We recently connected with Heather Fiore and have shared our conversation below.

Heather, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

When I first started out in my own practice, I had no idea what I was doing. I basically created a basic website, bought a pay-as-you-go phone, and printed some business cards. I didn’t know the first thing about pricing, marketing, or even documenting. I happened to connect with another dietitian who recommended an Electronic Health Record and also a business coach. Through working with the business coach, I set up systems for marketing, sales, and pricing. Who knows how long it would have taken me to figure all of that out on my own – months or years. My big advice is to network with others in your profession who have come before you, and enlist experts to help you with the business side. Health care providers learn nothing about business in our training, and we shouldn’t be afraid to outsource.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been a dietitian for almost 25 years now. When I first entered the field, I wanted to work with kids and teens, maybe in a school setting. After experiencing years of disordered eating and poor body image, I wanted to help others through prevention and treatment of eating disorders. I did try to work in a school setting, but I hit a lot of road blocks, despite trying many different angles. I held many jobs over the years before trying my hand at private practice. They all taught me something, but I realized the best way to help folks is a setting where I have control over who I see, for how long, and how frequently. In my practice now, I see a few different types of clients. The main one is folks with disordered eating who I help through a process called Intuitive Eating. This is a process of relearning how to trust your own body’s signals for what, when, and how much to eat. It is the opposite of being on a diet. It frees people up to live their lives and enjoy food when they’re eating it, without all the guilt and shame they are used to. I love witnessing the freedom people experience as a result of learning to eat intuitively.
I also help people struggling with eating disorders. The goal for these folks is also to learn how to eat intuitively, but it’s a much longer process, and not everyone gets there. For many, just being able to eat adequately without constant thoughts about food and body is success.
My other big niche area is diabetes. I have been able to combine the concepts of Intuitive Eating into a diabetes program I have developed. It is different from almost anything else out there for folks with diabetes. Typically, people are told to cut down on carbs, cut out sugar, and lose weight. None of these things needs to take place in order to manage diabetes, and that is a big relief for my clients.
The most important thing people should know about me and my work is I do not help people with intentional weight loss. Decades of research on all kinds of weight loss diets back up my premise that the vast majority of people who lose weight will gain it back within 5 years. Instead, why not help people develop habits that they will be able to sustain and will help them improve their health?

Have you ever had to pivot?

I think my whole life is full of pivots. I started off in college studying mechanical engineering. I quickly found out that was not for me and had to find something else. I remembered my interest in nutrition and signed up for a class, even though I didn’t know what a dietitian was or what dietitians do. Getting matched up for an internship (a year of supervised practice after college) did not go as expected, and so I had to consider my options. I ended up completing my internship through my university, despite being VERY ready to be done with that place after 4 years. The other option would have been to delay by a year or give up on my dream of becoming a dietitian.
Every position I took in the years after completing my training felt like an attempt to find fulfillment, and then came the realization that I was not where I was supposed to be. I even stepped away from my profession for a couple of years after getting burnt out. I spent that time involved in some interesting work as a Health Project Coordinator in women’s health research.
Moving to Kansas 7 years ago was another pivot where I really had to figure out what to do next. If it hadn’t been for this move, I would not have started a practice of my own, but now I can’t imagine working a 9-5!
The main take-away here is that even though I had (or thought I had) a plan for my career trajectory, I took advantage of opportunities that came up and stayed open to the possibilities for me that I hadn’t planned for. I don’t regret a single pivot!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I think the best thing for growing my clientele has been to deliver consistent, positive results. In order to accomplish that, I am selective about who my clients are. I want them to succeed, and I don’t want to waste their time, so I really make sure we are a good fit before we get started working together. This process has lead to working with clients who are committed to the work we are doing and who end up very satisfied with their results. These clients then share with their health care providers, their family, their friends, and their coworkers about the experience they had with me. There is no better compliment than a word-of-mouth recommendation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.freestatenutrition.com
• Instagram: heatherfiorerd
• Facebook: heatherfiorerd
• Linkedin: heather-fiore-rd
• Twitter: heatherfiore1
• Youtube: heatherfiore8900