Do any of these sound familiar?
Hi, I’m Jennifer McGurk. I’m a Certified Eating Disorders Registered Dietitian, as well as a clinical supervisor and business coach for other dietitians.
I am the owner of a group private practice that has proudly served over 1,000 clients.
Throughout my 10 year journey as an entrepreneur, I have been able to build a team of dietitians for my practice, hire support for my business, create an online course, start a podcast, and speak at conferences.
I practice what I preach to my clients: self-care is vital. I do not do it all and do not want to do it all. I have created six job positions in order to build my team, so I can work in my zone of genius. I LOVE that my “work” truly doesn’t feel like “work.”
At my core, I believe in investing in myself and my business. I'm passionate about studying nutrition knowledge, and I'm also committed to being an amazing business coach. I have participated in business masterminds, business courses, and have made hard decisions about my own business to better serve other dietitians. I hope to inspire you to do the same!
I believe that dietitians are the best business owners.
At Pursuing Private Practice, we believe...
Our Values
Here at Pursuing Private Practice, we value hard work AND self-care. We fight diet culture, but also have to fight against hustle culture. Our dietitians believe in these 3 main values, and we honor them for ourselves as well:
Purpose
Passion
Protection
Any business is built to solve a problem for an ideal customer. We believe our mission makes a difference in the world, and we empower dietitians to solve the many challenges that come up when building a business. We respect continuous growth within our community. As we learn more and receive feedback, we reserve the right to improve our programs depending on the needs of the market.
We teach dietitians to create a business aligned with their passion and to work within their strengths. This creates work centered around a person’s “zone of genius” and we strive for team members to role model working in this way.
Boundaries are vital in business. When our needs are met, we do our best work to meet individual and team goals. We value work/life satisfaction to authentically live life to the fullest. When we aren’t taking care of ourselves, our work suffers. We believe in honest communication, direct feedback, and the right to make changes to reflect new boundaries.
We also believe in inclusivity. We strive to honor all dietitians of different backgrounds, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, culture, gender, size, sexual orientation, and ability. We value lived experience as much as traditional education.
Why Should You Join Dietitian Business School?
Dietitian Business School is the Go-To Resource for like-minded dietitians who want to build a private practice and expand their business.
We focus on work that really makes an impact and creates change in the world, all while making consistent income and prioritizing self-care. We've combined the best of business coaching + supervision + self-care + accountability + community all in one.
We help you start, grow, scale, AND coast when it’s needed for YOUR work/life balance (or what we like to call work/life SATISFACTION).
Everyone starts at the beginning. The foundation of starting a sustainable private practice is a purpose-driven mission, ideal clients, work you feel insanely passionate about, and creating an offer to launch into the world.
Once you’ve started, you will continue to grow. You will refine your marketing funnel, grow your audience, and figure out what works and what doesn’t work for your business.
Your strategy WILL evolve as you scale. You will learn to hire for your business and figure out what to delegate so you can work in your zone of genius more and more.
But… you have the right to coast when needed. You are allowed to rest and reevaluate boundaries at any time when building your business. Business is not all hustle, it’s also about self-care.
You will go through so many ups and downs as a business owner while building your business…
and Pursuing Private Practice will be with you every step of the way.
Click Through Each Business Category Below and Give Yourself a "Yes" or a "No" for Each Question About Your Business Strategy.
This assessment will help you determine if Dietitian Business School is right for you!
→ We will help you create your ideal offer:
- Do you have a business offer that fits into your life and aligns with your values? There are so many offers out there: 1:1, group programs, a digital course or membership… and there are lots of pros AND cons for different types of offers. You need to find an offer that is perfect for you.
- Is your offer serving your ideal client?
- Are you fulfilled as a business owner with this offer and is your ideal client receiving the benefits from working with you?
What’s included in Dietitian Business School?
Here’s a peek at everything that’s inside!
