Tag Archives: IIN

3 Reasons Why 2021 is the Best Year to Become a Health Coach

I often get asked by other mums who have kids the same age as mine, how do I manage to do so much?

Honestly, it’s because I love what I do.

2020 was the year the world was turned upside down with the news about the Wuhan Virus aka Covid19 and it was also the year I had a newborn to look after.

So between changing nappies and breastfeeding, when Axel was 5 months old, I decided to get back to work because I felt that it was my contribution to help make the world a more positive place.

The World Needs More Health Coaches Right Now

You would think with economies collapsing, people losing their jobs, businesses shutting down and healthy people imprisoned in their homes, health coaching wouldn’t be a business that would be flourishing right?

However, with the events of 2020, people suddenly took more of interest in their health, they started to realised that staying healthy and building a strong immune system can’t be injected or bought, they learnt they needed to make positive behavioural changes with their diet and lifestyle and make conscious choices to go out for a walk, turn off the TV and eat more mindfully.

In fact, my clients were more motivated to make changes, I saw women change jobs, start a business, end relationships, release weight, start running, move house, go back to study and so many major life decisions amidst the chaos of the political world.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new”

Socrates

Study Where and Whenever You Want

When I decided to go back to study, my firstborn was 9 months old. I breastfed on demand and we’re also a co-sleeping family. We didn’t follow any particular routine so when it came to studying I needed a way to study that fitted with demands of my then lifestyle.

I found my sweet spot was between 9pm and 12 midnight a few times a week and I had other friends who also decided to study with me, one had a day dedicated to studying and had a family to mind the kids and the other just studied during her daughter’s day naps. Download a free sample class and see how you can work it in your week if you’re curious.

Learning New Skills and Adapting to Change

In a world where there is so much uncertainly and change, one thing that has kept me feeling sane is having routine and structure outside of my primary role of being a mummy. Other than building a career in health and wellness, this journey has been so rewarding as I learn about entrepreneurship and getting to know some amazing people from around the world.

In the USA and parts of Europe, there are opportunities to for a company however the majority of health coaches that I know started by running their own business.

Some work as a health coach while others use their qualifications to write books, create health and wellness products and do other great business ventures but regardless what you discover to be your jam, it’s a deep dive in your own personal growth.

I’ve made some amazing new friends who are health coaches who live on different continents and have gotten to connect with other health and wellness professionals as a result of the work I do.

But what’s been amazing is being able to make an impact and help my clients achieve their goals, become happier and healthier versions of themselves regardless of what’s going on in the world.

If you’re curious about becoming a health coach, you can attend a free webinar with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to learn about the field of health coaching and why health coaches are in demandd right now.

You can also send me an email if you have any questions too. I’m here to help!

Can you have a career as a health coach?

I graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in November 2018 and my son at the time was 21 months old.

I remember having so many great ideas on what I wanted to do with my Health Coach Training Certification that I couldn’t wait to get started.

I had been self-employed as an independent contractor within the occupational rehabilitation industry and had these grand ideas about how I was going to transform the industry.

I also had an online business where I was really passionate about women’s health and how I wanted to deepen my service offerings to impact more women. I was really divided in where I was going to focus my energies.

So I did both.

In the meantime, I had a goal to night-wean my son off the boobies when he reached 2 years of age and hopefully in due time, he’d wean himself naturally from the day feeds so I could really focus on ALL of my projects (you’re probably already getting a sense of where this is going.)

If you’re wondering why I chose to study with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, you can read all about it here but today I’m going to focus more on what’s happened since I graduated.

I had declared 2019 was going to be my best year yet.

Did that happen?

Well I was right about one thing, it was my best year yet because I fell pregnant with our second and we were so happy that my son was going to have a baby brother as a Christmas present.

In the chaos of motherhood, running a natural parenting mothers group, taking my son to his weekly activities, working in my consulting business, maintaining my online wellness business and JUST being “oh you know” pregnant whilst trying to work on several coaching projects, I felt I was running on a treadmill and not getting anywhere with anything.

I teamed up with one of my besties and we were creating opportunities to work with national brands, having serious conversations with decision makers of companies and penciled in workshops for the year but things started to unravel and fall apart because we were heavily reliant on other people to pull through.

So one of the biggest lessons I learnt from that experience, is to start small.

I don’t mean start with small thinking but if I could do 2019 all over again, it would be to write down all those big ideas and just park them when I have the time and resources to dedicate to them because in hind-sight, I was about to have a baby!

So between coaching calls, I did managed to squeeze in a talk for Blacktown City Council for Women’s Health Week and built relationships to do more workshops in 2020.

Can you have a career as a Health Coach?

Yes.

Full-time? It’s a choice.

For me, right now I choose to work part-time because my life is dedicated to raising a threeanger and a 6 month old baby.

It’s all about having a small happy little practice where I can wake up and love what I do and it resolves around the needs of every changing and growing family.

My practice is online and have clients nationally.

Initially I had expected to grow my practice seeing clients face-to-face like I did in 2019 but then Covid19 happened.

But turns out having an online practice just made more sense since I breastfeed between appointments.

So if you’re a mum or time-poor and have so many competing priorities but have been imaging your life as a health coach, then it’s totally possible.

You don’t necessarily have to have everything worked out, I certainly didn’t after I graduated.

Almost 75% of our students have clients
before they graduate.

Institute for Integrative Nutrition

My health coaching practice has evolved as I do life.

Get a sneak peak into the information and inspiration that IIN’s Health Coach Training Program has to offer and enjoy a free sample class from their online curriculum on me.

The next class starts July 20th. If you have any questions or would love to chat more, you can contact me directly.

As an IIN Ambassador, I know it helped me so much to be able to talk to health coaches who were working in the field, so don’t be shy!

You can call IIN and say I referred you “Merly Hartnett” on a dedicated line (844) 315-8547 (U.S.) or +1 (212) 730-5433 (International) for discounts on tuition and additional bonuses.