The RDtoCEO Podcast
Dive into The RDtoCEO Podcast, hosted by Registered Dietitian and CEO, Eva Haldis, where she shares her journey in entrepreneurship, with discussions on the basics on building a private practice and becoming a confident CEO. The RDtoCEO Podcast is your go-to resource for mastering the art of transitioning from a dietitian to a successful CEO.
The RDtoCEO Podcast
How To Master Your Branding, SEO and More As A Dietitian In Private Practice ft. Courtney Vickery MS RD LD
Discover the inspirational journey of Courtney Vickery MS RD LD, a multi-passionate entrepreneur and anti-diet dietitian, as she shares how she transformed her career from RD to CEO of Declet Designs. In this episode, Courtney opens up about her journey as an RD from clinical practice to entrepreneurship. Together, we uncover practical advice on improving your online presence, the importance of branding, website functionality, and local SEO strategies.
Courtney shares her wisdom on effective branding and marketing strategies, emphasizing the power of a signature color for brand consistency and the importance of understanding your ideal client's habits and preferences. From the nitty-gritty of local SEO to the nuances of website accessibility and design, we’ve got you covered with actionable steps to elevate your practice!
Want a question answered on the podcast? Send me a voice message, or a text message, and maybe it'll be featured and discussed on the next episode! Interested?
You can send me a message on IG - https://www.instagram.com/evahaldis_rd/
or send me a VM (voice message) or text - (857) VMRDCEO aka (857) 867-3236
Find more about RDtoCEO at https://www.rdtoceo.com
Links & Resources Mentioned:
Where To Find Courtney!
Instagram - @decletdesigns
https://decletdesigns.com/
WordPress SEO Plug Ins Mentioned
https://rankmath.com/
https://yoast.com/
Page Speed Checker
https://gtmetrix.com/
Mobile View Checker
https://responsivedesignchecker.com/
https://sizzy.co/
https://responsively.app/
Color Contrast Checker
https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
Appsumo
https://appsumo.com/
Want a question answered on the podcast? Send me a message, or a text message, and maybe it'll be featured in an episode!
You can send me a message on IG -
https://www.instagram.com/evahaldis_rd or https://www.instagram.com/rdtoceo
Find more about RDtoCEO at https://www.rdtoceo.com
For episode updates and coaching packages, check out our website - www.rdtoceo.com
Affiliate Links Often Mentioned:
Gusto for Payroll - https://gusto.com/h/eva6486
Practice Better- https://practicebetter.partnerlinks.io/evahaldis9298
*Please note that while we strive to provide valuable insights, our podcast is not a replacement for personalized legal or financial counsel. We strongly advise consulting with qualified professionals for specific advice tailored to your individual circumstances.*
Welcome to the RD to CEO podcast. I'm your host, Eva Haldis, registered dietitian, who one day found herself a whole CEO of a business. Join me as we navigate the world of entrepreneurship so you can go from being an RD who sees clients in private practice to a confident CEO growing the practice of your dreams. Hi everyone, Welcome back to another episode of the RD to CEO podcast. We have an exciting episode today with our special guest, Courtney Vickery. Courtney and I spend more than an hour actually talking all things website as CEO and we really got into a lot of the little detailed nitty gritty stuff but also really helped narrow down some like where do I begin? Because a lot of the online presence, marketing, branding, website stuff can feel very overwhelming. Courtney Vickery is a multi-passionate entrepreneur in the white-inclusive space. She's an anti-dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor with her own private practice, Vickery Wellness. She's also the CEO of Declet Designs, her website and branding studio for weight-inclusive businesses. This is really where Courtney and I talk a lot today is on her business, Declet Designs, and she primarily works with dietitians and therapists, although she does mention in the episode that she does not only work with health care providers like us. So she's really amazing and really well-versed and knowledgeable on a lot of topics around all things website SEO, which you'll learn a little bit more about in the episode today.
Speaker 1:Courtney connected on Instagram I think a few years ago just. I started following her because she was posting a little bit more about her website stuff and she actually did offer some free like website audits. So I wrote my name down and she sent me this 20 minute video going through my website at whatever it was, at whatever state it was at the time, and gave me such good feedback on just small things like making sure my font was consistent on the different pages, making sure the colors of you know the call to action buttons that say like contact us or schedule an appointment. Those were all different colors and so she really just pointed out a lot of different things that made the website function so much better. So it was so super helpful. And then I recently actually hired her to help our practice with some local SEO around our Google business page and sort of getting more local searches to be able to find us, and I mean honestly had some really great results. We worked for a few months together Through that. She found that we had a 21% increase in our organic traffic to our site, a 22.3% increase in new users and 16% increase in clicks from Google search. So that was just from working together for three months, and so I mean, you know, obviously I think that speaks for itself if you continue to work with someone like Courtney and her amazing team. So, anyway, that's what the episode will be about. Today. We're really going to talk a lot about more of that local branding and how we can get clients to our doors.
Speaker 1:As always, please make sure to follow along, like and subscribe wherever you're listening. Also, if you have been listening to the last few episodes, I mentioned that I would like to start incorporating some listener questions. So in the next couple episodes, hopefully, we'll get this started. But if you have a question or are just looking for some general advice about your business, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1:You can reach me in two different ways. You can contact me on Instagram, on my professional site at evaheldis underscore RD, or you can actually text or send me a voice message. I prefer a voice message so that I can actually play, or send me a voice message. I prefer a voice message so that I can actually play it on the episode, but I have a special phone number, which is 857-VMRDCEO. That is 857-VMRDCEO. I'll make sure to include that all in the show notes, of course, and, without further ado, let's get into the episode with Courtney Vickery. So, hi, Courtney, Hi, thank you for having me so excited. Thanks for being here. I'd love to you know start off the podcast with just hearing a little bit about you and the work that you do, and how you went actually from being an RD clinician to now doing work with dietitians and really how that sort of business mentality was incorporated in that.
Speaker 2:So yeah, tell us a little bit about your story, yeah, so I always say that I became an entrepreneur when I was a kid because I had a lemonade stand at my mom and dad's place of business. They own their own business. Pretty much everyone in my family owns their own business, so it kind of isn't a surprise that I got to this point. It's a surprise of how I got to this point. When I first started in college, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer. I have a degree in political science. I've worked in the political field and then I was like I'm going to go back and do my dietetics degree because I myself was just coming out of eating disorder recovery. I had an eating disorder from the time I was eight until I was in college, so that was obviously a big piece of why I became a dietitian and I did my bachelor's. I had to go back and kind of start over, which is super fun being the old person in the class or feeling like the old person in the class being the old person in the class or feeling like the old person in the class. And I got my master's and I've worked in clinical and in outpatient, but throughout it all, the main focus of everything I've done has been focused on, like, developing programs. No matter what position I've been in, I've had to recreate something from scratch, like I've come into a system or a position that needed to be created or restructured. So I feel like that has really helped with you know, knowing what works and what doesn't work, and you know how to figure out what works and doesn't work.
