Get ready to transform your health coaching journey with insights from the pros. In this episode, we dive deep into the world of health coaching and online programs. Join our host Kendra Perry as she engages with a panel of experts who, through her Health Coach Accelerator, have honed their skills and achieved impressive results. Together with Beth, Jackie, Marnie, Rachel, and Ryan, they explore the ins and outs of building and running online programs. Hear their diverse stories: Bethany’s swift rise to success with her signature program; Jackie’s health coaching adventure while planning to write a book; Marnie’s testimony on the transformative impact of HCA in refining her program; Rachel’s 10-clients-at-a-time health coaching career; and Ryan’s appreciation to HCA’s concise, practical approach with his focus on fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and Lyme disease. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned pro, there’s something for everyone in this enriching discussion. Don’t miss this episode as we bring the world of health coaching to your ears, one success story at a time. Tune in now.
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Listen to the podcast here
Real Coaches Share Their Experience Running Online Programs
I have a little bit of a different episode for you that you are going to find very valuable. Earlier in October of 2023, I did a three-day live challenge. The live challenge was called the six-figure wellness offer challenge, and the intention was to show participants how to create and sell their first online signature program.
As a part of that challenge, I invited six of my HCA students to a panel to discuss what having an online program looks like because if you have never had an online program, it can feel overwhelming. You can feel like, “Does this work? Is this successful? How many clients can I work with? How what can I charge?” There are so many questions.
I wanted participants to be able to not only get a sense of what it looks like to have a successful online program, but I also wanted to give them the ability to ask questions to people who have great online programs. The cool thing about this panel is I had everyone on, from just finished HCA and launched their first program to people who did some of my earlier rounds of HCA. There are a few years in and everywhere, from people charging $1,500 for their program to $10,000.
What I’m going to do is I’m going to let you read the panel, and you are going to get to learn from a bunch of my different HCA students, including Jennifer Woodward, Jackie Zelt, and Ryan Silverson. A bunch of different students are going to be very transparent about what it’s like to have an online program and how they have had success with this. A lot of the attendees of the challenge ask questions that you probably have questions about. Things like how much can I charge, how many people are you running in your program, how are you selling this thing, what does this look like, or how many clients can you take on at once?
You are going to find this valuable because, truthfully, I can tell you how awesome having an online program is all day long, but you may never believe that until you hear about someone who does it in real life. That’s not me. I don’t want to waste any more of your time. Let’s jump into this. If you have any questions, you can shoot me a message on Instagram at @KendraPerryInc, and I’d be more than happy to answer them.
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We are going to be talking to some of my students who have built their online programs and had success. You folks are welcome to ask them questions. We are going to be just having a casual conversation with everyone. I want to jump right into it. Welcome, Jackie, Marnie, Jennifer, Rachel, Bethany, and Ryan. What I would like to start by doing, and maybe we will start with Jackie. Could you tell me a little bit more about what your business does? Tell us a little bit more about your online program.
My business is a 90-day program that helps high-achieving women in their 30s to banish burnout.
Rachel?
My name is Rachel Webster, and I help women with Hashimoto’s and thyroid dysfunction regain their life and energy levels.
What’s your program called?
It is called fnice to have another .
How about Marnie?
My name is Marnie D. Young, and I’m an integrated health practitioner. I created the restored hormone solution, so I help women with hormones and pre-menopause.
What about you, Jennifer?
I’m Jennifer. I’m an FDN, and my program is segued that it’s now called Easy Period Menopause, so I help women stabilize their hormones, see their gut, and speed up their metabolism.
What about you, Ryan?
I’m also an FDN as well. I work with mostly women, but I do have some men. I work with women dealing with fibromyalgia or Lyme. I help them conquer fatigue and pain naturally. I do that through a trauma and form mind-body approach, helping them to reduce their pain in crystal energy and do it without a bunch of supplements and medications.
It’s such an important niche. What about you, Bethany?
I’m Bethany. I have developed a twelve-week program called the Gutwork of Resolution. I help mainly women. I also help some men with IBS and gut problems so they can get back to a pain-free life.
