I have compiled a list of both nutrition and business training programs that I feel will help you tremendously in growing as a person and as a business.
I know many of you hate marketing and are more drawn towards nutrition training rather than business and marketing training. I have seen many coaches and practitioners fail because of this belief. I have seen coaches borrow money and lose money and then having to go back to work for somebody else. Many then say: “You can’t make a living from coaching.” That is a statement of someone who has failed and I’m here to tell you that you can and will make a good living that is aligned with your core values and passion if you get a few things right. These few things would mean honing into a good niche market, having a compelling and clear message (rather than just saying “I help women get more energy”) and a plan to create a simple marketing plan.
The programs and institutes are not ranked in any particular order of preference. I recommend to spend some time on each site and let your intuition tell you what feels right (we sometimes let our analytical brain rule and it is not always the best choice). It’s very important to have a good connection with your tutor as she/he will become your mentor and her principals will become yours.
If you have questions about the programs, it’s best for you to contact them directly. Some of the links contain affiliate links. By no means is that an exhaustive list and things do change, so bear that in mind. If you want to share your favorite program, please do so in the comments section.
Part I: Health and nutrition programs
1. Holistic Nutrition Lab
I did this 8-month course and it was pivotal in helping me establish my hormone-focused practice. The founder, Andrea Nakayama, CNE, CHHC, CNC, FNLP, is not only extremely knowledgeable but also kind and completely immersed in the program, attends to each question and case study.
The program takes you through the various body systems, starting with the Digestive Intensive and then progresses to Endocrine, Immune, Nervous, Reproductive and Urinary Intensives.
This year Andrea also added some soft skill training, e.i. how to deal with client psychological blocks, work from a place of empathy to get the best results with your clients. A common comment the participants of this program have is: “I can’t believe I was be a health coach before I did this course.” For a good reason.
I highly recommend this program.
Strengths: Practical nutritional concepts, many case studies to bring the concepts to life, depth of content, live Q&As and soft skill training like empathy. Lifetime access to content.
Weaknesses: Forum closes after the course is over so there is no alumni.
Who should attend: Health coaches with a fairly good nutritional foundation who want to deepen their skills and get more confidence in working on any case.
Duration: 8 months. You can join the Digestive Intensive first (for a month) and then do the Full Body System (another 7 months).
Format: Live only, enrolls twice a year, used to be January and July.
What you will get at the end: strong yet practical nutritional concepts, able to help more complex cases, soft skills to get best results. Access to a formidable teacher (Andrea).
Links to learn more about this program:
-> Digestive Intensive (a good place to start), get on the wait list to get notified
-> Andrea’s Functional Nutrition Video Series (a great way to get to know her)
2. Hashimoto’s Institute
The Hashimoto’s Institute is a 12-week Training Program for clinicians and health practitioners looking to advance their ability to work with patients and clients with autoimmune hypothyroidism, taught by three of the top leaders in the field; Dr Izabella Wentz, Andrea Nakayama and Dr Alan Christianson.
If you plan to specialize in hormones, thyroid issues, Hashimoto’s, Graves’ or other autoimmune conditions, this is a very comprehensive program. I know all three of the practitioners and they each deliver high-quality content.
Strengths: Three highly skilled, well regarded and known practitioners; a doctor, a nutritionist and a pharmacist. Live Q&As for you to get help with difficult cases or your own health issues.
Weaknesses: Nothing I can think of!
Who should attend: The website says clinicians but I’ve confirmed that health coaches are welcome as well.
Duration: 12 weeks.
Investment: $8,000 and $5,000 for early birds.
Format: Live only.
What you will get at the end: excellent training in Hashimoto’s and autoimmunity. Community of people you can go back and ask questions when you need help.
Get on their mailing list so you will know about the next intake.
3. Integrative Women’s Health Institute
I have not done this program but I know and have a lot of respect for the founder, Jessica Drummond. When I was going through a hard time with the chronic Candida, Jessica helped me a lot in getting to the right people. She is empathetic, bright and absolutely committed to seeing you shine and succeed. She’s a natural researcher and she cares about her clients.
The Integrative Women’s Health Institute (IWHI) focuses on women’s health from infertility, pelvic pain, women athleticism and infertility. Jessica also certifies women through her NANP-approved coaching program called Women’s Health Coach ™ Certification.
