First year as a Dietitian
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[00:00:00] Libby: Welcome to another episode of the podcast. Today, we're diving into something that could be a game changer for your first year as a dietitian. Learning from the mistakes of others. Now, we all know that starting a practice isn't easy, but by understanding common pitfalls, you can navigate your journey with a little more confidence and a lot [00:00:20] less stress.
[00:00:20] Libby: The first mistake that we've seen includes underestimating the importance of business planning. So a lot of us want to go straight to the tactics like using social media, but not really understanding , what we're making content for, which would be who's the ideal client and what do they need, right?
[00:00:37] Libby: So that's an example. So understanding business planning [00:00:40] means that, you know, Who you're talking to and what you're selling. So you have, even if it's basic, you have, let's say you're starting with a consult, you have something, you know, that you're going to sell and you have a clear understanding of who your ideal client is, and then you want to move to the tactics like creating content for that person on Instagram.
[00:00:57] Libby: Like, yes, you can start with using social media like Instagram, [00:01:00] but be aware that your content will improve when you know who you're talking to. So when we're eager to start helping others, it's easy to dive in without a solid business plan. But when you skip this step, you lead to disorganization and financial struggles.
[00:01:13] Libby: And burnout happens a lot quicker. So when dietitians come to us and they say, Oh, I don't like social media. I don't want to stick with it. When I ask a few more [00:01:20] questions, I learn that the truth is that Is that they don't really understand who they're talking to. So they're not clear that they're helping people with gut issues or chronic disease or food freedom.
[00:01:28] Libby: And when you don't know, or don't have even a vague idea of your target audience and creating content becomes a lot more frustrating. So yes, we all have to get started imperfectly, but keep in mind that when you have done some [00:01:40] business planning, that's going to help you gain that confidence. So I spoke with a dietitian who shared.
[00:01:46] Libby: She jumped straight into seeing clients without fully planning her finances. So, she didn't have any understanding of how much she wanted to make and how much she was willing to invest into her business. She quickly found herself overwhelmed by expenses that she didn't anticipate. For example, some of [00:02:00] the softwares that she had to invest in, and insurance, because she was taking insurance, and marketing.
[00:02:05] Libby: So there were some costs that were associated with how she was, developing our business, but she hadn't done the work to think about her business planning, even just a simple writing a few things down. So an actionable step, if this resonates with you, would be before you start seeing [00:02:20] clients, just take some time, a little bit of time to create a brief business plan.
[00:02:24] Libby: And we offer that inside of the library. So we do invite you to join our monthly membership, and you can find that at dietitianboss. com. In your business plan, which can be a one or two page document, you want to outline your revenue goals, right? What are you working towards your expenses? Like, well, what do you [00:02:40] need to operate your business?
[00:02:41] Libby: Even if you're virtual, you might need a couple things that you can pay for at first to help you run your business. And then whatever you're going to do to try to get clients. So are you going to use referrals? Are you using insurance panels? Are you going to use social media? So you want to get clear with how you expect to get clients.
[00:02:56] Libby: And if you need help with developing this business plan, we have a template for you [00:03:00] with support inside of the library. Now, writing a business plan, even just a brief one, can help give you a road map and help you avoid any financial surprises that lead to burnout. The second mistake that I see would be not setting boundaries with clients.
[00:03:14] Libby: Now, this is a little bit more of an intermediate issue, and that happens when you [00:03:20] don't really enforce boundaries or you don't create them. So at the beginning, we often feel the need to say yes to every client request, whether it's last minute appointments or extended hours. But if you don't have boundaries that can lead to burnout and exhaustion as well.
[00:03:32] Libby: So one dietitian I interviewed talked about how she initially allowed clients to text her at all hours, and she thought it would be building loyalty, [00:03:40] but instead this led to constant stress and blurred lines between her personal and professional life. And she got really frustrated and her husband was frustrated and she wasn't able to focus on differentiating work hours from personal hours and she felt burnt out.
[00:03:55] Libby: So what we had to talk about was what can she do to create some structure and boundaries while [00:04:00] still being sensitive to her clients needs. So an actionable step would be to set clear boundaries from the start, right? That means establishing office hours, communicating your availability and sticking to it.
[00:04:10] Libby: So clients, they, they will respect you. When you set those boundaries and you maintain your sanity and you want to maintain your boundaries and set them in a way [00:04:20] that's kind, but you do want to enforce them. Another example would be policies and procedures, whether you're a cash pay or you take insurance, you want to have the policies and procedures of cancellations and what you're, if you have 24, 48 hours, however you create and set up your business, you want to have some ideas of what you're going to enforce and then stick with enforcing them.[00:04:40]
[00:04:40] Libby: The third mistake I see is ignoring marketing essentials. So it's important because dietitians start their practice with a focus on clinical skills, because that's how we're trained to be a dietitian. And we often overlook the importance of marketing. I mean, that's why I started this entire business, because I felt like us dietitians didn't have any training in school.
[00:04:56] Libby: We weren't aware of what does it take to get our message [00:05:00] out there? And what do we do to help more clients? And what is it that we do to enjoy our work more? Versus just working in some kind of clinical office, versus making a bigger impact and being able to help more people. For more information, visit www.
[00:05:09] Libby: FEMA. gov Without a solid marketing plan, meaning who is it that you're going to talk to and how are you going to get your message out there, attracting clients or prospective people you're going to work with, whether they're [00:05:20] clients or whether you have jobs that you can employ, this will become a major challenge if you don't have any kind of marketing idea.