Monthly business curriculum*, organized by your stage of business: starting, growing, scaling, or coasting! Our tentative schedule is the following:
(February 2022): Month 1: Create Your Ideal Offer
(March 2022): Month 2: Build Solid Systems
(April 2022): Month 3: Find Your Clients
(May 2022): Month 4: Understand Your Personality
(June 2022): Month 5: Reach Your Goals
Each month has 4 business lessons (for a total of 20!) to help you build your business with ease. Each lesson focuses on one topic and gives you all the ins and outs to help you form your business plan.
*One lesson is released each week, starting the week you join Dietitian Business School. Our update for 2022 is that we are recording all of the lessons LIVE starting in February 2022 to update our curriculum.
Weekly support, inspiration, and check-ins via our private Facebook group
Weekly group calls: We currently offer many group calls each month for community, connection, and hot seat coaching:
- 3 Business calls include: Business Q&A, Business Masterminds with your stage of business.
- 3 Group Supervision calls include Group Supervision and self-care topics.
- 4 group calls/month (February through June) will include the 20 business lessons
Individual hot seat coaching, selected based on the hot topics of the moment in the Facebook group
At least 2 co-working sessions/month (if you’ve never participated in this, you are about to realize the power of co-working!)
This has the potential to be a little bit overwhelming, but we didn't want to cut out any of these pieces! We have organized everything into a calendar for you, so you can prioritize what to attend live, what you will watch recorded, and what you can save for later.
We're covering it all!
Dietitian Business School is designed to be THE PLACE to help you succeed in business and get you to your goals, whether you are doing this on the side, part-time, full-time, or working way too much (we can help you with that, too!). Starting, Growing, Scaling, Coasting tips will be included in every lesson
Here's how it's laid out...
Month One: Create Your Ideal Offer
Lesson One: Your Business Strategy Foundation
Many dietitians have no idea how to create a business plan based on strategy.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Re-evaluate your WHY based on your values
- Create your basic business plan with the right to-do’s for you
- Make a plan for your funnel (HOW clients find you, like you, buy from you, and keep coming back!)
Lesson Two: Your Values-Driven Offer
There are so many options for offers: 1:1 counseling, creating a group program, selling a course or digital download, or starting a group private practice.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Know the pros and cons of different offers
- Pick your offer based on your values
- Confirm that this business offer fits into your LIFE
Lesson Three: Map Out Your Client’s Customer Journey
Dietitians want to help anyone and everyone because we see many people in need. However, knowing your ideal client and where they are in their own journey is key to your marketing success.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Identify your ideal client’s pain points to transformation
- Create content themes around your belief statements to help your ideal client connect with you and need your services
Lesson Four: Launch Your Offer
You need a plan to actually launch your offer into the world! This lesson will support you in getting your offer out there to your potential clients.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Pick a launch date that works for you
- Understand the different pieces of a launch
- Learn about the prep work involved
- Understand how to execute a launch
- Be able to evaluate your launch
Month Two: Build Solid Systems
Lesson Five: Transform Your Brand
You can have the best message in your head, but if you cannot communicate that message out into the world, no one will see it!
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Learn how to create a true brand and identify the different parts of a brand
- Design your basic branding: logo, colors, and the artistic "look" of your brand
- Match your mission to your brand’s beauty
- Know how to get your brand in front of your ideal clients
Lesson Six: Develop Your Website
You need to exist online. We have you covered with all of the options to get your business online!
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Decide on how to setup your website (DIY vs. hiring out)
- Learn what to say on your website to land clients
- Understand how to blog and increase SEO on your website
- Understand the functionality of a website
- Know when it’s time to hire out for this part of business (hint: it’s NOT when you’re first starting out!)
Lesson Seven: Systems and Processes For Productivity
Systems lead to success. You need systems and processes whether you’re super organized or have a more laid back personality!
