Introduction

As you’ve learnt in ‘Your Future in the Wellness Industry’, the global wellness industry is multi-faceted and fast-growing. It is also an industry that impacts the lives of its consumers in a very real and personal way – through transformations in physical health, emotional vitality, and mental performance.

A critical element of the wellness industry, which you’ll learn about in this Course, is the contribution made by the many experts and practitioners that deliver value across a multitude of disciplines and modalities. From personal trainers, naturopaths, and nutritionists, to ayurvedic doctors, hypnotherapists and life coaches – the breadth of expertise across the industry provides a foundation upon which many sectors of the industry are able to thrive.

Becoming an expert or practitioner in the wellness industry is one of three main career paths that we’ll be exploring across this course. We’ll explore the other two main career paths in the two courses that follow.

This week, you’ll begin to see the potential avenues by which you can develop in a particular area of expertise, qualify as a practitioner, and then build a career either working with clients directly or functioning as an expert within an existing organisation. It requires an understanding of when an expert career requires foundational qualifications in order to practice, and the levels of regulation across differing types of roles.

We are going to explain the key elements of success, the role of social media in building a personal brand to support your expert career, and how to focus your efforts so that the journey ahead does not become overwhelming. Becoming an expert is, after all, not an overnight project – and we’ll explore the importance of continual learning, how to find inspiration in leaders in the fields in which your interest is sparked, and why (over time) you may seek to become more specialised in your expert knowledge.

As you’ll learn, it is also important to really understand how to translate your expertise in wellness, or role as a practitioner, into a financially rewarding career – either through self-employment or delivering your services through an existing organisation.

To ensure that you are able to navigate this career path with certainty – you’ll begin to learn about the growth models that enable you to work with clients individually and in groups – whilst leveraging technology to multiply impact. This includes the steps to developing a value proposition, finding a client niche, and making money.

As we showcase the possibilities for this career path – you might begin to feel that the number of options available to you, when pursuing a career as a wellness expert or practitioner, can be a little overwhelming. Equally, including if you’re already on this path, you might also begin to realise just how expansive the opportunities are to grow and scale a business in this career, too.

At the heart of the role of being an expert or practitioner in wellness, is transferring your learnt knowledge and skills through physical sessions and/or online or offline learning to others in a way that provides some kind of transformation. For a personal trainer this might be a physical transformation, whereas for a health coach it might be an emotional transformation around energy, focus or something else. We’ll look at some success stories through this course to illustrate how these types of careers can take shape.

The learning outcomes for this course are as follows:

1. Explore the various requirements and options for qualifications to become an expert in wellness.
2. Evaluate the different strategies for building an expert brand in the wellness industry.
3. Evaluate the different career models in which your expertise in wellness can be delivered.

What do you think?

What most interests you about a potential career path as an expert or practitioner in wellness? Do you already have a sense of any existing skills or knowledge that you might be able to build on? Share your thoughts with your peers in the Comments section below.

Also, can you think of any experts or practitioners in the wellness sector that you have previously, or are currently working with, in your own personal life (e.g. a personal trainer or an acupuncturist)? Go ahead and share some of these and look at what other learners are sharing for further inspiration.