[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.
[00:00:36] Libby: Maybe you've thought about becoming a dietitian, but [00:00:40] you aren't sure what it really takes. Now, I want to remind you that the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports a faster than average growth rate for dietitians by 7 percent by 2031. But you might be asking yourself, is this right for you?
[00:00:55] Libby: Whether you're thinking about going into dietetics or you already are in dietetics and you're not sure if [00:01:00] you want this to be your forever career. So I'm going to I want you to know that entering the field does have some surprises, but this is quite a rewarding path. Whether you choose to work with patients one on one, sell clients digital products, or work in a corporate space, there are a lot of opportunities and there's also a lot of [00:01:20] similar professions that you might decide that you want to partner with to create a better experience as a practitioner.
[00:01:26] Libby: So I do think that becoming a dietitian has a lot of advantages. But there are some definite issues in dietetics that I'll be addressing in this episode. So you might know, especially from 2024, right? So the master's mandate is new as of [00:01:40] it'll be last year when this is aired.
[00:01:42] Libby: And because of that, there's an evolving landscape in dietetics. So that means that the new education requirements make it harder. For people to enter the field. So this can add a couple of years and also tens of thousands of dollars to your educational journey. So if you are a parent, if you are trying to [00:02:00] pay for things on your own, this can present a lot of challenges.
[00:02:04] Libby: Now, there are, as you know with dietetics programs, there are programs that offer combined programs and internships opportunities. So that can help. But it still does require more education and there's no guarantee of extra pay. And so what I see happening and what I've seen in the [00:02:20] statistics that are public from CDR is that there's a drop in the rate of people who are actually be admitting into dietetics programs, a 60 percent drop.
[00:02:31] Libby: And I am on the board for KBDI internship in New Jersey that focuses on business skills. And we've had conversations about this. Now this is public knowledge. [00:02:40] Across the board in the United States, admission rates for dietetic students have dropped by 60 percent. Now, I don't know if this was expected.
[00:02:49] Libby: We can't attribute that to one exact thing. My assumption is that the master's mandate is causing a higher barrier to enter. I don't know if that'll smooth over in a few years or what's going to happen. [00:03:00] But it's not ideal because it could mean our field is shrinking as something to keep our eye out on.
[00:03:05] Libby: And in the history of CDR, we've never seen such a drop in admission rates. So, perhaps students are deciding that they want to become a physician's assistant or therapist or similar healthcare profession, maybe nursing, et cetera. I will say. [00:03:20] I did get my master's degree, and it did. I had another business on the side.
[00:03:24] Libby: It was a personal trainer, and it was challenging to be able to make everything work out. And it did feel frustrating at times. It wasn't Mandatory at the time for me to get my master's degree, but I was told if I wanted to start a business in dietetics that I needed to get my master's [00:03:40] degree and I listened to that and got my master's degree and spent a lot of time and energy growing my education, which I know is relatable to a lot of you that think we need a lot of certifications in order to be taken seriously in the field.
[00:03:51] Libby: So I want you to know that it's interesting that the landscape is evolving and right now we're seeing a decrease in the amount of dietetics. Students. It'll be [00:04:00] interesting to keep an eye out on that in the future. Another issue I want to bring up is licensure and certifications. So you, you probably know that licensure requirements vary by state.
[00:04:10] Libby: For example, at California in New Jersey does not require a licensure. A license at the time of me airing this now, of course, like, I can't say that it'll happen forever. We don't know [00:04:20] how fast these changes happen, but specialty certifications like the sports dietician or the diabetes educator can definitely boost your earning potential.
[00:04:30] Libby: But the caveat is that you do have to spend quite a bit of time, hours and energy getting those certifications. I know I have enough hours or did for diabetes educator and I didn't end up pursuing [00:04:40] it, but it's quite a load of responsibility and energy, and we've had certified diabetes educators and our clients that are certified diabetes educators on the podcast to talk about their experience.
[00:04:49] Libby: And it's definitely been worthwhile for them. So it's something to consider. I want you to think about the cost versus the return on investment. So, completing your education and your internship, as I've discussed before, can cost north of 60, [00:05:00] 000 to 100, 000 dollars. Of course, depending on where, but starting salaries.
