Tips for Starting a Nutrition Coaching Business for RDs and RD2Bes
If you’ve been on the blog or on my socials for a while, you know that it’s one of my main goals to empower Registered Dietitians to realize their full potential by starting a nutrition coaching business. There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing an RD take that step to go private, so they can feel PURPOSE and PASSION again with their careers. However, as someone who pursued private nutrition business herself for 7+ years, I’d be lying if I said it was easy!
As with all entrepreneurial ventures, getting it started is tough and growing it past a side hustle is even tougher. However, it can be done and the results are SO worth it. An RD can have the IMPACT, INCOME, and INDEPENDENCE they’ve always dreamed of! And I am on a mission to help as many of my colleagues as possible bring their own unique dreams to life. So, today, I am sharing a list of tips for launching your own nutrition business successfully. Here’s what I recommend as an RD myself and as a dietitian business coach:
Tips for Starting a Nutrition Coaching Business for RDs and RD2Bes
Hire a dietitian business coach.
One of the biggest challenges with a private practice is the fact that your expertise as an RD is in nutrition . . . not business. There’s no part of our education process so far that’s prepared you to have your own business. And a simple Google search or a few episodes of Shark Tank aren’t going to give you the tools you need to create and execute an effective business plan. Our field is just too nuanced.
This is where a dietitian business coach like myself comes in! I am uniquely qualified to help RDs build a successful and thriving online private nutrition business. I understand this field deeply and know that it’s distinct from other types of small businesses and even other types of coaching programs! Nutrition is unique and a one-size-fits-all business approach just isn’t going to cut it. That’s why I suggest all RDs starting their own private practice or trying to build their private practices apply to work with me as their dietitian business coach!
While I would truly love nothing more than to be the one who supports you on your journey colleague to colleague, one of the most important things in choosing your coach is finding an RD and coach that you feel aligns with your values, your beliefs and your ethics. This is absolutely essential when it comes to building a business, especially when applied to marketing and the approaches and strategy you will be taught by a coach. I encourage you to watch the business coaches you are interested in, and see who’s approach feels most authentic, supportive and genuine so you can find someone who you feel aligned with. When you apply to work with me we will hop on a call together, so we will get to meet each other and ensure working together with me here at JMN is the most beautiful fit for you!
Here’s more on reasons to hire a coach for your nutrition business.
Choose an online private practice instead of brick and mortar.
I think it’s natural when we initially start envisioning our future business to think of a physical building with a sign out front and the perfectly curated interior. There’s a lot of pride in that, of course. However, when you think about what you really want from your nutrition business, chances are an online business model may actually suit you much better. This is something I highly suggest exploring. Also, when it comes to starting a practice the barrier of entry is much lower and more approachable when you build an online business vs. a brick and mortar. The ability to get into the game and actually start when it comes to expenses, start up costs and materials needed are much lower and the ability to impact more lives is much greater!
There are a lot of benefits of an online business from the low overhead and available potential clients to the freedom to live wherever you want and work when you want. I highly recommend you take advantage of the digital space and make your private practice totally online. There are challenges with going online, of course, but there are far more pros than cons! This is a beautiful way to discover your dream life!
The other pro is that you’re not stuck if you start online. If after building your online practice you desire to build a brick and mortar, go for it! Why not?! I do find however this is far and few between once dietitians realize the level of impact, the lives you can change and the meaningful income that you can make while building an online practice. I think it is important to know this, so if you do dream of a brick and mortar you know it can still happen for you and starting an online practice doesn’t ever inhibit you from pursuing other types of businesses later.
Don’t get overwhelmed by the digital side of things.
That being said . . . don’t get overwhelmed by the digital world. It’s super easy to get stressed by all the implications of starting a website, establishing a digital marketing strategy, and putting yourself out there on social media. But, here’s the thing, you don’t really need any of that when starting out in the online nutrition world. You can do so much with a couple tools and a few great clients! Then, once you get some momentum, you can focus on increasing your online visibility and refining your marketing. We’ll discuss this in dietitian business coaching as well!
Focus on a specific client base (AKA niche down).
It may feel like a good idea to cast a wide net by dabbling a little in all areas of nutrition to capture as many potential clients as possible. However, that’s usually not the most ideal strategy. In fact, it can hinder your growth. Think about it this way: If you’re struggling with a specific injury, would you rather go to a general practitioner or a specialist on that part of the body? A specialist, of course! That’s where you know you’re most likely to get the best health plan based on your unique circumstances.
Being in nutrition business is the same exact way. A weight loss client wants an RD who specializes in weight loss. An athlete client wants an RD who specializes in sports nutrition. A parent with a child with ARFID wants a dietitian who’s helped hundreds of others with that same eating disorder. The point is, if you want to attract your ideal clients, you need to narrow down your niche for your nutrition business!
