by Christine Kwok
photo by Lone Morch Schneider 

Within the wellness industry, there are many different careers: yoga instructor, hypnotherapist, life coach, personal fitness instructor, green living counselor, massage therapist, Feldenkrais specialist … really, the list seems infinite. If there is a practice that keeps you sane of mind and that you feel very passionate about, then there exists a wellness consulting career path for you.

When considering a job in wellness, most decisions are intuitive; however, being able to answer the following five questions is crucial to having a thriving career in wellness:

1. What keeps me healthy? As stated above, if there is a practice that keeps you optimally healthy and happy, then a career exists.

2. What do I love about this avenue of health and wellness? You must understand, precisely, what it is that makes your wellness practice work. If you do not understand how it keeps you healthy, how will you sell it to others as a method of acquiring good health and wellness? What you love about your practice, most often, is at the core of what keeps you well.

3. Who do I want to reach out to? Think about who will benefit most from your practice, and how you can continue to meet their needs as they take their journey toward optimal health.

4. How can I creatively deliver my message and help this market, while incorporating what I love most about my business? Depending on where in the world you are doing business, the wellness industry may be saturated. This is not to discourage you from your destined career path in health and well-being, but to lead you to think about what makes you different. Understand and stay abreast of the trends. Be selective with the trends you incorporate into your practice. Think about your consumer, why they would seek you out, what rewards they would leave with after a visit with you, and how that makes you different from another practitioner.

5. How can I grow from this career path? I find this question most important in finding longevity in a wellness career, since it speaks to your own health and well-being as an individual, and the health and well-being of your career. For example, a yoga instructor may begin her career as a group and private instructor, then strengthen her practice until she becomes a teacher of teachers. Her strength of mind, body, and spirituality continues to grow as her career does.

My own career in fitness and wellness follows this evolution, as I take my passion and affect those around me—at least anybody who allows me to. I began as a swimming coach, then evolved into a fitness instructor serving individuals and corporate sites. Now, nearly 15 years later, I’m a fitness and wellness strategist. What does that mean? Simply, I work with my target markets—individuals, corporate, and the community-at-large—help them set goals, create a fun and realistic plan to help them meet and exceed their goals, and guide them from start to each of their goal points, giving them tools along the way that incorporate both wellness of body and mind. In essence, my fitness and wellness business has progressed in outreach and offerings as my own personal wellness practice has advanced.

Ultimately, if you commit to staying well in the wellness industry, remain faithful to doing what you love, understand how you help your consumer, are creative with the contagion, and continue to practice what you preach, then you will achieve optimum health and well-being for yourself and your business.

Christine Kwok is a member of the Los Angeles Incubator and the founder of Balanced Strength, Inc.