[00:05:05] Libby: Unfortunately, hover around 50 to 60, 000 again, depending on location. So you might be wondering, how do you maximize your investments? And I'm thinking the reason that we're getting less dietetic students to admit into schools, into their [00:05:20] internships and master's degrees, et cetera, is Because of this, difference, because if you're only making or offered 45, 50, 000 entry level in the field and jobs are hard to find, but you're in debt to such a high degree, I can see where people would think it's not the best choice for me.
[00:05:37] Libby: I knew I would create a business and I would figure [00:05:40] it out, but perhaps that's not always the most logical route. It did work out for me and it, you know, there were definitely some struggles, but it's something I want you to consider in terms of career opportunities for dietitians.
[00:05:51] Libby: We all know about the traditional roles. Hospitals and clinics do still employ a majority of dietitians often in roles That do require clinical [00:06:00] assessment, meal planning and patient education. Although the emphasis is probably on the assessment, but we know that reimbursement rates and strict protocols can limit creativity in these roles.
[00:06:10] Libby: And some of us are not able to do as much education in an inpatient setting. Although some of us like that. So it's something to consider and telehealth is obviously, [00:06:20] you know, booming post pandemic and so platforms also are hiring dietitians or virtual consult. As you might know, you might have heard of these companies like Fay and nourish.
[00:06:30] Libby: They are venture backed companies, some of them 200 million dollars they've got in venture capital monies and they're hiring. Thousands of [00:06:40] dietitians to perform telehealth. So the dietitians attracted to this opportunity, which I understand because the dietitian is able to just do the client facing work, see the patient, do the education, but not have to do the billing and the admin.
[00:06:53] Libby: And that's very attractive for a lot of us. And if we decide not to go into our own private practice, and if you're interested, I can do an entire [00:07:00] episode. On this, because I'm sure you've heard of it. Some of you have maybe applied to these jobs. Some of you work in these positions part time, but that is definitely an emerging field and dietetics.
[00:07:09] Libby: And there's a lot more customization in terms of you working from home and flexibility. So. I also want you to think about entrepreneurial pathways, because if you are employed by one of these [00:07:20] companies, even if you are a contractor for nourish or Faye, it's still not, you know, your own business. Right? So having your own business means that you have a registered business entity.
[00:07:29] Libby: You're paying taxes on your business. You're seeing clients or patients, whether it's insurance, cash pay or both, and you're doing the marketing and the billing, even if you outsource pieces of the process to somebody [00:07:40] else in your company. When it comes to entrepreneurial pathways, many dietitians are definitely turning to private practice, although the data that we have is still a small percentage of the field in total, so some dietitians are going to combine the nutrition coaching or digital products and ebooks with a traditional private practice, perhaps [00:08:00] insurance or even brick and mortar, although a lot of us are going virtual, but Still, we've got a lot of people who are doing hybrid.
[00:08:05] Libby: So meal planning apps, there are dietitians that create meal planning apps. I was, I did a presentation, a lecture at a college where one of the graduates actually found it healthy. How cool is that? So the dietitians are doing amazing things [00:08:20] to create an impact and even earn passive income through creating meal planning apps.
[00:08:24] Libby: A lot of our clients have created apps and we've had them as guests on the podcast over the years, several times. Now, where you might be thinking, wow, I can sell digital products, work with brand sponsorships, sell ebooks and courses, et cetera there are still challenges and misconceptions with becoming a dietitian.
[00:08:39] Libby: [00:08:40] So, you know, we are not just glorified nutritionists, right? We do, of course, require a significant amount of education and licensure. And other misconceptions are that we only work with weight loss, and that's definitely not true because the possibilities are endless from us as dietitians working in the eating disorder space, working in the corporate [00:09:00] space, working in the sports performance space, working in retail space.
[00:09:04] Libby: They're just endless possibilities. And software, food food products, there's just so many possibilities, but we didn't learn these possibilities in a structured way in school, most of us. So that's where we have to get this education after school ends to continue to really enjoy your career and add contribute more [00:09:20] and be a part of the conversation.
