Are you planning on creating a health coaching business? You can create a successful living doing so. According to Precedence Research, people around the world spent nearly $14.5 billion on health coaching services in 2021.
But what can you do to create a successful health coaching business? Here are some important steps to take.
Define Your Service Offerings
While starting and growing a business requires a lot of manpower, maintaining one needs more. One of the biggest reasons that some health service businesses don’t succeed is that they take on more than they can chew. They offer more services they can handle providing, which isn’t sustainable.
You need to decide which health coaching services you really want to focus on. You could create an entire business around teaching people to lose weight. You probably wouldn’t be able to help with stress management and other services, unless you have a large team behind you.
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Make sure you properly outline your core services in your business plan before starting a health coaching business.
Have a Solid Marketing Strategy
Marketing is a very important part of any business. You can’t be a successful health coach with a clearly defined marketing strategy.
There are a lot of great ways to effectively market your health coaching business. One option is to create Instagram, Facebook or YouTube profiles. These are great options, especially if you are offering weight loss services. People love seeing videos of people engaged in fitness routines. You will also want to rely on word-of-mouth after getting more customers.
Get the Legal Structure Right
Sure, you need clients to run your business, but a whole world of legal matters also needs your attention. You might think you are doing everything right until a document gets dropped at your door that you have no idea what to do with it. Before launching, every business owner needs to figure out their legal plan and business structure.
So, do you need an LLC for your health coaching business? In this article, we will talk about the legal side of your coaching business. Keep reading to learn more.
The biggest question on any business owner’s mind is whether they should be the sole proprietor or an LLC (limited liability company). In simple terms, a sole proprietor is a business run by a single person. The business owner is responsible for all legal operations and decisions. Moreover, there is no registration or start-up cost. Every transaction, profit, or loss will accrue to the business’s sole owner.
On the other hand, a limited liability company separates you from your business. This distinguishes between your assets and your business’s finances. In other words, if your business faces some loss or gets sued, your assets will remain unaffected, as the company is considered a separate entity. An LLC requires registration with the state and has some start-up cost, depending on your location. Usually, the price varies from $40 to $500.
If you own an online health-coaching business, you can form an LLC in almost every state. According to David Reed, the Co-Founder of LLCStars:
“Certain states indeed offer LLCs at a much lower price. Moreover, it is also true that one can register an online business in another state. This is especially important for health-coaching businesses. The more money you save on LLC costs, the more funding you can apply to your program.”
Do I Need an LLC for My Health Coaching Business?
If you don’t have much experience in legal matters, it is best to form an LLC for your business. Here are some ways it can benefit you:
Liability Protection
Forming an LLC will declare you as a separate entity, which means that the business’s finances exist separately from your assets. If your business gets sued, you and your assets will be unaffected. Only the business will suffer the justified loss.
Credibility
If you want to build a legitimate brand image for your business, an LLC is just the way to do that. When your business is structured as an LLC, it provides credibility to the brand’s reputation. Your client or collaborator will know that this business takes their legal matters seriously and systematically executes them.
Taxation
Forming an LLC for your business will give you flexible taxation options. Thus, it will lower them to some extent, as you will be paying taxes based on your personal income. In S corp, the company doesn’t pay any taxes at all. Instead, the owners are taxed according to the payroll taxes on their income and not on the company’s profit. This instantly saves your company big bucks without questioning the company’s practices.
How to Form an LLC
There are usually five main steps to forming an LLC. You can do it on your own or hire a formation service. Hiring a formation service will cost you additional charges, but they will take care of all the legal matters for you.
So, if you are interested in forming an LLC for your coaching business, simply follow these six steps:
1. Pick a Name
The first thing to do is to pick a name for your business. It should be a unique name that doesn’t collide with state laws. While you are at it, this is an excellent time to secure a domain name for your website.
2. Choose a Registered Agent
Forming an LLC requires a separate name and address for mailing legal documents. You could appoint a registered agent to which the state can reach out when needed. If you don’t have an address in the state, you can always use registered agent services to maintain your LLC.
3. Complete the Paperwork
The next step is to complete the paperwork. The documentation varies from state to state, but you need to fill out “Documents of Organization.”
4. Submit Operation Agreement
An operation agreement is a document that explains the entire structuring of your business. You need to submit this to the state to clear things up at the start. Most states haven’t made it necessary to submit an operation document, but submitting one is good practice.
5. Apply for an EIN
An employer identification number (EIN) is a nine-digit number present on all legal documents such as payroll forms and financial documents. Once you have submitted all of the required documents, you can go ahead and apply for EIN.
6. Finalize a Bank Account
To keep your business finances separate from your personal transaction, you should finalize a business bank account. Take your time choosing one that is trustworthy and provides you with convenience and good customer support.
Take the Right Steps to Launch a Successful Health Coaching Business
If you are currently running or planning on running a coaching business, there are a lot of steps that you will need to take. Coming up with a stellar marketing strategy, choosing the right services to offer and forming an LLC are all important steps.
Having an LLC is too important to overlook, because it will provide liability protection and keep your assets safe. In the case of mismanagement, a privacy breach, or fraud, you and your assets will remain unaffected. So, forming an LLC for your business is an excellent way to tackle all legalities the right way.