What’s getting in the way of your business growth? It could be the changing economy, the unpredictable audience, evolving goals, or something else entirely.
The chances are good that you have more control over your nutrition business growth than you might think.
The fact is that many practitioners are struggling to grow their business. We interviewed Andrea Nordling, the creator of Profitable Nutritionist and host of the Profitable Nutritionist podcast. During the interview, we discussed three common challenges that health practitioners face.
Andrea created the 5 Pockets of Profit system. This system evaluates your business and finds what helps or hinders the growth of your nutrition business.
Learn what the health and wellness expert said and how you can use her tips in your business today.
https://youtu.be/PhfBNvcAlbo
As dietitians and nutritionists, we often pay close attention to details and ideas. We may have a tendency to be perfectionists in our work. These traits help us in many ways, but they can also make it difficult when we need to simplify things. For instance, the systems and workflows you have in place within your nutrition business.
Andrea says, “The overarching theme is that people make it way more complicated than it needs to be. And that could be tech-wise, it could be with their offer, or that could be with the process they bring their clients through.”
Complicated systems can pose a huge risk to your nutrition business growth trajectory. Consider this: adding unnecessary steps or requirements can slow you down and make your work less effective.
When things become too intricate, nutritionists might divert time and resources away from more important tasks. Common causes of issues are complicated software, lengthy client onboarding, and tracking methods that slow progress. Trying to wear too many hats yourself, which is often the case in the early stages of a business, can also slow things down.
Andrea's clients want to imitate a more advanced business model, even though they are not currently at that level.
“So they want to have all the bells and whistles with their technology that they don't really need yet. And they're [...] borrowing future problems that they don't need to be solving right now with really robust technology solutions that they just don't need,”
If you're overwhelmed by your systems, this could be a good place to take action. Write or draw out your process to visualize where bottlenecks happen and find areas for improvement.
Here are some ideas for tackling over-complex processes in a nutrition business:
By shifting towards a more intuitive and non-cluttered approach, you can redirect your energy towards building meaningful long-term relationships with your clients, expanding the scope of your services, and fostering business growth.
Ever noticed that making business decisions takes longer than it should? Not making quick, firm decisions leads to overthinking and stalls potential nutrition business growth.
Andrea says, “I think this typically shows up as lots and lots of learning, like researching, wanting to get more certifications, not feeling ready, feeling like I need to agonize over every decision, remaking their logo 25 times...”
Many practitioners focus on details like their brand name, website, niche, and group programs or pricing. While Andrea understands that practitioners love learning and gathering information, “People can really ruminate and second guess and agonize over those decisions when they're in that decision fatigue type of loop.”
Instead of focusing on one detail, use your time to make progress. Put something in place that will assist you in moving forward.
If you don't, Indecision can lead to a lack of direction and clarity and promote unwanted delays. Hesitating in making decisions can lead to missed opportunities. It can prevent your business from jumping on new trends.
It can also hinder your ability to react swiftly to market changes. Plus, if you have a team, a culture of indecision in your business can affect morale and collaboration.
Andrea reminds her clients that things can be re-imagined and re-adjusted later. Businesses change often, so any decision you make today can be changed later if necessary. Instead, we must shift our focus from these small details to things that will help us get more nutrition clients.
Some dietitians and nutrition experts consider themselves perfectionists. This characteristic can pose a greater challenge for them to take action if they believe something is not fully prepared. Andrea believes that if you're not willing to take imperfect action, your business won't grow and will stay the same. “You can’t steer a parked car,” she laughs.
Some people fear displaying anything related to their business, such as their website or email signature. This fear stems from concerns about imperfections or the potential judgment of others. This is often called imposter syndrome, and while it’s normal, it’s also impeding your growth.
"Perfect is an ideal that just does not exist. We're never actually going to get to the point where we feel comfortable, and it's perfect anyway. It’s a form of procrastination.”
Let this be your sign to take a step forward today and pursue an action that may have paralyzed you before. Maybe it looks like sending out your first newsletter to your email list, posting your first Instagram video, or sharing your website with someone. Need help finalizing your look? Check out this step-by-step Practice Better logo and branding guide.
You’ll never know what could happen if you don’t try.
Now that you know what often confuses nutrition business owners, you might be curious about what comes next. How can you actively examine your business and pinpoint areas where you can improve? Andrea described her tool 5 Pockets of Profit, which she uses to help her clients who ask exactly that.
She says that when using this tool, you’re taking a business-wide look at what’s working well, what isn’t, and what you want to do differently in the future. “We look at this through the course of a customer journey,” says Andrea. “And the reason that we do it this way is because we want to figure out what that customer's experience is like and how we as a business can create a better experience for them and more profitability as a business.”
The 5 Pockets of Profit include:
Evaluation is a crucial part of boosting nutrition business growth. Looking at these pockets can also tell you where you’re not getting enough data. Andrea recommends taking a CEO day once per quarter to perform a business audit and clarify your next steps.
The three things that prevent nutrition business growth and scaling are complicated workflows, indecisiveness, and not taking imperfect actions. To assess your business's performance, conduct a 5 Pockets of Profit analysis every quarter. This analysis will help you identify the strengths and areas for improvement. Scaling your business requires simplification, clarity, action, and evaluation.
To explore these ideas further, join Practice Better and Andrea Nordling in the upcoming class on Feburary 20: Unlocking Business Growth: Overcoming 5 Business Growth Challenges. This Class will walk you through common misconceptions you think are holding you back,
Sign up for the upcoming class to learn more about how you can use Practice Better to support your business audit.
Andrea started as an entrepreneur almost 20 years ago and has since launched and grown 3 successful businesses to six and seven figures...from scratch. And guess what? The two most lucrative businesses have been built without social media. It's her not-so-secret sauce. These days, she gets to show fellow holistic nutritionists and health coaches how to ALSO build a profitable, impactful online practice and make consistent income every month in their biz without relying on social media. Learn more about Andrea at The Profitable Nutritionist.
Practice Better is the complete practice management platform for health and wellness professionals. Streamline your practice and begin your free trial today.
[Editor's note: this blog was originally posted on February 2, 2024, and was updated on February 22, 2024 to add video replay content.]
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