How Much Does it Cost to Start a Nutrition Business?
As with starting any business, certain investments need to be made to get your business up and running, and starting a nutrition business is no different!
When I first started my own nutrition business back in 2014, I tried my best to cut corners and not spend any money in my business. My business growth ended up being slow because I was not investing in systems to help my business run more efficiently and ended up spending so much time working behind the scenes in my business.
Once I realized that running a successful nutrition business would require investing in my business, things started to pick up and I was able to win back so much of my time because my systems were more organized and efficient!
You might be wondering - how much does it cost to start a nutrition business? In this post, we’ll provide a breakdown of how much it will cost to start your nutrition business in 2024 and beyond.
Starting Your Nutrition Business
The first step when starting your nutrition business is to get your business registration set up. It’s important to make sure that you follow the rules when it comes to setting up your business to avoid any legal or tax issues in the future!
Registering your nutrition business includes:
Requesting a business name
Registering your business as a Sole Proprietor, Incorporated Business or LLC
Obtaining a business number
Securing a GST or tax number (if applicable)
Luckily, these tasks are easy to complete and don’t typically cost too much.
For example, in Canada, the approximate cost to register your business as a Sole Proprietor is:
Name approval fee - $31.50
Registering your business - $40.00
Obtaining a business number - free
Securing a GST or tax number - free
For less than $75, you can successfully register your nutrition business!
If you’d like to Incorporate your nutrition business instead, the cost in Canada is approximately $380, which includes the Incorporation fee and the name approval fee.
Practice Insurance and Registration
I get asked by clients all the time whether or not nutritionists and health coaches need to have Practice Insurance when just getting started, and my answer is always a resounding “yes!”
Do you need to have insurance to operate? Not technically. But it is a recommended cost that will protect both you and your clients.
The cost of insurance varies depending on the company you purchase from, but my recommendation is Brokerlink or Alternative Balance Professional Group, which has an average cost of $200+/year.
Professional Association Registration
Another thing to think about is registering with a professional association after you’ve graduated from nutrition school.
Some professional association examples include:
As with practice insurance, registering with a professional association isn’t mandatory. But it is good practice to join one, as the association will require you to uphold a certain standard of ethics, scope of practice, and care when working with clients, which helps to keep you accountable and gives your clients peace of mind.
The cost of registration varies depending on the association but can cost anywhere from $200+/year.
Website
You might be wondering if it’s necessary to start a website early on in your business, and I can assure you that there are many pros to having a professional website when first getting started.
The ability to brand your business professionally and reach potential clients organically through Google search
Gives potential clients a place to come and get to know more about you, your services, and how you can help them reach their goals and achieve their desired transformation
Provides credibility and gives insight into your education and credentials, affirming that you are a trusted resource in the industry
Squarespace is the platform I recommend to build your website, as is is easy to navigate and includes a ton of website templates to help you get started with your design.
Another option is to purchase a done-for-you website template on Etsy or Creative Market to use as a starting point for your Squarespace website.
Squarespace costs $250/year for their personal website plan, which includes a free custom domain.
Email Marketing
You might also be wondering if you need to invest in an email marketing platform when just getting started, and my advice is to get started sooner than later with building your email list!
Think of it this way - your email list is something you own!
If all of your content were to be lost on social media tomorrow, you would still have your email list and be able to contact and connect with the people who are most interested in your services.
Its extremely important to have an email platform in place and work on building up your email list.
Some examples of email marketing platforms are:
Convertkit
Mailchimp
Mailerlite
Flodesk
My favourite platform to recommend is Flodesk, as it’s the most user-friendly and cost-effective email platform out there!
The best thing about Flodesk is that the cost stays the same no matter how many subscribers you have (unlike some other email marketing platforms, where the cost increases significantly as your list grows).
Click this link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription for your first year! The cost of your yearly subscription with this discount will be $228.
Client Management Platform
Having a client management platform in place when you first get started can be a game changer for your nutrition business.
Book all of your clients into your schedule seamlessly
Send invoices and collect payment
Send important forms easily
Interact with your clients through secure messaging
Connect with your clients through telehealth
Instead of having to use multiple programs to run your business, a client management platform keeps everything in one place, not only making your life easier but making it easier for clients to book in with you and have everything they need at their fingertips.
My go-to client management platform is Practice Better! It is very similar to Jane App, which is popular among therapists and Naturopaths, but is much more user-friendly and made specifically for health and wellness professionals.
Practice Better costs $25/month for their starter plan and increases in price depending on needs and functionality. But for a nutritionist just starting, their starter plan is all you need at first!
Use code STEPHANIELONG in the checkout to get 20% off your first 4 months on a paid plan in Practice Better!
Investing in Your Business
Investing in a business coach, course or support early on in your nutrition business can help you make progress and grow your business even faster.
When you invest in your business, you will:
Know the exact steps to take to get your business set up
Feel less overwhelmed with a step-by-step plan in place
Be supported by a community of others starting their business
Have a mentor and coach who can help you fast-track your success
Have confidence in your marketing strategies
Sign paying clients so much faster than going at it alone
There are so many courses, programs and coaches out there to support you with starting a business, but I suggest working with a coach or mentor who has experience with starting their own nutrition business specifically!
For nutritionists who are starting their business, I recommend my online course Launch Your Nutrition Biz.
Launch Your Nutrition Biz is an online course for nutritionists that guides you through every step of starting your nutrition business and signing your first paying clients!
It is a self-paced online course that goes through everything you need to start your nutrition business, including:
Entrepreneurial skills
Business fundamentals
Choosing your niche
Working with clients
Choosing your offerings
Outlining your 1-1 nutrition programs
Running group programs
Creating online courses
Selling passive income products
Starting an email list and creating your freebie
Creating your website
Getting your first clients
Launch Your Nutrition Biz even comes with a 30-day launch plan, so you can get started and sign your first paying clients in no time!
The cost of the course is $497 with the option to pay in monthly installments.
Here’s what Lesley has to say about her experience investing in LYNB:
“Before taking Launch Your Nutrition Biz, I was struggling with getting clients, feeling overwhelmed, and not feeling like an actual nutrition business owner. Since going through the course, I’ve signed 6 new clients, revised my website, started blogging consistently, and gained so much confidence in myself!
LYNB walks you through how to build a business from beginning to end and is the MOST PRACTICAL training I’ve received by far! Forget all the other trainings and sign up for this course!”
Total Cost to Start Your Nutrition Business
So now the big question is, what is the total cost to start a nutrition business?
Registering your business as a Sole Proprietor - $71.50
Purchasing practice insurance - $200+/year
Registering with a Professional Association - $200+/year
Setting up a website - $250/year
Starting your email list - $228/year
Getting organized with a client management platform - $300/year
Starting your nutrition business will cost you approximately $1,200!
Remember that this number will fluctuate depending on where you live and what you decide to invest in, but it’s a great number to keep in mind!
A good perspective shift when starting your business is that $1,200 isn’t too big of an investment to get started when you consider that many businesses can cost tens of thousands of dollars to get off the ground.
Ready to start your nutrition business?
If you’re ready to start your nutrition business without the overwhelm and get the support you need to make progress quickly, make sure to add Launch Your Nutrition Biz online course to your list of start-up costs!
