Are you looking for a career where you can help others make healthier life choices? Is listening to others your special skill and inspiring people your gift? Then you might as well start considering taking a health coach course.
Health coaches are passionate individuals who love all things healthy. They love learning new information and have a flair for establishing a positive relationship with everyone. They provide services to those who want to achieve certain health goals. They do this by creating personalized food and lifestyle changes for their clients. If this role sounds like your ideal job, then it’s time to make the right move.
But before you even start your journey to become a health coach yourself, consider the following facts first:
You need to get the necessary certification
To start your journey, you need to be a healthcare professional first. You can be a registered nurse, a diabetic educator, a dentist, an athletic trainer, or even a physician wanting a career change. Having an educational background or work experience in health is a must. One cannot get a health coach certification unless you are a licensed healthcare professional.
Health coach courses are available both in classes and online
Before, one could only study and get certification after attending physical classes. Now, you can choose from one of the many health coach courses available online. Training has an average of one year, depending on your availability. You are expected to learn basic nutrition, how the body works, effective fitness regimes, etc. You need to study, train, and pass the certification exam before receiving a health coach diploma.
You can work with a group of clients or on a one-on-one consultation
Some clients would prefer a one-on-one session with their health coach. Others want group coaching sessions that can have up to eight members per group. You can either meet them in person, via Skype, or whichever place you and your clients deem fit. What matters is that you get to fulfil your duty, which is to help your clients improve their overall health.
You’ll be looking for your own clients
Let’s say that you’re now a certified health coach. Your hard work doesn’t stop there. Just because you have passed the certification with flying colours doesn’t mean that you’ll already start receiving clients. You’ll need to advertise your services and market yourself both online and offline. You need to build a name for yourself before clients start knocking on your door. Even if you now have a number of loyal clients, make sure that you don’t take your marketing for granted so that you can continuously gain new clients.
You are expected to do more than teach about health and wellness
Think talking is all you’re going to do to fulfil your duties as a health coach? Then think again. You are expected to do more than just to teach via talking. You can work hand in hand with other healthcare professionals and make health talks. You can write books, create workshops, or even organize retreats for your clients. All these things you can do to create long-lasting health changes in your client’s life.
Being a health coach is nowhere easy. You need to have the right skills and qualities to be successful in this field. You may even have a hard time finding clients, especially during your first few years. You may also find it hard to reach the kind of income you want, as health coaching alone is not enough to maximize your revenue. But this can be a fulfilling role if helping others live a better and healthier life is one of your life goals.
