[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. Hello, and welcome in today's episode, I want to talk about how to create a dietitian private practice business plan.
[00:00:50] Now, this is a question that I often get when registered dietitians are either at the beginning, or they started a business, but they don't really have a clear direction and they don't [00:01:00] know what to do next, which is really common, right? Because we didn't learn business in school. And a lot of the concepts to grow your business feel foreign.
[00:01:10] And dietitians usually, according to statistics, according to statistics, we work for larger care providers and in [00:01:20] clinical settings. So the idea of creating a business plan isn't always fluid, right? Or second nature for most of us. In fact, it can feel a little intimidating. And for any startup to succeed, you do need a strategy, right?
[00:01:33] And your practice is not an exception to that rule. So developing the strategy with the right elements in mind can keep you [00:01:40] focused. But you don't need to complicate it. In fact, I offer business plans and they're really simple templates that can help get you started. And then you're going to come back and fill out the business plan to a one later.
[00:01:52] So you don't need this robust 20 page business plan to start. You just need to clarify a couple of key concepts and then come [00:02:00] back to that business plan and expand it as you grow your business and you get more clear. Because usually at the beginning. We're not always clear with the business model, meaning what do we want to sell?
[00:02:11] How much do we want to offer for a price point? What kind of goals are we working towards? We don't always know these things. So it's hard to start a business [00:02:20] plan if we're unclear what we're working towards. So in today's episode, I want to share what. Few things you need to keep focused to help you not overcomplicate and get stressed about growing your business, right?
[00:02:32] You want this process to be as smooth as possible so that you can design a business of your dreams and create flexibility while impacting [00:02:40] more people as a licensed professional. Creating a business plan, I don't want it to feel overwhelming, right? And there's a lot of ways that entrepreneurs build out their businesses.
[00:02:49] And that's why if you talk to business owners, you might say, wow, this is a whole new world. And it feels like there's so many options and depending on your focus, right? Are you in person? Are you [00:03:00] virtual or your hybrid and your interests? Do you like working with people one on one? Do you prefer not talking to people and just offering digital products or supplements, right?
[00:03:10] The elements within your business plan can change. Change. So that's normal. It's not a static document. A business plan is a live document that changes with [00:03:20] time. And there's a lot of basic principles that will apply across the board and serve as a framework for success that can help you feel more confident.
[00:03:29] So I want to give you a list of how to structure your business plan and the basic level to help you refine your, your skills and refine your plan with time. Right? And and remember that [00:03:40] oftentimes we have analysis paralysis, and we might think, oh, I can't start until I finish this business plan until I finished creating the perfect ideal client.
[00:03:48] I'm going to go back and forth between creating an outline, executing, right, selling your product or service, and then coming back and making some adjustments. [00:04:00] That's totally normal, right? For that process to not be as linear as we might prefer. So the first element that you do need to get clear with this business plan, and this is what we teach all of our clients is number one, know your audience.
[00:04:14] So before we get into the logistics about naming your business and thinking about your website and [00:04:20] even like practicing, you're getting SEO practices in order search engine optimization, all those fancy things that you may or may not be familiar with, you're going to need to first have a solid idea of what your business is offering.
[00:04:32] Now, All right, what is it that you're selling when someone comes up to you and you say that you have a product or service as a registered dietitian? What [00:04:40] is that? Is your focus going to be on helping clients lose weight? Is your focus going to be on helping clients find food freedom? Are you going to focus on sports nutrition?
[00:04:50] Are you going to be centered around helping children adults? What type of adults? Right? And so dietitians can provide a variety of services. And so dietitians can provide a variety of services. To clients, [00:05:00] but thinking about what those services are even loosely will really help you get that element of your business plan secure.
[00:05:07] So, for example, you might say the easiest thing in a business plan. I will tell you is to say, you know what? I'm going to offer 1 on 1 sessions 1st. And then you come up with a basic price point. And as [00:05:20] you know, if you've been inside one of my programs, I have a price progression framework, so I do suggest that you start out a little bit below market industry standard for your price point.
