How to earn a 6-figure salary as a dietitian or nutritionist, according to 4 renowned entrepreneurs in the industry
- Nutritionists work with everyone - from regular individuals who wish to optimize their health to elite athletes who want to enhance their performance through diet, exercise, and even stress management.
- In 2018, there were approximately 70,900 dietitians and nutritionists in the US.
- Business Insider spoke to four nationally-recognized nutritionists who earn well above the average annual wage for their industry, which was $60,370 per year in 2018.
- They revealed how they established themselves as experts in their field and gained a devoted following by having a presence - online and in real life - and investing in themselves.
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If you have an interest in nutrition and a desire to understand how food choices impact your health and productivity, you may want to consider pursuing a career as a dietitian.
There were approximately 70,900 dietitians and nutritionists in the US in 2018, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows. To become a registered dietitian, you have to first earn a bachelor's degree in dietetics, clinical nutrition, public health nutrition, or food and nutrition from an accredited program. You'll then be required to complete an internship in which you spend at least 1,200 hours working under the supervision of a licensed professional. Next, you'll need to pass a registration exam.
Depending on where you live, you may also need to secure a state license in order to pursue employment. And once that's complete, you'll have to commit to continuing education so you're able to impart the most up-to-date and relevant information to your clients.
Though that might sound like a lot of work, registered dietitians can earn a lucrative living.
The average yearly income for a dietitian was $60,370 in 2018, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, but there are a myriad of ways to use your expertise to bring in more than $100,000 annually. You can provide one-on-one, group, or online coaching. Or you can serve as a consultant to sports teams and athletes, work as a spokesperson, make media appearances, publish a book, create a food line, and more.
Four nationally-recognized nutritionists and dietitians who did just this shared their secrets that have enabled them to build successful businesses.
Be authentic in your passion for nutrition and practice what you preachAs the go-to nutritionist for celebrities and Fortune 100 CEOs, Oz Garcia has been helping clients find long-term solutions for achieving optimum health performance for four decades. But before the anti-aging guru began working with A-listers like Heidi Klum, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Hilary Swank, he recognized that he needed to immerse himself in a healthy lifestyle: The avid runner began focusing on the way he ate, slept, and managed stress.
"I think one of the most important things in terms of building a kind of venture in the way that I did is you have to be pretty authentic," said Garcia, who is currently head of health and nutritional services for Equinox Fitness Clubs worldwide. "You've got to live the life and be an example and not preach to people."
Garcia got his start by sharing his knowledge with fellow members of the New York Road Runners, where he established himself as both a pioneer and an expert in the field of health and optimum performance. He noted that he's shocked by what he initially "gave away for free," but it led him to make connections that grew his client base. He currently charges $25,000 per client annually for coaching that includes all aspects of diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management.
Dawn Jackson Blatner - who serves as the nutrition consultant for the Chicago Cubs, sits on the nutrition advisory board of Shape magazine, and earns in the mid-six-figure range annually - agreed.
"My first job was my dream job: a dietitian in a health food store," Blatner said. "Although I absolutely loved the work, I only made enough money to live in a reconverted garage that was roach-infested. I didn't care because I was doing work I loved. The first seven to eight years of my career was pursuing dream work without regard to making money and instead focused on building experience."
How did she pivot from humble beginnings to becoming a sought-after, six-figure dietitian?
"My mentor suggested I apply to be a media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics," she said. "It was a 'hell yes!' decision for me to apply, and I got the position. I hustled and it introduced me to all types of national media outlets and I was able to start building enough freelance work that I could quit my full-time job."
Blatner also credited joining a mastermind group of three other women with giving her the confidence to ask for more money at each step along her career path, recognizing the value and authenticity she brings to every client and professional engagement.
"I work to present what I know in a way that connects with people on an emotional level, to help people feel excited, hopeful, motivated, and positive about their nutrition," she said. "I don't aim to be an expert: I aim to be a person with an expertise. This mindset helps me keep things relatable, real, and authentic."
While pursuing a dual degree in nutrition and exercise science at Kansas State University in the mid 1990s, Mitzi Dulan read that internships at the Olympic Training Center were among the top 50 most prestigious in the country. Unfortunately, a sports-nutrition internship didn't exist. Rather than let that stop her, Dulan penned handwritten letters and made phone calls to the internship coordinator, hoping the center would consider creating one.
"This took me nearly one year of writing and calling," she said. "I did make contact after about eight months, and she said they didn't have an internship, but she might see if they could offer one. A few months later she called with the news that they were going to offer it for the first time, and I was being offered the position."
Dulan employed that same hustle to create the career she wanted. As she was completing an internship at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, she was offered the chance to earn $42,000 per year as a clinical dietitian. Though she was tempted to take the position, she wanted to forge an entrepreneurial path which allowed her to pair her nutrition knowledge with her love for sports - and the ability to substantially increase her income. She reached out to all the sports teams in the Bay Area by phone to explain her dual degrees, unique Olympic Training Center internship, and how she could help their players improve performance through nutrition.
Dulan's calls paid off when she heard back from two teams, and she became the first sports team nutritionist for the Golden State Warriors.
"Now there are so many opportunities in sports nutrition, but back then there were none," said Dulan, who went on to serve as the team nutritionist for the Kansas City Royals baseball team and the Kansas City Chiefs football team. "I had to go out there, explain what I was going to do, and sell them on how I was going to improve their performance."
