Resources for Aspiring Health Coaches
I receive a lot of questions from people about how to become a health coach. And while my focus is on coaching individual clients, I am happy to share with you some of the resources that I have found helpful as I have been building my coaching business. I have not exhaustively explored every option out there, but these are products that I have found helpful and use myself.
So as part of my overall mission to help alleviate chronic illness in our world, if I can empower anyone, in any small way, to be able to help others improve their health, I am happy to do it. Thank you for joining me in this effort.
I am a proud affiliate for some, but not all, of these tools, meaning if you click a link for a tool and make a purchase, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. My recommendations are based on my personal experience with and knowledge of these companies and their products, and I have recommend them because they are genuinely helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I may receive. Please don't spend any money on these products unless you feel that you need them and believe they will help you achieve your goals.
Educational Resources
Institute for Integrative Nutrition
Health Coach Certification
If you’re interested in becoming a health coach, the first step is to get certified! Through IIN’s Health Coach Training Program, you will learn about a wide variety of topics, including information about a lot of different eating programs, topics related to other aspects of health, and hands-on coaching practice with individual feedback from a coach and a group of other students. 6-month and 12-month online programs are available.
Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition
Cornell University through eCornell and the Center for Nutritional Studies
Learn more about research behind the benefits of a plant-based diet from T.Colin Campbell, co-author of the revolutionary book The China Study. This 6-week online class covers topics such as the science behind a plant-based diet, the role nutrition plays in chronic disease, the impact of food production on the environment, current diet trends, how the government and industry can affect dietary choices and other common nutritional topics.
The Necessary Legal
I know, the legal stuff isn't the fun part of business, but it is important to protect yourself so that you don't run into problems later that make your business really un-fun... With these tools, they will make your life much easier from the start and you can avoid some of the pitfalls that I ran into.
Keep in mind, laws for coaching are different state-by-state and country-by-country. Make sure you know what the laws are where you are setting up your company. This is where consulting a lawyer can be really beneficial.
Bobby Klinck - The Online Genius Template Library
Legal templates for nearly every aspect of your coaching business
Bobby offers different packages of the legal templates you need to get your business up and running, but I will say, I just bought the entire library after wasting three months and nearly $4,000 with a lawyer who dragged her feet and never called me back. The same day I fired the lawyer, I bought the Template Library and by the end of the day, I had created the Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, and Terms & Conditions for my website and had a wonderfully clean coaching agreement. He provides videos about what you need to customize in each document, including specific verbiage for online coaches. It also includes a podcast waiver form, testimonial releases, forms for membership groups and courses, and the forms to set up your LLC. If you're not ready for all of that, you can also purchase templates one-by-one or in smaller packs, like just the Website Policy Pack.
This is an affiliate link.
Alternative Balance
Business Liability Insurance
Perfect and affordable, especially if you're just starting out. Provides you with liability insurance that covers you for clients in other states and countries, and will still cover you if you're working with clients while you're traveling away from home.
Personal recommendation
Practicing Energy Healing in Integrity by Midge Murphy, JD, PhD
Learn about the Ethical and Legal Principles in Holistic Health and Energy Healing Practices
Written by lawyer and professional liability risk management consultant Midge Murphy, this is necessary companion to having your legal docs in a row, as it will provide you with more clarity around the safest way to practice in the alternative health space, including health coaching and other energy-based modalities. This isn't a long read, but, in my opinion, it is critical for anyone practicing in this space.
This is an affiliate link.
Setting up your website
Not a website designer here.... I have only designed one website, and you're looking at it. You don't need to spend a lot of money to get your health coaching business up and running, but having a website not only builds your credibility as a coach but it is also where people can learn out more about you and, most importantly, book appointments.
Wix
Website Host
You can start by using the basic template mode and watching a few YouTube videos and soon you'll have a basic website set up. You can pick a theme, add different elements, and all of a sudden, clients have a place to find you, book appointments and get in touch with you. Over time, you can switch over to the Editor mode, which has a lot more flexibility but it's easier to work with if you already have a basic website set up.
Based on my research, Wordpress seems to be a better Website Host because of a few pieces of functionality that Wix doesn't have, specifically Pretty Links, which allow you to create short-cut URLs for a lot of sections and pages on your sit - for example, I would love to have shortcut links for every episode of my podcast that are just carefullyhealing.com/34, or whatever, but alas. However, Wordpress is A LOT harder to use in my opinion. So while I might switch to Wordpress someday when I hire someone to design a website for me, Wix has been an easier place to get up and running.
99Designs
Custom Logos and Podcast Art
While you may want to create your own logo or use the logo tools in Wix, I went to 99Designs when I wanted the podcast artwork for Quest for Healing. You submit your specs and then several artists submit a wide variety of options and you can pick the one you like the best. I had over 100 submissions for my podcast art to choose from! Do you need a logo when you're first starting out, no. But you may want one at some point.
Stuff that will help you with social media
While social media is fun, it can be time consuming, so I hope you find these to be some useful ways to make your life a little easier and to keep social media fun!
Canva
Create all kinds of posts, templates, one-pagers, headings, etc.
Use the basic template mode and watch a few YouTube videos and you'll have a basic website set up quickly. Y you pick a theme, add different elements, and all of a sudden, clients have a place to find you, book appointments and get in touch with you. Over time, you can switch over to the Editor mode, which has a lot more flexibility but is a tougher place to start from.
Based on my research, Wordpress seems to be a better Website Host because of a few pieces of functionality that Wix doesn't have, specifically Pretty Links, which allow you to create short-cut URLs for a lot of sections and pages on your sit - for example, I would love to have shortcut links for every episode of my podcast that are just carefullyhealing.com/34, or whatever, but alas. However, Wordpress is A LOT harder to use in my opinion. So while I might switch to Wordpress someday when I hire someone to design a website for me, Wix has been a pretty easy place to start out.
IG Hashtags
Check for Banned Hashtags before you post
Did you know that #plantbasednews and #eatwellbewell are banned hashtags on Instagram? And if you use them, your post will get shadow-blocked and won't reach anyone? Run your hashtags through this site to check them before you post and save yourself that angst.
Podcasting Tools
Want to start a podcast? Here's what I use.
Descript
Audio editing
I started editing using Garageband, which is pretty easy to use overall, but.... it can take quite awhile to get through a whole podcast. Descript auto-generates a transcript and you edit as if you were making changes in a Word Doc. You may want or need to fine-tune the splices a little bit, but it's much easier and faster than Garageband. Starting with Descript cut my edit time in half (which is a HUGE deal on a 75-minute episode. I still add the intro/outro/music in Garageband, but that's all templated at this point and takes no time. Descript saves me 2-4 hours per episode!
Otter.ai
Transcription service
I wanted to offer transcripts of the podcast to listeners but of course had no desire to type them up myself. I have the annual subscription to the base automated service, which is about 95% accurate. I listen back at 1.5x or 1.75x speed and make the appropriate tweaks where necessary (and this step is also my last listen-thru of the podcast before publishing). Much less expensive than most others and more accurate too. I tried a few before I got to Otter.ai.