Speaker 2:And then my last job before I went into private practice, I was over three departments at the hospital, so I was over community health and wellbeing, so I was creating programs in the community based off of surveys that we had to do every three years as a nonprofit, and so that was, you know, really big into program development. That was also marketing. I developed the marketing materials. I mean, I was a one person show for all of that, while also running a 24 seven wellness facility that had programs within it too. So that was almost like running my own business but under a corporate umbrella, which is also interesting transitioning out of that corporate mindset into being your own boss and realizing, oh, if I don't want to take a 9 am call, I don't have to. That was like a huge. I had so many rules I didn't realize I had. And the thing is is that you can really set it up however you want to set it up. So I don't take calls before 10 am because I'm not a morning person. Love that that might change in the fall when my son goes to school and I have to get up at the crack of dawn to take him, but for now, I don't do that. So, yeah, I started my private practice in 2020 when I left the corporate health position and in that, people started reaching out to me and saying, like, who did your branding? Who did your website? And I had done it all because I had been doing that at my old job anyways. But you know, it's one of those things that's not written in the job description, so people didn't know I was doing all those things. So I don't know.
Speaker 2:I found myself spending more and more time on my own website and redesigning things instead of, you know, doing other things, and then so many people kept asking for help and saying you know you should do this, like you are good at it and you should. Just you've enjoyed it. So why don't you do this? And that seems so far out to me because I was like, well, I have to be a dietitian, like I have to do nutrition counseling and I can't do anything else, because then it's like did I fail at my private practice? But you know, I slowly transitioned from seeing less and less people in my nutrition practice to seeing more and more people in my website business. Once I finally took the plunge and did that in 2021. And yeah, now, like I have one lingering nutrition client that I see like once every six months just for like a check-in. But I am full-time and you know, doing decollet designs, websites, seo, branding, the clinician crew all in on this right now. So that's my long story.
Speaker 1:Wow, well, so many things I want to comment and I was taking notes because I'm like need to mention this, need to mention this, but it's kind of it's actually amazing to hear you go from starting your practice in 2020 to now being and shifting really into doing design and working that full time. Like you were able to make that transition so quickly. So that's incredible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like when I first started Decla Designs, I my first customer was an interior designer locally and she's really one of the ones that you know encouraged me to do this. And then, of course, now the majority of my clients are dietitians and therapists, but I always like to, you know, point out that I don't just work with those. I can work with other people, although I do prefer, I really like working with dieticians because I understand, obviously. But yeah, like the first quarter that I was open, I think I had six projects at one time and I was still trying to figure out my flow.
Speaker 2:Like, how long does it take me to build a website? Honestly, don't know when it's working with someone else. Like, what does my process look like? So I actually spent all of last year, like you know, redoing my own systems and my own processes. And you know, now I have, like today this is my quote, unquote lunch break, but I'm doing a website in a day today. So, you know, I have my process down pat and all my systems in place and that is what allows me to, you know, be so efficient but still like, do the job well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think and this is where I really want to talk with you about too about developing systems and having such a lot of experience. It sounds like in developing programs, but, you know, it sounds like you've probably had to try things out and see how it worked and then make adjustments, and that's sort of how we create systems, Because I think a lot of dietitians I see online will be like what systems do I need in place? When I'm starting, I'm like, well, it depends, and you have to sort of figure out what's going to be the right system for you. I mean, there's obviously some things that we can maybe standardize across the board, but a lot of it is just learning as you go and what's going to work for you and make you know. I think all of our brains function so differently, right? So it's like the system that works for me may not work for you. So, yeah, it's nice to see that you've had to sort of learn as you go and figure out the same thing with your design business.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean my nutrition practice. My first site was on Wix and there's. You know I always joke about Wix. I really don't care. Obviously, I have a preference for WordPress because I like working in it and I think it's something that can grow with you.
Speaker 2:But if you're someone that is, maybe I've had some older clients that are like I know that I'm not going to do a course and I know I'm not going to do social media and they're not really concerned about SEO because they have such a strong local referral network, because they've been in business for so long. They just need, you know, a nice looking site for people to go to. Then maybe they don't need WordPress. Like, I don't really like the whole conversation around superiority, around what system you're using. Try to meet people where they are. I mean, I did a VIP day the other week for someone on Squarespace and we were just refreshing their site. So you know, like you just said, it really just depends on what you need and where you are and also, knowing that nothing is permanent, we can always adjust.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's so true. And so I interestingly back in I don't even know 2013,. Maybe I started a food blog I don't know if Weebly is still a website option, it is Okay. So I started Weebly, I think I don't even know. Or maybe I started WordPress, who knows?
Speaker 1:Anyway, and then because I was in the blogging space in no actual capacity, because I didn't know anything about SEO, which we'll get into today, but nobody was talking about it 10 years ago, which is really what I needed if I wanted to have a blog anyways. But I heard from a lot of people talking about WordPress and WordPress is the one that's like the best. So I shifted to WordPress, which was a huge learning curve, and then all that stuff. So I'm sort of familiar with the differences just because I've done my website on WordPress and I have a plugin that I use and I also have my RD to CEO website through Squarespace. So I'm curious if you want to give us like a quick breakdown maybe of you know what the main key differences are from like the WordPress website to like the Squarespace, wix, weebly of the world.
Speaker 2:I feel like the best analogy and this is I use this analogy for a lot of things, but especially for this that the ones that are kind of like you know, a kit in a box, like ready to go, like Wix and Squarespace, et cetera. That's like the Apple version. That's really simple, whereas a WordPress site is an Android and you people are probably thinking like, well, I hate Android phones. That's not what I mean. I just mean like, with an Android, you have like limitless possibilities. You can do pretty much whatever you can dream of. You can do that on a WordPress site, whereas Squarespace and Wix have a purpose, but it's limited. So you've got to decide, like what is the future going to look like and am I prepared to move to a new platform? You know, for example, blogging.
Speaker 2:If you are trying to blog on Squarespace, it's going to be a lot harder for us to transfer all those blogs over to WordPress, whereas WordPress you could download your site today and move it to another host tomorrow. You take it with you, whereas you know you can't take your Squarespace site with you to WordPress. So it just gives you a little bit more flexibility to move around. And then, as far as SEO, again like you can get into the nitty gritty code detail of everything on WordPress. With Squarespace you kind of have like a you know a little bit more than Wix, etc. Like I would say WordPress and Squarespace are the two, you know, most SEO friendly. But you know you get limited because they've kind of got the wall up, because it's it's for people that are DIY and it's meant to be easier. So you're kind of at the you know whatever they feel like doing for SEO.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they sort of have because it's limited, right, like how you were saying, which is actually such an interesting analogy and a controversial one, a controversial take on the Apple versus Android. But it makes a lot of sense, knowing what I know about WordPress. But it really is sort of like, yeah, it is limitless because you can really do it from like somebody who knows coding and do it like all in that way, and my practice website is through WordPress and so over the years I've had to learn a lot. But there's a lot of also like plugins, which are like these sort of like apps we can use if we want to use the phone analogy that you can download into your WordPress account. That makes things easier. Like, and I believe you maybe use Divi as well. Like, I use Divi for my design. You might use a different one, but I use Divi. I use them all yeah.
Speaker 2:Love that. I have preferred ones. But I started out with Divi. I like that. You know it has a lifetime license, which is nice. I think it's fine.
Speaker 2:You know people you get into the WordPress world, they'll all say Divi and Elementor are bloated and they have too much code and they slow things down. I mean my Divi sites are always a 95 or above on speed because I'm a dietitian and I'm a type A and I'm going to get that A. But I will say they're supposed to be coming out with Divvy 5 this year. But they've been saying that for a while. They've been kind of dragging us along with that and I think that once that comes out I might go back to it. But for now I've been using Breakdance a lot more, especially if someone you know doesn't really want to do like since it's a newer one. I don't want to do like a membership site with it. Necessarily, you know, I might use like Elementor or something like that, or Cadence for something like that. I also use Beaver Builder. I mean I have so many clients that are on Divi, elementor, beaver Builder, breakdance, bricks, cadence and just the Gutenberg Builder. I mean I've done them all yeah.