Blatner, too, wasn't discouraged during those early years when things didn't go her way.
"Most of my first jobs all started with a 'no,'" she recalled. "I begged, worked for free, offered test periods for my services, and believed in myself when other people did not. I got opportunities because I put it all on the line."
Blatner shared that it took almost three years of pitching ideas every week before she got her first television segment, which led her to become a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Establish a presence - online and in personBecause one of the first places clients may find you is online, having a professional website and regularly updated social media platforms is key.
Dulan, who was living and working in San Francisco in the late 1990s, credits the dotcom boom with helping propel her business. The dietitian said she was ahead of the curve in recognizing the importance of not only having a website, but also securing a strong URL: NutritionExpert.com.
"I was an early adopter of Pinterest and pinning great nutrition and fitness content, and during the days when everyone was signing up, I feel like if someone signed up with certain interests, that Pinterest automatically had them follow me," Dulan said. "I've never confirmed this 100%, but I was gaining about 25,000 followers per day for quite a while."
Think of your website as your calling card, said Garcia.
"Make sure that your website is compelling; make it yourself, if you have to, using Squarespace," said Garcia, who also recommended professionals join LinkedIn. "Blog daily. I think blogging makes an immense difference. If you're going to use social media - Instagram - you've got to post everyday."
Much like Dulan and Garcia, Blatner said she started her career before the rise of social media, so she spent much of her time focused on magazines and television. Since then, she's embraced and blended platforms like Instagram into the mix. Still, she cautioned others to remember that posts shouldn't be about you: Shift the focus from yourself to what others can learn from you.
Libby Rothschild, registered dietitian and host of the "Dietitian Boss" podcast, said using social media marketing is how she grew her business from a side hustle to nearly a $500,000 in revenue within 10 months.
"I set goals for how I want to measure success both in terms of reach and sales," Rothschild explained. "What's made me stand out is consistency. I show up and do the work. I'm focused, ambitious, and I take my audience with me on my journey every step of the way, which inspires them and holds me accountable."
Describing herself as an "accidental entrepreneur," Rothschild shared that before using social media marketing, she relied on "outdated ways to make money, such as in-person networking and word-of-mouth referrals." Marketing on Instagram added $1,000 to her monthly income after just two months on the platform.
"This posted during my launch in January (last month), and the website clicks translated to prospects booking a discovery call, which directly translated into sales," she said.
But meeting with people and groups in person is just as important, Garcia said. He also recommended joining local and national organizations - where you have an opportunity to network and meet colleagues and potential clients - as well as public speaking.
When Dulan was just starting her career, she joined Bay Area District Dietitians and Nutrition Entrepreneurs, a national organization, where she connected with Maye Musk: model, dietitian, and mom to Tesla CEO, Elon. Like Garcia, Dulan is a sought-after media source and spokesperson who believes in over-delivering to her clients.
"Of course, the biggest way of over-delivering in the PR world is to be able to bring opportunities to your clients," she said. "PR has changed a lot and it can be hard to get media. I have developed great relationships over the years and also get a lot of email requests for media interviews with top media."
Invest in yourself and your businessIn order to best serve his clients, Garcia said he keeps himself on the cutting edge by taking courses and attending programs whenever possible.
"This past weekend, I did a course with Steven Kotler, who is probably one of the greatest journalists and writers on the subject matter of the current state of neuroscience as it affects athletes and human optimization," he said. "In the middle of an extraordinarily busy week overall, I took the time out to go do it, and that's the kind of information that when you bring it back, makes you a hundred times more capable of impacting somebody who is tired, worn-out, has the money but doesn't know how to enjoy themselves, and teach them how to craft a better life."
Reinvesting in herself and her business is something Rothschild also prioritizes.
"I use the Profit First Method for accounting, created by Mike Michalowicz, which means that I allocate money every month to my operating budget," she explained. "I regularly set 45% of my earnings to operation expenses, which includes investing back into my company. I invest heavily into coaching, mentors, contract workers, and, soon, employees."
During her 10th season with the Kansas City Royals, Dulan decided to make her protein ball recipe that had gone viral on Pinterest for the players. No matter how many dozens she rolled, the team gobbled up the protein-packed snack. Six weeks later, the Kansas City Royals won the World Series for the first time in 30 years, and Dulan and her balls were the talk of the town.
As requests for the protein balls poured in, Dulan saw a new opportunity and created Simply Fuel, her line of on-the-go snacks made with whole food ingredients. She said the company, started in 2015, is poised to turn a profit this year. Dulan hopes to use the success of this venture to serve as an angel investor for female-founded food companies.
Another way nutritionists can successfully reach and grow their audience and clientele is by writing a book. Based on her massive Pinterest following, Dulan published "The Pinterest Diet: Pin Your Way to Thin," and followed it up with "The All-Pro Diet: Lose Fat, Build Muscle, and Live Like a Champion."
"Even if you don't know what to say, start something, self-publish," Garcia suggested. "I knew enough by the time I wrote my first book, 'The Balance,' which was published by Judith Regan and Harper Collins, that it turned out to be a bestseller, and I never in a million years would've believed it, but that really cemented my career."
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