How to Start an Online Wellness Business

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The pandemic has changed life as we know it, and people want to prioritize their health and wellbeing. We’re here to show you how to start a wellness business, and the steps you’ll need to take to ensure your idea is future-proof, sustainable, and profitable.

No matter what area of the healthy lifestyle business you want to pursue, there are plenty of opportunities available despite the busy market. Understanding your wellness concept, building your business strategy, and making a stamp online are just a few areas we’ll explore.

Develop Your Concept

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Step 1

There are so many niches that fall under the wellness umbrella — fitness, nutrition, mental health, sleep, personal growth, and self-care are only a handful of examples. To develop your wellness concept and start growing your business, it’s important to think about your passions, the skills you already have, and your goals for the future.

Take a look at what areas of wellness you want to focus on and start brainstorming. Research your desired market, understand the gaps in the industry, and check out your competition. If you love fitness, you could become a virtual personal trainer or yoga instructor. If your area of expertise lies with food and nutrition, perhaps working as an online health coach, starting a weight loss blog, or opening a dietary supplement shop would be the best course to take.

When figuring out how to build a wellness business, understanding your concept is a necessary step to take. It will provide you with a strong foundation before you begin to develop your business plan and start selling online.

Create Business Plan

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Step 2

Once you’ve figured out your wellness concept and specialty, you can get to work on your business plan. Put yourself on the road to success by taking these crucial steps to plan and prepare.

It’s critical that you understand your target audience as this will influence your decision-making going forward. Knowing what your customers love, dislike, and want to see more of is an essential part of your business plan. You also need to figure out your opening and ongoing finances, as well as predicting any potential profit.

Remember, people shopping in the health and wellness industry are looking for personal growth, and want to show themselves some love with your services. They’ll be willing to pay more for these products, so you need to ensure your business meets their demands and needs.

Qualifications

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Step 3

Now, you won’t need a qualification for every wellness niche, but it will be required for some. For example, it would be unsafe and unprofessional to offer advice to paying customers as a personal trainer or nutritionist without the proper qualifications.

Not only does having the appropriate qualifications create trust with your client base, but it also gives you the authority and confidence to speak about your area of business. You can reassure customers that they’re in safe and qualified hands. Equally, you could hire people with the necessary qualifications instead, and look to them for guidance on services and products.

Legal Requirements

Advice from the Experts

Top Tip: It can be helpful to consult with experts to ensure everything is sorted legally and your business is good to go.

Create Website

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Step 5

Knowing how to start a healthy lifestyle business and what steps to take can be a little overwhelming, but creating your website can make it feel like it’s all coming together.

We recommend using ecommerce website builders such as Squarespace, Wix, and Shopify to help you create your online wellness store. These platforms are user-friendly and provide you with so many design options that you can really make the site your own.

Utilize the innovative technology available to create an easy customer experience, whether that’s through well-designed website pages for appointment scheduling, or an efficient system to take payments online.

Make sure to think about the color palette since you can use that across all platforms, and don’t forget to include vibrant visuals, customer testimonials, and detailed descriptions to make your services pop!

Shopify in Action: SnoreLessNow

Headshot of Chris Garvey
Chris Garvey
Co-Founder & COO
SnoreLessNow is a sleep health ecommerce company that helps solve snoring problems and restless sleep.
My experience with Shopify continues to be excellent, and I wouldn’t change for any other website builder at this point.

Q&A

When did you start using Shopify? How long did it take to build a website?

I wanted to build a website because I knew it would be the foundation for my business (SnoreLessNow). The reach of a successful website is unmatched, and I chose Shopify because of professional friends who had recommended it to me. The apps are convenient to use, but sophisticated enough to allow larger website customization. I had used website builders, such as Wix, in the past and I found Shopify’s features to be more accessible and integrative.

I started using Shopify at the beginning of 2023. It didn’t take me any longer than a few hours to get a website up and running. It was basic, but it was functional. If I wanted more than that when I started, I estimate that it could have taken me a couple of weeks. In terms of improving my website, I am still doing that to this day, nine months later.

What do you like most about Shopify?

