by The Health Sciences Academy — Get free science updates here.
Your business model is the operational and transactional structure you’ll use to provide and capture value. In short, it’s how you’ll organise your business and generate your income.
A business plan, model, and legal structure are all very different things that come together to create a roadmap for your entrepreneurial journey…
You’ll need to choose the right model so that you can map your financial pipeline and ensure that you’re building a practice that will thrive. It also helps you decide how to deliver your value to your clients and what types of interactions this will require.
It may sound overwhelming at first, but we promise that it’s not nearly as intimidating as it seems!
And don’t worry…
We’re not going to sit here and try and cram 6 years of college into one business focussed article.
The goal is to give you the information you NEED to start and grow a successful nutrition business in a simple, actionable way.
So instead of forcing you to dig through a textbook or scour the internet, we’ve done the heavy lifting for you!
Read on to learn more about the most viable business models for a budding nutrition business…
The Bundled Model delivers more for less…
We’ve spent a lot of time heralding the advantages of a multi-service practice, and the bundling model is a great way to create, market, and profit off of service packages.
When you have several nutrition certifications covering a wider range of information, you’re able to better customise your offering for each client!
Because in the science of nutrition…
Customisation and personalisation are everything!
Bundling starts by defining your services. What do you have to offer? What do you plan on offering? And how can you determine the price points for your packages?
Marketing experts suggest pairing several goods or services into one package.
Then, you can charge more for the entire premium package than you would for the individual products. However, when you bundle your services, you’ll offer a discount – charging less than the cost of purchasing the services separately.
This way, you’ll be offering an increased value at a price point that works for both you and your clients!
There’s a catch though…
You still need to make sure that your individual services are just as available to your clients as your bundled packages.
Why?
Because people like having choices. This lets them know that they’re in control of their journey and eliminates the second guessing that some clients may do when investing in themselves.
Because as much as many of us enjoy investing in others, some also have a difficult time understanding the importance of investing in themselves – especially when it comes to nutrition and a healthier lifestyle!
To summarise:
- Determine which services/products you can and should offer
- Set the price point for individual service packages (we recommend no less than $700/8-week program)
- Then, create packages that combine your products and services at a higher price point and reward the client’s commitment by discounting everything included
- Make sure to give your clients plenty of options and ALWAYS remember that customisation is key!
Tech savvy? Try e-Commerce…
Are you tech savvy and have some experience with social media, websites, or even marketing? Maybe you’ve got an Instagram following that puts socialites to shame!
Or, maybe you just live in a remote area and need a better way to market and deliver value to clients all over the world…
These are all scenarios that put you in an excellent position to test your skill via e-Commerce…
An e-Commerce business model involves establishing a digital presence, and allowing your clients to shop, and make transactions completely online. (There are different ways to model e-Commerce, but we’ll just look at the basics here).
Now, that doesn’t mean that you have to deliver your services using only digital platforms (although some coaches have great success with live online meetings and sessions). It just means that the bulk of the exchange will be automated.
And this is a double-edged sword when it comes to personalised nutrition plans!
When trying to offer highly customised services online, it’s always a good idea to try and do some sort of consultation first. Whether you use an automated survey or require a face-to-face conversation to advise them on the best plans for their individual needs.
Again, you don’t NEED a website or e-Commerce set up to have a successful nutrition practice…
But it can help if you have the knowledge to make it work for you, or your circumstances make digital delivery a better option!
To summarise:
- E-Commerce business models require you to establish an online presence
- You’ll likely need a website or portal of some kind that allows clients to purchase online
- It’s a good idea to find ways to keep your services personalised
- Online transactions can be followed up with in-person services or you can use a digital platform to communicate value to your clients
- There are a variety of e-Commerce models to choose from – so you’ll need to decide which one works best for you and your clients.
Subscription Services can establish consistency…
Many nutrition coaches and advisors find that giving their clients a subscription or auto-renewal option helps establish a more consistent customer base…
This can be tricky, though.
It’s important that you make sure that you’re working with the right clients (those who want long-term results), and that you keep them informed of any and all upcoming transactions.
Since we recommend 8-week programs, your client could renew their access to your services by paying automatically at the end of each program.
Don’t confuse this with a payment plan, though…
A payment plan may allow you to collect payment from your clients over a pre-determined length of time, until it totals what they’d owe for one 8-week program… BUT, this can put you at risk of early cancellation, and the client is less likely to commit long-term.
The goal is to help your clients get the results they want using scientifically backed nutrition advice, and to improve the overall quality of their lives. This won’t happen overnight, and that commitment is so important when it comes to nutrition!
As we mentioned before, always have a very clear system for informing clients that their subscription is about to renew. No one likes surprise charges, and this gives them and you time to plan.
To summarise:
- A subscription business model automatically renews the client’s access to your services for a predetermined amount of time
- You need to keep the idea of personalisation in mind here as well, changing or advancing their program as needed
- Always give clients a reasonably timed notification that their subscription is about to renew
- This can require some automation, and it’s important to keep your professional bandwidth in mind
- It’s not a good idea to REQUIRE a subscription (again, personalisation is key), but it can be beneficial to make it an option
Your business model is only one part of your entrepreneurial journey…
Keep in mind…
Your ideal business model may be a combination of several of these. And there are other models that you may find that suit your nutrition practice better!
Everyone will have a slightly different approach, and we encourage you to do what’s best for the type of nutrition business you want!
And business models can also change with growth, so be prepared to re-evaluate your strategies often.
We know that starting a nutrition business can seem like this monumental task – but you don’t have to do it alone!
The Health Sciences Academy has fantastic resources for anyone wanting to build a successful multi-service nutrition practice. Everything we do is motivated by science and a desire to improve the quality of life on a global scale…
Want to learn more?
Click here to explore our entire suite of certifications today!