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Organize your systems for strategy
- Time map your ideal day and week
- Understand the different procedures and processes in business to create
- Evaluate your systems to make sure they work for you, not against you
Lesson Eight: Network to Triple Your Referrals
We need to put ourselves out there in order for our message to reach the clients that need us the most. Many times we focus our marketing efforts on potential clients… but we can also “market” to professionals for referrals.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Develop a networking speech that highlights your expertise
- Find your community that will increase referrals
- Know what to say at events and meetings
- Know what to say to a potential referral source
- Understand how to build an authentic relationship
- The differences between cold leads vs. warm leads
Month Three: Find Your Clients
Lesson Nine: Sell Your Offer With Confidence
Most dietitians struggle with the entire sales process: deciding what to charge, holding an inquiry call, asking the potential client to book the appointment, and following through with financial policies.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Increase your sales confidence
- Understand the common objections from clients
- Value the autonomy of a potential client’s decisions
Lesson Ten: Create Content That Connects
The “work” that goes into content creation is overwhelming. Content creation becomes a lot easier when you understand your ideal client, their pain points, and the transformation your business can provide.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Understand the difference between marketing and just “posting.” It all goes back to strategy.
- Create compelling marketing content
- Effectively use “Call To Actions” in your marketing
- Appreciate the pros and cons of “free work”
Lesson Eleven: Social Media Marketing
The algorithm changes frequently. Social media takes up a ton of space and time if you don’t have a strategy.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Decide on your social media strategy
- Understand how to funnel people from social media into your sales
- Create a content calendar (we give you a sample filled with Intuitive Eating topics!)
Lesson Twelve: Land In Your Client’s Inbox
All the “experts” say email is a vital piece of marketing, but it can be confusing to set up and understand how to effectively email your list.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Have an overview of different email marketing systems so that you can make the best choice for your business
- Understand automations and email sequences
- Know how to use your emails to sell
Email templates are provided that you are free to tweak, use and make your own!
Month Four: Understand Your Personality
Lesson Thirteen: Protect Your Boundaries
We want to HELP so much that sometimes we toss our own boundaries out the window. This leads to resentment.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Know how to set your own boundaries based on your values
- Understand why setting boundaries is actually good for your clients
- Explore countertransference
- Develop your own self-care framework
Lesson Fourteen: Lean Into Your Strengths and Weaknesses
The way you will stand out from the crowd is by being yourself and honoring the things that make you unique.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Understand your strengths to figure out your zone of genius (this is where you need to spend time in your business!)
- Use your natural strengths to your advantage
- Understand your weaknesses to see where you need to give yourself grace
- Identify where you want to hire within your weaknesses to support your business
Lesson Fifteen: Keep Your Clients Coming Back
We have the potential to “sell” to many clients but it is so much more sustainable for our business if the clients we already have continue to purchase our services. We can make a bigger impact this way, too!
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Understand how to communicate with clients and meet them where they are
- Review your offer and re-evaluate if it’s working for your ideal client
- Understand the basics of office policies (in-person or virtual) and setting up your business that will help keep your ideal client coming back
Lesson Sixteen: Mindset Work Never Ends
Mindset shifts happen at every stage of business.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Identify impostor syndrome and where it shows up
- How our emotions can influence business decisions
- How to challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone
Month Five: Reach Your Goals
Lesson Seventeen: Your CEO Time
Whether this thought terrifies you or excites you, it’s true: You are the CEO of your business!!
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Be able to identify when you’re out of whack
- Prioritize what’s truly important to you
- Set up realistic expectations of your business - it can be a rollercoaster
- Reassess your balance as your practice grows and as your life changes
Lesson Eighteen: Hire and Onboard a Team Member
It's never too early to start building a team, even if you’re a solopreneur (and if so, we teach you how to be a more effective solopreneur in this lesson!)
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Feel empowered to hire support and watch your business grow!
- Learn how to find and hire a virtual assistant, marketing manager, social media manager, customer service/sales, or even another dietitian to help you deliver services
- Understand how to onboard your first team member
Lesson Nineteen: Manage Your Team
Once you have a team in place, you have to become a leader.
