[00:00:00] If you're looking to grow your business as a registered dietitian, you've come to the right place. If you're not sure what to do or what steps to take next so that you can create flexibility and freedom in your life, then you're going to learn a lot from tuning into our podcast here at Dietitian Boss.
[00:00:17] I'm Libby Rothschild, the founder of Dietitian Boss, a fellow [00:00:20] registered dietitian and business owner. And in our podcast, I share the highs and the lows, and I talk all about how to grow your business. Get it started and I interview our clients to date. We've had over 200 interviews from clients who share their journey on our podcast dietitian boss.
[00:00:37] Michelle Dudash RDN is an award winning [00:00:40] registered dietitian nutritionist, chef, and author of the Low Carb Mediterranean Cookbook. She is also the author of Spice Cake, a gluten free line of seasoning mixes that help you make nutritious one pot meals in 20 minutes. Spice Cake is available in stores across Indiana and the Midwest and nationwide on Amazon and SpiceCake.com.
[00:00:59] [00:01:00] Michelle writes regularly for Today's Dietitian magazine, and recently contributed her science based food and nutrition tips and recipes to publications including the U. S. News and World Report, Shape, and Red Book. Michelle is a regular contributor to IndyNow, which airs on Fox 59, Indianapolis. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison with a B. S. in [00:01:20] Dietetics and earned her Toj from Le Cordon Bleu. College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale, Arizona. Welcome to today's episode.
[00:01:29] Libby: I am so excited to be here today with Michelle, who has an incredible journey and is a very successful dietitian. So welcome to today's episode, Michelle. Thank you so much, Libby. I'm [00:01:40] really excited to be here. Likewise. So I wanted to kick off by asking you if you could share a little bit about your journey into dietetics and how you did transition into media writing and entrepreneurship specifically with your food brand.
[00:01:53] Michelle: Sure. Well, so after I graduated college, I remember I was so torn between clinical [00:02:00] and food service, right, at the time in my brain, my little dietitian student brain, I was thinking those were the paths. And as time went on, so I went into food service and, I started learning at the same time, though, more about culinary, more about media dietitians.
[00:02:14] Michelle: And so that's kind of when it started brewing. So after culinary school, which is what I [00:02:20] did a couple years after working in food service, that is when I became a private chef, but all of a sudden I got a call from the media. They found me through the academies, find a dietitian. And of course I said, yes, it was first, it was a newspaper interview.
[00:02:38] Michelle: No problem. Answered all of the [00:02:40] questions, but then they were owned by the local TV station, NBC and Phoenix, and they asked me to come on television. Of course, I said yes. I was terrified. I remember my knee bouncing up and down, but I knew that I loved it, and so that literally is what kicked off. My media Dietitian work.
[00:02:58] Michelle: So as time went on [00:03:00] I did I just said yes Oh, because once you start doing me at least in my experience, especially in Phoenix There are so many news stations and I just they kept asking me so I was literally on probably all four news stations Doing whatever came my way. I did realize though Someone told me this media expert did say if you love doing TV You should get media [00:03:20] training.
[00:03:20] Michelle: And so I then I got media training and then it really just took off. I started getting brand work. I always wanted to be an academy spokesperson. And it never started, I got an offer to do brand work right before I could qualify for a academy. And then that kind of just set the stage.
[00:03:38] Michelle: And so then fast [00:03:40] forward, how many years later? And I have had the pleasure of working with so many food brands, written two cookbooks. I've had a newspaper column. I write for today's dietitian now. I've done a lot of things and it's all been great and really fun and you just never know what will come your way.
[00:03:57] Libby: Yeah. And I wanted to ask you [00:04:00] incredible journey. I love the fact that you had an opportunity and then you got the bug, right? The bug. Yes. Grow the media career and you had advice along the way in that trajectory to get formal training. So it sounds like you really doubled down on that opportunity and it's, it's obviously been very successful, very fruitful for your career with that.