I love this because we have been working on developing the niche and the promise of the program. A lot of our readers will see their niche in what they want to do and what you guys said because there are a lot of people who want to niche and similar things. It’s nice to see someone else out there doing what they want to do, and they have been having success. What I’d love to know from you folks because we have been focusing on online programs. That’s the ultimate goal, that’s helping people and making you money at the same time. How has having an online program transformed your business?
I had no business before. I have another business. I run a health shop, but that’s a physical business. This was completely new for me to come to the online world and develop a program. It’s changed the way I work entirely, and I’m glad because I’m glad to be here rather than in the shop all the time. It’s been great for me.
I have to say the same thing. It’s cool reaching people all over the world. I wouldn’t have that opportunity without an online business.
For me, I had a bunch of things that were piecemealed together, and I didn’t have a system to pull somebody in and automate my services. Putting a program together like a week 1 to week 20 framework has been so helpful for me and my clients because now we know where we are going the entire time that we are working together. It’s also giving me a lot more confidence to systematically raise my prices, which has been fantastic.
For me, I didn’t have a business before, either. I was working 40 to 60 hours a week with AT&T. I started my online business. I was doing that, and it gave me the freedom to finally walk away from my six-figure corporate job and allowed me to finally move back home from Chicago to Saint Paul. It’s provided me freedom, and it’s helped my marriage now that I’m not working away from home all the time as well.
I had the same experience as Jennifer because I come from corporate. I’m a pharmacist, so I always have had a job and worked for somebody. I started with I don’t know what I’m doing or where I’m starting with. It was so nice to have a structure to build a program out, as Jennifer said, to know from A to Z where I’m taking my clients through.
What about you, Marnie?
I probably echo that, too. I was brand new to it, and I probably would have kept on doing one-off sessions until I built my signature program. It was nice to be able to build that out. It was a lot of work, but once you have it built out, it’s so nice to have a roadmap for your clients.
It’s so true because I remember when I was doing like the one-off sessions, showing up and being like, “What are we going to talk about?” It’s awkward.
For a lot of us, we are entrepreneurs, and we like the creative process. It’s nice to have that framework and those week-by-week modules because if I’m like, “I need to get this across to my clients.” This is something new I have learned, or want to implement. I don’t feel like I’m starting from scratch. I can go into lesson three, and this is where we put in this new content. It eliminates a lot of overwhelm on my part when I’m trying to update or increase knowledge for clients.
A question from the readers. They are wondering who’s doing one-on-one, group programs, and hybrid. We have a mix because, Ryan, you have a hybrid.
Yes.
You have a hybrid, too, Jackie. Rachel, you have both. You have got one-on-one and a group program. Jennifer, are you one-on-one?
One-on-one for now.
Marnie, are you one-to-one?
I have just moved over to a hybrid. I’m building it out, which is exciting.
It’s so great because you create the program then you can shift around the way that you are offering it, which is great. You can start where you are comfortable, which, for a lot of people who are brand new, is one-of-one, but you don’t have to start there. That’s usually where people want to start then they can start bringing in the group calls and maybe transitioning it over to a full group. I get so excited about this stuff. When you came to HCA and, we helped you build the program set up the sales and marketing. How did you feel about the support you received from me and my team inside the program?
You folks are awesome. Amazing team and super supportive. As I mentioned before, the road map has been one of the most amazing things because I always wanted to start something like this and didn’t have the direction and having that laid out for me. Otherwise, I would have probably spent years floundering, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do and putting all this energy and time into something that I didn’t know was going to work or not. You folks are like a tough love, I’d say. Giving advice you need to hear but also being like, “All these struggles that you are going through are normal. You are not alone in this.” The best of all the world, so thanks so much.
I agree and put a bomb up in my ass when I needed it as well. A few things that I could put off through fear or self-doubt. I’d put that out to the team, and they’d be like, “This is normal. We have all been through it, but you have to do it because once you have done it, you will know that it’s not as bad as you think it is.”
It’s nice to have someone like a cheerleader as well for you while you are doing it and celebrating the wins. I liked that as part of the group program. You could pop on like, “I got my first client,” and everyone’s like, “That’s amazing.” That’s nice because when you are working at home alone, sometimes these winds can come and go when nobody appreciates them. That was nice as well.
No one gets it like the people in the group because your friends and families are like, “Cool. Good job.” You are like, “No, this is a big deal.”
