Should you become an RD entrepreneur business owner? It’s a tough question with no easy answer. The thought of freedom entrepreneurship can look enticing as you work your day job. I’ll be honest; I love being an RD entrepreneur, and I love what I do! It’s gratifying. I can say that the RD entrepreneur route was the right choice for me. However, there certainly is much more than what meets the eye in being a successful RD entrepreneur. So in this article, we’ll talk about some of the pros and cons of being an RD entrepreneur business owner to help you determine which route is best for you. Before we get started, allow me first 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 becoming a dietitian business coach, I was an RD nutrition coach. 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 without further ado, let’s talk about the pros and cons of entrepreneurship.
WHY BECOME AN RD ENTREPRENEUR?
For some of us, becoming an RD entrepreneur is something we always knew we would do someday. For others, maybe it is something we have entertained but are still on the fence about it. Wherever you are on this spectrum, know that there are benefits to becoming an RD entrepreneur. There is freedom and flexibility in doing what you want to do on your own schedule. There is also the beauty of making your business as big as you want to or keeping it as small as you want to. In creating your own business, you can take so many directions to make it your own. What you want to build your business into is completely up to you! That, my friend, is the beauty of being an RD entrepreneur.
SHOULD I BECOME AN RD ENTREPRENEUR?
So maybe you KNOW you want to become an RD entrepreneur, but you’re not sure whether you SHOULD. Again, there is no easy answer here. So we will break it down for you into some pros and cons so that you can make the best decision for yourself.
PROS TO BEING AN RD ENTREPRENEUR
Most of us have experienced the appeal of entrepreneurship, so now we will talk more about the benefits of being an RD entrepreneur. If you are someone who’s on the fence about becoming an entrepreneur, these pros might push you across the line of uncertainty.
FREEDOM
Ah yes. Freedom. You control your schedule. You’re the boss! Who doesn’t dream of being their own boss? As an RD entrepreneur, you choose when you go to the gym. You choose when you travel. There truly is a lot of freedom in entrepreneurship. Not only do you make your own schedule, but you also choose what type of work you do.
If you want to do nutrition coaching for a specific population you feel passionate about–you can make that desire a reality! Want to work with clients in the intuitive eating space? Go for it! Want to work with athletes? Go for it! There is no one holding you back from serving the population you want to serve as an RD entrepreneur. You have the FREEDOM to choose WHO you work with and WHEN.
FULFILLMENT
As an RD entrepreneur, YOU have the freedom to choose what kind of clients you want to work with. So in terms of fulfillment, there are so many opportunities to find fulfillment for yourself as an RD entrepreneur. Often, we want to be the dietitian nutrition coach that we wish we had in our time of need. So IMAGINE if you got to make a difference in your clients’ lives and were left feeling fulfilled and grateful every day for what you do!
GROWTH
As an entrepreneur, there are many growth opportunities. Here is the thing about being a business owner. You are the one responsible for making an income. And as we all know, money doesn’t just grow on trees. So as an RD entrepreneur business owner, there will be many times that you’ll be pushed out of your comfort zone. Through these uncomfortable opportunities, you’ll grow to become a more capable, confident version of yourself. One of my sayings regarding entrepreneurship is that “Every level brings a new devil.” This means that as an RD entrepreneur, you’ll constantly be learning new things. This constant learning will help you evolve as a person as well as an entrepreneur.
CONS TO BEING AN RD ENTREPRENEUR
Okay. So we have talked about reasons you should, but now we will give a reality check through some of these cons. Because as we know, entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. However, could entrepreneurship be for you? Now let’s cover some of the realities of being an entrepreneur.
RISK
Of course, it goes without saying that being an RD entrepreneur does come with some risk. However, I tell my students that if you do it RIGHT, the risk will pay off. And I would argue that staying in a corporate job is just as risky (if not riskier) than being an RD entrepreneur. Think about it this way: In a corporate job, depending on the laws of the state you live in, you could be fired any day. Whereas if you’re an entrepreneur working for yourself, you wouldn’t fire yourself, right?
Now that you’ve heard my spiel about risk in a corporate job VS entrepreneurship let’s talk about the possible risks of being an RD entrepreneur. Of course, there is the risk of not being guaranteed a stable income. That risk will always be there as the market can change at any time. However, as RDs, we can always bank on the necessity of preventative healthcare through dietitian nutrition coaching. As we all know, this is a HUGE need, and it’s likely not going away anytime soon. Most times, if your income isn’t stable, it’s a matter of learning how to sell potential clients on your program. This is something we go over in the Dietitian Nutrition Coaching Certification and RD Ignition program. If you can convince people of the VALUE of your services, you’ll have no worries about making a stable income through dietitian nutrition coaching. So YES, being an entrepreneur comes with risk, but is it a risk you’re willing to take?
RESPONSIBILITY
As an RD entrepreneur, you call the shots. Sounds like a dream, right? Well, it’s definitely exciting and empowering, BUT ultimately YOU are responsible for your decisions and actions. So this level of responsibility is something that you absolutely have to consider before becoming an RD entrepreneur.
So if you want to be an RD entrepreneur, you need to be ready to hold yourself accountable for your own actions and take responsibility. I hold myself accountable every day, and that’s why I have made it to where I am today. If you do not see the results that you want in your business, you need to be ready to have an honest conversation with yourself and hold yourself accountable so you can start doing actions that align with your business goals!
POSSIBLE ISOLATION
If you’re someone who is self-motivated, you may not have issues with this, but it’s important to know that being an RD entrepreneur can be lonely at times–especially in the beginning. As an RD entrepreneur, it’s not like you’re automatically given a team that you work with to complete things. For most of us, starting out as an RD entrepreneur means working late at night on our own to build from the bottom up. Starting out as an RD entrepreneur for most of us means working on our own the majority of the time.
That’s why I highly encourage all RD entrepreneurs to get connected with a community. If you want to grow, learn, and hold yourself accountable as an entrepreneur, being in a group of like-minded individuals with the same goals is crucial! It’s very powerful to see what is possible from others in your field and to learn from one another. That’s what we do in our I Believe Mastermind. In our I Believe Mastermind is where we have rockstar RDs who empower one another, lift one another up and learn from one another. In our I Believe Mastermind, we have RDs who consistently make 6 figures– that is the power of being surrounded by like-minded, rockstar RDs!
SHOULD I REALLY BECOME AN RD ENTREPRENEUR?
Again, there is no easy answer to this question. Even after reading this blog, you may still be sitting on the fence, or you may want to go for it, but you’re not really sure if you SHOULD. Some questions to ask yourself are: How would entrepreneurship change my life? Would it be for the better? Do the pros outweigh the cons for me? Even if there are some hesitancies, would the pros outweigh those hesitations? There is no easy way to know for sure. So if you have asked yourself these questions and you’re still unsure, another option would be to try it out and see if it’s worth your time. If you try it and decide you don’t like it, you can stop at any time.
If you’re looking to start your own nutrition coaching side hustle, you’re in the right place. I’m 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 create a solid business structure for their online businesses.
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