[00:04:17] Libby: I would like to know, Michelle, at that time, I don't know how many years [00:04:20] ago that was, how long you've been a dietitian for correct me if I'm wrong, but there wasn't that many dietitians in that space. How did that feel to you in terms of being a pioneer
[00:04:29] Michelle: in Britain, in terms of. Brand work.
[00:04:32] I've been a dietitian now for over 20 years, I think. So yeah, it is crazy. The influencers were dietitians on television and [00:04:40] dietitians who wrote books and dietitians who wrote newspaper columns. It's traditional media, right?
[00:04:46] Michelle: Yeah. Traditional media. It was all traditional media. And then all of a sudden social media came along and we're like, Oh, what is this? And I remember a dietitian, Janet Helms, she Worked for a very large PR firm and she said [00:05:00] Dietitians we need to get in on this like we need to so I remember the original Dietitian bloggers the first dietitians that had blogs and it was just such a crazy exciting time and now of course It's like a necessity a lot of things are heading towards digital or we are everything is digital but that is [00:05:20] it has definitely evolved
[00:05:21] Libby: I predict in the next 5 or 10 years, AI and the influence of machine learning be doubled down on the way social media has now.
[00:05:28] Libby: That's my prediction. But if we were to go back 20 years ago, my question is more based on how did you feel knowing that you represented a small population of dietitians who were out there representing traditional media. [00:05:40] Did it feel strange to you? How did you break through feeling like you were maybe one of the only since I know so many dietitians did clinical now and even then more so clinical.
[00:05:50] Libby: But how are you able to work through that?
[00:05:51] Michelle: In terms of being a chef. That I was one of the only, one of the, among the first really. And that was [00:06:00] very unique. I would kind of vaguely remember thinking, oh, there's about 60 of us or 80 of us that we're doing groundwork work.
[00:06:07] Michelle: Cause you see the same people, you go on media trips and all those things, you develop these great relationships. But now, I was just looking through the Expo West app today and I just discovered like there's so many [00:06:20] between tick tock and Instagram.
[00:06:20] Libby: There are so many influencer dietitians out there. And so which is crazy and cool, but there are so many now. There are so many. So, but at the time, yeah. It was definitely a smaller group and I loved it
[00:06:34] For being a pioneer in the space and really role modeling for the next generation of dietitians.
[00:06:39] Michelle: I mean, you've built an [00:06:40] incredible brand as a dietitian, a chef, as you mentioned, and an author. And so what did inspire you to combine these areas of expertise?
[00:06:47] Well actually, should I say I always wanna write a cookbook? No. I didn't always realize I did, but I actually had a spokesperson agent, so I did a media training.
[00:06:56] Michelle: I flew out to Massachusetts and I did a two day media training. [00:07:00] And I remember her asking me, well, you think you ever wanna write a book? And that's what started brewing because she was the literary agent. So that is when I thought. Wow. I seize opportunities. just kind of dive in whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I just dive in.
[00:07:15] Michelle: So I started working on a proposal and she helped me sell it and we found a publisher, [00:07:20] which was awesome. So once I realized like, Oh, wow. Okay. These are the steps. That sounds attainable. Let's do it. And it was great. Having a cookbook is a fantastic platform when you want to do brand work, when you want to promote services, or if you're just trying to get your name out there, it's instant credibility.
[00:07:39] Michelle: Of [00:07:40] course, as dietitians, we are already credible, but a book absolutely elevates you to that next level.
[00:07:47] Libby: Sure and your book, the clean eating for busy families series has been a success. And so you mentioned the process, I think, to getting published, you were asked to write a book would you say impacted your brand [00:08:00] more so than other facets of business growth?
[00:08:02] Libby: Like, how much of that book in the series contributed to your growth?
