Written by John Immel, Asheville, NC

Ayurveda as a practical career choice.

The decision to study Ayurveda is an exciting one! Maybe you dipped your toe into this theory of medicine during a nutrition course, or you came to it while searching for answers to your own health issues. These initial introductions can leave you thirsty for more and ready to dive into deeper learning.

But how do you convince your family, employers, friends, and even yourself, that this is not just a passion project? Many prospective students struggle to describe, or envision, their Ayurvedic path as a practical career choice. Ayurveda students have a desire to help their communities - but their families and friends may wonder how they will realize this dream. It is normal for the people around you to be curious about this new path and you will get plenty of questions. After all, it is a significant commitment of time and resources!

Planning your future career builds your confidence, and increases the financial success of your Ayurveda future.

Go from vague, to clear and confident.

Lacking a career plan, most students have only a vague idea or vision of their future clinic. They give a vague and unconvincing response, such as: Once you've put the five steps below into action, your answer will have detail and focus. This might sound like: Imagine you were an investor advising a friend or family member about a new path. Which plan would you invest in? Having a career plan gives you clarity on your direction, and the needs of your future cliebts. It helps you narrow down the promotional efforts and makes your marketing more engaging. Inevitably, you will feel more confident about your career as an Ayurvedic professional.

What is a career plan summary?

This 5 Step career plan is just that, a researched breakdown of how your clinic or business will look. Drafting your career plan not only strengthens your confidence and ability to justify this big step, it can also increase the financial success of your Ayurvedic career when you do launch. The best part? You have the option to build your plan even before you begin your studies, giving you clear, flexible guideposts along the way.

Here are the elements of your 5 Step Career Plan

• Define a target group
• Select a practice specialty
• Assess the size of your target group
• Identify promotional opportunities
• Determine projected income

Create your 5-Step Ayurveda career plan.

Are you ready to put pen to paper and outline your own career plan summary? Here are the five steps you need:

1. Define a target group
   This is the specific group of people you want to help. New practitioners often worry about excluding groups or potential clients by choosing their target market. They can cast their net too wide and end up with a vague offering that nobody feels drawn to. Your target group might be construction workers, public school teachers, nurses, etc. Ideally it will be a group you are familiar with or have access to. Once you know the group you want to address with your services, you can narrow it down by age, location and other factors.
2. Select a practice specialty
   Choosing a specialty lends focus and authority to your offerings. Instead of being the practitioner who can help a little with all things, you can become the go-to person for a certain condition. Your specialty convinces prospective clients you have specialized knowledge to help them. Your specialty creates the perfect opportunity for word-of-mouth advertising for you and your practice! Your specialty might be digestive health, bone health or kidney disease for example. Often practitioners choose an area that they have personal experience in.
3. Assess the size of your target group
   This is another area where new students and practitioners think 'more is better'. However, when assessing the size of your target group you want to consider narrowing your audience to a group you can effectively reach. Consider the following questions:

   • How many potential clients, from your target group, live in your catchment area? This can be your physical locality or the online space you occupy.
   • Also consider, how many clients can you realistically see per month?
   • How many clients do you need to meet your income goals?

   Your target group does not need to be enormous for you to be a very successful practitioner. In fact, a well-chosen, specific target group is usually far more successful in the long run.
4. Identify promotional opportunities
   How you promote your services will depend on your target group and your specialty. Some questions that can help you find the most effective approaches might include:

   • Are members of your target market usually involved in unions or groups related to their job or your specialty area? Do these groups hold conferences or meetings you could attend, advertise at or take part in?
   • Does your target market spend significant amounts of time online? Which sites or apps are they using? What online groups are they part of? Can you sponsor posts or share relevant information on these platforms to build your profile as an expert in the area?
   • Where are your target market spending their time offline? Supermarkets, clinics, gyms, cafes - these places often have notice boards where you can post advertisements and information about your business. If your target group spends a lot of time in their cars, perhaps a local radio station would have you on for a short segment discussing Ayurveda and your area of specialty.
5. Determine projected income
   Students and practitioners of Ayurveda are often driven by passion - to help their communities, to share approaches to specific issues, to deliver an accessible alternative. However, if a business cannot sustain itself the ability to help and heal will dwindle quickly. When setting out your projected income goals, you might consider:

   • Your time commitment to your practice. Will you be working full-time or part-time in your Ayurvedic clinic or business?
   • Your standing financial commitments. Rent, car payments, insurance, childcare all need to be taken into account when planning income goals.
   • How much will you charge for consultation? How much can your target group afford? What is the market average for similar services where you live? Don't forget to take pre- and post-consultation work into account when you're deciding on this.

Congratulations! In just five steps you have mapped out what your business will look like, who it will help and how it will make money! This plan can adjust as you learn and gives you solid footing as you step onto this new road. You can now speak confidently to friends, family and potential future clients about your clinic.

The next step is to enrol in a great Ayurvedic program! Check out our clinically-focused courses we offer and read about becoming an Ayurvedic counselor.

See our tips on having a successful Ayurvedic career, and learn how to market your Ayurvedic clinic.

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