Assets vs liabilities: Do you know the difference between the two as a dietitian nutrition coach? Assets are things that you or your business own that can provide you with added benefits. This may be something that benefits you or your business now or in the future. Liabilities are what you owe others. This may be something you owe other individuals, businesses, third-parties, etc. Before we dive any further, though, allow me to introduce myself!
My name is Tony Stephan and I’m a dietitian business coach. I help RDs make more IMPACT and more INCOME through nutrition coaching. However before I became a dietitian business coach, I was an RD nutrition coach (just like you!). I served thousands of nutrition coaching clients over a time span of 12 years. My successful nutrition coaching business is what led me to where I am today. Now I can share with you the importance of investing in yourself as a dietitian nutrition coach!
Assets vs Liabilities: What’s The Difference?
Simply put, assets make you money and liabilities cost you money. Assets may initially cost you money up front, but in the long run these will make you money. Think of it as an investment to have your money make you more money. Assets add value to you or your business and increase the equity of your company. Examples of assets may include: real estate, inventory, office equipment, certifications and education, machinery, and more.
On the other hand, a liability will cost you money up front and keep taking money out of your wallet. A liability will decrease the value and equity of you or your business. Examples of liabilities may include: bank debt, mortgage debt, owing money on your taxes and wages, money you owe to people, money spent on clothes and other material items.
Ideally, a good business will have more assets than liabilities. A bad business that is likely destined to fail will have more liabilities than assets.
Assets vs Liabilities: Investing In Yourself
Investing in yourself means investing resources such as time and money into bettering your life now and in the future. When you begin to invest in yourself, you’ll start developing new skills and knowledge that have a huge impact on your ROI (return on investment) regardless of what you happen to be pursuing. Now, let’s review 3 key ways you can start investing in yourself as a dietitian nutrition coach!
Expand Your Knowledge
Time well spent is time spent investing in yourself and further developing your skills that help you get one step closer to achieving your goals. Spending the money to read books, attend conferences, or hire consultants will not only help develop your skills, but it will help you leave your mark in this nutrition industry.
Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, previously said “…reading is still the main way that I both learn new things and test my understanding.” He went on to say he reads about 50 books each year, visits interesting places, and watches plenty of online lectures. Even as a wildly successful entrepreneur with a net worth of more than 125 billion U.S. dollars, he clearly values expanding his knowledge!
Explore Your Creativity
As dietitians, we know how “type A” most of us can be. Trust me, I get it! But exploring your creativity goes far beyond art, dance, or music. (Although you certainly can take up those things!) My point is this: exploring your creative side can benefit you in so many ways. Maybe you learn a new skill or fine-tune old skills you once had. Or perhaps you write a book, explore the great outdoors, or learn a new language.
Creativity in any form helps us grow as individuals and as business owners, whether you have a nutrition coaching side hustle or a 6-figure business! It allows us to gain new perspectives when it comes to problem-solving.
Take Care Of Your Body
Since most of us are RDs or dietetic students/interns, I’ll keep this part brief! We know the importance of taking care of our physical health. It’s probably equally as important as taking care of our emotional and mental health, especially if we want to have a sustainably successful nutrition coaching business! The more endurance (physical and mental) and energy you have, the more you can invest back into your business.
Assets vs Liabilities: The Bottom Line
If you find yourself weighing options to invest in yourself vs spending money on additional liabilities, ask yourself these questions:
- Where will I be if I sit back and wait for growth?
- What does the cost of not investing in myself look like 6 to 12 months from now?
- Will this serve myself and/or my business well?
- How will I get to where I want to be if I do not invest in myself?
The bottom line is this: You should invest into yourself because YOU are your own greatest asset. The more you invest into yourself by learning, acquiring new skills, expanding your knowledge, and experiencing new things, the greater the asset you will be. This doesn’t only apply to yourself and your business but to others around you as well. The way you invest in yourself today will be a big determining factor to the quality of life you have now and in the future. It creates a foundation that you are forever adding to. And we know a strong foundation is harder to destroy! The more you build upon that and continue investing into yourself, the more impact and success you will have as an RD entrepreneur.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. In fact, you can think of a weakness as a personal liability and a strength as a personal asset. Learning to identify your personal strengths and weaknesses will be very beneficial in helping you release those liabilities and capitalize on your assets.
If you’ve thought about becoming an RD entrepreneur or want to further develop your nutrition business, you’re in the right place! We are so proud to be a part of the movement of dietitian entrepreneurs who are making more IMPACT and more INCOME! In the Dietitian Nutrition Coaching Certification, we teach our students how to set their dietitian nutrition coaching business up for success so that they can make the IMPACT they desire and the INCOME they deserve.
You can check out our FREE resources below to get started in building and developing your own nutrition coaching business!