Coming off what you said there about the group. As an entrepreneur, you can feel like you are stranded alone on an island, suffering, and nobody understands you, your family, and your friends. When you are in a group environment, especially in this group, you are very supportive of the coaches, too. Letting you know this is a normal part of it. The mindset coaching is so vital in working through this because Kendra says it all the time, and it’s so true, and it’s worth it. Oftentimes, we are our own worst enemies and getting our way. We get that extra support that can help you move through and show up for your clients and the marketing aspect and everything. That’s been helpful.
Thank you.
You are where you are supposed to be because you coach entrepreneurs. I feel like if I were in a corporate setting, I’d ask a question, and I’d get an answer, but with you and your team. I ask a question, and you are like, “What do you think? What do you do about that?” I feel like I’m learning and growing instead of being told what I’m doing.
There’s a lot of being told what to do for the things that we need to know as business owners, but for a lot more, like the creative process and the client acquisition process, I did appreciate that because it made me go a lot deeper and figure out how do I fully understand these things that I want to be doing in my business. I did appreciate that.
Thank you. We want to teach you how to think for yourself, essentially. Sometimes, there’s a time and a place to give you the answer because you are just looking for an answer. Sometimes, we have to push you a little bit and be like, “How can you figure this out on your own?” Does anyone else want to add anything?
I will add some things. I know with the support. I remember going through it because I have taken other courses. It’s usually like, “You got to set this up.” I remember thinking you had videos for most of those things when you were starting and having to set up. I was like, “I’m so glad she has a video,” because for me to go out and try and figure it all out. It’s a lot, especially when you are a new entrepreneur trying to set up all these things. I appreciate the extra videos. You didn’t even have to do that, but I appreciated some of those smaller videos to show you how to do certain things. I thought that was awesome.
We try to provide you with all the tutorials you need because you are right. There is so much to set up, which can feel overwhelming. Especially if you don’t know what you should be setting up. We are like, “Set up this, and here’s how you do it.”
It was also nice to have another set of eyes on your stuff. You had Claudia as well as yourself. You had two professionals, both entrepreneurs, who were able to look at your stuff and give different feedback, which was nice. Different perspectives were helpful, I thought.
We love Claudia. She’s so experienced in business. I want to take some questions here. How much interaction do you have with your clients as opposed to them just following video content?
Depends on what you are program is. Mine being one-on-one is still a lot because we meet every other week on Zoom. If you are doing a group program, it will be less.
How often do you interact with your clients, Jackie? You are the group hybrid setting.
I’m similar. I do it every other week. We do a group Zoom call, and once a month, I have an accountability check-in over a phone call with the client.
Rachel, you have a purely group program. What does that interaction look like?
I did weekly calls in my group program. It was the first time that I ran it. When I revamp it, it probably won’t be as often because it did seem like it was a lot. I also had the video modules that they were going through. I’m still learning the best way to run it, but I wouldn’t do it every week again. I would probably go to every other week.
Every two weeks is a sweet spot for group programs. Jennifer, what about you? I know you are charging a pretty penny for your program. How often are you interacting with your clients?
I meet with my clients once a week on Zoom. I’m a little ADD, so our calls are only fifteen minutes. I was trying to do longer calls, and I felt like we achieved our objective within the first ten minutes. They are also watching videos and doing training in between. I like that face-to-face time with them because many of my women are so deep in their hormonal chaos at the beginning that they need that hand-holding. As we transition into month 3 or 4, it will be once every 2 weeks.
I love that fifteen-minute call thing because I always thought I had to give these hour sessions. A lot of times, you are twenty minutes in, and you are like, “We are done here. Do I need to fill up your time and space?” I love that I like quick interaction because usually, people have a few quick questions. How large are the groups that you coach? How many people are you working with inside for those of you who have group programs or hybrids?
For me, I generally have about between 5 to 10 clients coming in and out at a time. Ten would be about the max I can handle now until I bring on another coach to help me, and that is as far as support for me. I meet with my clients. I have a weekly call. I have guest coaches come on to do mindset work and trauma work. I do check in with them weekly to track their progress to help them. I find that when clients get deeper into the program, they will have a setback. I track them on a graph to make sure their trajectories are good, so symptom check-ins weekly and make sure they are focusing on their one thing for the week.