[00:05:29] And then after you've gotten five or 10 clients or sessions sold, then you incrementally increase your price. That helps you improve your confidence and salesmanship as well [00:05:40] as. Not hold yourself back by feeling like you have to offer the highest price point, but you're not always staying at the lowest price point.
[00:05:46] So there's that sweet spot. So, if your audience is just going to be adults that will buy your product or service, and you're going to sell single sessions 5 times, and then you'll only sell a bundle or a package, meaning you group [00:06:00] together the sessions for a higher price, or you group together a package of, let's say, a 3 month duration.
[00:06:05] That's, Better than nothing in terms of getting started with how you're going to proceed with your business plan. It would be even better. If you said, you know what, I'm going to help adults who want to lose weight and I'm going to sell single sessions at a hundred dollars. I'll only sell 5 of them.
[00:06:19] [00:06:20] And then after I sell 5, I'm only going to sell a bundle of 3 sessions for 450 dollars. And then after I sell 3 bundles worth to anybody, whether it's a returning client or not. Then I'm going to increase my price point to 500 for three sets for a three, a bundle of three sessions. And then after you sell X amount of those, then you're going to move over to a package.
[00:06:39] So [00:06:40] that would be a really good strategic way for you to get started. And you see in my explanation of my example there, which is part of what I teach inside the library for my proprietary framework at Dietitian Boss, I didn't, I wasn't super clear about the problem I was solving. I did say weight loss.
[00:06:55] So having some ideas helpful. But just getting started is good. And you might even change. We've [00:07:00] had several clients who have shared their story on the podcast in an interview. They have started with something like weight loss. So then they said, you know what, after working with five or 10 or even 50 people, they say, I don't want to do that anymore.
[00:07:10] I'm actually going to switch it to sports nutrition or food freedom or something entirely different. And that's okay. See, the point is that person got started and I want you as a [00:07:20] dietitian to get inspired from those stories. And for you to get started to a lot of us want to know exactly what things are going to look like before we've started.
[00:07:27] And so I want to encourage you that when you know your audience, it's going to take time. So yes, it's good to do some research. And if you want to work with, let's say celiac to know how many people have celiac and what are the communities who have celiac and what are the [00:07:40] problems that people struggle with.
[00:07:41] When they have disease, and that is an important part of knowing your audience. But the most simple basic form of this part of the business plan is for you to know what are you selling? Right? And keep it simple. And then if you say to me, I only want to offer digital products, like a course or group program.
[00:07:58] That's great. And you can [00:08:00] do that. But it doesn't hurt to first get out there and sell some sessions or bundles and packages before. Now I am a fan of packages. Don't get me wrong. And I've talked about this. I have a video on my YouTube channel to show you exactly how to package your services. And so you can go to Dietrich and Boss on YouTube and find that video for free.
[00:08:17] Free, I've spelled it out for you if you want to do [00:08:20] that, but quite often before we sell a group program, it's nice to have under your belt coaching session that you've conducted, or let's say, some bundles of packages that you've sold just to build your confidence. So, I'm not saying that you, you have to go right to coaching privately or [00:08:40] counseling privately, but it can help build your confidence before you offer other services, including courses and other digital products.
[00:08:48] Now, when you know what service you're providing to customers, remember, that doesn't mean you have to offer that service indefinitely, you can change your mind, but just right now, know what you're going to offer. It's perfectly okay to tell [00:09:00] people that you're offering private sessions and then 2 months later, say, you know, right now, I'm no longer offering that, or I'm full at the moment, but I am offering this ebook, or I am offering I'm enrolling in this group program.
[00:09:11] Right? So what I want you to do is dig deeper into the needs of people who you speak with, or you've been able to serve and find out what they want and need. [00:09:20] And here's where you can get really clear with the problems people have. Now, I have what's called a market research tracker, which is a tool I've created as part of my proprietary process.
