Nutritionist
Everyone wants to be a bit healthier these days, and a nutritionist is the perfect person to help.
Startup Costs: $2,000 – $10,000
Home Based: Can be operated from home.
Part Time: Can be operated part-time.
Franchises Available? No
Online Operation? Yes
Nutrition is big in everybody’s minds these days–people want to live longer, think smarter, eat healthier and weigh less doing it. As a nutritionist, you’ll help your clients attain all these goals through a variety of venues–you can act as a personal diet coach or as a consultant to restaurants and food manufacturers, give classes and seminars, or work with health clubs and health-conscious companies.If you like teaching other people about healthy lifestyles, cheering on their achievements and motivating them through plateaus, then this is the business for you.The advantages to being a nutritionist are that you can tangibly measure your success through your clients’ successes, you can make a positive difference in others’ lives, and you can do it all for a small start-up cost, start on a part-time basis, and work from home.You’ll need a strong knowledge of health, nutrition and psychology, along with sales and marketing skills to snap up clients. You can get (or you may already have) a registered dietician degree (called an RD) from the American Dietetic Association. This is a definite plus but not a necessity. Since state licensing and certifications for nutritionists vary, call your state Board of Dietetics and Nutrition.
The Market
Your clients can be just about anybody you care to target: individuals or corporations. You can coach on a personal level in your clients’ homes or offices; you can also work as a consultant for health clubs, large companies or institutions. If you choose to work with clients on a one-to-one basis as a coach, place ads in local publications. Network in your community. Offer your services to one lucky person at a charity auction or raffle in exchange for free advertising. Make up a brochure and mail it to people in the middle- to upper-income levels of your town.Send brochures and sales letters describing your services to corporate, institutional and health-club prospects, then follow up with phone calls requesting appointments.
Needed Equipment
About all you’ll need is a computer, a printer and the usual software for creating sales letters, brochures, menus and other materials for your clients.