How do I start a corporate wellness business?

Updated: Jun 15

Antonia Maguire – Zest4life Associate & Business Mentor

Working as a Nutrition Professional within the corporate wellness world can be a fulfilling and energising role, and is one that I love.

It gives the opportunity to meet and work with many more people than in a traditional 1:1 clinic, and can be rewarding financially once you have nurtured the contacts to regularly generate contracts.

But how to start? The one piece of advice that I give to any Nutrition Professionals wanting to start working with corporate clients is to have a clear plan of action before approaching potential contacts. Know in advance how you will manage the relationship with your corporate clients to maximise success!

What companies do you want to work with?

Understanding who you want to work with is the first step. Is there a particular sector that you feel comfortable approaching – perhaps from your days before becoming a Nutrition Practitioner? Or are there key companies in your local area that already have a reputation for enhancing employee wellbeing?

Spend time thinking about the kind of business that you’d like to work with, and draw up a short list of potential companies to approach.

Once you have this short list, visit the companies’ websites, look at their social media, Google them. You want to get as much information about them, their values and their ethos as you can. Understand their size, location, function; look at their Corporate Social Responsibility. Do they already have a wellness initiative? How could you fit into this?

Having a thorough understanding of the company and their principles will allow you to tailor your proposal to them and increase your chance of success when you reach out to them for the first time.

How do you create a corporate wellness program?

Before you make contact with any potential clients, get clear on your proposition, what you want to offer, and how you want to offer it. Spending time on your proposal will allow your first contact with the company to be both professional and targeted – this in turn will allow you to feel confident in your initial meetings.

Questions to ask yourself include:

What can I offer the company?
How will I add value to their existing employee wellness provision?
What topics would be of interest to their employees?
What subject am I most comfortable talking about?
Will I offer talks, group programmes, clinic days?
How will these look?

It may also be helpful to work as part of a collaboration to enhance your offer. For example, joining with a yoga instructor or mindfulness coach could be a great proposal if you are thinking of talks around reducing stress.

Again, it is about offering the company the best solution for them and their employees. Spend time thinking how you can add value to your proposal.

How do I get corporate wellness clients?

One the first steps is to use your existing contacts. The more personal contacts within the sectors you are most interested in working with, the better. Make a note of any friends, family members, former colleagues and clients that you may be able to reach out to. Ask for their assistance with introductions to the ‘go to’ person for wellness initiatives within the company.

Once you’ve decided what you would like to offer your corporate clients, and have found, or been recommended to the correct person to contact, then it’s time to get in touch and start your journey within the world of corporate wellness.

‘How to build a corporate revenue stream’ is just one of the four-week in action masterclass courses that are part of the Business Mentoring Programme at Zest4life. To find out more, book your 45 minute complimentary business mentoring call: https://zestmentor.as.me/45mins