I’ve asked Jessica about the differentiation of her program and she responded: “This program is basically master’s degree level functional nutrition training combined with a program similar to the IFM or Duke health coach program all created specifically for working with teen through elderly FEMALE clients. I really emphasize the research differences regarding working with women and adolescent girls.”
Here is a short (10-minute) video we did where you can get to know Jessica a little better.
Strengths: A very holistic approach to women’s health that includes how to be an effective coach and how to set up and run your practice.
Weaknesses: Nothing I can think of!
Who should attend: Clinicians, health coaches, functional practitioners like acupuncturists, massage therapists, physical therapists, etc. If you want to specialize in women’s health, especially fertility, pelvic health, women’s athleticism and coaching, this is a great set of programs to consider.
Programs: Jessica offers a range: from live weekend events to long-term health Coach Certification Program.
Her programs are nationally accredited by the NCCHWC.org (the US national health coach certification board.) There are also CEUs for most of their programs from NANP.org, and some state physical therapy boards. They are working on expanding the CEUs for physical therapists, dieticians, nurses, and acupuncturists.
1). Female Athlete Wellness Live Program which is scheduled for September 10 & 11, 2016 in Atlanta. If it’s past the date, get o her mailing list to know about the next one.
2). Optimal Fertility Live Program which is scheduled for November 12 & 13, 2016 in New Jersey. If it’s past the date, get o her mailing list to know about the next one.
3). Women’s Health Certification Program – a 9-month program with 40 live hours and 48 hours of recorded content.
Duration: from weekend events to 9-month programs.
Investment: from $700 for weekend events, $5000 for the Health Coach Certification.
Format: Live and online courses.
What you will get at the end: If you want to specialize in women’s health, especially fertility, pelvic health, women’s athleticism and coaching, these are great programs to consider. You will walk away with not only credentials but also confidence and a strong community.
4). Labrix
Labrix is a hormone-testing lab and it has just merged with Doctor’s Data (one of my other favorite labs). The reason why I’m featuring them here is because as a practitioner, I received solid hormone-based training from them, through their weekend on-site courses. Unlike working with many labs, you do not have to be a medical practitioner to sign up with Labrix although that might vary from state to state (I practiced in California).
They also provide doctor hot line if you want to discuss your client or patient results which is very helpful and they will help you with each client. I learned about the seed rotation method from them.
Contact them here to enquire about being a provider. I recommend that you do have a fairly strong knowledge base of functional nutrition already.
5). Other great institutes and programs
The National Association of Nutrition Professionals (or NANP) offers a list of schools and programs that are NANP-approved, I recommend that you check them out. There are many, some of them online, some in-person and others offer a hybrid. It’s really important to align the program with your own needs and speak to graduates before making the investment.
Part II: Business Coaching for Health Practitioners
1). Practitioner Liberation Project
I feel that the greatest practitioners are the ones who went through health hell and came back on the other side. If you feel like you want to apply your own health experience in helping other people get better but don’t know how to, this program might be a good fit. It was created by the SCD Lifestyle founders, Steve Wright and Jordan Reasoner who became known in the health space for working and helping the most complex digestive cases. Having made their company to a big success, they are now offering a business and marketing program to help you do the same.
I asked them for a short synopsis, this is what they said: “The PLP program shows health practitioners of all types how to build sustainable and recurring online client attraction systems. It shows you how to increase profit margins and run a 6-figure health consulting practice from guys who’ve done it and helped others do it as well. Including how to build and sell your first digital product, hire support staff and sell your services in way that feels good to you and your clients.”
Strengths: A proven methodology to make your practice a financial success, focus on health and nutrition.
Weaknesses: It’s a DIY program but you do get online support for life.
