How to Start a One-Stop Health and Wellness Business

People love a one-stop shop. They frequent big-box stores to buy their groceries, electronics, clothing, and home goods. They order everything from birthday gifts to toilet paper from Amazon. And even when they aren’t shopping at a quintessentially full-service retailer like Walmart, they’re having a more all-in-one experience at their specialty stores. (Who hasn’t bought Tylenol at the grocery store at some point!?)

Consumers’ love of one-stop shopping matters. Clients are looking for salons and spas that offer multiple products and services. Which begs the question: As health and wellness entrepreneurs, how do you start a one-stop health and wellness business?

What is a one-stop wellness business?

Before we discuss starting a one-stop wellness business, what is a full-service wellness company? 

A one-stop health and wellness business is an organization or individual that offers multiple types of services. While a hairstylist may have many offerings, like cuts and colors, their business isn’t one stop if they don’t offer additional kinds of services, like manicures or waxes. The more types of services a health and fitness business provides, the more of a one-stop shop they are.

As a wellness business owner, you may wonder: What types of services can be included in a multimodal wellness center? More importantly, what types of services would be appropriate for your business? (After all, it doesn’t seem right to cut people’s hair and file their taxes in the same salon.) What are some services under the category or class of health, wellness, and beauty that may work for your business? 

Here are some health and wellness business examples:

• Hair services, including cuts, colors, styling, and treating natural hair, wigs, and scalps.
• Skin services, including facials and skincare.
• Nail services, including manicures and pedicures utilizing natural and artificial nails and products.
• Hair removal services, including waxing, sugaring, threading, shaping, and trimming.
• Makeup services, including enhancing or altering appearances with makeup and prosthetics for events, film and television, theater, and fashion.
• Spray tanning services.
• Tattoo or piercing services.
• Massage and bodywork services, including cupping, ear candling, energy work, and reflexology.
• Acupuncture services.
• Aromatherapy services.
• Wellness coaching, including life coaching, nutrition consulting, and herbal coaching.
• Fitness, dance, or yoga instructing.

Benefits of a Starting a Multimodal Health and Wellness Business

What are the biggest advantages of running a multimodal wellness business? Here are a few:

• Increased customer base. The more services you offer, the more people you can serve.

• More customer loyalty. The more you do for your clients, the more they’ll want to stay.

• More financial stability. The more financial streams you have, the less dependent you are on one service to make your living.

• Increased client well-being. Providing multiple services allows you to serve clients comprehensively and holistically, potentially leading to better outcomes.

• Competitive advantage. Offering more services can differentiate you from your competitors and win you more business.

Insights About the Health and Wellness Industry

If you’re considering opening a wellness center or how to build an existing wellness business, you may have economic and financial concerns. Is it really smart to invest in starting or expanding a multimodal wellness business right now?

Market growth projections and industry trends say now’s a great time for growing or starting a health and wellness business. Here are a few key statistics:

• The beauty services market is heavily skewed to hair and nail services.
• Beauty sales should recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2027.
• The rise of wellness and holistic health trends is contributing to the growth of the professional beauty industry.
• Demand for massage therapy is rising due to increased knowledge of its diverse health benefits.
• Interest in health and wellness coaching is on the rise.
• Group fitness classes are becoming increasingly popular.
• There’s a growing trend towards personalized fitness.

How to Start a Multimodal Health and Wellness Business in 5 Steps 

Starting a multimodal wellness business isn’t the same for everyone. If you already have a business and are adding more services, if you are starting your own business after years of working for someone else, or if you are starting a wellness business with no previous experience, your needs and trajectory will be unique. However, anyone opening a wellness center can benefit from reviewing these five basic steps.

1. Define your services and business model.

When starting or expanding your wellness business, begin by determining what services you’ll offer. For help, review the list of examples we listed earlier.

When developing wellness business ideas, start with your current specialty and then branch out through additional education, training, or hiring. For example, if you already offer hair services at your wellness business, it’s a logical step to start including skin, nail, hair removal, or makeup services. It makes less sense to introduce fitness instruction.

To develop your business model, do a rough sketch of your pricing and costs. What are you going to charge? And what are your anticipated expenses? Understanding these figures will help you create a business plan.

2. Create a business plan.

To craft your health and wellness business plan, consider the following questions:

• How will your business stand out from competitors?
• What are the core values, vision, and mission statement for your health and wellness business?
• Who’s your target market?
• How will you manage business operations?

3. Choose a location and set up the facility.

Unless you’re offering mobile services, you need a place to do business. 

Based on your target clientele, budget, and other needs, find a place to set up shop. Then furnish and decorate the space to fulfill your working needs and put clients at ease.

4. Obtain legal permits, certifications, and insurance.

Wellness center requirements vary by state and even county. So as you obtain proper licenses, permits, and certifications, check local regulations to ensure your compliance.

Another requirement for operating your wellness business: insurance. Here are some frequently asked questions we get about wellness business insurance:

• What types of insurance do you need for a multimodal wellness center? The types of insurance needed in a salon depend on the services you offer. But it’s always good to start with general liability, professional liability, and product liability insurance coverage.
• What kind of coverage protects against client injuries or claims related to professional services? That’s professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions insurance.
• How much does business insurance typically cost for a wellness center? Just as the types of insurance you need depend on the services you offer, so too do your insurance costs. However, most wellness professionals can get all three aforementioned coverage types starting at just $159 per year.
• How do I find the best insurance providers for a multimodal wellness business? To find the best wellness business insurance, do your research. Explore the company’s website, reviews, and social profiles to see who they are, what they offer, and what their reputation is. When you settle on a provider or a few potential insurers, get quotes. You can get a quote from us in just 10 minutes.

5. Nail your marketing strategy.

What is your wellness brand? And how are you going to sell it to potential clients? That’s your marketing strategy.

From posting flyers in local businesses to running paid ads on social media, there are lots of ways to do marketing. Need some ideas? Check out this post on basic wellness business marketing tactics.

Risks and Challenges of a Multimodal Wellness Business

Before you run off with your massage oil and yoga playlist into the sunset, beware: One-stop wellness businesses present a lot of perks. But they also have unique challenges. What are the biggest risks of operating a multimodal wellness center? Here are some to consider:

• The more services you offer, the harder it is to organize and manage.
• From certifications to equipment, providing more services means more investments.
• If you have employees, hiring staff across specialties for different services can be challenging.
• If you’re a rockstar at bodywork but just starting aromatherapy, there can be some inconsistency in quality across services.
• When you offer a lot of services, it can be hard to effectively market all of them.

But the biggest risk and challenge of a multimodal health and wellness business is claims. The more services you offer, the more business you perform, and the more potential for unhappy clients. How can you handle dissatisfied clients or complaints about treatments? And what should you do when you get a claim against your business?

With WellnessPro Insurance, you don’t have to face claims alone. Our insurance caters to wellness business owners like you, so you can have the right protection and peace of mind. Click here to get a quote in just 10 minutes.