[00:09:22] Libby: So that's definitely something that we have to be aware of and in terms of what it takes to succeed in terms of, if you want to be in this career, long term in any capacity, there is a personality fit. So dietitians have to, whether you're naturally empathetic or not, you're going to have to lean into being [00:09:40] empathetic to some degree, because you will come across, whether it's clients with complex, deeply personal food histories, or if you're working in a corporate setting, you're going to have to develop a thick skin and you're going to have to learn how to lean into your soft skills.
[00:09:54] Libby: So being empathetic for patients, but also learning how to have conversations in really [00:10:00] practice negotiation in sales tactics when it comes to working with leaders, whether you're in policy or you are doing something in a corporate space. If you're trying to pitch that yourself or your group practice, you're going to have to learn how to be really, really confident with yourself.
[00:10:17] Libby: And these are definitely skills I didn't learn in school. [00:10:20] These are skills I've had to learn along the way, owning my business and Promoting myself to get hired as a speaker and in different capacities over the years. So you have to think of skills beyond nutrition, because so many continuing education skills that I see, I still see on social media and online and in conversations are all about continuation of clinical skills and where that [00:10:40] is important.
[00:10:40] Libby: Of course, we need to brush up on our clinical skills. You don't want to only think about clinical skills. You also definitely have to add on business skills. So I would even say it's a split 50 50 think about, yeah, I'm going to brush up and read these research studies and be aware of what's going on in a clinical setting.
[00:10:59] Libby: [00:11:00] Especially if you have initially diabetes, you want to know what's going on, but you're also going to need to learn how to practice negotiation skills, how to market yourself, tech skills for telehealth automation using AI. And making sure that you're protecting client sensitive information, if that's needed with the role that you play and then communication skills, right?
[00:11:19] Libby: And client [00:11:20] counseling. And so I do see a lot of dietitians trying to lean into client counseling, and that's really great too, because the more that you can develop empathy and increase your retention with clients, the better off that you will be as a provider. No, there's more to it than just client counseling.
[00:11:35] Libby: You're also going to have to make sure that you have the right fit in your practice, whether you're [00:11:40] seeing patients one on one or you're selling a digital product. And that's where marketing comes into play. So I don't want to overemphasize counseling and pretend like all you need to do is be a good counselor because you have to really learn how to market yourself well and how to select the right fit and attract the right fit and convert the right fit into your product or service.
[00:11:56] Libby: And that's not just true. In a counseling setting, that's also true for [00:12:00] digital products, courses, memberships, eBooks, et cetera. Another aspect would be burnout prevention. So many dietitians struggle with burnout, and that's something that we've really honed in on over the years here at Dietitian Boss.
[00:12:12] Libby: Because if you do have a business and you're up and running, you Are frustrated because if you take insurance, you might have [00:12:20] low reimbursement rates. If you own a group practice, a lot of your money is going to your practitioners and your marketing, whether you're using, let's say, Google ads or you're spending effort on social media, whether it's time or money and software, and then you feeling like you're not earning enough profits.
[00:12:35] Libby: And so it's important to build boundaries and make sure that you're [00:12:40] properly setting up your sales funnel. So you have multiple ways that clients can work with you. So if you're in a traditional insurance business, you might also offer cash products. If you're in a cash business, you want to make sure that you have different products for customers at different stages of their lifespan.
[00:12:56] Libby: So maybe you are working with bariatric and you want to [00:13:00] have. Pre and post op solutions for them along their journey to help them support their nutrition questions. So there are things to think about in terms of how can you prevent burnout? Well, you probably want to have an offer or more than one offer that can support people beyond just using your one on one time.
[00:13:16] Libby: And then you're going to want to learn how to manage that. And that can remove [00:13:20] you from being The main thing in the business, because you'll be able to still make money without you being so present and doing all the one on ones. And then you definitely want to learn how to use automation and learn how to market effectively.
[00:13:31] Libby: So, I think the biggest trend shaping the profession is going to be these venture backed companies that are hiring multiple dietitians. So, if you think about if [00:13:40] we have a 60 percent drop in the amount of people that are applying in schools that are actually admitting into dietetic internships.
