How Can Dietitians Make Extra Money? | Coaching Session
A real coaching session on creating high-ticket offers, setting boundaries, and marketing with confidence. In this business coaching session, Kate Dwyer discusses her journey as a dietitian, the challenges of running a private practice, and the importance of building confidence in her offerings. She explores the limitations of insurance billing, the need for passive income, and the struggle to set boundaries with clients. The discussion also touches on the significance of aligning business practices with personal values and the necessity of financial awareness for growth. Takeaways:
Kate acknowledges the glass ceiling in private practice, where income is limited by client hours.
Building passive income is essential to avoid burnout from one-on-one sessions.
Confidence is crucial when considering high ticket offers in her practice.
Marketing courses requires balancing personalized care with educational content.
Setting boundaries with clients is necessary to protect her time and energy.
Surveying clients can provide valuable feedback for new offerings.
Aligning business practices with personal values is vital for fulfillment.
Financial awareness is key to understanding the viability of her practice.
Mistakes in billing have been valuable learning experiences for her.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Kate Dwyer's Practice
02:10 Navigating the Glass Ceiling in Private Practice
04:41 The Challenge of High Ticket Offers
06:51 Building Confidence in Business
10:28 Creating Passive Income Streams
5:29 Understanding Value and Client Expectations
18:27 Setting Boundaries with Clients
21:33 Surveying Clients for Better Offerings
27:53 Exploring High Ticket vs. Insurance-Based Services
30:03 Creating Accessible Services
32:48 Aligning Business with Personal Values
35:48 Navigating Insurance and Billing Challenges
41:47 Setting Boundaries with Clients
48:44 Understanding Financial Health in Business
Who this episode is for: dietitians who want their private practice to be sustainable, profitable, and values‑aligned. If you’re craving practical business coaching beyond generic tips, you’ll hear real talk on packaging expertise into higher‑value services, protecting your bandwidth with clear client boundaries, and sharpening your marketing so it attracts the right people. We also cover where insurance billing helps—and where it caps growth—so you can choose a model that fits your season.
You’ll learn ways to turn repeat questions into nutrition courses, workshops, or digital templates that create passive income while improving outcomes. Kate shares scripts that build confidence on sales calls, a cadence for gathering client feedback, and a framework for testing pricing without burning trust. You’ll walk away with a lean onboarding checklist, a lighter follow‑up system that reduces no‑shows, and a plan to stop over‑delivering while still delivering excellence.
If you’re a new or seasoned dietitian ready to move past the hourly ceiling, this conversation gives you tools to scale with integrity. Expect candid lessons, permission to simplify, and a realistic roadmap for growth that centers your wellbeing and your clients’ results.
Enjoying the show? Follow, rate, and share with a friend building a practice. DM a question you want answered—your client feedback shapes what we create next. Thanks.
Listen to “How Can Dietitians Make Extra Money? | Coaching Session”
Episode Transcript
Speaker 1: (00:00.098) Welcome to the Dietitian Business Network podcast. I'm Maggie Doherty, your host, dietitian and business coach. And I'm so excited because today is the very first episode of the podcast. And in this first episode, you are going to be a fly on the wall in a one-time dietitian business coaching session...
Speaker 1: (01:38.146) Tell me a little bit about your...
Speaker 2: Okay, so right now I see clients one-on-one and I do take health insurance. So the majority of my clients are with insurance...
Speaker 1: (03:25.95) It sounds like you've hit that first roadblock...
Speaker 2: (04:44.52) Exactly. Yeah. And I do think that like, you know, it's been floated to me that I should only do cash pay...
Speaker 1: Mm hmm. So I own Doherty Nutrition, which is a group dietetics practice that accepts insurance...
Speaker 2: (06:27.266) You know, if I'm being completely honest, there's pressure off when people are not paying out of pocket...
Speaker 1: (08:38.729) A pilot high ticket program that maybe the pilot is at a reduced cost...
Speaker 2: Love that idea. I mean, I hadn't even thought about that...
Speaker 1: (12:54.038) Right now, you don't have a course right now, but you have the meal plan...
Speaker 2: So with the meal plan, kind of, you know, the meal plan is honestly, it came about as a tool...
Speaker 1: (14:57.506) Really struggle.
Speaker 2: (15:12.842) Increase it but what I need to say is like yeah, I gave you a month trial...
Speaker 1: Exactly. There you go. There's your script.
Speaker 2: (15:36.278) I have some days where I walk upstairs and I'm like, I nailed it today...
Speaker 2: (17:16.106) No, I mean, I don't know. I mean, that's a great question...
Speaker 1: (19:19.667) Not only helps your client, but would help you too.
Speaker 2: I agree with that. Yes. And I will say this...
Speaker 1: (22:01.39) So hard to change things for the people who were already working there...
Speaker 2: Yeah. And I sent an email out to all of my clients...
Speaker 2: (24:26.382) But I don't know, I do feel like my husband and my coach really want me to do this...
Speaker 1: Have you surveyed your clients before on what they want?...
Speaker 2: (26:20.014) I would love a wellness retreat for sure.
Speaker 1: (26:51.33) They want because you may be surprised when they don't want it...
Speaker 2: (28:39.904) What are the things you're looking for most and blah, blah...
Speaker 2: (29:38.976) Even waste more time thinking about it.
Speaker 1: (30:48.832) You have to because it's not covered by insurance...
Speaker 2: (32:26.028) I don't think it is. And I don't think it is like something that fits...
Speaker 2: (34:03.182) Your life. Yes...
Speaker 1: (35:20.25) I had done, you know Brene Brown?...
Speaker 2: (37:15.682) That's not who this offer is accessible to...
Speaker 2: (38:17.358) I know so much about them and I'm like, this is too much...
Speaker 1: Example.
Speaker 2: (40:22.666) Yes. And this is someone who has been with me...
Speaker 2: (41:47.661) Yeah.
Speaker 2: (42:19.864) But in some boundaries...
Speaker 1: (43:17.176) So speaking of boundaries...
Speaker 2: (44:08.686) I can tell you what I don't do...
Speaker 2: (46:03.86) And you know, the way I phrased it when I sent the email...
Speaker 2: (46:57.824) I know and it's a no.
Speaker 2: (47:28.312) I have no idea. My husband's always like, did you pay yourself?...
Speaker 2: (48:07.448) Let's write this off...
Speaker 2: (50:47.582) More appropriate to be charging people...
Speaker 2: (52:48.824) No.
Speaker 1: (53:04.318) And it's specific to therapists who have their own private practice...
Speaker 2: (54:34.944) What can I learn that's going to make me a better provider?...
Speaker 2: (56:08.568) Yes, I mean it was my honor so I hope you always remember me fondly.
Speaker 1: (56:42.51) Yay. All right. See you around Kate.
Speaker 2: Bye.
Resources
Connect with Kate: https://www.k8dwyer.com/
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