career advice

  • Dietitian Career Advice, Productivity

    Jenny’s Best Advice for Starting a Business

    Ready to create your own business but have no idea where to start? Here are Jenny’s top tips on how to turn your dream business into reality!

    Jenny Westerkamp, RD, CSSD, is the founder of All Access Dietetics and Chicago Bulls, Nutritionist. She is a very successful entrepreneur who loves sharing her business tips with dietetic students and registered dietitians to help them reach their dream jobs.

    Commit to yourself and your business!

    Taking the first step is always the hardest. It can be scary to start a business but move past that fear. Find your niche and start planning exactly what you want to do and what you wish the goal of your business to be. Commit to turning this plan into action. Discovering what your goal is will help you to set the foundation for your business. Check out my Life-Changing Books to read for inspiration.

    Put in the time and manage your time wisely.

    Once you pinpoint your niche, it’s time to get to work. Starting a business is a lot of work. Schedule time daily to work on your business plan and learn more about building a business’s logistical side. Write to-do lists or plan one thing to work on each day. See how you can best fill your time to be productive. If you currently operate a nine-to-five job, find time in your day where you can focus only on building your business. Explore different career options that might offer a more flexible schedule so that you can put more time into your business. Your business is a commitment, and it is your responsibility to find time to put it together.

    Grow your social media.

    Social media plays a significant role in businesses today. It is helpful in both marketing and setting a tone for your brand. Social media also helps you to network. Take a class on building social media. The lesson I took to grow my social media was Beat the Algorithm by the College Nutritionist. Check it out here!

    Take a business course.

    Registered dietitians build significant business courses to help guide new businesses through the starting process. Rise to the Top is a virtual business course created by Maggie Michalczyk, RDN, and Mary Ellen Phipps, MS, RDN that helps dietitians grow their social media, stand out as an expert, and create a profitable business. It focuses on everything from marketing to billing and taxes, making it great for entrepreneurs.

    DietitianHQ is another excellent program that offers both membership training and a 4-day symposium for entrepreneurs. A seminar is an online event offering masterclasses from successfully registered dietitians who have been in your shoes.

    The Unconventional RD business Bootcamp offers three courses about content building, making income, and email marketing. Finding dietitians who help dietitians build businesses is a great way to start your brand while supporting the profession!

    Get a business coach.

    Starting a business is complicated and confusing, especially if you have never done it before. Get a business coach to help guide you. They created a company by helping others to develop a business. Cultivate Advisors is one example to check out!

    Business coaches genuinely want to help you and your business to succeed. They can offer great tips to help get you off the ground. They can give insight into the parts of building a business you did not expect to have. Investing in your business early will help you to make it with fewer setbacks.

    Don’t reinvent the wheel.

    There are so many resources already out there to help entrepreneurs make their businesses thrive. Teachable allows you to create beautiful online courses, so you can share your knowledge without worrying about creating a new platform.

    The Better Nutrition Program offers dietitians an easy way to gain information from their patients and clients. Their nutrition assessment tools are easy to use and analyze, which help you to make recommendations for your patient’s health efficiently.

    Surround yourself with people who support your business.

    Never be afraid to ask for help! Surround yourself with people who encourage your vision and plan. There will be bumps in the road, and having people to lean on or talk about these challenges will be crucial as you continue to build. Your support system may offer different perspectives or be your best listener. Let yourself have a cheerleader! You do not have to do this alone.

    Get Excited!

    This is your business! It is your passion. Get excited about it! The more excited you are about your business, the easier it will be to put in the tireless time and effort to get it off the ground. The feeling you get when you put in the work and create your passion, knowing the success is truly your own, is unlike any other. Have fun building your business, knowing it is YOURS.

    PS. If becoming a successful and very knowledgeable registered dietitian is in your future, grab one of our FREE toolkits! 

     

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  • Dietitian Career Advice, Webinars

    How To Become a Sports Dietitian

    All Access Dietetics Founder and Chicago Bulls sports dietitian Jenny Westerkamp is constantly asked, “How do I become a sports dietitian?” Here are a few of her top tips for future dietitians!

