The Wellness Creator Revenue Stack

How to Combine Live Classes, Memberships and Digital Products Without Burning Out

You became a wellness professional to help people transform their lives. Somewhere along the way, you realized that trading hours for dollars has a ceiling—and it's lower than you thought.

If you're a yoga teacher, health coach, therapist, or holistic practitioner trying to build an online business, you've probably heard the advice: create passive income. Build a course. Launch a membership. Scale beyond 1-on-1.

What that advice usually leaves out is how to combine these revenue streams without working 60-hour weeks, feeling scattered, or losing the personal connection that drew you to this work in the first place.

This post introduces the Wellness Creator Revenue Stack—a framework for building sustainable income that honors both your mission and your own wellbeing.

Why Most 'Passive Income' Advice Fails Wellness Creators

The creator economy loves to talk about passive income. But here's the truth: for wellness professionals, truly passive income is often a myth and chasing it can lead to burnout faster than the hourly model you're trying to escape.

That's because wellness work is inherently relational. Your students and clients don't just want information. They want transformation. And transformation typically requires some form of guidance, accountability, and human connection. Dare we say…soul?

The solution isn't to abandon the personal touch or the reason you got into this work in the first place. It's to architect your business so that connection happens at scale, in sustainable rhythms, with revenue streams that complement rather than compete with each other.

The Four Layers of the Wellness Revenue Stack

Think of your online wellness business as a stack with four layers. Each layer serves a different purpose, attracts different clients, and requires different amounts of your time.

Layer 1: Digital Products (Low-Touch, Recurring, or One-Time)

These are your self-paced courses, downloadable guides, meditation libraries, and recorded class archives. They require significant upfront creation BUT minimal ongoing delivery. Digital products serve people who want to learn on their own schedule, often at lower price points.

Best for: Building passive-ish revenue, reaching price-sensitive audiences, establishing credibility

Layer 2: Memberships (Medium-Touch, Recurring)

Memberships are the heartbeat of a sustainable wellness business. They combine community access, a content library, and often live touchpoints (weekly classes, monthly Q&As) at a predictable monthly price. The key is designing your membership so the value comes from belonging, not just consuming content.

Best for: Predictable monthly revenue, community building, long-term student relationships

Layer 3: Live Classes and Workshops (Medium-High Touch, Session-Based)

Live teaching is probably why you got into this work. The good news: you don't have to give it up. The shift is from live classes as your only revenue to live classes as a premium offering within a larger ecosystem. Live workshops, intensives, and drop-in classes can command higher prices when positioned as exclusive or transformation-focused.

Best for: High engagement, premium pricing, building community through shared real-time experience

Layer 4: 1-on-1 and High-Touch Offerings (High Touch, Premium)

Private coaching, VIP days, and personalized programs sit at the top of your stack. These should be your highest-priced offerings—and your most limited. The goal isn't to eliminate 1-on-1 work but to make it selective, premium, and sustainable. Many wellness creators find that 3-5 private clients at premium rates provides both income stability and the deep connection they crave.

Best for: Highest revenue per client, deep transformation work, maintaining personal fulfillment

How the Layers Work Together

The magic of the revenue stack isn't in any single layer—it's in how they interconnect.

A potential student might discover you through a free meditation on your site (digital product layer). They sign up for your email list and eventually join your $29/month membership. After six months in your community, they book a live workshop. After the workshop, they apply for your 12-week private coaching intensive.

In the online business world, this is called a value ladder but in wellness, we prefer to think of it as a relationship deepening path. Each layer represents a deeper level of commitment, investment, and transformation.

The practical benefit: you're not constantly hunting for new clients. You're nurturing relationships that naturally evolve into higher-value engagements.

Building Your Stack Without Burning Out

Here's where most wellness creators go wrong: they try to build all four layers at once. The result is overwhelm, half-finished products, and a business that feels like it's running you instead of the other way around.

The sustainable approach: build one layer at a time, in this order.

•   Start with what you already do well. If you're already teaching live classes, systematize that first. If you're a coach, start with your 1-on-1 framework.

•   Add a membership once you have 50+ engaged followers. Your membership needs a community to thrive. Don't launch to crickets.

•   Create digital products from what you've already taught. Your membership Q&As become a course. Your workshop slides become a guide. Repurpose relentlessly.

•   Elevate 1-on-1 to premium only after you have recurring revenue. The financial stability of membership income gives you permission to be selective with private clients.

A Week in the Life: What Sustainable Looks Like

When your revenue stack is working, your calendar reflects your values—not just your need to pay rent.

Here's what a sustainable week might look like for a wellness creator earning $8-12K/month:

•   Monday: 2 hours of private client sessions (premium 1-on-1)

•   Tuesday: 1 live community class (membership)

•   Wednesday: Content creation and community engagement

•   Thursday: 2 hours of private client sessions

•   Friday: Admin, planning, and self-care

Total teaching/delivery time: approximately 10-12 hours per week. The rest of your income comes from membership dues and digital product sales that don't require your real-time presence.

This isn't a fantasy. It's a predictable structure that’s available to you once you stop trying to do everything and start building strategically.

Your Next Step

Building a revenue stack requires the right foundation—a platform that lets you host courses, run live classes, build community, and manage memberships all in one beautiful space.

That's exactly what Marvelous was designed for. No cobbling together five different tools. No tech headaches. Just everything you need to build a sustainable wellness business; with the aesthetic quality your brand deserves.

You became a wellness professional to transform lives—including your own. A business that honors your mission and your wellbeing isn't just possible. With the right structure, it's inevitable.

Jeni Barcelos and Sandy Connery are the co-founders of Marvelous, the platform helping wellness creators build and grow profitable online businesses. Together, they host the Wellness Creator Podcast and bring decades of experience in tech, wellness, and entrepreneurship to everything they teach and create.

RESOURCES:

• Teach on Marvelous

• Check out the Well Well Well marketplace