Remember, at the end of the day you own your business and you get to decide who you work with. By niching down it makes your business easier to start, easier to attract dream clients, to streamline your marketing approach with less stress and also keeps you from re-creating the wheel with every person you see (there are so many benefits for you as the business owner). However, at the end of the day if someone reaches out to work with you who is outside of your niche and you want to take them on as a client? You CAN! 1000%. It’s your business, and part of niching down is to keep joy in your business so if a prospective client seems like a joy to work with but not in your niche…don’t forget that you’re the boss, and you can say yes!
Work on your mindset and believe in yourself.
RDs often spend years of their career undervalued and underpaid. Because of that, it’s really easy to doubt yourself it’s even easier if you’re a woman! There’s so much noise out there that can have you doubting yourself and doubting your business. This is why I recommend you work on your mindset by doing daily affirmations, practicing self-care, establishing healthy boundaries, and working with an amazing mindset coach like Jen Diaz.
Know your shortcomings.
You won’t be able to handle every part of your business, and that’s okay. It’s true that early entrepreneurs need to wear a lot of hats, but it’s also important to know and understand your shortcomings! There is no shame in hiring people to help you establish and grow your nutrition business. Here are some services you may find extra helpful when you’re starting an online nutrition business:
Jess Creatives: Website Design (not needed until after you nail your niche and marketing!)
Be intentional about your continuing education to support your current goals.
As RDs we are already committed to continuing education, but be strategic about what you do based on your niche. I always recommend my RD clients focus on reaching their goals as a nutrition business when doing CPEU requirements, approved courses, and CEUs. That way, you not only gain additional knowledge to help you serve your dreamy clients, but you gain confidence too, which is great for your business mindset.
Listen to your client’s feedback and actually apply it.
This one is SO important. Most businesses don’t take feedback, listen to it, or apply it. I can’t understand it! There is nothing better for your business than the feedback of your clients. So, as you take those first few clients, ensure you’re taking the time to get feedback from them and you’re applying it to your practice to make your services even better. This will only improve your business over time and allow for sustainability knowing you have the most impactful services within your niche.
I know it can be a vulnerable thing to ask people to potentially criticize what you do, but this criticism is essential for you to identify problems with your business and optimize your services. When you fix these probably small issues it can unlock your practice’s full potential! Always take and listen to feedback!
Don’t undersell yourself.
As I mentioned earlier, as RDs, we’re used to being underappreciated and underpaid. That means when we venture out and open our own private practice, it’s easy to undersell ourselves big time! Before you decide what you’re charging as an RD, do research within your niche. Determine the range of pricing you find and price yourself there, or perhaps stretch yourself a bit if you’re feeling up to it! Don’t try to be the cheapest RD around, especially if you’re providing concierge level support. You are worth more than that!
Develop educational materials for your potential clients.
Beyond your nutrition coaching program, you should also consider developing educational materials for your potential clients! By creating materials for free we can build up the love, know, and trust factor with our people while building an email list for sustainability of your business. Once potential clients see the value you add from a simple free resource, without even investing (yet) they’ll truly understand how impactful actually working together will be!
You could provide meal planning guides, simple recipe ideas, positive food choices, cheat sheets, nutrition workshops and so much more. You make these once and you can reuse them, and eventually perhaps you can add to them and sell them as an additional stream of revenue!
Remember that word of mouth is the best marketing strategy.
Marketing can be a stressful thing to consider as an RD. Your focus is on the health and wellbeing of your dreamy clients, not how many followers you have on social media platforms or how many pageviews your website got. So, the thought of really diving into the modern world of marketing can be DAUNTING!
However, you don’t need to do anything you’re not comfortable with right now. You actually don’t even need a website. Just start working with clients, and let their testimonials be your marketing. Seriously, word of mouth is the BEST marketing strategy out there for RDs. I highly suggest spending your time focused on creating the most incredible experience for your dreamy clients and more business will come as a result! Here’s more on how to get more clients as an RD.
Establish a strong support system.
Building a business isn’t easy on the mind or body at times, so get a good support system around you to encourage and help you in any way they can! This could be other nutrition health professionals who can actually give you sound advice or it could be friends who believe in your dreams. Or, it could be both! Just get people around you, involve them in your journey, and reach those dreams!
Celebrate yourself and all your wins.
Celebrate every win. Whether it’s getting your first client, getting your first referral, turning a profit for the first time, building your first group program, getting a thank you email or DM or finally leaving your day job. Whatever it is, give yourself time to celebrate and remind yourself how incredible you are! You may even want to get yourself a little RD gift. Treat yourself, love!
Use these tips to build a thriving online nutrition private practice!
There is so much freedom in your own private practice. When you have your own nutrition business, you can live where you want, work when you want, help who you want, and make what you want! There are no limits to what you can accomplish when you follow your vision and turn your dream into a reality.
Just remember if you ever need support or insight, I’m truly always here please never hesitate to reach out - colleague to colleague! I can help give you the best chance at success with my dietitian business coaching services. To figure out what program is best for you, take my RD Dreambuilder Quiz! Together, we can conquer anything the industry throws our way!