    Jenny Westerkamp, RD, CSSD, is the founder of All Access Dietetics and Chicago Bulls, Nutritionist. Jenny started All Access Internships in 2008 with Katie Proctor, MBA, RD. They developed the idea to provide as much info as possible in a way that was easy for other people interested in dietetics to use. They completed the Dietetic Internship full time and worked for All Access Internships in their spare time. After about two years, Katie then moved on to be a coach, and Jenny managed All Access Internships. In 2019, Jenny changed the name to All Access Dietetics to incorporate all stages of the dietetics journey, including excelling in your dietetics program, getting a dietetic internship, passing the RD exam, getting hired, and starting your own business.

    Jenny got exposure to sports nutrition the summer of her senior year of college by interning with Chicago Blackhawks dietitian Julie Burns, MS, RD, CCN. She emailed her with the subject “I want your life,” and she sold her skills to Julie. Jenny has also worked for the Chicago Cubs and now works with the Chicago Bulls.

    https://youtu.be/h7xKJg_D03k

    Get Experience Early

    Having sports nutrition experience as a student will help to boost your resume. This recent experience will help lead to new opportunities quickly so that you can be closer to your dream job! Reach out to your college dietitian or local universities’ sports dietitians and ask about involvement opportunities. See if you can gain experience from local sports nutrition programs and get that hands-on experience right away!

    If your college does not have a sports dietitian, look up local CSSDs in the area and reach out to them to see if they have any opportunities for you to become involved. Here is a list of CDs in each state that you can reach out to.

    CPSA is also a great organization to join as a student. You’ll learn so much from the listserve, and they have student immersion programs you can apply for to get your foot in the door. Join here.

    Network and Reach Out to Local Sports Dietitians

    Send an email to dietitians who you would love to work with and show them everything that you have to offer for them. Make it a win-win situation! Give dietitians insight on each of your skills – sports-related, nutrition-related, or otherwise. Mention if you are a great writer or great with creating social media content, creating handouts, or doing research. Show them that you can help make their lives easier and give them a hand while learning more about sports nutrition and the field.

    Be BOLD!

    Go after your dream job! Try to make connections with a sports dietitian who you want to be. Create relationships and keep up with them throughout the year. Send them your resume and a brief explanation of whom you are and what you do. Show them your skills, your passions, and how you can help them and see if they have any opportunities for you to get involved.

    PS. Landing your dream job is possible with our career resources; make sure to check them out!

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  • Dietitian Career Advice

    Best Job Search Tips for New Dietitians

    You’ve done the hard work- completed a DPD program, a Bachelor’s degree, a 1200 hour dietetic internship, and passed the national registration exam. You are now a registered dietitian! You’re ready to land your first job as an RD, but… where do you even begin? Below are my top tips to help you land the position of your dreams.

    Get clear on your goals. 

    After completing rotations in various areas, you may know what position you would like to work in. Was clinical not your thing? What about food service? Narrow down your niche, and then use LinkedIn, practice groups, Instagram, and even Google to help you create your goals and find inspiration from other RDs.

    Network. 

    Dietetics is a relatively small field, so use your current network to help you succeed. Is your past preceptor connected to a dietitian you admire on LinkedIn? Reach out and ask for an introduction. There’s no harm in trying, and it’s ok to do some creepy searching for the sake of your dream job!

    Use social media.

    Before you begin job searching, make sure your social media presence is professional and represents you well. Next, join virtual groups dedicated to RD job searching, research potential organizations through their social media pages, and learn more about open positions by studying them online. This will help you learn about the organization and role you are applying for and can help you have a great interview.

    Use the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

    The Academy has various resources that can help you learn your worth, such as the compensation packet. This packet shares up-to-date knowledge of salaries for different niches in the field. Use the salary calculator to determine the average income for your education, experience, and even location! 

    Prepare. 

    Once you land an interview, do your best to be ready. Our Get Hired Coaching will teach you how to restate the question, provide 2-3 points or a STAR theory, and answer with a clear conclusion that ties into the company or role. Extra preparation for an interview can set you apart and help you land your dream job sooner. 

