One of the biggest obstacles nutrition entrepreneurs face when starting their own business is getting their first customer. So today, we’re sharing how 10 nutrition entrepreneurs got their 1st customer.

While it may seem like a small milestone, there’s a huge difference between having an idea for your business, and having a business where someone is willing to pay you money for your product or service.

So, if you are thinking about starting your own nutrition business, where do you start? How do you go from an aspiring entrepreneur to running your own business?

Healthie is a practice management platform and mobile app designed to help nutrition & wellness professionals manage their business, grow and build relationships with clients. Click here to learn about our free Starter Plan.

We asked 10 experienced nutrition entrepreneurs about how they got their first customer, and their responses were pretty illuminating!

These 10 nutrition entrepreneurs are sharing with us how they found their first paying nutrition clients:

These first 3 built their online presence through blogging or social media first…

Alexandra Caspero

FOUNDER OF DELISH KNOWLEDGE

“Through my website! I had launched my initial site as a nutrition blog and a friend of a friend saw it and booked a session. It was the “aha” moment I needed when I was first starting my private practice. The best marketing is the content I created with the intent of sharing. Much cheaper than other forms of paid advertising!”

Kristina LaRue

FOUNDER OF LOVE & ZEST

“…My social media presence helped me get a head start with my nutrition communications business.”

Dietitian Cassie

FOUNDER OF DIETITIAN CASSIE

“Twitter!”

While leveraging an existing online presence worked for these three, this tactic requires a lot of work before it starts to pay-off. In these cases, the first customer came as a by-product of creating an engaging online presence that people wanted to follow. Once this starts to work, the payoff can be high. However, if you’re looking to get your first customer right away, these next two groups of dietitians have some great tips.

These next 3 “optimized for spontaneity,” by getting out there in the world and proactively having conversations about nutrition…

Alissa Rumsey

OWNER, ALISSA RUMSEY NUTRITION & WELLNESS CONSULTING

“My first customer happened accidentally. I was at a conference and stopped to talk to a company in the Expo. I had heard of their product and wanted more information on it. I wasn’t going into it thinking we could work together, however once we started talking, the owner realized that we could be a great fit together. He followed up with a week later, and by the end of the month, I had signed a contract with them.”

Katie Serbinski

FOUNDER OF MOM TO MOM NUTRITION

“I belong to a group of moms and tots at our church and when one of the moms asked for help with meal planning + post-baby weight-loss… I couldn’t say no! I then knew I wanted to expand my business to working with both individual clients and families, as well as small businesses.”

Kara Lydon

OWNER OF KARA LYDON | THE FOODIE DIETITIAN

“The first big client I got was by walking up to a company at a festival I was volunteering at and introducing myself and my services. I put myself out there and was in the right place at the right time.”

But let’s say you don’t want to wait for the next Expo or struggle to spark spontaneous conversations that can lead to your first customer. These next 4 entrepreneurs did something that has the most predictable return on your time: using your past relationships.

If you’re truly looking to grow your nutrition business, Healthie’s practice management platform can help through client retention strategies, facilitating partnerships and more. Get started for free today!

Holley Grainger

OWNER, HJG NUTRITION AND CULINARY COMMUNICATIONS

“I sent an email to a contact at an influential PR firm, set up a time to talk, and then pitched my services and how my experience could benefit their clients. I also set up calls with people in my industry to learn more about what they do and they were very gracious to share contact names. Word of mouth and previous relationships were certainly helpful but just letting various people know that I was available and ready to be hired led to immediate work.”

Rachael Hartley

FOUNDER OF RACHAEL HARTLEY NUTRITION

“It was a referral through a personal trainer I shared an office space with. Even though we haven’t been in the same workspace for over a year, I still receive referrals from her.”

Kristen Chang

OWNER, REAL FOOD FOR FUEL

“I used to be a triathlon coach and a lot of my early nutrition clients were athletes that I also coached (so word of mouth).”

Marla Murphy

FOUNDER OF THE BLONDE PANTRY

“I used word of mouth through family and friends. Even old co-workers who worked as dietitians, but had a different specialty would refer to me.”

There are many ways to get your first customer, many of which weren’t included in this post. Getting your first paying customer is one of the biggest milestones in the entrepreneurial journey. It doesn’t matter how you get yours, as long as you’re able to get past that first obstacle.

Once you begin a connection with a client, this relationship should be cultivated so as not to lose trust. With Healthie, client relationships can continue by checking in with clients through convenient client messaging or by setting up food, lifestyle, or activity journaling. Click here to learn how to set up these features with Healthie’s Free Starter Plan today.