Who should attend: In their words: “The course is perfect for a online beginner who’s never seen a client or someone who already has an online presence but isn’t actually attracting and converting the number of clients they want. We’ve had people go from zero to $10,000 a month in 7 months and had people scale from $250,000 to above $500,000 using the program. We’ve also had students who have a full-time in person practice and eventually want to scale out of it to online use the materials to increase profit margins by 100% or more and fill up the local practice (but it’s not specifically built for this)”
What you will get from this program:
- You will carve out a profitable niche and voice online that attracts qualified clients
- Become experienced at writing magnetic content that draws these people into working with them and how to share it on social media
- You will create a high converting website, free lead magnet, and write a sales page for their services
- You will save time, money and hassle as we walk them through all the best technology tools and how to use them or hire someone to do them including hosting, websites, email service providers, calendar systems, back office systems, payment processors and shopping carts
- You will know how to setup and run Facebook ads that lead to email auto responders that convert to paying clients
- You get access to our actual marketing emails, free reports and sales page copy that they can use word for word in their own business
- Get the support and accountability that is needed to make it in the digital space by being protected inside our community with other like minds
Investment: $4997 with an time-based offer of $2997 (or 7 payments of $497).
Link to start with their free webinar.
2). Practice Success Academy
This program is ideal for chiropractors, MDs, NDs, TCM or any practitioner with a physical practice. Having an office presents its own set of challenges; patient management, time management, staff hiring, administration and accounting which can be very frustrating for someone who just wants to be a healer.
Pattie Ptak knows all about it as she used to run a chiropractic office and turned it around from in significant ways. Through my network, I know many people who worked with her and swear by her methodology. Her coaching program has helped them increase profitability and not work more.
URL: www.practicesuccessacademy.com
I recommend to contact Pattie (tell her you found out about her through my blog) and set up a 1:1 free consult with her to see if it’s a fit and what can you get out of it.
3). Hiring a Business Coach
There are a dime and a dozen of business coaches out there now. The fees can vary from $5,000 to $20,000 for a period of 6 to 10 months. I have worked with a few and I won’t put their names down here as I feel that hiring a business coach is highly personal and you need to “date” them first to make that decision and investment.
Did I say $5,000 to $20,000 (or more)? Yes, I did. If you get the right coach who is well aligned with you, you will get that money back in a matter of months. (This is why business coaches can make much more money than health coaches).
When to hire a coach versus do an online program?
If you have the funds, hire a 1:1 coach. When I look back, I should have hired a coach right from the start to help me hone on my niche and message. Instead, I wasted the first year shooting in the dark. Online programs are great but most of them do not offer you personalized feedback on your output. They do, however, get you started or fill in the blanks for less investment.
I will share a few pointers with you on how to hire a coach:
1). Hire a coach if you don’t know what you are doing, who is your niche, what is your message, what you offer, how to get started etc. When you are starting out, you will get 1001 pieces of advice from other entrepreneurs and that will only overwhelm you, then frustrate you and then finally you will only feel paralyzed (and drop it all). Yes, as much as there are 69 paths you could take, a coach will help you find ONE that works for you. A really good coach will help you find a path that resonates with your belief system, your passion but also the market size and disposable income.
2). Arrange for a free 20 to 30-minute consult with a coach. If she/he does not look at your website (if you have one), that’s a bad sign. You want to hear the coach ask you questions and listen, not just talk. This free call is your first date after which you will decide if a marriage will happen. You must like your coach. In fact, you should love and adore her. Respect her. Do not work with people who you don’t connect with as it will backfire.
3). Ask your coach about her methodology. What is the step-by-step process she will take you through? If the coach is blubbering away promising skies and heavens, that’s a red flag.
4). Not all coaches can do it all. My first coach was great in some areas (like finding a niche, honing on the message, creating my first launch, converting prospects to clients) but she knew nothing about building an online presence, Facebook advertising, etc. So be clear in terms of your expectations and just ask what they can and cannot do for you.
5). Pick a coach who respects your style and passion. For example, I had a coach once who is very salesy in her style and copy and she was pushing me to do the same “because that’s just what works.” I ended up hating my optin gift, my messaging, the title of the programs because I followed what she told me. (This was many years ago). You can’t sell your services if you don’t like and believe in your front-end material. Period.
4). Free Online Marketing Resources
Before I wrap up, I also want to do a shout-out for business coaches who have helped thousands of people get their business off the ground and I listen to some of their podcasts on a regular basis. I recommend that you add them to your iTunes playlist, too.
-> Amy Porterfield and the Profitability Lab
-> Pat Flynn and Smart Passive Income
-> Marie Forleo’s B-School
I hope this post was helpful for you to get a little more clarity of what you need to do next (hint, hint: research, call, sign-up!).
Before you go, let me know what school did you go and how did it help you and your practice.