Speaker 1:I didn't even know there were so many and, like Divi and Elementor, I've tried Elementor but because I was so used to using Divi I just panicked and went back to the thing I knew. But it allows, at least for Divi, it sort of gives you a similar capacity to what Squarespace or Wix will offer, where you can do more of that like drag and drop, and it makes it less like scary coding stuff. It's like much more simple, simplified, but also has different things that you can do. That maybe doesn't have the same capacity like now. Now, having created websites on both WordPress, divi and Squarespace, they do similar things, but yeah, my Squarespace one.
Speaker 1:Once you really I'm sorry my WordPress once I really started to learn how to use the plugins made a huge difference and there's so many things I don't even know how to do that. I've downloaded templates and things and things are moving. I don't even know how to do all that stuff. So there's a million capabilities really with WordPress sites. And I think you're right too.
Speaker 1:And this is sort of where I think the podcast really is about, sort of that transitional place of you're the clinician, you're doing the work and then you have to shift to this business mindset. It's sometimes hard for us because sometimes we don't know. We don't know, so we might not know what our future will hold right. Like maybe right now you're like I'm going to just be a clinician and do one-on-one work and then eventually maybe somebody does want to shift into blogging, and so it can be hard to sort of think about. Well, what kind of website then should I be using? And I think I'm definitely curious what you think would be like a good, maybe starting a point for someone who's like well, I don't know now which one I should do, which one should I start with? Like how would you, what would you? You know, kind of with some words of wisdom you'd give someone.
Speaker 2:I mean, I think you should go and try them all out, like do a trial and see which one you feel the most comfortable with. Because in an ideal world, would I like you to start out with like a super simple template in WordPress, so that you know we can grow eventually. Yes, and I'm working on something like that, hopefully within the next year, but also if you need to start out on Wix just to get started, that's totally fine. I think the point, especially for us perfectionists, is just do something. I think we get stuck on like what is the best thing to do? And there is no best thing to do, there's only doing. You just have to do it and then if it doesn't work I mean, I feel like that's the number one thing you learn in business Try it. If it doesn't work, try again. You don't know until you know 100%, 100%.
Speaker 1:And what you said earlier, too, is really important is that you can always change it, even if it's easier, maybe, to go from, like you said I think you were saying WordPress to another one like Squarespace. I paid somebody and I had my Weebly blog transferred to WordPress and I didn't you know, I was able to get like the links redirected and so people that had saved my recipes on Pinterest are able to still find them on my new website. So it's possible, and I think that's actually the really cool part of you know websites and technology nowadays is like it doesn't have to be super permanent, even if you like exactly what you're saying. I think that is such a key thing about dietitians is that we are so perfectionist, but you do have to just try and go from there and, like I'm sure you would agree with this, the way that my website looked when I first started to what it looks like now is like I don't know how many times it's changed, but it's like nobody notices.
Speaker 2:Also, you know I just changed mine all the time. Still like, if you go to my site last week to this week, you're probably like what? That wasn't there last time. I even so I used this is even down to fonts, right. Like we always talk about consistency and branding in your fonts, I have used the same font for two years, which I was proud of myself for lasting that long, because I look at fonts so much. And then someone I know started using my font and I kind of panicked so I was like, well, I'm going to switch fonts. But then I switched to this font that now I realize that a lot of people use. So they look similar enough that I don't know if anyone would even notice but me, because they're from the same designer. But it's just. You know, I'm constantly looking. You know what can I do to make it better?
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, there's so many things with branding that I think we don't a lot of us don't really think about and like some of the nitty gritty font stuff. But I think I've seen you post on Instagram, even like pictures of things and like being like can you tell which one's my brand? I think you did something like that before and I was like, oh, that's so interesting because, yeah, I, that's something that I don't think I do, have always done, and I've even changed my colors and things like that. But really keeping things consistent is it makes such a key, because if you think about like literally any bigger company that we know, you could spot it just by like certain colors and you know which, what company it is, without even having to have it written. So it does make a big difference.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely Like giving those colors a job, like not just the colors, but you know, there's one color. I can tell you the hex code right off the top of my head at 761166. That is my brand color. It has been my brand color for like two years now. Have I changed the colors around it? Yes, because now I kind of have like a monochromatic purple thing going on, but that color is my call to action color. That hasn't changed. So I would hope that when people see that color they think decollet designs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah which, as you see something more consistently you do, you start to notice like who something is. I I noticed that even from like food bloggers I follow like I can. I can see a picture of a recipe and know that it was like half-baked harvest because of how her photos look. I like know almost always that it's theirs and that's that's what you know branding and consistency does. And once again, this is like sort of like when we look at business in a more of a long-term thing and where a dietitian might want to take their business. But having that consistency over time will really you know, I think that's also the hard part is sort of we have to take. It takes time to build that brand recognition and things like that.
Speaker 1:And I was even thinking because I've been this June is my five years in business and my name did change. It used to be Eva Haldis Nutrition and now we're Reclaim Nutrition. But I was at a networking event and somebody was like introducing me and a therapist and the therapist, we have a collective together. So anyway, she was like they're from Reclaim. And somebody was like oh, reclaim, yeah, like they kind of knew who we were, which I was like that's so funny. Which I was like that's so funny, but it was. It was interesting because I'm like oh, five years ago I felt like such a newbie and nobody knew who I was. And now it was like you know, it just takes time for people to know who you are and then you'll know them and you know, depending on the strategy you have.
Speaker 2:As far as marketing, you know where people will get that. I think we, like I don't know if anybody else feels this way, but I think we kind of think of marketing as being afraid that we're being annoying. But we have to remember that, like out of the you know, however many people follow you on Instagram or social media, like five people probably saw the thing you're thinking about, even though you've seen it a million times, because you made it, but everybody's not seeing it. There's, I know, like different areas of the country have different marketing tactics, tactics that work, but in my area billboards actually are everywhere and do work. And there's this lawyer in our town who has done a great job because I would.
Speaker 2:I've never heard of him but like his billboards are everywhere and they're clever Because I always think about them and my kids comment on them. They're not like and they're not overly done either. They're just. They're just consistent and like subtle. They're not like you know, the 1-800 lawyer type thing, but you know, just being consistent and making people see it again and again and again and again, even if it's something they don't realize they need. I don't need a lawyer right now, but I might, and if I did, I probably would call him because he's everywhere.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it's so true. And especially lawyers and billboards. I feel like there's in Philly is the same thing, there's like three. I can think of that. I've seen their billboards everywhere and they have a very similar thing that they always say. So that's a good point with billboards. As we're talking, I'm having so many thoughts and writing things down, but on that topic, I'm like I want to come back to branding and colors. I want to go back to your story also, but since we are talking about, you know, the use of different types of marketing tactics, which is interesting to think about, different locations. It's funny.
Speaker 1:My husband always has this thing with me where he's like you should take out a billboard or put an ad somewhere, and I'm always telling him thank you, but that's not where I'm going to find my ideal client.