[00:05:27] Libby: And we do offer that marketing plan inside of the library. That's my monthly membership that you can join. At dietitianboss. com. We not only have marketing plans that are documented in a roadmap for you to follow step by step, but we also offer coaching to help support you [00:05:40] along the way, based on your unique business.
[00:05:42] Libby: We offer live calls where you implement what you learn, and we have hundreds of templates for you to work with so that you can save time while building your business and take the marketing angst out of the equation when it comes to growing your dietitian private practice. And when it comes to ignoring marketing essentials, a real life example is that a dietitian shared how she initially relied on word [00:06:00] of mouth alone to grow her practice.
[00:06:02] Libby: This is a past client of ours. And then when the referral started slowing down, She struggled to get new clients because she hadn't invested in any other digital presence like Social media or an email list or even a website and you don't need a website right away But she didn't have anything and so when the referral [00:06:20] slowed down which can happen.
[00:06:21] Libby: She was lost. She didn't really have a Sound marketing plan. It wasn't sound So if you can relate with that and you feel like you don't really have a business plan that's, structured with how to grow, then I want you to start thinking about what does marketing mean to you and how can you create and build a solid marketing plan?
[00:06:39] Libby: So the action step [00:06:40] here is to not wait until you need clients to start marketing, right? You want to build your presence online early and with a professional digital presence, which can include social media and email lists. and a website at some point when you're ready to add that onto your digital presence, right?
[00:06:56] Libby: You might start with an email list and then social media or you might just start with an email [00:07:00] list and then move over to a website but I want you to think about building your digital presence. Now the next mistake would be not investing in continuing education. Now as dietitians we have to invest in continuing education and per state some of us have to even take more continuing education.
[00:07:14] Libby: But I want you to think about the type of continuing education that you're taking. So with the excitement of starting a practice continuing [00:07:20] education can take a back seat or maybe you're just doing something To get your credits, but you're not really realizing that you could be getting your credits in a way That might be more meaningful like some business skills and leadership skills So you don't want to neglect to stay updated on the latest research and trends not just in dietetics But also with business that can impact how you market So if [00:07:40] you're wondering I don't have the time You To learn about marketing and to really understand business.
[00:07:44] Libby: Think how you can fit in some business skills through continuing education opportunities. So. The action step here would be to make continuing education a priority in context of business skills. That might just be reading a book on business, finding out [00:08:00] what you can do that will be approved for continuing education credits.
[00:08:03] Libby: I know that the continuing education credit system has recently changed. We used to have everything CEU approved, but there's been some updates with how that's done through CDR. So, you know, I do want you to double check on that and see what's allowed in terms of CEUs for business, but try to find some opportunities.
[00:08:19] Libby: that you can take [00:08:20] advantage of in addition to the clinical skills that you're constantly brushing up. So trying to do everything alone is the next mistake. So when you're starting your practice, it can feel isolating, right? Especially if you're doing virtual. And many dietitians fall into the trap of thinking that they have to do everything themselves.
[00:08:36] Libby: I even work with intermediate clients that think they have to do everything by themselves [00:08:40] from bookkeeping to marketing to client care. And to content creation, and that's just not true. So once you learn how to delegate and you can hire contractors or employees or use software automation, like practice better and some of their workflows, you'll save a lot of time and reduce error in your business.
[00:08:57] Libby: Now, I spoke with a dietitian recently who shared [00:09:00] how she was trying to manage every aspect of her practice. All right, she was actually on air. I'm not going to say who, but there was a client recently who had, a past client who talked about how she was managing everything herself. And she was leading a burnout and decline of quality in her life.
[00:09:16] Libby: But she also, wasn't willing to hire. And so I think that [00:09:20] outsourcing, it doesn't have to start with hiring right away, but I want you to think about how you can look at your task list. And improve, improve efficiency, use automations and see what you can do to optimize how you're working in your practice.
[00:09:35] Libby: So you don't, the first step might not, is not hiring. The first step is taking a look at your [00:09:40] workload and figuring out how you can maximize your time, how you can add automations, what's really important, urgent that you're doing. So preventing burnout is really important and it goes back to that business plan and thinking about what are the services that you offer.
[00:09:52] Libby: How can you keep them simple, practical and helpful? What is it that you're doing to get clients? How can you optimize or expand on your marketing plan? [00:10:00] Right? So burnout happens less when you have automations in place and when you do have help and you have systems and processes. Also, when you decide you're really aware of what you're selling, that's earning the most profit.
[00:10:11] Libby: So you've got to get strategic and we can definitely help you with that in the library and through our roadmap and our monthly call. So I encourage you to join over at dietitianboss. com. [00:10:20] So in conclusion, I've given you five common mistakes that dietitians make their first year, and how you can avoid them.
[00:10:27] Libby: And you might be making these mistakes during your fifth year. Remember that every mistake is a learning opportunity. But by taking these insights to heart, you can start your practice on a stronger footing. So I hope that today's episode, [00:10:40] there's at least one mistake that resonates with you. And I want to make sure that you're aware that we have a membership, a monthly, monthly membership.
[00:10:47] Libby: Membership month to month that's affordable where you can learn through our roadmap and through my trademark methodology How you can start and grow the practice of your dreams with flexibility how you can package your services Optimize your time [00:11:00] and create that flexibility in your life while helping more people.
[00:11:03] Libby: I invite you to join over at dietitianboss. com And that would be the library. You have access to me and monthly calls and my team, and you have access to content as well as a community of other dietitians that are growing their practice alongside you. We'll see you next time.