[00:08:05] Michelle: Oh, I think a lot. I think a lot. Well, I started doing brand work and it was great. I didn't have a book yet, but once you have a book and you need to think about this because your book becomes your platform. So you want to think that's important in terms of when you're [00:08:20] establishing what you want to be known for.
[00:08:21] Michelle: And for me, it was clean eating, busy families. And so for a brand, I mean, that's like. Dream, right? That's what a lot of brands want. They love giving people tips busy families moms healthy eating tips. So I was Very happy to be writing on that topic. I've been approached on other topics to write books [00:08:40] and It was like I don't know if I want to be married to that because you are married to that and it becomes your platform So you do want to think?
[00:08:47] Michelle: I mean, if you're really just trying to get a book, okay, I get it, but it's even better to write a topic that you're really passionate about and you want to become known for and become your platform.
[00:08:59] Libby: Yeah. It makes a lot of [00:09:00] sense, right? That alignment with your brand reputation. And so. I would like to know what did inspire you to create your seasoning line spice cake.
[00:09:07] Libby: You know, I, I did try it and I really enjoy it. I've made some tacos last night for taco Tuesday night over here. Everyone enjoyed it. My 12 month old son had a piece and my husband and I, so I'd like to know the story behind your seasoning line. [00:09:20] Yeah. So did you follow the recipe on the back
[00:09:21] Libby: I think it was the chili. I followed the recipe for your chili. Okay. Not for the taco one. So yes, for one packet
[00:09:28] Michelle: great. And that's totally fine. I was just curious, like the taco you can use in so many different ways, so many different proteins. I was just curious.
[00:09:35] Libby: Yeah.
[00:09:36] Michelle: Well, that's great. So I was cooking dinner one night for my [00:09:40] family and this was a little over five years ago, and I remember at the time. I had a five years old and I was like making her all these different types of taco recipes, some from my book, I might add. And she was not into it.
[00:09:54] Michelle: She was not feeling it. And I'm like, well, one day she came home from school and she was talking about walking tacos. [00:10:00] And I was like, Okay. Walking tacos. So I'm thinking, all right, I'm going to go by the most basic taco packet that I can find. So I came home with it. I made it. Everyone loved it was ready in 15 minutes.
[00:10:14] Michelle: But what I hated were the ingredients first ingredient was salt, the second ingredient was [00:10:20] sugar, the third ingredient was filler, and then finally you get to the spices. So what I decided to do was create, that was literally the moment that the idea hit me, was to create seasoning packets that were just a simple one pan, one protein, 15 minutes, everything's in the packet, [00:10:40] but with clean ingredients, real food ingredients, no fillers, no added sugar, also gluten free. I remember back in the day I counseled. A lot of patients with celiac disease and seasoning mixes were the hardest thing and I still hear it from my customers like they are so thankful that they found my product because it tastes delicious and it's easy, but [00:11:00] because they have been gluten by so many products out there and so they just love that they can trust my product for their family and for themselves.
[00:11:09] Michelle: So that was when the idea hit me.
[00:11:10] Libby: So it was from the experience, both from your family, your daughter wanted tacos and what you saw purchased and created didn't quite satisfy [00:11:20] the nutrition profile for you and then you saw in your experience working with clients that they were coming up against an issue where they weren't able to satisfy.
[00:11:29] Libby: Their needs or their cravings in a way that didn't upset them. And they're, they're GI tract at least. So, I mean, a true entrepreneur, right? Solving problems within the community and even solving problems, not only for those with gluten [00:11:40] intolerances, but also like you mentioned for everyday busy families to align with your series of clean eating for busy families, because we don't have any gluten intolerances in this home, but we, that tastes so good.
[00:11:50] Libby: Like, I love your seasonings. I thought they were great. Yeah. And I love addition products. I don't know enough dietitians. So I'm going to ask you at the end, if you have any guests that you can [00:12:00] recommend for us that are dietitians, you know, creating food products, like definitely,
[00:12:04] Michelle: there aren't that many of us, it's really hard, I will say it's a hard, just like being a media dietitian isn't easy either.