Speaker 1:I always say to dietitians think about where your ideal client's going to find you, and then that's where you want to be and that's how do you get to that place? And for me to put on a billboard or an ad and explain what a non-dietitian is or an inclusive approach, and I really think of it as a return, because it's temporary, it's like I don't have the maybe, like the lawyers, do have a bigger budget, but it's like I don't have a budget to run an ad like that consistently, where it will pay off, whereas for me, networking is like the marketing that pays off because it's continuous right. So I'm curious for you on that topic and you know where do you feel like are, and obviously it's going to depend on specialties and it sounds like region as well. But what are some of the the maybe like starting marketing points that you could, you would suggest at least for like an online presence or from like a branding or marketing perspective For dieticians right, like business to client versus business to business, correct?
Speaker 2:Yes, thanks for that distinction. Yes, thanks for that distinction. Yeah, so, like you said, I think that dietitians get so I mean and again I have a perspective from what I see online but I feel like we get so stuck online especially since 2020, that we think we have to have a TikTok, we have to have an Instagram, we have to do this, we have to do our blog perfectly, and we're kind of stuck on our computers, which is funny for me to say because I am. But if I had stayed in private practice, I would be out doing local networking and local SEO.
Speaker 2:That's where your people are, and even if you're thinking like, oh, but I work in these other states, you have to start somewhere. You can't like be everywhere all at once and immediately. You need to start at home. You need to start where. You can't like be everywhere all at once and immediately. You need to start at home. You need to start where you are and then grow from there. You know, even like when I was in practice and and also, too, my, it lended itself for my other job right, because I was already going out into the community and doing things. So I had a lot of networking and connections kind of built up from that position.
Speaker 2:But you can still do that in private practice. I would go and I would give presentations to different groups. You know, find out where your chamber of commerce is and see if you know they have an active program going on. We have one that are like a sub branch of our chamber of commerce. It's just for women business owners. So you know, doing things like that, finding other facilities that share your values there's a Pilates studio in our town that is also weight inclusive and anti-diet, intuitive eating, and so we've done tons of things together and we're always referring people to each other. So you know, I think you just got to see what's in your area first before you try to take over the world.
Speaker 1:Yes, I couldn't agree more.
Speaker 1:And it is because we see stuff online and we see other clinicians.
Speaker 1:I feel like social media is a good networking for other clinicians like each other, so that they know of us and we know each other, although a lot of times it's like other dietitians or other sometimes it's therapists who may refer to us.
Speaker 1:But to, I always say to people to for your client, like, especially depending on licensing laws right for dietitians, I mean, our licensure is sort of all over the place, but for your very specific client that you want to work with, to find you on instagram, I mean, how how is that, even now, consistently going to be an option unless, right, you, you know you're doing something that is a little bit more global or group-based, but it does take so much time and I think a lot of people feel like they're, like they get frustrated because it's like you're playing against the algorithms you're playing against like so many people. It can feel so, yeah, like I'm not getting any return on this, like what's the point. But it's also because it's not really set up for the private practice world. Like the individual private practice, local world is not. Social media, does not have to be the space for that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, totally agree. I think in the two years that I was actively you know, full-time taking nutrition clients, I got one person from Instagram. So, yeah, everyone came from local SEO people searching Athens, georgia, nutritionist dietitian. I think that was like 52 or 53% of my clients and then the rest were referrals.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, Speaking of local SEO and SEO in particular, I worked with Courtney on our local SEO. You did a really amazing webinar on SEO and local SEO. You did a really amazing webinar on SEO and local SEO. Before we talk about you know all the stuff I do want to talk about kind of the work you did with our practice, but can you define what SEO is for people who might not be familiar with that acronym?
Speaker 2:Yes, I always assume that people know what it means, but I shouldn't do that. Search engine optimization it's basically optimizing your presence online so that when people search certain keywords, you show up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's like if you search dietitian, like you're saying Athens, georgia, for us it's like Mr Dietitian Horsham. We want to be as high as possible. And I think about when I'm searching for a restaurant or a business, what do I look at? Who's at the top and whose Google map is at the top right. And so I had known a little bit about SEO from the blogging space Once again, not from my own food blog, but from a therapist friend of mine who has done a lot of work on her website with SEO and blogging.
Speaker 1:Blogging has never been my strong suit as far as the work I do now, not so much the food blogging part, but I was like, ok, that's what I need to do. I need to do more blogs, da, da, da. And then, really, your webinar on local SEO was really interesting for me because I didn't even realize how much Google Maps has the ability to be almost like have this SEO piece. And so, yeah, I worked with Courtney and it was so helpful and really helped us because our Google Map wasn't even like showing up for a while and there were so many aspects of like getting us registered on Yelp and all these other search things that I had no idea to do. So, yeah, so tell us a little bit more about like the local SEO versus like, maybe like blogging SEO, like. What would be the difference?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I think of them as buckets because I am very visual. Obviously, you know the first bucket is what people think of when they think of SEO is the blogging, like you said. You know the first bucket is what people think of when they think of SEO is the blogging, like you said. Like I have to blog, I have to get so many visits on this keyword, blah, blah, blah. And again, if you have, like what you said, like a nutrition food recipe blog, that makes sense.
Speaker 2:But if you are trying to get local clients, it's a different bucket, it's a different strategy a little bit, because you're focusing on the keywords of your area and sending the right signals to Google so that it knows where you're located, sometimes without even you having to blatantly say it. It's not like you have to put like Athens-Georgia Nutritionist on every single page, but you have to make sure the intent is there. So there's a couple of different things you can do. Number one claim your Google business profile. And I know I talked to a group of people yesterday, like other designers and developers. We meet every Thursday at five in this group and they're and it's so fun because they're from all over the world. We're all different ages and everything.
Speaker 2:So we learn a lot from each other. But we were talking about local SEO, and verifying your Google business profile as an online business is sometimes challenging and it was kind of funny. I don't know if I would recommend this, but one of the people attending said that Google sent them an email and now you know you have to do like a video call or a photo or something proving that you're at that location. But it was his house. So he, you know, confirmed it was his address, like with the picture of the road sign, but then they said that you have to send a picture with your business name on the outside of the building. It's his house. So he photoshopped a sign with his logo on his house and I'm like, honestly, I like it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's really smart.
Speaker 2:I was like, maybe we add this as a service We'll Photoshop your logo onto your house if you work from home. But you know there's some hoops you have to jump through. They are making it a little bit harder because, yes, the purpose of Google Business Profiles is for it was originally for brick and mortar locations and for maps, so that you can go on there and get directions. I do think Google's missing out on an opportunity there to create something different for online businesses. Until they figure that out, which they probably won't, we have to try to make do with what we have. And so you know, you've got to use a physical address, and if you're like I'm not putting my home address on there, you hide it. That's how mine is. So, yes, my address is on there, but no one can see it but me and I select a service area. Just make sure your service area is not like the whole country. It needs to be near you, your state at least. So, yeah, get that verified, because that is the number one thing that you need to do for a local SEO. And then, once you get it, you can't just be like, well, I got it, it's done. You've got to optimize it. You need to figure out what category makes the most sense for you. I was talking to a client about this yesterday. They're like should we be an eating disorder treatment center? Because when we were dietitian we were getting a lot of you know, not ideal clients contacting us. So you kind of have to figure out what makes the most sense for your services and where you're located and what kind of inquiries you're getting, and then go ahead and make sure you have images, make sure you have your services listed. It doesn't let you list products because they're not real products, but it will let you list services out. And you know, part of our service is that we post on your profile once a week and the point of that is a couple of things to show Google you're real and that you're interacting with your customers. And it also gives someone the chance that if they search for dietitian in your area that you have content that they're now seeing, they're not having to go to your social media. It's already there and it's leading them somewhere. It's either saying like you know, here's something that we offer, here's why we offer it, here's information about it, here's a link, and then they go to your site, ideally.