[00:09:29] And I have our clients talk to people. You don't have to be an actual client. There's people who It's somewhat in the demographics of who you want to serve, right? Maybe there are adults who want to lose weight, [00:09:40] or let's say they're pregnant women who want to experience a feel good pregnancy or women with gestational diabetes, whatever their similarity that people have.
[00:09:50] If you find 50 people and you talk to them and you ask people who know people who fit that profile and you start to tabulate some of the similarities that those people have, and you [00:10:00] narrow down the Main biggest problems that they have that can help you get more clear with your service and position yourself better.
[00:10:06] And remember, when you position yourself clearly, that means, you know, your audience. And when you know your audience, that's the number one best tip I have in order for you to create a successful business. Knowing your audience opens up the doors for so many different types of [00:10:20] ways. You can grow your business.
[00:10:20] You can change your business model from offering private sessions to group. Programs, you can change your model from group programs to affiliate marketing. You can really do whatever you want with a lot of freedom and ease. Once you know who your audience is and what problem you're solving problem, meaning is the problem that they need help.
[00:10:39] Losing [00:10:40] weight is a problem that they need to know what to eat for endurance training so that they can fuel enough for their fitness. So whatever that problem is specifically within your audience, that's usually a sticking point for a lot of dietitians. So you will be spending time when you're crafting your business plan and learning that piece of the puzzle.
[00:10:56] But remember, I want you to remember that the first part of [00:11:00] knowing your audience is just having a loose understanding of who you're serving and And then with time, clarifying the problem that you're solving. Some of our clients figure this out right away and they can do this within a week or two or a month.
[00:11:11] Other clients of ours take a little bit longer because they, they aren't sure. And they want to talk to more people and they change their mind and they have philosophical debates [00:11:20] about if they feel comfortable serving weight loss or another type of industry or nature or Avenue and dietetics, and that's normal.
[00:11:27] And that process is good. And there's no judgment of how long it takes and how many times you switch. Really? It's just the journey of you learning more about yourself and how you can provide value to your community. Now, the second piece is establishing your service. [00:11:40] That's another foundational element of your business plan.
[00:11:42] And we talked about that a lot in terms of knowing your audience, because knowing your audience and establishing your service really go hand in hand. So in order for you to build out what people want, you're going to have to work with more people. That's why I'm a big fan of you just getting out there and starting to work with clients and then narrowing down [00:12:00] the feedback you get from them.
[00:12:01] Okay. Now, any client is better than no client, but a client that has a similar problem is better than any client. So, if you're going to work with somebody, let's say, who wants to lose weight and you want to establish yourself as a weight loss practitioner, then you want to really focus and hone in on people who want to lose weight and look at what they have in common versus people who [00:12:20] have different issues or areas of focus that you've served in the past.
[00:12:24] So, I want you to really reflect, and if you don't have enough data, that's where you go to that market research tracker. You can even do that with a pen and paper. Or an Excel sheet and start tabulating, what is it that people tell you they're struggling with in regard to nutrition and how can you provide value around that topic?
[00:12:39] [00:12:40] So creating your service is going to support what their problem is and the focus that you have when you're helping them with the tools that you create. Right? You might be using. Hunger fullness scale, if you're talking with mindful eating and intuitive eating and food freedom, and you might use calorie tracking.
[00:12:57] If you're doing weight loss, and you might use a [00:13:00] hybrid of the 2, depending on your philosophy and your approach, right? So, the tools you use can support the service you offer, and the service you offer will be based on the problem you solve. And the problem you solve will be based on. You narrowing down what people tell you in terms of feedback, not only from paying clients, but also from just any folks who will tell you what they're struggling with.
[00:13:19] And [00:13:20] remember, nutrition is a hot topic for a lot of people. So as long as you can get them talking and you can narrow down who you want to talk to, you will be able to find good data that you can formulate and get clear with the problem that you're solving. And then the 3rd piece would be to think about your name.
[00:13:36] Now, I know a lot of you want to start with the name before you've actually clarified [00:13:40] who your target audiences and the service that you want to sell, or the product, but the name really comes later. So you can start with something basic, even your own name, something nutrition. And then once you've decided that you want to be in the diabetes space or the food freedom space, that's when you can start to get crafty with your name.
