The Power Of Passive Income for RDs
An entrepreneur of any kind can benefit from passive income. “Passive income” is a type of profit that comes at little to no ongoing effort. Basically, once something has been set up or created, the income just continually rolls in. For Registered Dietitians, finding passive income sources can be a really great way to turn your dreams into a reality!
RDs are naturally very hands-on–of course! We’re meeting with our dreamy clients regularly and spending time before and after the session developing plans and finding solutions to our client’s problems. That means as you level-up your private online practice, there comes an inevitable moment where you’re all booked up! This is a TREMENDOUS problem to have, of course, but, at the end of the day, it’s still a problem. Here’s where passive income can help you continue down your RD wealth building journey.
However, generating passive income isn’t just for those RDs who are consistently getting new clients and booking up their schedule. This is for those of you just starting out, too! Whether your private online practice has just launched or it’s still a dream, passive income can help you gain the financial independence to finally leave your 9-5 and pursue your own nutrition business full time. While you work on finding your dreamy clients and enrolling them in your program, passive income sources can be increasing your profits while you’re at your day job, meeting with clients, spending time with family, and even sleeping!
But, what should you do as an RD to generate passive income? Real estate and rental properties probably don’t fit into your schedule or future goals. However, there are lots of passive income streams that align with your nutrition business and help you grow it into the practice of your dreams!
The Power of Passive Income for RDs
Ways to Build Passive Income as RDs
Creating passive income as an RD usually starts with creating something. What that “something” is is up to you and your niche! Just make sure that whatever your curate aligns with your PASSION and PURPOSE. It shouldn’t be made to sell. It should be made to make a meaningful impact on your dreamy clients. So, don’t overthink things on the marketing side, and simply identify a need in your niche and fill it with some type of digital product or service!
eBooks
One thing you could consider making is an eBook. There’s a lot of ways you could take this! Your book could be a text-based version of your nutrition program, it could be a cookbook of all your recommended recipes, it could be an informational book that helps your clients better understand their condition, or it could even be a memoir about your own journey with nutrition! It’s really up to you! Figure out what you think will be valuable to your potential clients and start there!
Meal Plans
For many of us, meal plans are a big part of our nutrition program! Of course, we offer these in our sessions, but they could be useful to someone outside of your practice as well. In fact, this might just be the thing that convinces a potential client to hire you as a coach! (That’s the beauty of all these passive income streams. They double as marketing materials that further establish your credibility.) So, consider creating meal plans for different dietary needs and selling those digitally!
Courses or Workshops
Your dreamy clients may be hesitant to invest in nutrition coaching, but many will be willing to try things out in the form of a course or workshop! These could be more general, addressing the nutritional needs of your niche overall, or these workshops could focus on more specific areas! For example, if you’re a sports nutritionist, you could have a course like “Sports Nutrition 101” or you could have one like “Nutrition for Plant-Based Athletes” and “Combat Sports Nutrition.”
Workshops and courses can initially take a while to create and set-up, but they can be very fruitful for your nutrition business! Consider a program for course-building and course-management like Kajabi and Podia to help make the process easier and more accessible to your potential clients.
Other Digital Products
What other digital products can you think of? Again, consider a need in your niche and try filling it with a digital product. When you do that, the product markets itself, because your dreamy clients are already looking for a tool, just like the one you’re offering! Here are some other ideas for digital products you could offer online:
Webinars
Virtual Cooking Classes
Nutrition Challenges
Workbooks
Foods Logs
Nutrition Assessments
Nutrition Guides
Printable Charts
Supplement GUides
Grocery Lists
Stock Food Photos
If you’re an RD that does a lot of cooking (I mean, we do LOVE food) and you have a knack for photography, you could sell food stock photos. A high-quality image of food could be useful for many companies out there looking for nutrition and food-related visual content for books, websites, magazines and other material. Do some research on stock photography sites and find the platform that works best for you!
Affiliate Marketing and Brand Collaborations
I know what you’re thinking, but I am definitely not advocating for you to sell out your mission and business for the sake of disingenuous brand marketing. NO WAY! However, there’s a way affiliate marketing and brand collaboration can be done respectfully. Once you have established trust with your dreamy client, they’re going to value your recommendations. Of course, you’ll always offer those recommendations . . . so there’s no harm in getting a small commission off it!
The problem comes when you market or advertise products you don’t believe in, which you’d never do as an RD. We know how much damage trendy products and fad foods can do to the world of nutrition. So, if there’s a product or company you really can vouch for and often recommend, consider becoming an affiliate or sponsor to make passive income!
Membership Programs
Subscription-based programs can be a good source of passive income simply because they’re predictable. It’s easy for you to see how much income you’ll generate in a month based on how many subscribers you have. Plus, a membership can really serve certain niches! Whether you’re delivering monthly meal plans, curated recipes, educational material, or personalized advice, there’s plenty you can offer with your expertise! You would have to develop new material once a month, so that is something to consider if choosing this as your passive income stream!
How To Build Passive Income as RDs
Step 1: Focus on adding value to past, present, and potential clients.
When considering what you should do to generate passive income, think first about what will create long-term value for your dreamy clients. RDs that focus on delivering high-quality, helpful information build their clientbase, credibility, brand visibility, and, of course, income!
Step 2: Choose something with little to no overhead or ongoing effort.
Once you’ve brainstormed where you’d like to add value, decide on a product or service you could offer that has little to no overhead or ongoing effort. The point of passive income is to be PASSIVE! That means no more work on your plate! So, find an option that once you create it and put it on your platform, it won’t take much out of you after that.
Step 3: Determine how you’ll deliver the content.
Once you decide what you’ll create or sell, decide how you’ll deliver that content. I am a firm believer that you don’t need a website or a big social following to be a successful RD, and that doesn’t change when you want to generate passive income. Of course, you can deliver your product or service through your own website or social platform, but you could also do it through pre-existing platforms. For example, you could sell an eBook on Amazon Kindle or sell a course on Udemy.
Or, if you prefer brick and mortar opportunities, you could take your products to facilities or clinics in your area where your potential clients frequent! The point is, if you’re not ready to manage your own website or social page, that’s okay! There are lots of ways to find your dreamy clients!
Step 4: Consider boosting your online visibility.
As I said, I don’t think a website or social platform is at ALL necessary to have a successful, thriving online private practice. It’s a great tool for many, but it’s not a requirement. However, a high-value piece of content can be a great way to boost your online visibility! Some light marketing can actually boost your online visibility, helping you generate passive income and book more sessions with your dreamy clients. So, it’s something to consider!
If you think this is right for you, read my post on how to grow your online visibility as an RD!
Step 5: Market in a way that suits your strengths.
Whether you market through word-of-mouth via your current clients, networking with other nutrition professionals, posting on an online platform, or something else, find something that fits your strengths and values! Again, if you focus on ADDING VALUE the dreamy clients will come!
Generate passive income by filling a need in your nutrition niche!
Whether you’re an RD just launching a nutrition business, working an RD side hustle, in the thick of growing your nutrition business, or thriving with a full booked schedule with your nutrition business, passive income can help you elevate your business and increase profits. There are lots of ways you can earn some extra money without putting in even more hours and effort. So, give yourself a break while still striving for your goals by finding passive income streams!
For more strategies to turn your dreams into a reality in terms of your online private practice, apply to work with me! I am a dietitian business coach who knows this industry inside-and-out. I know your unique needs, your unique challenges, and your unique business! I help RDs using a totally personalized approach achieve the career freedom they deserve while making a bigger impact on the world around them. It’s my greatest passion to help you with your passion, so let’s start working together today!