[00:13:47] Libby: And, you know, DPD programs, if we're seeing a 60 percent drop in admissions, and then we're also seeing thousands of dietitians being hired by these venture backed companies to do virtual like [00:14:00] telehealth or insurance, then what does that mean to the profession? I'm, I'm still trying to figure that out myself.
[00:14:06] Libby: I mean, or does that mean there are less dietitians in private practice? Does that mean less dietitians want to start their private practice? Will these venture backed companies. I mean, we're in the midst of learning all about this, but what I do think will happen is [00:14:20] that AI powered nutrition apps like meal planning apps that use AI like eat love.
[00:14:25] Libby: I think that they're going to be really important. Pivotal for the future of dietetics as well as like EMR platforms like practice better. Does you use AI and some of its features can actually understand your patterns and your clients preferences and make [00:14:40] smarter choices.
[00:14:40] Libby: So there is AI being used in some and I think that. Using a I powered tools alongside your nutrition practice, whether it's charting for your notes or creating content for marketing purposes is a huge trend disrupting the industry and I don't think dietitians will become obsolete. I think [00:15:00] that we can enhance our role if we learn how to work alongside a I power tools, whether it's ChatGPT or meal planning software like love that integrates AI with its algorithm.
[00:15:11] Libby: So more people are seeking solutions. And they're wondering how to use AI with health, and I think if we can get on top of that trend, that's great. And I'm a [00:15:20] huge fan of using AI for chart notes, because it not only saves time and helps with accuracy and consistency, but it's also going to allow you to focus more on your patient during or your client during the session.
[00:15:30] Libby: So I think that AI charting is fantastic. I think there's always opportunities for growth and for other fields that you might not have assumed. For example, eating [00:15:40] disorder recovery or sports performance. So there's definitely opportunities for growth in areas that you might have not felt there's room to grow.
[00:15:48] Libby: So I want you to really think and do some research on some of the topics that you're interested in. So is it worth it? Right? So I want to give a balanced perspective on dietetics and the future of dietetics. [00:16:00] So dietitians play a critical role in healthcare, right? And we shape Healthier communities, and we definitely change lives and the profession does offer flexibility because you can work in private practice, corporate settings.
[00:16:12] Libby: You can work part time. You can work virtually. You can do a combination. You can take insurance and still work virtually. You can take insurance and do cash pay. You can [00:16:20] take insurance and do hybrid. And then, You can work in the office 2 days a week and then you can work at home and you can also employ other practitioners in your practice.
[00:16:28] Libby: So there's lots of opportunities. And I think that that's really exciting. The cons would be that there's a lot of investment up front with what we do. Like, most internships are unpaid and that can feel really discouraging [00:16:40] because it's so expensive to complete school with the master's mandate. And yet the entry level pay is so low.
[00:16:45] Libby: So I think breaking into the field is going to be harder than ever now. It's going to require even more perseverance than when I broke into the field like a decade ago, and it will require more networking and more flexibility in your thinking. And so I want you to ask [00:17:00] yourself, like, are you passionate about science and helping others?
[00:17:02] Libby: And do you have the financial and emotional resources to, you know, complete the educational requirements? And if you're already in the field, I want to ask you, have you considered multiple revenue streams and what does that look like for you to keep things exciting and to create more impact? So next [00:17:20] steps would be to reach out to dietitians in private practice or listen to some of our podcast episodes.
[00:17:25] Libby: You're free to reach out to me and learn more about firsthand experience about other revenue streams that you might not have thought about, like creating a group program or an ebook or some type of digital podcast. And then I want you to research accredited programs. If [00:17:40] you're not yet a dietitian, you're thinking about aligning with your financial and career goals.
[00:17:44] Libby: And then I also want you to check out the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, to look at networking with professionals and even consider joining FENCI, which I hope to be at next year. I hope today's episode was insightful and we will see you next time.
[00:17:57] Libby: Looking for support to grow your dietitian [00:18:00] business or even get 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.
[00:18:15] Libby: Go at your own pace. We have modules, a roadmap to show you [00:18:20] exactly what to do and 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.
[00:18:36] Libby: And our team, including myself available to answer your [00:18:40] questions, head on over to dietitianboss. com and check out the library today. We'd love to see you there.
