Certified Sleep Consultant Income: A 2024 Outlook
We’ve been in the sleep consulting industry for a combined 10+ years of experience working with families, and now a few years certifying new sleep consultants.
Over the years, we’ve collected our own data to answer all the burning questions we get asked about sleep consulting, and, the one everyone really wants to know, “How much does a sleep consultant actually make??”
Of course, we’re going to give you a fluffy answer, because there is no simple way to answer this question. There are so many ways to be successful as a sleep consultant and about a hundred ways you could structure your business.
We each have our own businesses, and we’ve helped launch the careers of over 100 other sleep consultants, and there’s certainly more than one way to do this.
Let’s break it down into a few successful examples for you. Keep reading for all the details!
What kind of entrepreneur are you?
First, you must ask yourself this question - what kind of entrepreneur are you?
Most sleep consultants go into this business with the notion that they will start their own business. There are a few categories of entrepreneurs (which we’ve completely made up, but see anecdotally in the field) that sleep consultants fall into.
Before we dive into that, though, it’s important to note that you can still be a certified sleep consultant without running your own business. You could choose to work under another sleep consultant. If you choose to do this, you can still make a decent salary, but it isn’t as lucrative as reaping the benefits of having your own business.
Let’s identify the type of entrepreneur we see in the sleep consulting field (you can also be more than one!):
The “Lifestyle” Entrepreneur - This type of entrepreneur isn’t necessarily in it for the money, but for the other benefits that you don’t necessarily see listed: choosing your own schedule, deciding how much you’ll charge clients and how many hours you’ll work, working with your children home (or not), etc.
“In It for the Money” Entrepreneur - This type of entrepreneur is also likely a “Builder” listed below. This person is here to start something and to cultivate it. They want it to grow, and they definitely like the extra income owning a business can bring in.
The “Helper” Entrepreneur - This entrepreneur is passionate about the solution they provide and that is the driving force behind their business. They may work alone or have a team, but they’re not necessarily in it for the money. They’re here to help change lives.
The “Builder” Entrepreneur - This is the entrepreneur who is all in all the time. They are passionate about building the business and have many ideas on how to do that. They typically have a team under them so they can focus on the next steps for growth. The “Builder” is also often “In It for the Money” but definitely is motivated by how many people they can help with the growth of their company.
We believe we all mostly start out as “helper” entrepreneurs, but can certainly evolve into other versions of entrepreneurs over time.
Luckily, there’s space for all these types of people in the sleep consulting space!
Different types of sleep consultants’ and entrepreneurs’ income will vary based on the type of entrepreneur they are, as well as if they’re working full- or part-time.
Part Time vs. Full Time Sleep Consulting
If you’re in this for the lifestyle element (work from home, raise your kids, flexibility with your schedule, etc.), you can certainly only work part-time hours and still make a decent income as a certified sleep consultant.
For example, 42.9% of those surveyed work part-time (11-32 hours per week). Another 42.9 % work only 1-10 hours per week.
With the majority working part time (or less), they still have the ability to make a pretty decent income for working so few hours, as exhibited by the annual (gross) income responses: 42.8% make between $11,000-60,000.
What’s really exciting about this field is that the sky's the limit. There is not a cap as to how much you can make because if you have the expertise and the marketing know-how, your knowledge and how you deliver it can be scaled from working one-on-one with families to moving into courses and guides that serve one to many instead. Some sleep consultants even do both.
Replacing Your Salary
Many sleep consultants will start out part time while they’re working to build their business up to full time hours and income. They’ll work at both their corporate job and do sleep consulting on the side until they’re ready to make the jump to full time and leave the corporate setting.
Others will have a little more flexibility and can step right into sleep consulting full time, though this doesn’t guarantee that you’ll have a full time income right away. It takes time to build a business, a clientele base, and community connections, ensuring you always have clients coming in the door.
The Structure of Your Sleep Consulting Business
Okay, what you really want to know: How can I make this work for me??
We’ve provided a few examples of how some of our colleagues and graduates work with limited time.