[00:12:10] Michelle: I love hard things. Hardest thing you can possibly do. Okay.
[00:12:13] Libby: Well, you've created, you know, quite a brand for yourself and doing that. So it's really worked well for you and for the populations that you serve. [00:12:20] And I did want to ask you with so many platforms available, I know we've talked about social media a little bit today and how the landscape has changed and evolved, how do you decide where to focus your energy when it comes to social media or content marketing?
[00:12:33] Michelle: I definitely tend to live in Instagram. Of course I started out on Facebook and Twitter back when it was Twitter, I was [00:12:40] very active I think a lot of my demo hangs out in the age group. It definitely hangs out on Instagram. That's not to say there aren't huge opportunities on tick tock.
[00:12:49] Michelle: But I think in terms of like. The images and the videos, Instagram is definitely one of my faves.
[00:12:56] Libby: And so have you decided to spend the majority of your time and [00:13:00] energy on Instagram then, or are you also really dedicating time to TikTok and YouTube as well?
[00:13:04] Michelle: You know, actually I did have a moment with YouTube.
[00:13:07] Michelle: I actually, I did have time to put out some YouTube videos. I actually have one that Gone viral. I mean, it's got hundreds of thousands of views at this point, which YouTube I think is pretty good I kind of just dropped it and then you only have so many hours in the [00:13:20] day But tick tock is one that I have not Really spent a lot of time.
[00:13:23] Michelle: I'm on it. It's very sad But it is there. So yeah, if there are any People listening that are looking to help dietitians with their tick tocks, by the way I gravitate towards doing things that I love. We'll just say that.
[00:13:35] Libby: Yeah, sure. I mean, that's the way to sustain it, right?
[00:13:37] Libby: Yeah. That your interests are aligned with your [00:13:40] body of work. All right. And with your culinary approach to your work how would you say that you incorporate that into your business model and your client services right now? Is it just through the spice blend or are there other aspects? Like, do you do meal planning?
[00:13:55] Libby: Like what other services or products are you? Offering your clientele.
[00:13:59] Michelle: Yeah. I still [00:14:00] love doing brand work. I mean, especially when it's a product and that's the only product I tend to work with is products that I'm 100 percent aligned with, and that's definitely something took time to really realize that and I think, yeah, the better, the more aligned, the better work you'll put out, but yes I'm still a writer. I write for Today's Dietitian. I write [00:14:20] a column for a magazine, it's for the Farm Bureau, Indiana well, I've been writing all these recipes, but they haven't even been published yet, but they have a very long lead time Indiana Farm Bureau, and then it gets pushed out to all the farm bureaus across the country.
[00:14:33] Michelle: So I really love writing. I love all of the things, the writing, the TV. I like variety. Sure. But in terms of meal [00:14:40] planning, I did actually have a meal planning. Online course I did dabble in the online course. it started out really great I realized I didn't like look forward to keep pushing out meal plans So I actually did discontinue it but it was a good experience.
[00:14:55] Michelle: I think it's important to try things But when you realize you don't look forward to doing [00:15:00] it, then it's time to maybe figure out another plan. So yeah, I've tried all sorts of things over the years
[00:15:06] Libby: and that's good. It's good to do that and align with what you enjoy.
[00:15:09] Libby: And you've obviously created a lot of work from your published series to writing publications for today's dietitian to obviously your spice kick brand. So a large body of work, and I'm sure I left a lot [00:15:20] out with that, too. So lastly, I wanted to ask about some common mistakes that you see dietitians make when they're trying to monetize their expertise, whether it's through courses, books, or brand sponsorships.
[00:15:31] Libby: Like what do you see is holding us back? And then of course, advice you might give the listeners to get to a place that you're at.
