We recently connected with Mackenzie Burgess, RDN and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Mackenzie, thanks for joining us today. Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)? Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style.

I didn’t know a single thing about food photography until I had the chance to intern for a fellow dietitian and food blogger, Stephanie, who runs the GratefulGrazer.com. I remember shadowing her photographing one day and learning so much about lighting, set up, props, and angles. This hands-on experience inspired me to start practicing photography and find my own style.

Mackenzie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve always loved cooking, helping others’, and entrepreneurship ever since I was a young girl. Today, I’ve combined these passions to create my own blog and business called “Cheerful Choices”. Here, I provide healthy recipes with customizable ingredients “of your choice”. This allows recipes to fit to different dietary preferences and use up ingredients already on hand. As a dietitian, I also provide virtual nutrition coaching and virtual cooking classes.

I first started my website, CheerfulChoices.com, back in college at Colorado State University. I was always creating new, healthy recipes and my friends encouraged me to publish them online. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I figured the most important thing was to just start. From there, I wrapped up my studies, completed my dietetic internship, and passed my exam to become a credentialed Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).

Many dietitians work in hospital or community health settings, but I knew I wanted to continue helping people in the culinary space. This sparked the idea for my “Coaching + Cooking” program–virtual nutrition coaching and hands-on cooking. This program allows individuals to learn personalized recipes made specifically for them and their nutrition goals. These sessions are all virtual and one-on-one with myself, the nutrition expert.

My goal is to support people along their health journey and give them more kitchen confidence. Sometimes tips like how to meal prep breakfast or the best way to cut a bell pepper seems like it should be easy. However, it may be something brand new to a client. I find it so rewarding to share these small learning opportunities and really have a positive impact on peoples’ health and cooking abilities.

You can learn more about my coaching program here: https://cheerfulchoices.com/coaching-and-cooking/

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

When I first created my website Cheerful Choices, it was pretty much just my mom and some close friends viewing it. My lightbulb moment happened when I learned about Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

This is the idea of researching what people are actually searching for on Google and attempting to get at the top of the search results. Once I started writing recipes with this in mind, my blog increased from around 1,000 views per month to over 100K per month!

Another launching point has been appearing on over 15 news segments. I remember landing my first segment on FOX31 Denver and being so stoked. This allowed me the opportunity to show off my recipes on live TV and promote Cheerful Choices to larger audiences.

People always ask me, “Do you get nervous?!” While live TV is definitely something that pushes me out of my comfort zone, I’ve also found such a confidence in it. During those 3-5 minutes on air, I feel so in my element!

My next big future dream would be appearing on national TV like Good Morning America or The Today Show and then eventually having my own show!

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

I think many people focus mainly on social media, but I’ve actually found that my website is the biggest source of people finding me. Then, I view my social channels as a way for people to get a better feel for my personality and the behind the scenes moments. (p.s. Behind every beautiful matcha smoothie bowl, there’s also a container of matcha accidentally tipped over on my carpet… oops!)

On my website, I have my recipes as well as a page all about my Coaching + Cooking program. This is where people can see what my program is all about and book a free discovery call to learn more.

I would say 90% of my coaching clients find me by searching for something like “virtual cooking dietitian” and seeing my page pop up! This again goes back to the power of SEO and learning more about what people are typing in on Google.

Contact Info:

• Website and Recipes: https://cheerfulchoices.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheerfulchoices/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheerfulchoicesblog/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mackenzie-burgess/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CChoicesBlog