By the end of this lesson, you will:
- Manage your team with confidence
- Set expectations for teamwork and communication
- Be able to determine what's working and what's not working on your team
- Be empowered to have hard conversations
- Understand how to manage reviews and pay raises
- Get a look behind-the-scenes at how Pursuing Private Practice operates
Lesson Twenty: Celebrate Your Wins!
As you move through the different stages of business, it’s important to celebrate your wins throughout your journey. After all, business is full of ups and downs. We are here to support you through all of the emotions, and celebrate your wins.
Everything you need to reach your business goals
We've combined the best of business coaching + supervision + self-care + accountability + community all in one.
Enrollment closes Wednesday, January 26th at 11:59pm EST
Come join us as we celebrate our updated business curriculum that we are recording with our current Dietitian Business School dietitians!
After all, we have created some pretty amazing business owners!
"Jennifer's course was the jumpstart I needed for my business.
I was floundering before, trying to figure out how to run my business, and now I have some real direction and actionable goals I can achieve. I love the community and how much support I feel in our group calls. Jennifer is the best cheerleader and mentor! She is so enthusiastic about what she does and it inspires me.
I highly recommend Jennifer and her program to any dietitian with a private practice!"
-Kelly Neilson, MDA, RD, LD
Nutrition for Hope
"Dietitian Business School is one of the best business decisions I have made since opening my private practice.
Joining this amazing, friendly, helpful community of dietitians has made me feel more connected, confident, and knowledgeable. When I am faced with a difficult business decision or an unusual client situation, everyone in the group has my back. The advice I have received from the courses, the group calls, and directly from Jennifer herself has elevated my practice from 5 clients a month to over 40! I admit I was at first hesitant to join due to the monthly fee, but I can say with confidence that the return on investment has made the cost absolutely worth it."
-Penelope Taylor, MS, RDN, LD
Stellar Health Nutrition
"Listing out the supportive aspects of Dietitian Business School is easy:
All the tools you need for starting or expanding a nutrition practice have been thoughtfully created, and allow you to tailor your experience while going at your own pace. But the best part is what shines through all of it, and that is Jennifer's generosity and enthusiastic spirit. Jennifer is a champion of her fellow RDs, and looks forward to seeing you succeed in the ways that matter most to you."
-Samantha Lewandowski, MS, RDN, LDN, CEDRD-S
Big Picture Nutrition, LLC
"Dietitian Business School has provided me with invaluable support to grow my business.
The modules give you all the information you need to set up the systems in your business, build a brand, and start marketing. The group coaching calls and Facebook group have helped me to stay connected, get my questions answered, and build a community of like-minded entrepreneurs who I can get feedback from as we all grow our businesses together. Jennifer's enthusiasm and expertise also helped with my confidence because I feel like I have everything I need to tackle all of the hard things that come up in growing a business."
-Alyssa Snow Callahan, MS, RDN
Nourished with Kindness
"Dietitian Business School has been pivotal in helping me understand the foundations of a solid business platform.
I have been a dietitian for over 20 years and even though I have a thriving private practice, I have wanted to enhance my business skills for a long time now. Dietitian Business School has given me ideas and inspiration to continue to build my private practice. As dietitians, we are not trained in business development and management, and this course has been fundamental in helping me in those areas.
The fact that Jennifer runs DBS from a non-diet platform combined with her authentic personality and strong counseling background is what led me to joining this program. The members-only Facebook group as well as the business meetings and workshops have been extremely helpful and an invaluable asset.
I highly recommend DBS. It not only will help you from a business standpoint, but it will help you personally and professionally in ways you cannot even imagine until you are a part of the wonderful community."
-Jacquelyn Stern, RDN
Annapolis Nutrition
"When I talked to Jennifer and learned about DBS, I immediately felt welcomed into a like-minded community of wonderful dietitians.