[00:13:57] So we have so many example, [00:14:00] hundreds, over 200 episodes of our clients over the years, who've talked about their name and their process and growing their business and really executing the business plan that we teach in order to create a business of flexibility and freedom. So I want you to go back and listen to some of those podcast episodes.
[00:14:16] But there's no way you'll know your name. If you don't know who you're talking to. [00:14:20] So again, start with something simple and then come back. As I said, your business plan is a rough draft and come back with time. And that's when you can start to get a more clear name as your branding is more clear down the line.
[00:14:33] And then the 4th tip would be for you to define your goals. Very carefully. So this is something that most of you have a [00:14:40] really hard time doing. In addition to defining your ideal client, this tends to be a struggle with dietitians. And if you're not practical and realistic, you're probably going to feel frustrated.
[00:14:51] For example, if you don't have any clients, and you want to earn 100, 000 dollars within a year. It is possible, but you're going to have to work harder than you [00:15:00] think. Versus if your goal is, Hey, you know what? Let me get my first 10 clients in the next 30 or 60 days. All right. So breaking those, those goals down.
[00:15:08] If you've never, if you don't have any business experience and you've never. You don't have any business training and you've never been able to sell anything before, then you're probably going to want to set a smaller goal and then [00:15:20] reevaluate those bigger long term goals. Now, if you've already been in business for a while, you've already reached a six figure salary and you are further along in your career, then you can absolutely create those bigger goals.
[00:15:30] And we teach that in our executive mastermind, how to create annual goals and break them down. And Quarterly goals, and a lot of our clients in that program currently, and in the past have [00:15:40] created goals such as earning higher revenue, earning more profits per year or working less per year. And those are more advanced goals.
[00:15:47] Keep in mind that you want to be realistic. So if you have not made money yet, then your first goal would probably be to make your first hundred dollars, your first five hundred dollars, or land your first. Five clients. Now to make that more of a smart goal, [00:16:00] you might want to make that time bound, right? I want to hit this goal by this time, right?
[00:16:03] So that's going to be up to you in terms of how you want to commit to that goal. Maybe it's within 30 days, maybe it's within the next 90 days, but you do want to get clear, write that goal down and tape it on your wall so you can look at it and then you're going to practice some affirmations to make sure that you feel comfortable and confident.[00:16:20]
[00:16:20] With your goal and how long you have created that time span for you to reach that goal. And then finally, although this last piece was really nestled within creating your services, I want you to think about setting prices for your services. And as we've talked about before, I just want to close with this.
[00:16:37] Start with a price point that you feel [00:16:40] confident. Enough pitching and then increase your prices with demand. So after time, after you've sold X amount of, let's say I'm talking services, specifically coaching sessions, et cetera, you can increase your price as time goes on. As you've been able to sell 5 or 10 sessions or packages, you can increase your price incrementally, especially if you start, let's say [00:17:00] 10 or 20 percent below market industry standard.
[00:17:02] And that's going to help you feel confident. And that's going to help you be realistic in terms of how you are presenting yourself and how you're growing your business acumen. I hope you found today's episode helpful as a reminder, creating a business plan is a process. There's no way that you're going to have a completed business plan.
[00:17:18] When you start, you're [00:17:20] going to start with a rough draft. You're going to come back and you're going to adjust it. And this is something that a lot of our dietician clients both enjoy over time, but feel Frustrated with on the onset of starting your business plan. So be patient with yourself and remember that we're here to help you.
[00:17:33] We have hundreds of episodes here at dietitian boss podcasts, and we have hundreds of videos for free on YouTube. And if you're [00:17:40] looking for more support, I encourage you to join the library where we have an affordable monthly membership, where we offer our curriculum, modules and access to our team.
[00:17:49] Thank you so much for joining. If you're looking for support to start, grow, and scale your dietitian private practice, I want to invite you to work with me and my [00:18:00] 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.
[00:18:13] Head over to dietitianboss. com and we look forward to connecting.
