[00:00:00] Welcome to the dietitian boss podcast. I'm Libby Rothschild, creator of dietitian boss. After almost four years of sitting in my dimly lit windowless clinical office, I had enough. I wanted to feel like my work mattered. So I did something about it. I created a [00:00:20] program that empowers dietitians and nutritionists to create their own private practice from scratch, following my proprietary system.
[00:00:27] Before I did this, I had a private practice of my own while working a full time job, and I learned a lot about building relationships, marketing, and sales, and I'm so excited to be able to share my proprietary framework with [00:00:40] you. You might be wondering how to start a dietitian private practice in 2024.
[00:00:48] Now, today's episode is pulled from one of my blog posts over at dietitianboss. com with the same title, how to start a dietitian private practice. So I want to go over somewhat of a [00:01:00] checklist of the most important areas that I wish I knew that I see our clients struggle with the most. the most. So firstly, if you're not already aware, there are so many benefits of starting a dietitian, private practice, and you don't have to do it full time.
[00:01:14] You can create the schedule that you want on your terms. And if you feel like you're stuck and you're [00:01:20] not sure what to do or how to make decisions, because there's so many different. Ways you can sell your products and services. I want to let you know that you're not alone. And then feeling frustrated.
[00:01:30] There's a whole community of dietitians here at dietitian boss that help one another and support one another. And it's really important to know colleagues so that you can refer out. Let's [00:01:40] say if you have people that come to you and they have a disease that you're not familiar with working with, or they need help in an area that you don't align with.
[00:01:48] I'm going to be talking about how to help you with your values. Like someone comes to you with weight loss and you might know a practitioner who can help support in that area, but that's not something you're comfortable working with. And that's why one of the many reasons why having a community is [00:02:00] important, it's motivating, it's uplifting.
[00:02:02] And as dietitians, you want to support one another and our respective industries and niches so that the industry can be uplifted and we can feel more aligned with the work that we do. So there's a lot of benefits with starting a private practice, including financial freedom, personal fulfillment. And what we find in [00:02:20] surveys and conversations, our clients love the most.
[00:02:22] And that's the flexibility so that you can work the amount of hours that you want and choose how you want to sell your products and services. Maybe that's running a group practice and hiring dietitians to work Under in your practice, or maybe that's just having a solo practice and working with insurance, or maybe that means you do a [00:02:40] hybrid model.
[00:02:40] You take insurance and cash pay. Maybe you decide that you only want to run group programs, or you only want to run a membership, or you want to do membership in courses, or maybe you just want to do brand sponsorships. There's so many different opportunities and areas and we've had hundreds of guests.
[00:02:54] And clients of ours discuss how they've been able to manage different types of offers after they've learned how to [00:03:00] market their business successfully and get started. So how they've been able to do that is what I want to share with you today. And that's how to start a dietitian private practice. So the first tip would be to research your market and ideal client.
[00:03:11] This is the area that most of our clients struggle with because There's a lot of resistance and there's a lot of second guessing. And so a lot of [00:03:20] dietitians will ask me, our clients will say, how long will this take? Can I do this in a month? Can I do this? Can I hire you to help me in just three months?
[00:03:26] And the answer is that it's going to depend on you. So when it comes to researching and getting clear with your ideal client, some of it is a bit theoretical doing an exercise and hypothesizing what this person you want to help. [00:03:40] What they struggle with and how you can serve them. But a big part of this process is actually getting out there and working with clients and learning and adjusting with time.
[00:03:49] What feels best to you and what aligns best and who would pay you in the market? Because you need to make sure there's demand for the clientele you're trying to serve. For example, for example, [00:04:00] One of our clients was stuck between a list she made and she said, Hmm, I think I want to do heart disease PCOS or weight loss.
[00:04:07] I'm not sure. And after she, she found out very quickly, she did want to do PCOS. And I've had this client on the episode on the podcast several times to discuss her journey. But if you decide that you want to specialize in, [00:04:20] in 1 area, it might take you a while to learn that that's the area you want to focus on.
[00:04:25] So I really encourage you strongly to write a list. Narrow down what you think you are interested in the most or where you see there's demand and just start testing it. And in that process, that's the research. So you're going to want to find out, let's say we're going with PCOS as a condition, how [00:04:40] many women struggle with PCOS?
[00:04:41] What are the main areas with PCOS that women want help with, right? Because some women want help with fertility, with PCOS, where other women want help with weight loss, where other women want help with food freedom. And those are three different business messages. And the business that you, those are three different people, right?
[00:04:58] So I've got, we have here at [00:05:00] dietitian boss, three different clients that represent fertility and PCOS weight loss and PCOS and food neutrality, right? Food freedom and PCOS. So again, I want you to think not only about the type of person you're helping, but what is the problem that you're solving? And you'll only know that if you, yes, do some research, but also have some conversations.
[00:05:18] So what you can do in the most simplest [00:05:20] form is outreach in your community and. Find 50 people who at first it can just be anybody who's willing to talk to you, but then start narrowing down that those people might fit into a category loosely. Right. They might struggle with PCOS or they might struggle with weight loss.
[00:05:35] And then you can get more clear with time. And after people pay you with how you want to package your [00:05:40] message. And that's really important for so many different areas of your private practice. And it can take time. So be patient with using market research. And creating your ideal client as an exercise as a tool, right?
