Are you thinking of starting a coaching program?
How about a coaching program that will earn you 6-figures…in your first year?!
Well, after struggling with depression and anxiety for most of her life, Brittany Oliver decided that things needed to change and took the courageous first step to get certified as a wellness coach.
Read on for the complete story of how getting certified changed her life and what happened from that point on as she built her wellness coaching program into its success today (and with 6 kids!).
Get ready for an amazing story that is sure to inspire you…
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a wellness coach?
After struggling with anxiety, panic and depression since age four, being overweight half of my life and experiencing hormonal issues such as infertility and miscarriage, I decided to get certified.
Mind you, I had a decade of self-education prior to making it official. Reading books and doing research is just how it goes when you are desperate to find answers.
2. Can you take us through the process of what it took to create your first product?
My first real “product” was my book “Buddha Belly- A Mind, Body, Soul approach to health starting with your gut. I originally started writing this, no joke, on a tablet out of my car while my new baby slept in his car seat because it was the only time that I could make for me and it was about an hour a day!
3. How did you sell your book and what did the book sales lead to?
Originally I just self published Buddha Belly and promoted myself organically through my circle of influence and social media.
Before sales took off, however, I was invited to teach Gut Health at the school I went to, using my book. This turned it into a course that was in high demand. Higher than my book alone at the time.
I later decided to break away and start a school that would not only train coaches in Gut Health but would also mentor them through the execution of the business, since so many coaches seemed to be lacking the “do” part.
This led to an international, AADP-accredited academy, the Holistic Wellness Coaching Academy, school for Gut Health and the Brain-Gut connection.
4. Did you receive any formal education or taken any courses to learn about building your business?
I did not actually do a business training. I jumped into business ownership ten years before the school. I was an independent hairdresser for a while and then moved on to create my local areas first Organic coffee stands.
This is how I got into the ins and outs of business. The rest I had to learn along the way. I will say that my coaches definitely benefit greater from my learning process. Following my training shortens their learning curve quite a bit!
5. What strategies do you use to attract and retain clients?
We offer AMAZING FREE CONTENT! Seriously, we give away a course that would easily sell for $500 all on “How to design a gut health coaching practice.”
This is not only attractive to my ideal client, it builds trust and prompts those interested in pulling the trigger and joining our program. It dispels the number one obstacle that most coaches have in starting; “Can I actually make this work?” We line it all out for them. They trust us and the only thing left to do is fill in the missing gaps that our program does perfectly.
For our enrolled coaches, we offer them a WIN-WIN opportunity at membership. The membership gives them ongoing access to their training, advanced classes each month, done for you content and more. It builds our ongoing revenue and benefits them with far more value than the cost actually is for them.
6. How did you establish credibility?
We just kept delivering. I don’t know everything and will never consider myself an “expert” but I know A LOT and that shows. Credentials only go so far if people can’t see you in action, proving your abilities.
So, we just keep showing up, delivering value education and following through with our commitments. We are also accredited by the AADP which is a nice second party validation.
7. What does your academy offer?
We offer dual certification in Holistic Gut Health, Mindset and Educator training as well as training in and access to Microbiome Lab testing and business design and mentorship. The pieces that most health coaches are lacking.
8. What sets your academy apart from others in the market?
We teach cutting edge Gut Health Science and we are APPLICATION BASED, meaning, we train the coaches on how to DO this coaching business thing. How to create a business machine, practice teaching and partner with practitioners.
9. What challenges have you encountered in running your program, and how have you overcome them?
Visibility is by far the greatest challenge. In a time where media allows everything to be seen, this can be an opportunity and a hindrance. There is more competition to be seen. Getting ads seen, getting organic content, you name it.
We just keep trying new things. The best place to start was to develop an organic reach first before messing with ads. Even if it’s small, these are YOUR PEOPLE. They are interested in what you have an that experience will help you build a system that’s effective.
10. Have you explored different pricing structures, and how do you determine the value (price) of your program?
We have. It’s essential that we offer a payment option since we are higher ticket however, our membership allows us to reduce our tuition pricing, making it more affordable than other programs of our caliber. We came to this by researching the competition and choosing to beat it significantly.
11. What criteria do you believe are essential for a reputable wellness coaching program?
They should be vetted like with our AADP accreditation but they should mainly be transparent. Since there is no legal requirement for a certification to become a health coach, the program can be anything it wants to be.
In my experience, the program should be clear on what it offers, deliver exactly that and stay within it’s scope of practice. That way the coach knows what they are getting and chooses it because they find value in the offering.
12. How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance as a life coach? (Can you give us a typical day in your life if there is such a thing)?
I have a blended family of six kids under 13. I build my business around the foundation of my family and health. My husband gets the kids to school while I work out, then we both go to work and I cut out earlier than him to do the pick-ups.
During my work hours, I work structured and efficiently, allowing me to only put the toddler in childcare a couple days per week. Balance to me is protecting the intangible foundation of my life and building a bad-ass business around it.
13. How much do you earn with your business?
The first year sort of happened by accident but by year one, with some intention, we have crossed the six-figure mark and with exception of 2020 (don’t even get me started) we’ve been growing ever since.
14. Are there specific tools or platforms you use for your business?
While I have professional sites, we use Kajabi for our training platform because it’s just great for courses and updates and makes sense.
15. What strategies have you found effective in marketing and promoting your business?
Word of mouth, giving a commission to my coaches is hands down the best. Providing high value content and direct outreach are high up there also.
16. Do you teach others how to become a coach? If so, please share your resources.
We do. In fact, the “How to design a gut health coaching practice” course is applicable towards any coaching business. You can access it even if you aren’t a student of HWCA! Here’s the link: https://www.buddhabellylife.com/joinus
17. What advice would you give to someone aspiring to become a coach?
Make sure you really want it then don’t let fear or doubt hold you back. The only way to fail is to quit. And we’ve got some great resources so definitely check those out:)
18. What type of person or skill set do you think it takes to become a successful coach?
Someone growth minded, empathetic and consistent. You don’t have do be overtly ambitious if you are consistent.
19. How can others find you- as we are all fans of you now?!
You can find the school on any platform or hwcacoach.com https://www.instagram.com/guthealthschool/
And you can find me personally at buddhabellylife.com
https://www.instagram.com/coachbrittofficial
All social links including YouTube are available on the websites as well!
Well, I don’t know about you guys but I am feeling INSPIRED! Check out her social links and follow her to see what is next for Coach Britt and the Gut Health School.
Thank you to Coach Britt for sharing your story and success in creating your 6-figure wellness coaching program with us.