Aside from the very helpful business lessons, I absolutely love the weekly group calls. The consistency of face-to-face time with the group is what I look forward to most and it's so encouraging and supportive. It is a great way to network with other dietitians and feel a sense of community when you work from home!"
Shannon Costello, RDN
Chef Shannon Nutrition
"Dietitian Business School has helped me figure out how to weave together the stuff that I have to do as a business owner with the stuff that I want to do as a dietitian.
When starting a business, there's a ton of information to sift through. As a dietitian, some of that information doesn't really make sense and having a resource that understands where you are and where you want to go is vital. Dietitian Business School (DBS) is that resource for me.
DBS is helping me cultivate a private practice that I am proud of!"
Jessica Oswald
My Friendly Nutrition
"Joining DBS has been one of the best decisions and investments I have made as far as growing my business.
I've paid for other programs that were so poorly organized or so boring that I never completed them. What really sets DBS apart is that there are weekly group calls that keep you engaged in the program and offer so much support in addition to the curriculum.
I signed up for the Annual Option so that I could get full access and that has been totally worth it! I've hired my first employee (a dietitian) and hired an intern since joining DBS a few months ago. The information on how to scale and the hiring tools were so helpful and saved me a lot of time and headaches! If you are on the fence, I would say go for it!"
Heather Rudalavage, RDN, LDN
Intuitive Nutrition
"Dietitian Business School is an invaluable resource for all dietitians who want to enter into private practice or grow their business.
Jennifer is very communicative and supportive in the Facebook group and is willing to help out to the best of her ability! She makes it seem like she is always available for us.
I know for a fact that setting up my business wouldn't have gone as smoothly as it did if it wasn't for Jennifer and her Dietitian Business School!
I whole-heartedly recommend this resource to all dietitians!"
Courtney Bellino, MS, RD, LDN
Feed and Flourish
"I’m so glad that I invested in this program when I did.
I’m reflecting back to where I was when we had our first phone call and I was so hurt, lost, and angry. I had googled the symptoms of burnout just because I was curious and I checked every box. It’s frustrating thinking about how much I love working with people in repairing their relationship with food and their bodies. That was my full time job, but it wasn’t meeting that need. It definitely wasn’t my interaction with the patients and their families that led to that either – it was stemming from the business decisions that were being made and how powerless I felt in my own role.
Pursuing Private Practice helped me see that it’s possible to do what I love, charge what I’m worth, and practice in line with MY ideals."
Jen Haefele, RDN
RDN Jen
"The Pursuing Private Practice community has been everything I needed and more!
I was very nervous to make this investment in myself, but Jennifer and the entire community has made me feel extremely welcome. Yes, it is a big group of aspiring entrepreneurs, which could be overwhelming, but in fact, it is just a big group of people who have been/are in the same position as you! So many resourceful people to reach out to, ask questions to, and learn from.
The content from each lesson of the course provides me with material to help me feel confident when making decisions and gives me a path to follow to continue moving forward. Overall, this course has been a great investment so far. I am learning and growing as a dietitian and business professional with each lesson, post in the Facebook group, group call, and question to Jennifer. I could not recommend it more!"
Stephanie Dorfman, MS, RD
Stephanie Dorfman Nutrition
"I can say with 100% confidence I would not be where I am today without Dietitian Business School.
I feel so supported and confident in this new role as a business owner and truly have DBS to thank for that. You get so much with this membership – a new lesson each week to help you grow your business, self-care calls, supervision calls, business strategy calls, an incredible Facebook group, a huge community of like-minded individuals, the list goes on! Jennifer is so passionate about helping you succeed as a business owner and it truly shows.
I love that you can work through the lessons at your own pace and then go to the FB group to ask questions and get feedback from Jennifer and Elyssa, and the other RD's within DBS. I really did not have many RD connections prior to DBS. Having your own business can be lonely and it is just so nice to know I have this huge support system within DBS.
If you are thinking of joining - do it! You will not be disappointed."
