If you’ve been around for awhile (or if you’re new, welcome!) you know that I believe enjoying real, nutrient-dense foods in simple and delicious ways (without restriction or guilt) is absolutely key to balancing your hormones, boosting your fertility and looking and feeling your best.

But it’s not the only piece of the puzzle to your health, and through my own personal journey I discovered the one surprising thing that had the biggest impact on my health had actually nothing to do with food.

It was about living my life with purpose. 

And for me, that meant leaving the steady 9-5 corporate world and launching my own career as an online health coach.

So that I could wake up each morning excited and lit up about how I was going to spend each and every day, rather than using coping mechanisms that were destroying my mental, physical and financial health (too much drinking, online shopping, tv watching, binge eating and food obsession, etc.) to get through each week, escape on the weekends, and find myself with SERIOUS Sunday Scaries as I prepared to do it all over again.

But the road to getting here wasn’t clear, and even after I graduated from nutrition school and knew I wanted to be a hormone health coach, I didn’t have a clue on how I was actually going to do it.

Enter in part 2 of this 3 part series, where we get to some game changing tools that gave me the confidence and clarity I needed to starting my own business as an online health coach and transforming my health and life in the process.

STARTING MY OWN BUSINESS — THE BEGINNING

If you read the first part of this series, you know that it ended with my husband encouraging me to start my own business instead of trying to fit myself into some box that felt “safe” but was ultimately not what I wanted to be doing.

And even though I had the credentials to do so (i.e. had already graduated from nutrition school), I STILL couldn’t picture myself owning my own business.

It felt too scary, too different, too overwhelming.

So I delved back into the interview process, convincing myself I could still find some sort of steady, salary-based job in the wellness world that combined my experience in sales with my passion for health.

But I knew in my heart of hearts it didn’t really exist.

Because I wanted to build and create something of my own. Something that I KNEW people needed and would help them live healthier and happier lives.

Something where I could create my own schedule, design my own life, serve women in the best ways I knew how.

And working for a corporate job was just not going to get me there.

But even after reckoning with this realization and choosing to make this scary (but necessary) switch to building my own business, I truly had NO idea where to start.

It seemed impossible.

Until one day, when I met with a health coach I’d admired for a long time. To me, she seemed to be doing exactly what I wanted to do, and very successful at it to boot. She even attended the same nutrition school as me! I thought, if she can do it, I can do it too.

So, when I got the opportunity to chat with her and she told me how Marie Forleo’s B-School was her launchpad into becoming a successful business owner, I knew I had to look into it… and you guessed it, it transformed my health (and life) in the biggest way.

 

INVESTING IN MYSELF TO INVEST IN MY BUSINESS

After hearing about Marie Forleo’s B-School from a successful health coach, I knew I had to look into it.

I went home and immediately began researching her, signing up for her weekly newsletter video series. And I was instantly impressed.

I loved Marie’s sense of humor, her genuine nature and most of all, her total devotion to helping others create a business and life they loved…which is exactly what I was hoping to do.

Also, serendipitously, her once a year B-School was launching the very next month, which would give me a framework of what I needed in order to get my online business off the ground.

But I still wasn’t totally sure if B-School was right for me. After all there were so many other online courses out there, promising career success and six to seven figure incomes. It also looked like an intensive investment, both time and money-wise.

It was something I really had to think through.

I sat down and I wrote out a list of people I knew of who had taken her course and now own successful six and seven-figure online businesses (there are now A LOT!). I looked at their websites and marketing, searching for signs that stood out. And I truly could spot the difference.

Their mission was clear, their words always heart-felt and true, and they kept me wanting to follow, keep in contact and stick around for more. They were highly visible online and easy to find with product and service offerings that made sense (and made me want to add to cart!)

I knew this wasn’t a coincidence. They had learned things, they had the secret sauce, and I wanted in on it.

I still felt scared about the investment, especially since I was trying to start something on my own without a steady corporate job to back me up. Shouldn’t I be saving more money right now?

But deep down I knew if I was going to do this, I wanted to do it RIGHT. And investing in myself was key for investing in the business, just like spending more time cooking and eating nutrient-dense foods was an investment in my physical health.

It was scary to admit but I thought dangit, I’m worth it. This business is worth it. The people I’m trying to serve are worth it.

And so I took the leap and signed up.

 

4 CRUCIAL STEPS I TOOK TO STARTING MY ONLINE BUSINESS AS A HEALTH COACH

It was impossible to know then, but as I look back now, signing up for and committing to Marie’s B-School was the missing link I needed between getting my health coaching certification and successfully launching my business as an online health coach.

