Health coach consulting business for dietitians
Hey RD and DTR Health Coaches! Are you considering working full time as a health coach? Tired of the mundane paper pushing in your clinical job? Feeling like your well thought out RD recommendations are ignored in the hospital? Intimidated by the egotistical doctors? Well, quitting your hospital job and working for yourself as a full time health coach is not necessarily the best thing to do. Here is my take on it.
Considerations before you start your health coach consulting business.
There are some hurdles in the process you will need to give some serious consideration before handing over your two week’s notice. Chris Gardner, a famous Wall Street self-made millionaire who worked himself up from being homeless, stated, “Everyone has a dream and everyone has a vision, but what is your plan?”
No 1: Getting a following online
You see, in order to run a health coaching service, you need to reach multiple clients, who need to lose weight fast. There are so many clients that are considering weight loss pills or weight loss surgery. And they really need professional help before making such a big medical decision. Marketing for clients takes time and skill. Getting a following as a health coach on SM is very competitive, because everyone and anyone can call himself a health coach nowadays. Have you seen the latest health coach certificate offered by Certified Trainer companies like NASM? This is in direct competition to what dietitians have to offer. The years of study and expertise knowledge to become an RD, should clearly outweigh that of a “Health Coach” that only had two months of online training! But unfortunately, to the average client, it does not matter. So my point is for you to make sure to get a big following on SM that would need your services, first.
No 2: Pricing and cost of consulting
Here’s is the second hurdle. There is basically no insurance payment for nutrition consulting. Some clients will look for a health coach to create them weight loss meal plans. Some will tell you they are doing weight loss on metformin. (You know, the diabetes drug) Or even more drastic, surgery. As a fellow dietitian, trust me, I know, that dietitians have the skill set to truly help these individuals. And that there should be a fair numeration for this type of service. Wouldn’t you think so!? But that is not the case. What you need to consider are the current expenses of your client for healthcare insurance. I think it is safe to assume that they are paying through the roof for medical insurance. And now, they have to squeeze out another $250 for a dietitian to help them lose weight. Do you see a problem here?! I guarantee you that not many will want to pay out of pocket every time they talk to you! The amount of money you are willing to charge for your expert service, has nothing to do, with how much your client is willing to pay. Sorry, don’t mean to be harsh here! But that’s another thing I’d do if considering to become my own boss as a health coach. I’d find out what those $$ numbers are, first. And actually, test your market and start earning.
Make sure your knowledge in your area is top notch!
If you are going to be guiding your clients to better their health and apply clinical knowledge, you have to make sure that you are communicating only the latest new research and the best practice guidelines. Make sure you renew your education in diabetes, heart disease, metabolic disease and functional nutrition so that you can impress your clients. By providing the best clinical nutrition knowledge, your clients’ health will improve drastically. Also, if you can communicate the latest research on genetics and how genes are affected by the diet, you will impress the socks off your clients. Remember too, that everyone on social media and Thumbtack is an expert until they open their mouth and have to actually discuss the details. As Registered Dietitians, we are the nutrition experts. Do not let anyone else take your spot. Make sure you update your knowledge on probiotics and how they prevent disease states. Your nutrition plans will make a lasting impression on your clients and your business will grow by word of mouth!
What is your plan?
Everyone has a dream! The dream here is to be independent, work for yourself, have control over your own hours and not have to deal with the mundane nonsense anymore. Everyone has a vision! The vision is to do the thing you set yourself out to accomplish when you chose to become a Registered Dietitian- to really help clients heal from complications caused by metabolic conditions like type 2 diabetes and obesity, and to help them fulfill their lives with the advise you give them through a nourishing diet. Now that you know the dream and you know the vision, what is your plan? Make a plan, a step-by-step layout of actions to take on a weekly basis that need to get done within the next three months. And take action and stay on it, until it’s done!
So do you take the leap now?
As you can see, the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side, if you don’t take the correct actions at the correct time. As we’ve highlighted here, there are some key steps to take before resigning. Once you are doing one-on-one consulting, difficult problems will come up. There’s always a way around hurdles, but it is important to figure them out first, before taking that big leap.
