The business you want to start requires more than just a dream or a paid ad; it takes a village.

Building a Business From Scratch

When I started my food business back in 2016, I was so excited. I thought my pastries were the best and the whole world was going to come flooding to buy from me. The opposite happened. My friends and family kept ordering from me, but I had no new customers! It was crickets.

I was confused, and I wasn’t quite sure how to get my name out there. I also didn’t have money for marketing. I didn’t even know what marketing was and how it would help me. In my mind, that was a scam.

As I started connecting with the community, one by one, customers began to come. One friend ordered, then told her coworkers. The coworkers started ordering and so on. Word of mouth began bringing in customers, and the business started to grow.

The Scam

When I got my nutrition coach certification, I started following many nutrition coaches who were selling their strategies to other coaches, promising to earn $10,000/month for the first 6 months. When I hear those types of promises, a red light goes on in my mind.

Now that I am almost six months into my new career as a nutrition coach, I have learned a bit about what it takes to become an online coach. And it’s not as easy as they promise. There is so much more work involved in this success story, and I have a long way to go until I start earning that $10,000/month.

The Truth

No amount of marketing dollars will build trust with your community until you start developing relationships and letting people experience your services. You will not get a flood of customers if you have no experience and no one knows who you are or what you do.

So, what am I doing to build my business?

Steps To Build a Business From Scratch

First, I am building a community. Sharing my journey with my family and friends and inviting them into the story. I shared what I learned and helped some along the way. This is how I am developing trust.

Second, I am building up my experience. I am new to this career and have experience only guiding myself. Like any other new adventure, I needed to build up my experience as a new coach. That’s why I coached for free.

Third, I started to spread the word. After coaching a dozen or so clients, I started asking for referrals, testimonials, and charging my free clients a small fee. My friends and family spread the word for me too.

This is how you start a business, the real way—no gimmicks, scams, or sloppy promises that get zero results.

Want to learn more about building a business? Follow my page on ​Instagram​ or read ​my blog​.

Want to follow my journey as a nutrition coach? Follow my ​Instagram page​ or read ​my blog​ for recipes and nutrition content.