The wellness industry in the UK is worth billions and growing each year. From vegan food products to holistic workout regimes, life coaching to wellness retreats, wellness business is booming. So if you’ve been harbouring the dream of starting your own wellness business or product there has never been a better time. But how do you go about it?

Here are a few things to consider on your wellness business journey:

Research, research, research

Be interested in the wellness market. Immerse yourself in magazines and books, online articles and business features that relate to the idea you have. If you’re planning a sports training programme, deep dive into what exists in the market now. Does someone offer something similar? What successes have you seen, which failures, what is getting most press and why? Find out who the influencers and thought leaders in your particular wellness field are. Watch what they’re doing online, learn from their entrepreneurial journey, be inspired by all the information you gather and let it inform your focus.  It might help you identify the wellness problem that you want to solve, to pinpoint that gap in the market that your concept is designed for. Stay true to your initial idea but let yourself be guided through research so that you’re confident in what you finally take to market.

Consider your four Ps

A handy little guide to bear in mind while you’re developing your business up are the 4 Ps:  Product, Place, Promotion, Price.  Every industry is different and price ceilings, where customers live online, how they shop and what they expect from you can vary hugely. Traditionally wellness customers are more comfortable paying a higher price for a product but also expect more from the business they are buying into so it’s vital to look at your 4 P’s specific to the wellness industry. Keep them at the forefront of your mind while you’re moving through your business development.

• Product What is your product and how can it offer something important to the wellness market?
• Place Where do you plan to sell it (will you have a physical store, sell online, rely on customer referrals?) and how will you reach that market?
• Promotion What is the plan to market your business? How do you plan to get in front of your target customers and promote your brand?
• Price How will you price your business, your product, your service? What else exists in the wellness market and how will you decide to price in relation to that?

Keep it simple

It’s easy to get bogged down in how complex everything seems. What do you need to do, how, when, new terms, new requirements, an entrepreneurs list is a long one! Try and keep things simple. Gather your wellness industry research and start working on a structured and clear business plan. Work through each touchpoint and it will help you to navigate the most important aspects of any new business. The drafting of your business plan will act as a road map that you can follow. Helping you with funding applications, giving substance to any pitch you do and acting as a safety blanket when you’re feeling overwhelmed with decisions.  Did you know that you can avail of up to 6 hours of free business mentoring from our business advisors to help you put your business plan together? Click here to register for a call back to find out more.

It’s all about your customers

Think about who your business or product is for? Who are you selling to and what is it that those customers really want and need? Taking time to consider your customers and what it is that you can offer them will help you to shape your business idea, establish your selling points, and know how to reach and communicate with your customers. It will also tell you whether your business idea has legs. Could it be scaled down the line or is there a finite customer base for you to target? Perhaps your market place is local, perhaps you are aiming nationwide or globally. Whatever your plans, create personas for each customer group and use them to help that guide you on the road to launch.

Protect yourself

Intellectual Property (IP) s daunting but protecting your assets is absolutely essential. If you are creating a training programme, launching a plant-based food product, inventing a piece of wellness tech, whatever it is, make sure that you own your creation. Contact an IP lawyer and talk through everything you have worked on so that they can advise on what patents, trademarks or copyright you might need. Be clear about the regions in which you want to operate. IP regulations are geographical so you’ll need to cover yourself in the UK or Europe, the US or globally, wherever you want to roll out your product. Bear in mind that if you don’t cover yourself, you risk other brands copying your IP and that can be hugely damaging to any brand.

Be passionate

Being passionate is essential for any new business but somehow even more so for businesses in the wellness industry. The purpose behind a wellness business is key and customers are interested in the ‘why’ so if you’re not passionate about the reasons behind what you’re offering, then you can’t expect your customers to be. Consumers are looking for authenticity and purpose. Establish your ‘why’ and keep that at the forefront through all your product and service development, your communication, and your content. Make sure that your customers buy into the story behind your brand and the reasons they need it in their life.  Don’t forget, there will always be hurdles. You will always make mistakes. But no business launches or is a success without failures. They inform future growth, they shape how your business evolves and many entrepreneurs argue that they help you on the path to delivering a better product or service.

Whatever your business plans, Go For It is a free service to new businesses in Northern Ireland to help you on your path to entrepreneurial success. Contact us to talk through your ideas at 0800 027 0639 or click here to register for a callback and set up an appointment with a local business advisor.