaction

If you are the type of individual that thrives on human interaction, then this is the business for you! With a wellness coach, you will be hands-on with customers and or employees every day.

Simple business model

A wellness coach has the advantage of a simple business model, which makes launching and building the business more seamless.

Control your own destiny

Becoming A Wellness Coach allows you to control every aspect of your life and make your own dreams come true every day.

Greater Income Potential

With this business, the sky is the limit in regards to your income potential.

You get to do something you truly love

With starting a wellness coach, you get to put your energy into something you are truly passionate about! You'll find yourself devoting as much time and energy as possible into the business to make it successful.

Strong Demand & Relatively Recession Proof

The demand for wellness coach is increasing year over year and the business is known to be relatively recession proof.

You get to inspire others

Your business is one that encourages and inspires others, which in itself, can be very fulfilling.

You establish yourself as an expert

With becoming a wellness coach, you establish yourself as an expert in your niche, which builds your credibility. In return, customers are more likely to trust you and refer you to other friends and family.

Can build solid foundation of clients

It's unlikely you will have one-off customers as a wellness coach. Typically, you have a solid foundation of clients that use your product and services regularly.

Cons Of A Wellness Coach

Cons Description

Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

Low margins

The gross margins for your wellness coach are typically around 20%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability.

Difficult to build trust with your customer

With becoming a wellness coach, there can be minimal face-to-face interaction, which means it can be a lot more difficult to establish trust with your customers. You'll need to go the extra mile with your customer to grab their attention and business.

Impatient customers

You may offer an engaging user experience for your customer, but customers expect a lot and may be impatient if they aren't pleased with your product or service.

Be prepared to get out of your comfort zone!

Although this is exciting for some entrepreneurs, it can be a big challenge for others! You may find yourself in uncomfortable social and business situations, jumping into tasks and responsibilities you aren't familiar with, and pushing yourself as far as you can go!

More of a challenge to run your business from home!

Running your business from the comfort of your own home is a big appeal for many entrepreneurs. With a wellness coach, you are more likely to run your business out of your office or storefront space.

Difficult to scale

With a wellness coach, it can be challenging to find ways to scale. Check out this article that discusses scaling your business and the challenges that come with it.

Learning Curve

When you start your own business, you no longer have upper management to provide you with a playbook for your roles and responsibilities. You should know the ins and outs of every aspect of your business, as every decision will come down to you.

Easy target for criticism

Since your wellness coach has the ability to reach a large audience, you'll need to be able to handle criticism. The internet can be a cruel place, and regardless of your intentions, many people will disagree with you and even take their criticism too far. To survive in this industry, you'll need to have tough skin (or at least learn this along the way).

The job can be demanding

This is one of the major disadvantages starting a wellness coach. It's important to understand that you may need to make yourself available on a 24/7 basis.

Takes time to see results & make money

Results and revenue do not come overnight with a wellness coach. Often times, it takes weeks, months or even years for your work to monetize.

More challenging to earn passive income

It can be more of a challenge to make passive income in this business. Often times, the amount of revenue you bring in is limited by the amount of time you have in the day.