What about you, Jackie?
I started Kendra’s HCA program in March 2023, so I landed my first client before I finished your program then, I had another one signed up and have another one that’s going to sign up in another week. It’s pretty fresh. I’m just working things out and learning as I go here.
What do you think your capacity would be for a program? I know a lot of us are running Labs. I know you are not running Labs.
I’d say probably about ten. That’d be a good number, too.
What about you, Rachel?
Mine was ten, and that’s probably a good number, especially when you are the only person helping.
For the readers, once you get to a certain point if you want to expand, you can bring in other coaches to help you. That’s something that Ryan is doing, and I also do within my program because I’m not like the bonafide mindset expert, so I bring in Shanae for that. I have Claudia, who helps me out. It allows me to grow the program significantly bigger, and that’s available to all of you folks as you grow with your online program. There are a lot of questions. For those doing group programs. Do you have everyone start together with launches, or is it evergreen where people are enrolling ongoing?
I’m building out an evergreen. I was doing just one-on-ones, and now I’m moving over into an evergreen. It’s working out well. It’s teaching me to keep track of my clients and where they are at with their modules. Luckily, with my program, I’m using practice better and can track where my clients are at. It’s making sure I know where each of my clients is at in my program, but now, I’m having clients come in whenever they are ready to start.
For mine, I did a specific start date. I felt that it was easier for me to keep track of where they are at and the modules, and then we can do calls that are surrounded by the modules that they went over. That’s what I did.
You intend to do an evergreen eventually, though, Rachel, we talked about that. Can you give us an idea of how long you all have been in business and what you are charging? Only if you are comfortable. Most of us have already talked about money on my show, but it’s up to you, say it or don’t say it.
Mine is been for a while now, but I took a gap in the summer for personal reasons. I was out of work there for about 2 or 3 months. I feel like I’m starting again, which is a good thing about the HCA because I can go back onto Thinkific now and run through everything and make sure I’m back to where I was when I started because I have had to have this gap. I will say about a year, and my program now is charged at £1,400. I don’t know what that is in dollars.
I have no idea. I feel like maybe it’s a couple of thousand, but I might be wrong on that.
What does it mean that question itself? Does that mean when you started Kendra’s program or when it finished, then you started your business?
Maybe when you started your business.
Probably a month in. Kendra’s program wrapped up for me at the end of August 2023.
Officially, when you get your first client.
That’s true.
You already have three people in a group program, so that’s pretty awesome.
Thanks. I charge now $1,500.
For me, I got my first client back in 2020, but I didn’t have the framework and the basics. I was winging everything, so having Kendra lay all that out and get me programs and modules and make it simple and doable for me made a huge difference. I have been in business for a few years. I’m now charging $6,000 for my program.
I can share it with you. I have been an FDN practitioner since 2016. Kendra, I take your program in 2021.
You were one of the earlier rounds. It was 2020 because I felt like it was during COVID when you were kicked out of your office.
I had to learn how to pivot pretty quickly. I do functional labs because I’m an FDN. When I started, I was charging $650 for three months of service-only no labs. Now, I do 4 to 5 months of service with 5 functional labs, and I’m charging $10,000 per client for my one-to-one.
It’s so inspiring.
Thank you for encouraging me. Thanks for everything, Kendra.
No problem.
I have been in business for a few years. I don’t think I joined HCA until probably six months after I started my business, but it was early 2021 when I started mine. For my one-on-one, I charge $1,588. I also do functional labs. I do have small ones included, but obviously. They have to pay for those that are a little bit more expensive.
I was brand new and jumped right into the program. I was a little hesitant, but I knew I needed the program to build up my business. It was not long ago. I do functional labs as well. I have built out two different programs. I have my signature program with one lab, which is $1,400, and now I’m building out another one with a couple of other labs with the GI map. That one is $2,200.
It just speaks like we start where we are comfortable. We were always trying to get at least a $1,500 price point so that our time was being well paid for. As you folks grow, the multiple years, you are raising your prices because, Jennifer, I’m sure you didn’t start charging $10,000. You said you are charging $600, and I’m sure you didn’t make the jump from $600 to $10,000. I’m sure you incrementally increase that over time, and same with you, Ryan.