Shay Tinari, MS, RD, LDN
Shay Tinari Nutrition
"If what you need and want is someone to believe in you as well as show you how it’s done, I would definitely recommend signing up for Dietitian Business School.
Jennifer will feel like a good friend right away, and she is the kind of friend we all want to have - she creates a safe space and encourages us to share our feelings, she is really good at encouraging you and making you believe in yourself, she pushes you to prioritize self-care, and she is a wealth of knowledge (and if she doesn’t know the answer, she will do her best to find it for you!). Jennifer has been so flexible with me, as well as so warm and kind.
She also is doing her very best to give us a course that serves us well - she surveys us every month on what we would like to see in the course. If you don’t get the answer you need in the course content - no worries! There is an AMAZING Facebook group where you can go to get all of your individual questions answered, by Jennifer and others. It’s been really beautiful to see people post vulnerable things in the Facebook group, and see the community responding so supportively.
I love being a part of such an inclusive and encouraging group, surrounded by other awesome dietitians who believe in the power of Intuitive Eating too!"
Fiona Young, MS, RD
"This is the kind of resource you'll wish you had from day one as a business owner in dietetics!
Jennifer fills all the gaps and alleviates the isolation you feel as a dietitian entrepreneur—providing supervision, co-working, business coaching, specific tips and practical steps. And the whole time you know she is really on YOUR team, wanting nothing more than for you to feel supported, connected, and well-equipped to build your business in a way that works for you!
One of my favorite aspects of DBS has actually been the co-working hours, seeing others in action and sharing goals, while we hunker down together—virtually!—and feel like we're in the same room!"
Heather Caplan, RD
Host of RD Real Talk
"I invested in Dietitian Business School and Pursuing Private Practice when I realized I was very alone in my effort to build a private practice.
Not only was I alone, but my business hadn't progressed much in the last 9 months since opening. Now it's been another 9 months since joining Jennifer's group and I am MILES ahead of where I was.
Dietitian Business School teaches and models how and why to have a team surrounding you constantly. I hired my first contractor because of DBS and I'm looking forward to hiring my first employee soon! Working with a team feels great and I see a path forward to grow my business without running myself into the ground.
I've also made peer connections because of DBS that continue to be a source of support, collaboration and accountability. Jennifer always says that the act of investing in your business is what allows it to grow and she is spot on. I'm looking forward to building on what I've learned in DBS and will be recommending DBS to anyone who needs it!"
Lauresa Larson
"I have seen so much progress and jumped many hurdles with Jennifer’s program Dietitian Business School.
Jennifer has many years of knowledge and experiences that show through her supervision, guidance, and business coaching. It’s been very helpful to gain support from her and the other dietitians in the group.
The bonus classes have helped me navigate various business items like taxes, billing insurance, to caring for clients. The co-working meetings help hold me accountable to complete tasks.
I feel more comfortable knowing I am not alone in the feelings that arise in owning a business that usually can alternate like excitement, fear, and overwhelm.
My latest victory is ending my part time job to pursue my private practice 100%! I am so grateful for the support Jennifer and the Pursuing Private Practice team have provided in building up my business."
Catherine Valadez, MS, RD, LD
My San Antonio Nutrition
You are the CEO of your business and we want you to feel empowered to make decisions based on what you believe is best for your business. If you join the program and feel it's not a match, you can cancel at any time.
BUT (and this is a big but) we strongly recommend making a commitment to yourself to stay at least 6 months to a year when you join Dietitian Business school in order to fully experience it and get as much out of it as possible.
We also offer the option to purchase an annual membership to Dietitian Business School.
You’re welcome to join either option. If you’re not sure which option is right for you, we would recommend
joining the monthly option to try it out for a month before purchasing the annual option.
We want to see you graduate Dietitian Business School!
You graduate when your business fits into your life and you have work/life satisfaction.
You will feel confident making decisions that work for you and support your business growth.
Enrollment closes Wednesday, January 26th at 11:59pm EST
Frequently Asked Questions
