The health and fitness industry in the past decade has been flooded by businesses that offer people advice, tools and products, all with the promise of improving their lives.
Setting yourself apart as a business in this market may seem impossible, but Sanket Shrotri faced this challenge head-on when he started Element Nutrition, a Health, Nutrition & Lifestyle Consultations business.
Taking the plunge
Sanket began his business after he resigned from his previous place of employment.
At his old job, he felt like he didn’t suit the environment and that his extensive knowledge of human psychology and health weren’t being utilised.
He wanted to create a business that blended these two, having an interdisciplinary approach.
From there, he started planning how he was going to run the business once he got some experience with clients.
Like Sanket, many businesses use social media to gain exposure, but for the new business owner, finding clients was a struggle.
He recalled how he felt unprepared for all the things you have to do as a business owner, such as managing accounting and paperwork, sustaining the business, and creating a social media strategy.
When I began my business, I thought that all I would have to do is take a client and offer my expertise to them, but it was a lot more than that.
Levelling up
To run his business, Sanket needed the skills of not only a nutritionist and psychologist but also an accountant and bookkeeper.
He described that he was tracking his payments on an Excel sheet and simply emailing clients acknowledging that he had received a payment from them.
However, he did not feel that this was professional enough for his business.
So, he started looking for templates to create an invoice and came across Bookipi.
I love the fact that it creates a professional-looking PDF and sends it directly to the client, all from within the app itself! I have linked it with Bookipi Expense to track other miscellaneous payments also. It helps me make professional-looking invoices and receipts directly on my phone. The biggest benefit? I can create a receipt and send it across to my clients from the phone as soon as I receive payment.
Sanket Shrotri believes the best thing about starting his own business was the fact that it gives him the freedom to experiment with his own ideas the way he wants.
He also says that having the ability to utilise all his skills, having no one to answer to and no chain of command is another great benefit.
Instead of focusing on growth, Sanket wants the business to remain small so he can give the best possible service to his clients, whilst having the ability to pursue his other interests.
With the help of Bookipi, he is able to focus his attention on his clients and rather than wasting time creating documents and writing emails.
Check out Element Nutrition on Facebook, Instagram and their website.
If you loved reading Sanket Shrotri’s story check out some of our other business success stories!