If I got enough testimonials and successes or if someone in my circle encouraged me, “It’s probably time to raise your prices.” I would be like, “Okay, let’s do it,” then someone would book. It’s working. It’s good.
For me, I started at $1,500 and slowly worked up from there. For every five clients, I have bumped it up like $500 or more. The last was when I went from $5,000 to $6,000, and I jumped up because people were saying yes to $5,000 a lot. The price, too, can help if you start getting busy. You can help slow down the number of clients coming in, so that was helpful.
It also helps you get almost like a better quality of client. When I say quality, it means someone more committed to doing the work.
The higher my prices go, the better the clients I get for sure.
Did you build out your entire program before you offered it to your first client?
I have added load since, so no. It’s ever-expanding as my knowledge and experience come.
For me, I had a basic framework when I started, like an idea. I was always staying one module ahead of my clients. I built it as I went in that inner accountability and to make adjustments. That’s all I did. I created mine.
I did the same, too. I thought I’d have all my modules set before I took my first client, but I ended up building it as I went. With having clients in the program, I was able to build it out a little bit better in the sense that I knew who I was talking to. I knew who my clients were. I built it out as I was taking on clients.
I was already trying to do the coaching thing, so I did the same thing. I built it out as I took on clients.
I have had a couple of different iterations since I have gone through HCA. The first time, I was like, “Kendra said don’t build it out until the clients are here.” I followed that. As Ryan said, I had a basic framework and ended up building it in reaction to what I would get, feedback from clients, what they wanted, and what I felt we needed as we went through a recession together. That was helpful and powerful.
Now, with this last program, I think it was Rachel who said it. I know exactly who I’m talking to and what they need. It’s almost like my programs write themselves now. With ChatGPT, sometimes they do, but it’s a lot easier now that I put in those years of getting that feedback and research. I like that that’s where you led us at the beginning. Don’t waste a lot of time, resources, and energy if your program might be a flop. That’s helpful advice in the beginning.
Mine took a quirky route. I was planning in the new year to write a book or start writing a book. I was taking a lot of notes on what the chapters would be, and those chapters ended up turning out to be my modules. That’s where that went. I had pretty much everything laid out as a template before I started to have a good idea of where I wanted to go with it, but I keep adding as you go.
I love that, Jackie, because it’s one of the analogies I use and some of the training that I do. It’s like you are writing a book. Your modules are like the chapters of your book. I say, like, some people require some customization, but you can read a book, implement it, and get a result, so it shows that not everyone’s needs are custom-tailored. There’s always a baseline. I love that you said that. I’m going to take one more question because I know you folks are busy. I don’t want to take up all your time. What was the most valuable part of HCA for each of you? You can say multiple things. I won’t stop you.
Honestly, having liked the outline, I knew there was something to follow, as I said earlier, rather than floundering, guessing, and trying to do it all on your own in where you are going or quarterback. That’s super helpful. The community and accountability aspect of it. Connecting with everybody knowing that we are all doing a similar thing and normalizing the struggles.
For me, it was the support, the conciseness, and the framework. I was in a couple of other business coaching programs before joining HCA. While I learned stuff from them, I found that for the health coaching community or us coaches in this space, it was more difficult to get tailored stuff and have Kendra’s expertise. She’s been in it, doing it, and could help lay it out, made a big difference.
I feel like a lot of business coaches out there are good at business coaching but it’s a different thing, especially in my niche working with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue or Lyme disease. Having that expertise and not having to watch one video for the module. Kendra gives you the knots and bolts to get started and get going in a very descriptive, concise. Use a lot of analogies and metaphors. I appreciate her coaching style, which is amazing.
I agree. The framework for me was amazing because I was coming out completely fresh and new. I had zero idea of how I was going to build an online business. I started an Instagram where I was talking about my health journey then that segued into this. It was amazing to have it all clearly laid out in bite-sized chunks that you can do in your own time but also have someone keeping you consistent in the background as well.
I have done courses before where it’s completely self-paced. There are not the support goals. I have found that I have not done any of it because it’s like, “Put it after next week,” but knowing that we have got a support call and use that support for what it is when you are in the HCA. After all, it’s so valuable. Without that, I would have the things that I didn’t get done. It was nice to have that someone to push you along, but also give you the framework so you can do this from scratch.