Speaker 2:And then the other thing I hear a lot is people are nervous about getting reviews and I totally get that, like as a you know someone, as a therapist or a dietitian, they're afraid of that. But I don't know, I kind of feel like that's just part of business, like it just is, and you kind of can't hide behind that. If you want people to know you exist and believe me, I'm a people pleaser there's nothing worse than someone telling me something negative. It'll ruin my day, but it just kind of is. Yeah, you have to have the opportunity for them to leave a review, just like if you were looking for a doctor or something, you would want some reviews and the people can usually discern like what is a real review and what is a real review and what is? You know, if you've got a hundred five-star reviews and you've got one one-star review, and that person is just disgruntled. It's obvious.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so, yeah, it's so true, that's, yeah, the Google review. I was actually just talking to a coaching client about this today and that's that's a good point and I want to hear your take on it because it's a little bit. It's challenging with our work too, because it's not something that we can really like, especially for eating disorders. One I don't think we can really solicit people because of the HIPAA considerations. We don't want to be like you should do this. Of course people do it Wonderful, but yeah, sort of like, how do we get reviews? And I've had other providers that I know and you know leaving reviews for one another.
Speaker 1:But it is scary to think about like oh, what if somebody leaves me a bad review? And sometimes I think about that when we're doing business with people, like how to handle situations. Like I remember that we had a client who was like really upset about our late cancellation policy and they were on a reduced fee and they even threatened to see like a lawyer because of our like late fee and I just refunded the money because I was like it's not worth it. One the sliding scale spot. It was like I remember thinking to myself okay, one it's, they're not going to go to a lawyer for $50 for one. For two, it's not that big of a loss financially for me to give that money back. And three, I was like I don't want to like fight her on this and that's a bad review.
Speaker 1:So it's something that I'm certainly I think about, but I also and I think this comes back to like everything with business for me Am I, am I practicing in line with my values? Am I going to make mistakes? Are my clinicians going to you know? Are we going to say things that don't land? Of course you know our tent is where it is and the impact if it ends up being harmful, we correct it. And I think it's just.
Speaker 1:It is just the nature of business. And but the reviews do make such a difference Like I read them for other businesses all the time when I'm looking for, you know, services that are newer to me. So, yeah, the Google reviews are a tough one, but the interesting thing that you were talking about and this is something that you really helped our practice with is like the posting on there and really like making your Google business profile more than just here's a location and here's like there was so much to it that I hadn't even considered would make a difference, and that's really. And you made really beautiful ones as well, which, oh thanks, it's a testament to your skills.
Speaker 2:Well, me and my team I didn't do everything on my own, so I always have to give credit to you know, my virtual assistant and everyone that helps. So but, yeah, the posting, and then also we kind of scour the internet to make sure what's. It's called NAP and I love an acronym so it's name, address and phone are consistent across everywhere that you're listed. If you think about, like you mentioned, yelp, we want to make sure that the business hours listed there on your website and your Google business profile are all the same, because that just is another piece of the puzzle that Google's looking at, to make sure that you know you're real, basically because there's too much scamming going on. And then you know we also look and see every month where can we list you in another directory.
Speaker 2:So in the beginning, you know we go and clean up all the things we find, but then, moving forward, every month we try to find like at least 10 new directories to list your information in, which you know just gives it a little more of that, that juice and backlink power, so that Google knows again, you know we're actually going out and telling people that you exist, kind of that restaurant analogy I've used before where if you built the best restaurant in the world in the middle of the desert and you had the best food and the best chef and the best service, if you don't tell anyone, it doesn't matter because no one knows you existed. So you have to tell people and that's, I think, uncomfortable for a lot of us.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely, and it's funny because, well, not funny, but ironically a lot of people then are like, okay, well, then I got to put myself on, you know, go back to social media. But it's like, think about how you. I always think about like, how do I interact on the internet? When I'm looking for something I will sometimes use, I mean, I'll Google it first, I'll look, and then sometimes I'll go to Instagram to like, confirm and see if they have any like pictures or like, oh, street cred, that's such a good, you know a good way. So I'm like, okay, it's good to have some visibility sometimes for that purpose.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I think the like local SEO game is like not nearly talked about enough for dietitians and business Cause, once again, nobody knows half the people. But I don't even know what SEO means, let alone how do I optimize it. And I think actually that's such a good tip on if you have your address, because I didn't realize that, because I think that's a question a lot of people have how do I, if I don't have an office, like, how do I get on Google business? So I didn't realize you can actually hide your address. That's good to know, it's great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I yeah. I definitely don't want people to know my address. Yeah, yeah, and then you know, like when I don't know state per state but in my state, I don't have to list my home address for my LLC. I'm able to list, like my mailing address. So you know there are ways to at least keep it. People are going to find out what they can on the internet.
Speaker 1:but you know, at least you can make it a little harder, yeah yeah, so that's good to know that you can still, if you have like a purely online business, even if you're marketing locally but it's like you don't have a brick and mortar office space, you can still get yourself listed on Google Maps, which is really helpful. And there's ways to still optimize. And so when we say optimize, it's like how do we sort of get the website, yeah, like at the top of the list on google, because you know, you know, after page like one or two no one's really looking into. It's not even stuff that's related. So we really want to get. How high can we get on google?
Speaker 1:And so there's other ways that dietitians can really do that on their website. You know, by by ways and this is where I think the more complicated people don't have enough time to even get into how one would do that are. Are there any helpful SEO tools or kind of things that can be helpful for people who are just starting out, for local SEO or general SEO? For general, let's say, like for their website? Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So if you're on WordPress, I personally like RankMath. Yoast is fine. I mean, they're very, very similar. I feel like it's just, you know, kind of the Divi Elementor debate which one do you like better?
Speaker 2:I just have used Rank Math the most and I like it. I tried Yoast in the beginning. There's also SEO Press, but I don't recommend that one for someone that's just starting out because it's going to overwhelm you probably. So I would start out with Rank Math and, you know, see, make sure you've got everything set up properly in there, from the name of your site to your featured images, to you know, when you're writing a blog post, you can select a keyword that you want to focus on and it'll give you some guidelines. I could give you a whole list of tools to use. I don't want to overwhelm anybody, though, so we'll just start with Rank Math. And then you know, as far as your website and making sure that it's optimized, I think the two things I would look at the most would be the speed or performance of your site and whether it's optimized for mobile.
Speaker 2:If it doesn't look good on mobile or if it takes forever to load, you've lost the majority of people. Oh true, yeah, so you can use GT metrics or the page speed tester on Google to test the performance I use both because I want to see what they look like on both and or the PageSpeed tester on Google to test their performance. I use both because I want to see what they look like on both, and it'll do what's called a waterfall and show you exactly what is causing your site to take so long to load. It's most likely an image, so make sure you're optimizing your images, and that means compressing them so that it doesn't take as long to load.
Speaker 1:That's such a good point about the mobile site because've I've been in that myself where I made this beautiful website, and then I go on my phone like months later and I'm like, oh my God, this looks nothing makes sense. So now it's something that I'm very careful to make sure to double check, and a lot of the website design tools now will have options that you can view it in like your screen. And then there's also, I think, websites where you can maybe put in like the type of phone I feel like I've seen before. What do you use for that usually?
