Looking to become a fertility coach?
Probably the number one question I’m asked by colleagues and folks who join our Free Facebook Group for other practitioners and coaches is… how do I get started as a Fertility Coach?
Perhaps you’re an Embryologist or a Nurse and want to support people beyond the clinic… or perhaps you’re a fertility warrior yourself and have a message you want to shout from the rooftops because you had a journey that was incredibly transformational.
So if you’re keen to support other women navigating trying to conceive (or other fertility-related life situations)… this is for you
In this blog post I’m talking about:
- Whether you need qualifications
- Ideas for your business
- What you need to consider in a certification or degree
- The one thing that will halt your success in the beginning
- What to look for in a certification or program
- Whether you should start your business first, or get qualified first.
Here’s the number 1 thing you need to know about fertility coaching.
Fertility Coaching isn’t regulated, which means anyone can basically call themselves a fertility coach, and it’s really broad.
So what do you do?
First, think about how you might like to help people and the time you have…
You don’t need a qualification to support your community while earning an income, so stop believing that you need to go to university (and study for another 3 years) or spend thousands on a coaching qualification.
In fact, I highly recommend you dip your toes in the water first to see:
If you even like being a business owner
What exactly it is you like helping people with
Because running a business involves SO much more than just sharing the mindset tips or nutrition advice you learned that changed your life.
It’s persistence and endurance in growing your social media accounts
It’s the discipline of showing up… even when nobody is clapping for you or life looks like a dumpster fire
It’s accounts and business strategy and tech and social media
And almost everyone I know is multi-passionate and wants to help people in multiple areas, but success actually looks like choosing one, single thing and running with it and becoming an expert in one thing first.. (think about it – nobody visits the sports, auto-immune, fertility, all the things Doctor – they visit Specialists).
So… get started before getting hoodwinked about qualifications (more on qualifications in a moment) and settle into the space, make some connections and build your audience.
Ideas that don’t involve ‘qualifying as a coach or practitioner’
- Start a blog that uses affiliate links + ads
- Create merchandise
- Sell gift boxes
- Launch a podcast that has advertising ops
- Leverage other experts for a course or event
- Create an in-person retreat
- Self-publish your memoir
- Create digital products like journals and printable
- Create a digital program around things that helped you
- Create a paid support group
- Create a directory or marketplace
- Create a magazine subscription
Chances are though, you do already have qualifications that are transferable (even if it’s the Street Cred of living the experience)… it’s just your mind telling you that you aren’t qualified, and so long as your audience is completely clear about what you bring to the table (and you aren’t misrepresenting yourself) you can have a really successful business without any additional qualifications. And in that case, What most people have isn’t a ‘qualification problem’, it’s a marketing and messaging problem.
There’s a concept called the Dunning-Krueger effect that states that the more qualified you get, the less qualified you feel and I come across plenty of Embryologists and Nutritionists who feel like they still need more and more qualifications when the reality is they just need help positioning themselves in the market, developing a product and growing a diehard fanbase who are keen to work with them.
But perhaps you read this, and still want to be a fertility coach and currently have zero qualifications that would transfer…
Step 1: Decide how you want to support people (i.e. project get ‘baby on board’, or project ‘help fertility warrior’
Step 2: Think of what modality or method is most transformational for you and the ONE thing you can best help people with: e.g. mindset, nutrition, etc.
Step 3: Look at what overarching certifications would be appropriate for this. e.g Life Coaching, Nutritionist, Functional Medicine, Hypnotherapy
If you said… I want to help people with everything… you might have a problem.
As I said, rarely do people visit a doctor who does psychiatry, as well as orthodontic surgery at the same time as oncology. People like to see specialists.
Although you might be multi-passionate-at least start with just one thing as an overarching qualification.
There are a number of fertility coach programs available (some are fantastic) but often they’re fairly surface-level). You may find more in-depth training if you train in an overarching modality such as a life coach or nutritionist or hypnotherapist.
What to look for in any certification program?Â
- Will you have to continue praying year after year for your qualification?
- Is it endorsed by any associations or groups?
- Does it go in-depth or does it try to cover a tiny bit of lots of different things?
- Does it include assessments?
- Does it include assessed in-practice client sessions before qualifying?
- What qualification do you walk away with?
There’s going to be a big difference between a program that is 6 weeks, self-study and aims to cover all the things vs something that goes in-depth in one thing, is endorsed by outside organisations and includes both assessments and in-practice client sessions (assessed).
I’ve provided a number of ideas above on how you can get started with little to no qualifications (and as mentioned, I highly recommend trying it on before investing a tonne into something like a life coaching or nutrition degree) but if you’re set on coaching there is one big benefit to getting training: insurance.
Insurance in running your business is essential and a non-negotiable if you’re launching a coaching business, as are terms and conditions, a disclaimer and a privacy policy for your website.
So… Should you start your social media first or get qualified first?
I started my social media first and posted about a range of topics, before deciding that I liked talking about mindset the most. I got my head around social media, organised my website and just started blogging and podcasting and even built an email list.Â
Then… I went out and became certified.
One of the benefits I feel to starting your social media and website etc first, is that it also develops highly sought-after skills that are transferable to almost any job/industry (and this is also what I told myself when I took both the time and financial investment of learning things like Instagram and Podcasting).
Because learning those business skills first (over, for example, a certification as a functional medicine practitioner) meant that if I got into it and didn’t love it, I could still apply for promotions in my current role or add to my resume skills like:
Building websites
Social Media
Direct Response Copywriting
Various software
I’ve always viewed it as upskilling myself in my role… and getting paid to test and learn.
Already have some qualifications, but feeling scared? Not sure how you can support people with your skillset? Worried you don’t know enough?
I can help! See my links below and other blog posts to help you get started supporting other women in their health and fertility.
LINKS + WORK WITH ME
- Free Case Study – How we got 1500 launch-ready email subscribers in 3 weeks
- Get a 30 Day Free Trial of Kartra – our Course, Email and Funnel Software
- Swipe our Manychat Setup (and our Instagram Story to Subscribers Sequences + more)
- Want to launch an online course? Jump on the waitlist here.
- Work with me in the Well Conceived Mastermind
- 1:1 Coaching
FOLLOW
- Daily tips on growing your audience, impact and revenue (without sacrificing your life): @robynbirkin Â
