Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Andrea Marincovich, owner and founder of The Realistic Dietitian, located in Huntington Beach, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I’m a Registered Dietitian and run a virtual private practice in Orange County, California. I have a macros-centered approach to nutrition, meaning that all meals and snacks consumed are nutritionally balanced and in mindful portion size. This approach is not only appropriate to reach and maintain weight and/or body composition goals, but macros can also be used to manage a variety of health complications and chronic disease states. I use the macros approach because it is the most effective and REALISTIC way to nourish the body properly, avoid over-consumption and still maintain a quality of life.

My main goal as an RD is to help prevent, reduce and eliminate as much chronic diseases as possible through smart and manageable nutrition. My customers are typically female, ages 25-50 years of age, and seeking diet assistance to aid in weight management or to utilize the macros approach to aid with a disease state/health complication.

Tell us about yourself

To start, I’m not the typical 120 lbs. dietitian that’s never struggled with their weight in their life or had a risk of a health complication. In fact, they run ramped on both sides of my family, and I struggled with my weight and body confidence from early childhood through my adolescence – hence my drive to become a Registered Dietitian! I state this not to put those dietitians down (because that’s awesome for them!), but to let you know that I’m a real human being with real-life experience on how to implement the nutrition I have to offer and a deep understanding of the psychological struggle as well.

I first started working on my business because I wanted to start implementing my nutrition services the way that I wanted to and to be able to make the greatest impact with my clients. That's not always feasible when someone else is your boss, and you have time/financial restraints due to that boss only seeking profit from your services. To truly be able to change lives and behavior, quality time, support and education need to be offered.

I am consistently motivated to do what I do on a daily basis because there are so many things out of our control in this life, but the one thing we are in control of is what we decide to fuel our body with nutritionally. Nutrition can be the sole means of preventing so many health complications and reducing endless amounts of chronic disease diagnoses. I want individuals to recognize this control and take back the quality of their lives!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment thus far as a business owner was simply starting my business! It was scary to go out on a limb, create a website from scratch, educate myself through several nutrition business courses, and put myself out there as the face of my business, knowing lots of "no's" and failures were ahead but so were lots of successes as well.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner is time management and knowing what avenue will attract the most clients. As a business owner, you will be wearing several hats. If you are not great with time, go get a planner ASAP and go into your days with intention, or you'll just be running around in circles until you collapse.

When working on client attraction for your business, you will quickly realize there are so many different ways to do this. However, when your degree is in nutrition, social media and website design are not likely to be your expertise as well. You must spend time refining these skills or pay someone who does specialize in these areas so that you can be successful in our current world.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Believe in your mission and what you have to offer! Don't let naysayers get to you or take up too much space in that beautiful mind of yours.
  2. Failure is going to happen. Anyone who actually becomes successful has experienced TONS of failure. It's just not what they choose to talk about when talking about their journey. Keep pushing for that success; persistence is key.
  3. Don't get too comfortable and keep educating yourself. Such education includes but is not limited to: the best business practices, ways to advertise your services, and overall how to run your business more efficiently for what you specifically do. Improvements can and should always be made.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Always choose what lights a fire in your soul, keeps a smile on your face, and try to be a ray of sunshine in the lives of others.

One of my favorite quotes and what I like to remind myself before making any business decision is, "does it make me happy? help others? hurt no one?" - DJ AM

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://therealisticdietitian.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealisticdietitan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealisticdietitian/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealisticdie
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreamarincovichrd/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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