[00:15:36] Michelle: I think a big mistake is not [00:15:40] charging enough. It really is a disservice to yourself and to our profession. Of course, when I first started writing, I wrote for free for something, it was very fine. Very light and in exchange for exposure to get that right. That portfolio. So I [00:16:00] do get that in the very beginning. But you really do need to understand like how the business works, how much you do need to charge to be a sustainable business for the long term because you do have expenses. And you're not comparing it to an hourly or a salary.
[00:16:17] Michelle: It's just very different the way you need to make money when you're [00:16:20] trying to be a sustainable business for the long term. And it's very hard to raise your prices once you establish very low prices. So I think that's very important. I see sometimes dietitians working for so many brands at once.
[00:16:35] Michelle: Or doing posts I think it's important to stay focused, focus on your topic, focus on [00:16:40] what's true to you and would your family use it? Would you use it? That type of thing. So I think those are pretty important things.
[00:16:47] Michelle: At the end of the day, I get it. Sometimes, you know, you have to pay rent. You have to pay your mortgage, but you just want to really feel good about what you're representing.
[00:16:53] Libby: Sure. And it ties back to your 1st tip, which is if you charge enough for your services, then you might not be in a position where you feel [00:17:00] scrambled.
[00:17:00] Libby: I Agree with you in terms of dietitians charging more and I understand if you're starting and you have a little bit of issue I see dietitians With come up against is that they never increase their prices. They'll always stay really low or they'll increase it by 5 percent You know, yeah, I was scared of working on Their boundaries saying, right?
[00:17:17] Libby: whether, pitching for brand sponsorships or [00:17:20] consultations or even online work that there's, yeah.
[00:17:23] Michelle: And the other thing is I was one of a lot in the beginning to where you're an employee somewhere and then you start adding on being a consultant.
[00:17:31] Michelle: So it's just like icing on the cake, but that will never get you out on your own. 100 percent if you charge, like, it's just like a bonus. Yes.
[00:17:39] Libby: [00:17:40] Yeah. It's why it's shifting from the employee to the entrepreneur mindset. And that's what I help teach our clients to do that.
[00:17:45] Libby: And if you want to make that jump, there's going to be a different way that you approach your mindset. It's sustainable. You can't sustain a hundred dollar sessions. Like you're going to have to figure out how to package your products and services, how to expand and create multiple income [00:18:00] streams, how to align so that you are focused if you do work with brands, et cetera.
[00:18:03] Libby: So a whole different mindset that we're not taught in school that we need to learn if we do want to become influencers or want to create a large impact in our communities on that note. Michelle, it's been an absolute. Pleasure to have you. Your body of work is very impressive. I love your spices.
[00:18:18] Libby: Is there anything else you'd like to end with [00:18:20] today on our episode or final thoughts or words for our audience?
[00:18:23] Michelle: Yeah, I think, you know, we have such an incredible profession and The sky is the limit. So if you really just stay focused on what you want to accomplish, it is attainable. Sometimes you just need to be a little bit more patient.
[00:18:36] Michelle: You might need to revamp some things or repackage yourself, but [00:18:40] it is possible and I would love, of course, people to go check out all of my things on michellejudash. com. You'll. Find the link to my seasoning mixes, the link to my book, low carb Mediterranean cookbook, and definitely connect with me on the socials.
[00:18:52] Michelle: I love following dietitians back.
[00:18:54] Libby: Excellent. Thank you so much, Michelle. Thank you.
[00:18:56] Looking for support to grow your dietitian business or even get [00:19:00] started. I invite you to join the library, our monthly affordable membership that shows you exactly what to do every step of the way so that you can create the business of your dreams. Not sure if it's the right time. The membership gives you an option to.
[00:19:14] Go at your own pace. We have modules, a roadmap to show you exactly what to do, and [00:19:20] monthly live calls, as well as new content that we release every single month based on requests. Inside of the library, we have four stages of business. So whether you come in getting started or you want to enter the membership and grow or scale your business, we have the appropriate resources for you and our team, including myself, available to answer your questions.
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