Speaker 2:Yes, so I use a responsive design checker. That's literally one of the websites responsive design checker there's am I responsive? And there's actual browsers that you can download on your computer that I again. I use them because I'm building sites and I want to see all of the screens at one time. The one I've been using lately is called Sizzy S-I-Z-Z-Y. I like, I like it a lot. I pay for it.
Speaker 2:On AppSumo If you've ever talked to me, I've probably mentioned AppSumo because I'm a junkie and I buy all the software. But another one is called Responsively, livelyly. So those are browsers that that is their purpose to show you what it looks like on different screen sizes. And that's just one more thing I'll mention about. Like the difference between WordPress and Wix and things is, wordpress allows you, depending on what builder you're using, but most of the time, to look at different breakpoints Because, like you said, different phones are different sizes. They're not just one size of a phone, there's not just one tablet or one desktop, so you really want to see how much you can get it to look great on every single size.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. That's such a good point because I've even done that with, like you know, mailing lists like MailerLate. I've sent an email and then I didn't even. I think there's a preview on the phone, but I didn't even think about that. And then I looked it up on my phone the next day and I was like, oh my god, this like the way that the wording it just like didn't make sense on my phone. I was like, oh, live and learn, uh. But it's true, because I mean, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I'm sure there's a way to edit stuff like this on the phones, but as a millennial, I'm like I'm not. I have to do everything on my computer, but I'm still looking at people's websites on my phone. So that's something that we also definitely want to make sure that we're doing. And there, yeah, seo is a very like there's a science to it and you can do a lot of these things on your own, but having really like somebody's help who knows I think that's one of the benefits of Courtney, and I know there's other dietitians who now do websites of like you get who our target audience is also so like having SEO help with somebody who's like actually understands the work we're doing makes a big difference too, because somebody who does general SEO might be like doing stuff that's like not actually going to help us find our actual client that we're looking for, you know.
Speaker 2:So They'll put the apple and salad eating lady on your site too. Yeah, we don't want that.
Speaker 1:We don't right, that's not going to be it. So obviously there's a lot of complexity in the SEO world, but you can do it as a beginner. But then I think, when we want to get to the next level, having some support, but to not overwhelm this perfectionist audience of dietitians that I, that we have here, maybe what are some good, what would you say are like the basic. Here's the things that you should always have, like a starter website, like information, like cause. I think we can really get into the nitty gritty of how things look or is it pretty, but like what information should? Should definitely be there when, when we're first starting out.
Speaker 2:So think about the structure of your page, like zoom out, think about it like it's a Word document versus a website and think about if it makes sense structurally and is it overwhelming. Would you write a paper that way? You know, at the top, with your navigation, we don't want more than five or six things because it's overwhelming. They can be drop downs, but again, don't overwhelm your people. This is not the place to tell them everything. This is the place to guide them where you want them to go. For now, you can change it later if you you know as things change. And then for the rest of the structure of the page, think about the text and you should only have one H1 tag. There's tags, header tags. There's H1, 2, 3, and so on. So you only want one H1. And then after that, think about the subheaders as H2. If there's a subheader under that H3. And then body copy. And the reason I say think about it like a Word document is because I think structurally that makes sense in our mind a little better to have like titles and paragraphs. That makes sense in our mind a little better to have like titles and paragraphs. But also because another thing I see all the time and it drives me insane.
Speaker 2:Do not put words that you want people to read in an image and then put that on your site, because I you know we can't get accessibility perfect, but there's definitely things that we can do that will help accessibility and SEO. Accessibility perfect, but there's definitely things that we can do that will help accessibility and SEO. A screen reader cannot read your image. It can read your alt description, but that kind of is not the point of a screen reader. So if I can't highlight the text on your site, then you need to redo that part. Don't use text inside of an image. I know that that seems easier because you know we may not know how to make something outside of Canva on a site, but it's going to be so much better if you actually have the text. So, headers don't use images with words.
Speaker 2:Make sure your navigation is clean and simple. For the most part, your footer can be your junk drawer. That's where you can put everything else and have a privacy policy. I know people are like I don't need it, I don't do XYZ. If you have Google Analytics on your site, you need privacy policy and it can't be like a generic thing. I know that stinks, but you know you can't just go copy someone else's because it's not your property. So definitely try to, you know, purchase one or you know I'm not a lawyer, not legal advice but have a privacy policy, have the terms and conditions. And yeah, that's the general layout, without talking about design is think of it like a Word doc, make sure it's all highlightable text and it's structured properly with headers and body font or body copy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a really good tip. Oh, one more yeah.
Speaker 2:Alt description on your image.
Speaker 1:Okay, can you explain?
Speaker 2:that.
Speaker 1:I still don't know how to do that and I don't know what it means.
Speaker 2:Okay. So again, if you think about someone who has a hard time seeing and they're using a screen reader so they can see your words, but where there's an image it doesn't say anything, but they want to know what's supposed to be there. So you tell them that's what that's doing. You kind of throw in some SEO words in there. You know, like I don't know, let's go back to the woman eating salad, a Caucasian woman sitting at a table eating an apple, talking to her dietitian. You know, like throw that in there but tell them what they're looking at because they want to have they want to create the imagery in their mind as well.
Speaker 1:So that's kind of the purpose of that. Yeah, thank you so much for bringing up the idea of accessibility, because I think I mean it's like a both thing, because I think I've always thought of them as purely SEO things. Cause, when you were saying the like text on images, which I, we are guilty of having some of that on our website because, yeah, it was just easier for me to in the moment, I wanted to have it there, but but I so, from an SEO perspective, I was like, oh yeah, because then like, if I have, you know, support for our feed on a image, like Google is not going to know that. That is Right. But also, from an accessibility standpoint, right, because we're like assuming that people are using your website, maybe in a in a way that you can, and that's not necessarily going to be the case for everybody.
Speaker 2:So I'm so glad that you mentioned that, because it's not something that is ever really considered you know, we have so many things already to think about and unfortunately it's something that we don't think about until it's done, and then we're like, oh wait, that's actually not cool. Another thing I see a lot from accessibility is not enough contrast with colors. There's a website called WebAIM A-I-M and you can use their color contrast checker to make sure that it has enough contrast to pass the accessibility guidelines. So that's awesome yeah.
Speaker 1:Good to know. And also I mean once again. I mean I obviously use my own lens often, but like, if I'm on a website where the things are just like the fonts are too busy or like the colors are, yeah, I'm like I can't read that, like it's it's. It's hard for me. So, yeah, it's, it's going to immediately be like I can't read that, like it's hard for me. So, yeah, it's going to immediately be like I can't do this.
Speaker 2:Go more than three fonts and that's pushing it and slow down on the animation. We don't need all the animation, Like a little bit here and there.
Speaker 1:But we don't need a lot.
Speaker 1:That's such a good point.
Speaker 1:One of the first ways I think we interacted with me when you were early on in your design business, as you were offering like a free audit sort of of the website and you would tell me this like, and I remember emailing back me like, are you selling this or are you doing SEO? Because you clearly know what you're talking about and I would love your help. But you gave me such good feedback on just like things I wasn't even thinking about as far as like the button where we would, you know, contact us look different on every page, or the colors weren't consistent, the fonts weren't consistent and some of the fonts that we were using were not super legible. And you were like, you gave me some really good feedback on how do we make it like visually, you know, easier to to read and also for it all to look really cohesive. So that's really an important factor that, yeah, aside from just like making it look pretty like that consistency and also just like the readability, makes it more accessible for people as well, yes, so, yeah.