Not only did it give me a step-by-step framework with a timeline to follow and ALL of the tools I needed to get my online business out there into the hands of the people that needed it most, but it boosted my confidence, which was very much lacking prior.

And that confidence in myself and the ways I knew my business could help other women helped me stay the course, even through all of the challenges running a business brings.

While every person’s journey to starting their own business is different, I can share with you the first few steps I took that helped turn a passion and idea into a full-fledged business.

+ Invested In Myself First

There are obviously so many ways to now do this, but for me I knew I needed some sort of framework to help me launch my business in a way that was scalable and profitable.

While Marie’s B-School was a bit of a stretch for my budget, I felt in my gut that being able to reference a step-by-step guide from someone who had built a highly reputable online business (and helped hundreds of thousands of others do the same) was what I needed to get this thing off the ground.

I’m also someone who thrives being involved in community and having accountability, and taking this course was a way for me to get both. While it obviously doesn’t have to be B-school for you, I really recommend investing in yourself prior to starting your business in whatever way you feel deep down you need.

Maybe it’s investing in some better photography equipment if you’re a photographer trying to branch out on your own, or perhaps it’s working with a mentor or online coach, even attending a workshop or seminar.

All I know is whatever you choose to invest in will propel you forward because you made a conscious choice that you are worthy of your time, energy and money and believe you have what it takes to make your dream a reality. Period.

+ Created A Business Plan

If you’re starting a business, you need to have profit clarity and be crystal clear on where you are spending your time and energy to maximize your impact. You need to know WHO your ideal customer is, WHAT exactly you are selling, what products are most profitable (and which ones drain your time), as well as your revenue model, etc.

I’ve seen so many people get excited about their big idea and go out and spend a bunch of money on a fancy website and design only to realize after the fact that it’s not reaching the customer they actually want to target or highlighting the product or service that makes them the most profit.

If you’re thinking woah, this sounds over my head, know that I was once in your exact shoes, until I took B-school, which broke it all down for me step by step. Whether you choose to enroll in the course or not, you bottom line need to have a strategy outlined and in place before you start investing in any other marketing materials, web design, etc.

+ Built A Website That Doesn’t Suck

While building a website has never been easier these days, the key is building a website that SELLS, especially if your goal is to build a profitable online business.

Once a person lands on your website, they decide in less than 3 seconds whether they’re into what you’re offering and want to learn more or click away and most likely never return.

Thus it’s paramount you build a website that connects with your ideal customer and captures their name and email as a way to stay in touch and foster a relationship in order to earn trust over time.

If you’re here, reading this, then there’s a good chance you’ve browsed around on my website. Every.single.aspect. of my site is intentional and designed as a way to connect and communicate with you (hi, thank you for being here, you’re amazing!).

Learning how to build a website that sells and doesn’t suck is the second module of B-school, and one I’ve used step by step for my original website launch and revision/rebrand which took place June 2021.

+ Marketed THE HECK Out of Myself

While marketing yourself can sound or feel really icky or strange (wait, I have to talk myself up to all of these other people?!) bottomline if you don’t get in front of the people who need your business most it will not survive.

The difference is to market yourself in a way that is NOT spammy, but instead designed to SERVE. I put out so much free content and online resources as a way to not only attract my ideal clientele but also HELP them. So that even if they don’t choose to work with me I may still be able to inspire them or positively impact their health, hormones and lives in some way. And that to me is a huge gift, and one I don’t take lightly.

In the early days and years, I also said yes to anything and everything that got me the opportunity to get in front of people and get my name out there (making treats for Soul Cycle events, hosting a booth at job fairs, speaking for free at workshops, making recipes on tv segments, etc.) While I never got paid, I did view each event as a way to potentially connect with my ideal customer, which was worth it.

While now, six years in, I am fortunate enough to be in the position to decline any unpaid opportunities, I wouldn’t be where I am without that initial hustle and focus on marketing myself and the business.

 

NEW CAREER, NEW(ISH) ME 

As you can imagine after being in business for six years, things are much different now than they were starting out.

SO many things have changed in the process, especially myself (mentally, physically, emotionally, etc.) and I can’t wait to share with you more about the transformation owning my own business had on my health and relationship with food in part 3 of this series, later next week.

In the mean-time, if you want to learn more about Marie’s B-School, you can sign up now for her free “steal my strategies” training with the specific steps she incorporated to help her successfully launch her multi-million dollar business.

OR, if you feel ready to take the next step in building or upleveling the business of your dreams, you can now sign up for Marie’s once a year B-School here (which also automatically enrolls you in the BONUS special mastermind group I’ll be hosting, more on that to come in the next post).

Bottomline, if you’re feeling stuck in a business (or even life/health rut) I hope you find these resources as helpful as I did. Sending you so much love!