    While the job application process may be new and overwhelming, using these tips and tricks will lead you down the right path. Do you think you would benefit from extra help in this process? Check out the Get Hired Course to help you showcase your talents, sell yourself to employers, and stand out from the competition. 

    PS. We have so many great career resources to help you land your dream job!

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  • Featured, RD2Be Fun

    Instagram Q&A with Deanna Wolfe, MS, RDN

    Special thanks to Deanna Wolfe, MS, RDN (@dietitiandeanna) who recently did an Instagram Q&A for our Instagram community! Her insightful responses will help you navigate your RD2BE journey as you work towards landing your dream job.

    Q: What is your advice to stay positive during the dietetic internship?

    I did a Coordinated Master’s, which means I did the internship and Master’s combined in 2 years (instead of 3)! I would be in my training during the day and then have classes in the evenings. The first year was focused on community, corporate wellness, long-term care, WIC, retail, outpatient (diabetes, cancer, etc.), and a psych hospital (eating disorders). The second year was a FULL YEAR internship in a hospital plus rotations in a burn unit with a GI doctor, oncology, and a children’s hospital. It was a hard two years, but I stayed positive by enjoying downtime with friends on the weekends when I could (I also worked as a dietary food aide and a bartender) and enjoying where I was at in life. It was nice to have another year to focus on what I truly wanted to do with my life instead of jumping right into the real world. 🙂 Take it as a year to learn and grow!

    Q: Do you have any dietitians that you look up to or have had as a mentor?

    I have been a part of a mastermind with other celebrity/influential dietitians and love seeing how others have grown their business and made an impact.

    Q: How much experience would you recommend before starting your own consulting business?

    I would hire a mentor/coach and dive in. You don’t need ‘experience’ before starting your business- you have the knowledge you need. I had never worked a clinical job before I started. You don’t have to either. 

    There are also tons of business tools and systems you can put in place to help with back-end things you may be worried about. Dietitians are known to be Type-A perfectionists. I would have never gotten to where I am or started my business if I had waited for the perfect name, perfect website, etc.

    Q: What are your tips for finding opportunities on the business side of health and wellness?

    The best thing I did for my career/entrepreneurial spirit was dive into roles in corporate wellness. This expanded my ability to understand products, technology, sales, and marketing on a large scale with Fortune 500 companies.

    If you love social media, other avenues would be social media PR agencies or even working with brands.

    Q: As a student, how did you gain dietetics-related experience?

    I worked as a dietary aide at UPMC Shadyside (a local hospital), getting the meal tickets ready for the tray line. This made me realize that clinical wasn’t my favorite. 🙂

    I also was the food science laboratory assistant at PITT, which meant I grocery shopped for the food science labs each week! I loved that job, haha. I also was the president of the Student Dietetic Association. I networked with my professors, stayed in contact with people I admired. Get out and network!

    Q: How did you build your Instagram?

    1. Being authentic.

    2. Understanding marketing and sales.

    3. Consistent hard work. No one sees the years I spent hustling on the side to create the brand I have now. It wasn’t luck but hard work. If you procrastinate, find a business partner or mentor who will set goals and challenge you. The first business I opened with a partner.

    Q: What are your tips for starting out as a nutrition influencer?

    Focus on building a community FIRST, and the sales will come. Don’t just focus on ‘followers.’  Every single follower wants to learn something from you, so provide that knowledge. If you’re going to ‘influence,’ you will need a community of people who know, like, and trust you.

    Q: How did you begin marketing yourself?

    Understand who I was talking to. Understand what they need to hear. Being a person first, not a dietitian. I am sharing my mistakes, not just being an expert.

    Q: How did you get to where you are?

    Wow, maybe this would be best reserved for a book. 🙂

    P.S. Did you find this collaboration helpful on your dietetics career journey? Could you share it with your fellow RD2BE friends? Also, don’t forget to follow Deanna on Instagram and let her know how this interview resonated with you.

     

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