Speaker 1:So thanks for sharing that. Okay, I want to kind of you know in sort of the theme of the podcast, with sort of having this business development, I mean one. Okay, so it sounds like your story really was like you were like meant to be an entrepreneur with your family One. I could talk about this forever because I also really I mean I talk about this a lot on the podcast of how I have ADHD and my interests are always changing.
Speaker 1:I don't think I'll ever do website design fully in any capacity, but I really love doing it. It's like something that's sort of like easy for me to focus on. And I always say to my team I'm like if I'm, if our website's getting an update, like I'm probably feeling chaotic in our life, in my life somehow and they know I always say that just so you guys know the update is happening and that means things are feeling chaotic, because it is something I go to often when I'm like, let me just do this and it feels very helpful for me to focus on. And I don't even know how or why my dad does the computer stuff. So I think maybe I learned from a young age how to do this stuff. I'm curious for you. I mean one having a family of entrepreneurs. It's sort of probably helpful, but how did you really get into program development and also knowing how to do all this stuff with the website, because it's a whole world?
Speaker 2:of itself. Yes, I always joke that like it started with the MS Paint back in the day. I mean, I very clearly remember like the first computer we had, you know, upstairs, and it was MS-DOS and you know the green letters on the black screen and logging in. You know I'm of the age we didn't have internet, we just had the computer and I played on the computer a lot. I mean, looking back, I'm like, wow, I spent a lot of time on the computer. Other kids were watching TV and I'm like playing on the computer and making things on there, my whole family, or my dad's side. My mom says she's not creative. I don't know if that's true, but my dad's side is definitely creative and I always felt a little left out because they're creative with their hands. They make things, they quilt, they do art, they. They just do things that are so creative and I was like God, I don't do anything but I do on the computer. I'm always like I can do creative things on the computer because some reason that clicks with my brain. So I just have always just wanted to make things look pretty. I mean, if you had a MySpace page, you were already using HTML anyways, learning how to do that. So that definitely started there. But yeah, you know my, I grew up watching my mom work on a computer all the time. I used QuickBooks. Since I was in elementary school I filed files all summer, I answered the phone all summer and I just kind of knew all those pieces already. And then when I was doing my dietetics degree, my mentor taught the class on developing programs for nutrition education and that was my favorite class and then I was the TA for that class for two years. So I feel like that kind of also helped with the basis of, you know, developing things and figuring out what works and target audiences. Right, like that was the first thing we learned was don't go out and make a program until you ask them what they want, like it's going to fail because you don't know what they want, you can't assume. So I think that was, you know, a big foundation for that.
Speaker 2:And then, yeah, I, you know again, I just was always using the computer to make things look better. When I was in the corporate health position, I redid everything, I redid that entire place, I tore down a wall, like I, you know I didn't make a lot of people mad. Yes, because people don't like things to change and also I was under the rule of the corporate beings right, like I had to do things their way, while also trying to run a business the way I thought it should be run, which was really hard. So running your own business is obviously much better. But yeah, I just kind of, you know, I introduced them to Canva and Illustrator and I was like I designed the billboards because, I hate to say it, but like the marketing department was a little out of date and they only had like one or two people so they can't do the whole marketing for the entire hospital system. So yeah, I just kind of got into positions where I felt like I could make it look better and I did.
Speaker 2:And then you know now that I am, you know, doing my own business. Of course I took actual courses. Like I've taken several courses, I have several mentors. Like I've taken several courses, I have several mentors, like I just said yesterday, you know, we meet on Thursdays. I'm in memberships where I do, you know, one-on-one coaching with them. So I've definitely, you know, gotten support as I've gone deeper into it. But it kind of, you know, all started with MS pain, I guess.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean it sounds like. Yeah, you've always sort of had this interest in making things maybe like in a way, really more accessible, because I think when we say, like we want it to look pretty, it's true, but when I see a website that's clean, easy to read, I know what I'm looking for. That helps me find the information because, unfortunately, right with all the stuff, our attention span is is quick. So, like, the longer we can keep somebody on our website, the better, but it's hard because if the information's not there or if it's running slow, or if I'm on the website, I'm getting a million ads and I can't it's. I'm like no, no, thank you.
Speaker 1:Right, so all these things that you were doing really to be able to like make your whether it was working in the, the hospital and community health of like.
Speaker 1:How do whether it was working in the hospital and community health of like how do we get this information out there to people and make it accessible and appealing to their eyes so that they can actually like take it in versus being like this feels like get me away from this.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, it makes a lot of sense that you kind of ended up where you are so well, since we're rounding it out. Oh my gosh, I feel like I could talk to you forever about this stuff. I took so many notes for my own website, just even conversation. But you know, just to kind of close things out, and it seems like it's sort of naturally happened for me, even just from like learning about developing programs in grad school and knowing, like target audience. But it's really that business mindset that I think we sometimes have a hard time shifting into, because you know I love I think you were saying this earlier too just like having my own business, like I can decide when I start, I can decide when I do things. I mean depending on my son's schedule, of course, but when I have time.
Speaker 2:I can decide.
Speaker 1:But those are like the perks of it and obviously doing the work that I wanted to do. But then there's this point where we're like, okay, now I have this business, what do I do with it? So I'm curious if you can pinpoint a moment where you were like went from that RD to like really CEO, to really thinking about business outside of just being an clinician.
Speaker 2:Hmm, I mean, I feel like mine happened before I opened my business because I wasn't performing as a dietitian in the corporate health position I had to switch gears from and literally I was switching from seeing one on one outpatient clients even though I had built that program. I was still seeing clients in the program I built and then I was transitioning from that to being the leader over that department. So it's a little bit of a different experience because I went from not being like a clinician to a solopreneur but being a clinician to a leader over three departments and like 15 staff that had seen me as peer, like a peer before. So that's a really hard transition to be like I was your friend but now I'm your boss. That's not a fun experience. So I feel like that was kind of when I had to switch gears.
Speaker 2:And then I had to switch gears again, like I said earlier, switching from that corporate mindset of all these rules and things that I put on myself. Like even last week I was sitting there and I had put this pressure on myself that I have to constantly be working right, like I have to constantly be producing something, and I was like you know what I could play my Nintendo Switch right now, why I can take a 10 minute break and play my switch Like I don't have to. You know, push out products and ideas and work, work, work 24 seven. I can take a break. I can work from my bed if I want to. I don't have to sit at a desk. So for me it was almost like having to go from clinician to like really strict CEO in the corporate world, to more. I'm a solopreneur and I can do what I want and I'm not going to get in trouble.
Speaker 1:Yes, Kind of mentality which is a big one. No one can get in trouble, it's my thing. I can't fire myself. No, luckily, literally. Yeah, it's so true, right, like being able to like days that I don't have, like this afternoon I'll be working for bed, just to like finish my day, and it's so true. It's like it's hard to sort of sometimes get out of that mindset. And you know it is a joke. Sometimes we quit our nine-to-five store 24-7. Like you can get into that. You know that a business that's going to suit your life is part of the things that we can do. So, yeah, it sounds like you went from that like the corporate space to like to being able to do it on your own. Really doesn't have to look like a CEO in that corporate, like strict, like what we think of it can be, like how am I going to create this life that I want with my business and doing the work I want to do?