[00:05:53] So the ideal client would be, what are the demographics vaguely? What are the problems that this person is struggling with? And what are the [00:06:00] hopes and dreams? For example, if you're helping somebody with IBS, they might, their problem might be that they, they don't know how to do it. Go to bed feeling six months pregnant and their ultimate dream is to manage their bloat so that they don't feel uncomfortable every day so that they're not embarrassed about having to go to the bathroom.
[00:06:15] So they don't turn down going to happy hours at work because they don't feel that they can [00:06:20] eat anything and they're in chronic pain. Right. And maybe with IBS, you are marketing. Millennial or you're marketing a mother or you're marketing somebody who happens to be in the age bracket of, you know, in their forties, or if you're actually marketing to menopause, then it might be women who are 40 and over or perimenopause, et cetera.
[00:06:38] So, with those examples, and [00:06:40] our clients have come on to tell their story with those examples, I hope that that helps, you know, where to start in terms of thinking about the direction of your business. So, yes, you want to start talking to people and taking on clients, but I want you to pay attention. To patterns that you see with the people that you talk to and serve and then start narrowing down to how you want to position yourself for your [00:07:00] marketing message.
[00:07:00] So I also want you to spend time researching successful dietitian businesses, because if you are learning what people are doing successfully, then you can start to not only get inspired and know it's possible, but you might also get some ideas as to what most aligns with you. The other complaint that I hear dietitians say is.
[00:07:19] With all the options [00:07:20] in private practice between running groups or taking insurance or doing a hybrid model, they get confused, right? And you might resonate with that. And you might say, I just don't know what to do. And that's understandable because sometimes we have to get started to then narrow down what we want to do in terms of what we want to sell.
[00:07:37] And you can change your mind with that. Time. A lot of our [00:07:40] clients start with private consultations and counseling, and then they, you know, do something later different. They might end up selling an ebook only, or they take clients only at a certain type of year, or they only offer a group program as a, as a business model.
[00:07:54] So if you learn about what other successful dietitians are doing, you can start to get ideas about what would [00:08:00] work for you and how your interests align. And you can even follow them on social media. And listen to their story and start getting inspired by the work that they've done to pave the way for you.
[00:08:09] The third tip would be to identify what's called your unique selling proposition, also known as USP. I know that sounds like super marketing language and it is your unique [00:08:20] selling proposition is basically how you as a dietitian private practice resonate with specific clients. And you want to keep in mind what your unique selling proposition is, meaning how do you as a business or the traits and characteristics that your brand has make you stand out from the competition.
[00:08:37] And it's so much easier to [00:08:40] create this, let's say, tagline or elevator pitch or again, value proposition statement. Once, you know, who you're serving and the problem that you're solving with who you're helping. All right, and it can't be general, like, I help you feel good or I'm going to help you prevent, you know, and disease that he wants [00:09:00] to be more specific.
[00:09:01] And we've had pretty much all of our guests on the podcast share what their value proposition is. So you can get clear. I'm going to give you a few examples, lower your a one C. Below 6. 5 as a diabetic or manage your chronic kidney disease through plant based dietary patterns or lose weight with [00:09:20] or fall pregnant with or find food freedom with and there's even less specific, such as, you know, lose weight for, you know, Women over 40 or just weight loss for a millennial.
[00:09:32] So you don't have to go as specific as weight loss for menopause or food freedom for menopause, but start thinking about how [00:09:40] you can stand out in the space of weight loss, because that is a really big area. So you're going to want to find a position, or you're going to want to find a unique differentiator in your market as to why you would be different from somebody else.
[00:09:53] So finding your it factor, or how you're unique from somebody else, it's just going to take a little bit of time. And so what you need [00:10:00] to do is start getting feedback from people you work with, or start asking questions and observing what people are interested in and make sure that you don't just.
[00:10:09] Disappear in the sea of sameness when it comes to being a dietitian and how you market yourself. And then I want you to also think about [00:10:20] attracting clients by earning referrals. So 1 of the easiest ways to get started is to actually ask people, you know, or people you've worked with, who are happy with your service or product, if they could refer you to somebody else, maybe they have a family member.
[00:10:32] Uh, family, friends, neighbors, somebody they know in their network that they could refer you to, and that would help you build your business. If they're [00:10:40] satisfied. That's a really great way that a lot of people grow their business. So I don't want you to skip that easy step of just asking somebody. Hey, if you appreciate or enjoy the service, don't Do you know somebody else who would benefit?
[00:10:52] And if you're constantly asking that, you'd be surprised to see that you often do get people who refer you to their friends and family and their [00:11:00] network, and that can help you grow from there. So in closing, working with a dietitian business coach can be a really powerful way to help you get focused and we are accepting clients.
[00:11:12] So if you head over to dietitianboss. com, you can contact us, or you can actually apply for a sales call with me or someone from my team, we. And [00:11:20] talk to you about your options of working with a dietitian business coach, either me or someone on my team, so that you can get clear with not only starting, but growing your dietitian private practice and the 1 based on your goals and your dreams.
[00:11:33] Now, if you're not yet ready to make an investment with business coaching, and you want to start out with something that is more affordable and do it [00:11:40] yourself. I suggest that you join the library. That's our affordable monthly membership, where you have access to my trademarked curriculum access to me and my team, and you also have access to your peers to learn and grow together as you're growing your respective dietitian, private practice.
[00:11:58] If you're looking for [00:12:00] support to start, grow, and scale your dietitian private practice, I want to invite you to work with me and my team. We have a few different options. Head over to dietitianboss. com and apply to have a conversation with somebody from our sales team to discuss your options for your budget and stage of business, [00:12:20] head over to dietitianboss.
[00:12:21] com and we look forward to connecting.