Shopify has an incredibly large app store for website integration and the help forums are specific and easy to understand. When I haven’t been able to manage a feature on my website, Shopify’s help forum has walked me through it step by step. And when my website is lacking in a specific capability, Shopify’s app store allows me to find exactly what I’m missing and integrate it easily.

For example, my website uses an app called SocialBoost which powers SnoreLessNow’s sweepstakes campaigns. My website has seen 10x in visitors with the app’s integration thanks to Shopify’s easy website integration and app store.

What would you change about Shopify?

I would like to see Shopify make it easier to link a PayPal electronic payment to my website. The integration for PayPal was clunky with Shopify, claiming that a connection was established with electronic payments for PayPal on my site, but the final cart checkout would prove otherwise. It would present customers with a button that said “confirm purchase” without actually allowing the payment to complete. The customer would have to restart the checkout and select a different payment option.

Have you used Shopify's customer service? How did you find it?

Yes, I have. The Shopify help forums are easy to read and easy to follow, giving a step-by-step guide on how to walk through specific problems for my website. Some forums even offer video guidance which is up to date and effective. The Shopify customer service phone takes a few minutes to get in touch with a human representative, but is generally effective.

Were you satisfied with the website you made and would you recommend Shopify to others?

My experience with Shopify continues to be excellent, and I wouldn’t change for any other website builder at this point. I started using Shopify with only minimal website building experience, and the easy-to-use features and guides helped me grow my website building skills as I went.

I’m confident that my website presents well and fulfills the vision I set out to create. I would recommend Shopify to new website builders, intermediate website builders, and more advanced website builders alike.

Click the + to see our favorite part of Chris' website

Sidebar with social links and a newsletter button on SnoreLessNow website

We love that SnoreLessNow includes easy-to-spot social links in the sidebar, along with a link to its newsletter. This is a great way to promote your business across platforms and engage with your customers on channels that they’re using already.

Advice from the Experts

Top Tip: Create a design board — sites like Pinterest are really helpful for this — and save images, styles, and fonts you’d like to use for your website. This can help you develop a brand image and aesthetic that you can then use across all platforms.

More Information

Build Online Presence

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Step 6

Nowadays, there’s nothing more important than promoting your business online. Your social platforms, website, branding, and marketing should be cohesive and fully aligned to fit your business. You want to create a memorable and seamless experience for your customers, from the initial interaction through to purchase.

Get yourself set up on local directories and search engines so customers can find you easily, and make sure to establish your business across all social media apps. The wellness hashtag on TikTok has nearly 5 billion views, and Instagram’s wellness influencers, such as yoga expert Adriene Louise, have millions of followers. Tap into this popular market!

The purpose of having a vocal and strong online presence, whether that’s through social media, podcasts, or other mediums, is to attract new customers to your business. You can use these platforms to promote your services, share news and discounts, and even gather feedback from customers.

Summary

We hope this guide has helped you understand how to build a wellness business from scratch. Whether you’ve got a concept in mind, or are still at the drawing board, make sure to build a concrete business plan and establish your brand online so that you stand out amongst the competition. If you’re still unsure about building your online store, check out our guide on How to Build an Online Store for even more advice.

FAQ

The great thing about the industry is that it can be many things. The main goal is to offer people solutions to problems in their life. Whether that’s through helping them make healthy lifestyle changes, offering guidance on self-development, meditation advice, or fitness coaching. The possibilities are endless!

No! You could offer up virtual and digital services such as personal training, lifestyle coaching, and many more.

Firstly, think about your passions and interests. It’s important that you love the business as much as your customers! Research is also key. Take a look at the market and your competition to see if there’s a gap you can fit into.

Written by:
emma ryan author bio
Emma’s been a Senior Writer at Website Builder Expert since 2022, having first-hand experience with website builders, such as Wix and Shopify, through hands-on testing and research analysis. Her work and expertise have been featured in Digiday, TechRound, Industry Today, and Digital Information World. Specializing in writing about website builders, ecommerce platforms, and hosting providers, Emma stays in the loop of industry updates by attending conferences such as eCommerce Expo and managing Website Builder Expert’s news articles.

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