Speaker 2:And boundaries, like I know people talk about that a lot and it seems almost like this like concept that I couldn't wrap my head around. It made sense but I was like, I mean, what am I not doing? Because I was just so used to doing what everyone told me to do and being resentful about it. And so now, like I always ask myself, if someone's asking me to do something, am I going to be resentful of this, like if I do this for free or if I give them, you know this price X, y, z. So you know, that's kind of where I think business owners especially if we're working with clients, like business to client, and we feel we're such helpers and healers and we want to, you know, give access to everyone. But you're also running a business and business is math sometimes and you have to. You have to make revenue like to live. Yes, yeah, right.
Speaker 1:Right, just about that piece. Yes, yeah, right, right, just don't feel guilty about that piece. It's true, it's hard sometimes to not be like, okay, well, I'll just. I've even had a question on my team, I'll do this for free. I'm like no, we're not going to do that.
Speaker 1:We're going to charge a client or we'll figure out a way to make this work, but yeah, it's hard. It's hard because, yeah, we are those helper, a lot of us, especially if we get into private practice, I feel like a lot of us. Like I say, we start as clinicians, we want to help people but, yeah, we have to, at some point, make decisions that are going to be like you know, the long game to be able to sustain it for your life. So, yeah, but yeah, well, to wrap up, tell us about the services that you are currently offering and the work that you do with dietitians. Yeah, thank, you.
Speaker 2:So we have website services. Obviously that's my favorite thing to do. We have starter websites, which I do in a VIP day, like I'm doing today. I did one the other week and that can be a whole new site on WordPress or it can be a refresh of your current site. You know, obviously we'll discuss if it's a good fit and if I can go to the platform you're on, because, like you said earlier, weebly I've never used it. I've heard of it. I probably would just suggest you move over, but that's more for people that are just getting started out or, like I said, someone that you know doesn't want to completely rebuild their site. Like I said, someone that you know doesn't want to completely rebuild their site, they just want to, like, freshen things up and I feel like that's appropriate for them. So that's the first option. The second option is like the next level. So that's the signature website.
Speaker 2:That's a four week process. You know, I love showing people what we actually do on the phone call, because I feel like that kind of opens their eyes into the whole process and what all is involved and why it's worth it. Because we do a kickoff call. You do a really in-depth workbook, you make a Pinterest board and then you know, for four weeks we're just focusing on your site and getting it exactly how you want it. And then we have a launch call where we go over everything and then, of course, we can take care of your site for you and you can become part. Of course, we can take care of your site for you and you can become part of the clinician crew as part of that care plan, or you're welcome to host it yourself. I very much believe in autonomy and I am not going to hold your site hostage by any means. If you want it, it is yours. You paid for it.
Speaker 2:We also offer branding and it's the same kind of structure. There's starter branding, where I can do it in one day. That's more of a custom word mark and I think of like a one sheet brand board and simple guidelines versus signature branding. If you've been in business a little longer and you really are more clear on what you are doing and who you're working with and you want to take it to that next level, that is a really in-depth strategy. By the end you get like a 60-page book of everything we've done and the entire logo suite, graphics, everything. So that's the website and branding.
Speaker 2:And then, like you said, we also offer SEO, and that's the two buckets and that's. You know what people consider regular SEO or national SEO, and then local SEO, and they all both of those have like the same starting points. You can start with a free audit on the site. If you want, you can literally go in there right now and just put in your information and it will automatically give you your report. We also offer advanced SEO reports for both your website or your local SEO, and then from there you could do, like Eva mentioned earlier, the monthly SEO where we take care of it for you ongoing. So that's that. And then I mentioned the clinician crew a little bit, but it's the tech savvy clinician crew and I'm excited because I rebuilt the entire site.
Speaker 2:I've kind of restructured things and had like an aha moment because I started this as just I wanted to. I just wanted to hang out with you guys. I was like I'm you know somebody was like, oh, you're not going to make a lot of money from it. I'm like I'm really not doing it to make money. I was just doing it because I want to hang out with you guys and I like talking about this stuff and being a nerd.
Speaker 2:So you know, now we're really focusing on streamlining your systems. We've developed like there's five different levels. I gave them an acronym last night, so we're calling it SPARK. So basically, you know, going from foundation all the way up to growth, and, yeah, you can come join us and we talk about automation, we talk about SEO, we talk about, like we said, systems and getting it streamlined so that you are using technology to benefit you and not stress you out. We have workshops every month, we have co-working every week, we have Q&A roundtables every month where you can come and ask any of your questions. Yeah, so come join us.
Speaker 1:Amazing. I was a member early on of the clinician crew and then I paused because I was just not utilizing it in any way because I was probably at capacity with whatever else was happening. I hear that a lot, yeah, but I'm in the Facebook group and I was like seeing that there was posts about the new one so I was like I might have to rejoin just because I want to see and I and I know that you in your private practice work to practice better, which is what we use, and so I know you've had templates and stuff in the past and I think you have it, not just for Practice Better users, but there's like other ones.
Speaker 2:Yes, I am talking to Healthy because they want to kind of collaborate on. You know me doing some templates for them and then coming and doing like a presentation for their users. So I'm learning a little bit more about that one. But you're right, I did use Practice Better and I still use Practice Better and I do have the templates as part of the clinician crew. You know, all the way from the inquiry form to the intake form, to the note templates, to the testimonial request or feedback requests, the whole journey, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, which is great, and that's awesome to know. Healthy, cause I have a couple clients who use healthy and I know I know practice better well, because that's what I've always used, right. But that's great to know that some of the stuff, cause I know I've heard there's like different capabilities with like some of the stuff, so I'm excited to see what comes with that. Well, this was so fun and interesting and I also love talking about this stuff. So thank you again for taking the time and for sharing your wisdom and for all that. You've actually been a part of my website journey for a long time because when I think we had it originally and then you did the audit, I made a lot of changes and that was helpful for me, and then working with us on the local SEO.
Speaker 2:So yeah, yeah, no, I love watching people grow Like. That's. What makes me excited is to see you guys succeed. Just like you like to see your clients succeed with nutrition, I like to see all of my business clients succeed with their business.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's so true. I feel the same way about my both clients and practice, and also business coaching, so I will. Finally, where can people find you if they are interested in getting in touch?
Speaker 2:Yeah, the website is deckletdesignscom. Clinician crew is cliniciancrewcom and I'm usually on Instagram at Declit Designs. I will say I've deleted social media from my phone, but I am on there on my desktop so you can still send me a message and I'll still answer. That's smart.
Speaker 1:I should do that. We'll make sure, of course, link all of the links that you mentioned and where people can find you in our show notes. Highly recommend working with Courtney and yeah, thanks again for being here. It was good to chat. Thank you so much for having me. I had fun, yeah, and so that will wrap there. Thank you everyone for tuning in and hope this was helpful and make sure you check out the show notes for anything we mentioned. I'll do my best to have all the links that Courtney mentioned on the various tools, plugins and apps that you can use to make your website better and more efficient and your SEO. As always, make sure you are following along and liking us and subscribing so you can stay up to date on new episodes. Thanks for listening everyone. Bye. Thanks for listening to the RD to CEO podcast. Be sure to check out the show notes for any resources mentioned or find more at wwwrdtoceocom. Never miss an episode by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. See you next time.