Working 10 Hours Per Week
One of our certified newborn sleep consultants shares her perspective: “I’ve been in this business for 4 years and I only work 10-15 hours per week - closer to 10 if things are slow and closer to 15 if I’m busy with clients. I also run another business roughly 20-25 hours per week so I stay fairly busy between both endeavors. Sleep consulting has become my ‘extra’ income, and I typically bring in between $2,000-3,000 per month from it. It’s a good fit that allows me to be totally present and have flexibility for my young children while also contributing to my family’s income.”
It’s definitely do-able to build a business with part-time hours and still bring in some decent money, even if you have another job or position.
Working 20 Hours Per Week: Certified Sleep Consultant Income (example)
Most sleep consultants we polled work around 20 hours per week. These consultants work from home and fit in their work between taking care of their children.
Sarah Smith, founder of Swallowtail Sleep, is one who works roughly 20-30 hours per week.
“My oldest is 6 and she’s in school full time, so she’s at school. My youngest is 3 and he’s home with us. My husband works virtually 90% of the time. I’m also a personal trainer and I go see training clients Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, and otherwise we’re tag teaming our 3-year-old and school and after school.”
So, Sarah works two jobs and 20-30 of her hours are for her sleep consulting business. She shares more details about what a day looks like: “I wake up and check in with my one-on-one clients to start. Then throughout the day, I try to check in on them around sleep times. For younger babies, which are the majority of my clients, that can be 3-4 times per day plus bedtime, giving them guidance in real time - It’s really high touch. And, when I’m not working with clients I’m usually working on content planning or putting content on Instagram and interacting on there for some lead gen.”
She likes the flexibility this job provides, too.
“Throughout my days, it’s not super structured. Thursday mornings I have more dedicated time to contant plan. On the weekends I’m mostly off of social media (besides one post on Saturday morning) and will check in on clients and answer emails, but that’s it. I will also take calls and respond to voice memos while I’m in the car on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays since it’s about 2-hours round trip when I’m seeing my training clients.”
This job can easily fit into you daily rhythms if you do it like Sarah does!
She also shares that she considers herself a mix between being a “builder” and a “helper” entrepreneur.
“I definitely started this by being very passionate about the specific solution I can provide to people, but I also want to provide for my family. I want to cultivate a business I am passionate about. I’m passionate about business ownership. I’ve owned a business my entire adult life so far, and I think that’s empowering for women to know we can have businesses and run businesses and be successful in our businesses while also being guided by our hearts.”
Well said, Sarah, well said!
Working 30-40 Hours Per week
Of all the sleep consultants polled, only 14.3% worked more than 33 hours per week and considered themselves full time.
This really is a career that you can make work for your situation, whatever that may be, as there are so many ways you can do it and make it work!
This sounds like me!
If the information we’ve provided in this post is intriguing for you, we invite you to do a deep dive into our full survey and report - “Business of Sleep Consulting” - click here to snag it for free!
We’d also like to invite you to learn more about our online sleep consultant certification program. We’ve developed our program with the intention of leveling up the field of sleep consulting in a way that is family-friendly. Our course can be completed in your own time from the comfort of your home.
We know many of the people reading this are moms, just like us, who want more for their family and their career. If this is you, too, visit our course page to learn more about the Sleep Consultant Academy now!
You’ll see other certification programs making some pretty big claims about the industry. We encourage you to ask these types of questions to other certification programs you’re considering if becoming a sleep consultant is a goal of yours. We will always be transparent and share with you all the information you need to make the best and most informed decision for your family.
What sets our course (and you) apart from the rest!
It took us 9 months (yes, we consider it our “other” baby!) to compile all the research and resources to make The Sleep Consultant Academy from The Collective for Family Rest and Wellness.
We’ve included all the sleep science and evidence-based and reached supported methods and information in the modules, and in addition to that, we also brought in other experts!
We like to say that we’re the experts in sleep: We know A LOT about sleep and a little about everything else. So it was really important to us that we included expertise in other areas such as branding, business development, marketing, working with other cultures, etc. to really make this course all encompassing for someone who wants to start their own sleep consulting business.
However, the thing that really sets us apart from the rest of the sleep consultant certification programs out there is that all of our graduates have the opportunity to have a PAID internship as they get ready to start their business or work for another sleep consultant. To our knowledge and as of January 2024, there is no other program that offers a paid internship opportunity. You’ll have a job as soon as you graduate!
To learn more about our course, click here.