For me, this stood out to me. I love that you trained us on email marketing, like how to use the convert kit, how to get in there with the nitty-gritty, and nurture clients. When I came to you, that was something I was scared of doing. I didn’t know where to start. I didn’t even know what server to use. I remember vividly going through that whole lesson and implementing it. As I was learning, I was like, “This is life-changing and magical.” Having an email list is a way to grow something that’s mine instead of just social media.
Now, the email list is super key.
It’s very helpful.
A lot of people are saying the framework, which I feel like that was the biggest thing for me because I already started trying to do it, and that was helpful. As Ryan said, you have already been there and already grown a health coaching business, so you know exactly what we need and where that help comes in. I, too, did some self-paced business courses that didn’t help with that health coaching side, so I thought that was beneficial.
As many others, the framework. I was starting from scratch. I had no idea where to start. I love that it took you from the very beginning and walked you right through everything. The client script and calls, I know that it can be so scary to get on calls with clients, but it’s gold. It’s so good to have that and practice it with each other. We had opportunities to sit and talk through it and run through it. It was helpful to be able to practice with each other before we got on a call with potential clients.
You are referring to the sales call script. That thing is gold. I feel like that script is like my life’s work in a way because I have adapted it for so many years over so many different lessons and training. It makes it easy, too, and non-threatening, which is great. One final question before we pop off. I would love to know, would you folks recommend to the readers that they consider enrolling in HCA? Why?
From a lot of us here, it sounds like we have done other business coaching stuff, too. I have done some great programs, but if you are a health coach and you are looking to make it, get started, set the foundation correctly, and build from there. I honestly haven’t seen any other program out there as good as Kendra’s. She has a great way of explaining things and breaking them down very simply, and all the different tutorials can be overwhelming. I highly recommend it for anybody who’s starting out or even somebody like myself who was in it for a while and didn’t have the proper framework. It’s a yes.
Agreed. It’s a yes. Do it. It’s worth every penny. As you said, I have seen other coaches running things. It’s not as clear cut, and I’m a very easily distractible ADHD-type brain. This, for me, was exactly what I needed because it kept me consistent. It was broken down into small pieces. This online program world can be overwhelming, and this wasn’t. For me, that was a breath of fresh air, and because of that, I have now got a successful online business. Yes, do it.
Like Ryan, I have taken other business trainings, and a lot of them were more theoretical. If you folks have been following Kendra for any length of time, she has no nonsense. She’s like, “Get to the point. Let’s do this.” I appreciate that because I want to learn things and start implementing them right away. I appreciate the fact that I didn’t have to wait to do a lot of the things that I wanted to do in my business.
You gave me quick training. You gave me an easy roadmap to start capturing my enthusiasm instead of having to let that happen as I’m waiting for another module or another month. I was able to implement things quickly and help grow my business. That’s what I was looking for. I appreciate that about the program.
Take the program. It’s worth it.
For me, I was brand new. I hadn’t worked with any client, so it felt like a big investment, but I’m so glad I jumped in and did it because I would have probably floundered for a bit trying to figure it out on my own. I’m glad I invested in my business and me.
I would reiterate what everyone else said. Yes, I would recommend it. I have already had other coaches on social media reach out and say, “Which program should I take for growing my business?” I have already recommended HCA because I feel like it was so helpful for me. I started on my own for a couple of months and struggled through that. I feel it’s so helpful, even if you are not brand new. If you feel like you are missing some pieces. This is a great place to start and build out your program.
Thank you, everyone. I feel warm and fuzzy. I appreciate you folks. I’m going to shed a tear and have a few tears later because this is so lovely. I appreciate your time. Thank you, everyone, for reading. If we didn’t get your question, I’m doing a Q&A at 10:00 AM Pacific. I will go through the chat here, and I will make sure all those questions get answered in our live Q&A.
If you have additional questions about anything that we covered on day 1, 2, and 3 content or even about HCA. We will talk about all of those questions in the group. I will see you in just a little bit, and thank you, all my beautiful HCA students. Thanks so much for being here, and we will talk to you guys soon.
Important Links
- @KendraPerryInc – Instagram
- Wellness with Hashimoto’s
