There are lots of things to think about when you are starting a business. The fact is that starting your own holistic health store is not all that different from starting any other kind of store. That said, there are some things that are unique to holistic health that you need to make sure you are thinking about and taking care of.
Practical Business Stuff Understand your market and how to reach them. Holistic healing is varied and eclectic. What types of holistic products do you want to carry? Do you want to cater to a highly specific clientele? Are you hoping to serve a wide variety of people? Figuring these things out in advance saves you time and money on your marketing and advertising.
Learn how to handle your money. The stereotype for holistic practitioners is that while they are passionate about energy and living, they are terrible at dealing with money matters. Defy this stereotype! Learn how to set prices and follow through on invoices. Learn how to properly do your taxes. Hire an accountant if you have to, but remember that while you are trying to promote healing, you’re still running a business, and that means learning to deal with the often boring money stuff.
Get help. Most holistic entrepreneurs make the mistake of trying to do everything themselves. All this does is burn them out before they can really get started. Even if you intend to run your store out of your spare bedroom, hiring an assistant or two to help you make sure that all of your details are taken care of and can save you lots of time and heartache.
Emotional Business Stuff
Learn to set boundaries. One of the biggest problems that comes from running a holistic business is the urge to really get involved with the people who frequent it. This can feel helpful to them, but it can be draining to you, especially once your business takes off and you have lots of customers coming in each day. The line between the business and the personal is fine, but finding it is the key to creating a healing but still professional environment.
Legal Business Stuff The FDA has very strict rules when it comes to creating herbal and holistic products. It designates herbal and holistic products as food, not as medicine. This means that you have different regulations to meet than a traditional western healing center. You have to use very specific language when you talk about your products in your marketing and advertising (and even during face-to-face conversations with clients). Make sure you know these rules and regulations backwards and forwards!
Before you make a single sale, make sure that you meet all of the local (and national) requirements for holistic health practitioners and product sellers. You need to do this both for the area in which you live and all of the areas where you will be selling your products. It’s a good idea to have a lawyer to help you make sure that you do all of this properly.
Last But Definitely Not Least Most importantly: Make sure that you love what you do and what you are selling! If you don’t believe in your products, how can you ask your customers to believe in them?
(Guest Post by Erin Steiner)
Practical Business Stuff Understand your market and how to reach them. Holistic healing is varied and eclectic. What types of holistic products do you want to carry? Do you want to cater to a highly specific clientele? Are you hoping to serve a wide variety of people? Figuring these things out in advance saves you time and money on your marketing and advertising.
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| Photo Credit: Spring Dew |
Learn how to handle your money. The stereotype for holistic practitioners is that while they are passionate about energy and living, they are terrible at dealing with money matters. Defy this stereotype! Learn how to set prices and follow through on invoices. Learn how to properly do your taxes. Hire an accountant if you have to, but remember that while you are trying to promote healing, you’re still running a business, and that means learning to deal with the often boring money stuff.
Get help. Most holistic entrepreneurs make the mistake of trying to do everything themselves. All this does is burn them out before they can really get started. Even if you intend to run your store out of your spare bedroom, hiring an assistant or two to help you make sure that all of your details are taken care of and can save you lots of time and heartache.
Emotional Business Stuff
Learn to set boundaries. One of the biggest problems that comes from running a holistic business is the urge to really get involved with the people who frequent it. This can feel helpful to them, but it can be draining to you, especially once your business takes off and you have lots of customers coming in each day. The line between the business and the personal is fine, but finding it is the key to creating a healing but still professional environment.
Legal Business Stuff The FDA has very strict rules when it comes to creating herbal and holistic products. It designates herbal and holistic products as food, not as medicine. This means that you have different regulations to meet than a traditional western healing center. You have to use very specific language when you talk about your products in your marketing and advertising (and even during face-to-face conversations with clients). Make sure you know these rules and regulations backwards and forwards!
Before you make a single sale, make sure that you meet all of the local (and national) requirements for holistic health practitioners and product sellers. You need to do this both for the area in which you live and all of the areas where you will be selling your products. It’s a good idea to have a lawyer to help you make sure that you do all of this properly.
 |
| Photo Credit: Stevendepolo |
Last But Definitely Not Least Most importantly: Make sure that you love what you do and what you are selling! If you don’t believe in your products, how can you ask your customers to believe in them?
(Guest Post by Erin Steiner)
It’s pretty rare to find information based on this subject. Starting Heath stores contains lots of procedures so these guide lines will be pretty much helpful. Good one though!
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