jennifermcgurk

I felt so inspired after this interview with Alexis Demuth. Alexis’s story involves being laid off from her job and deciding to start her own business just a week before Coronavirus began to shut the country down! If you are in a similar situation, I hope that this interview gives you hope and inspiration and maybe even the courage to finally get into business if it’s something that you’ve always wanted to do!

Those of us who already have an established business of our own are struggling right now too. COVID-19 has thrown so much of our “normal” out the window, and it can feel like we are starting from square one some days. I know we will get through this and the lessons we learn will make as better clinicians. I want to encourage you in that truth today, too.

Some of the topics discussed include:

• Starting a business during the Coronavirus crisis
• Moving through the grief process and the nuances of feelings
• What Alexis’ business journey has looked like this past month
• The importance of continuing your business education
• Imposter syndrome

For more information, visit https://www.pursuingprivatepractice.com/35

The timing of this episode is so perfect with what is going on in the world right now. The Coronavirus has forced many of us to take our practice online. We’re settling into a new normal, and many of us are beginning to think about how to serve our clients in a virtual way that creates an experience in online education.

Stephanie and I recorded this episode way back in January. I had planned to do a series about online education in April, and obviously scrapped those plans after the pandemic. But I still wanted to release this episode at a time when it could truly be as helpful as I originally had planned on, and today feels like that time!

That being said, I do want to put a disclaimer on this episode: if Stephanie and I had had any notion of what our situation would look like with Coronavirus today, we would have said many things differently. I would have been a lot more sensitive to people’s trauma and grief and unique situations. 

However, I do think that the message of the episode would have been very similar. The world was moving toward an online model to begin with before Coronavirus. Now it is the only model we have at this present time. How can we adapt to this model with our clients so that we are able to serve them as best as we possibly can?

Stephanie is a leader in the online education space, and she shares so much of that wisdom and expertise with us today!

Some of the topics discussed include:

• Why you should have an online program/offer
• What you need to have in place before setting up an online program
• Authentic, non sleazy, online marketing!
• Current trends in online education
• Delegation

For more information, visit https://www.pursuingprivatepractice.com/34

Fiona is the first guest that I interviewed post-Coronavirus outbreak. This episode is the perfect way to open up the really difficult conversations that we are going to be having moving forward as the crisis continues and both our clients and ourselves attempt to navigate the uncertainty. The work that we do with our clients is completely different than it was prior to this crisis. 

This is an unprecedented time in our world, and we need to continue to have these conversations. None of us have the answers. All we can really do is bond together, build community, go forward in our businesses, and try to do the very best that we can.

This conversation with Fiona helped me tremendously, it felt like a supervision session. Our clients need us now more than ever. We need each other now more than ever. I hope that this episode brings you some peace and some permission to feel all the feelings, and I hope that this episode brings you some joy!

Some of the topics discussed include:

• What can we do when it feels like the world is crashing down around us?
• Can we actually still run our businesses right now? + the advice I wish I could have given myself two weeks ago!
• Best practices for running a virtual practice
• The importance of having our own self-care practices in place

For more information, visit https://www.pursuingprivatepractice.com/33

I’m taking some time today to talk about how I’m feeling, how my business is doing, and what I’m doing differently to best serve my clients. I hope this serves as an inspiration to you to think outside the box yourself right now: What can you do to serve your people? What do you need right now to take care of yourself? What do you need to do to be the best possible version of yourself right now without feeling rooted in “shoulds”?

Some of the topics discussed include:

• The impact of the Coronavirus on the intuitive eating world and the importance of continuing to show up for the people that need to hear your message the most
• Giving yourself and your clients permission to feel whatever needs to be felt right now 
• Figuring out a “new normal” for the time being 
• Cultivating resiliency and being grateful for the lessons we’ve learned through navigating other hard times in life
• How to move forward in your business and support your people
• The power of community and connection. Who can you connect with today that will feed your soul?

For more information, visit https://www.pursuingprivatepractice.com/32

The topic of self-care is more important than ever, and Jennifer welcomes Anna Sweeney to better understand and define what it means, on this inspiring episode of the Pursuing Private Practice Podcast.

Anna shares her journey of discovering Intuitive Eating while working as an eating disorder dietitian, and how she regrets the way she had been previously working with clients, motivating her to learn more and expand her understanding of Health At Every Size®. She tells how she started out in private practice part-time while still working at a clinic, and with her chronic health condition becoming more challenging, her transition to open a solo practice, Whole Life Nutrition, to better accommodate her circumstances.

Together, they shine a light on self-care and how Anna now balances her changing self-care needs with the challenges of clinical work and running a business. She explains how her condition forces her to be more thoughtful of boundaries and limitations, and work in alignment with her values and needs. They also discuss how demonstrating self-care for ourselves as a provider is a good role-model for clients.

“It’s really important for us as well to acknowledge and make space for our own stuff. I don’t think it makes us less effective at our jobs; quite contrary, we learn more about ourselves and are able to provide more quality care because of our life experiences.” – Anna Sweeney

Some of the topics discussed include:

• How her vulnerability with a disability levels the field and deepens her connection with clients, by being a human first, practitioner second. 
• Her definition of self-care with her changing needs, and how she has to continually re-define what that looks like.
• Her reflection on the success of her Instagram account, and how she shares her writing skills to talk about things that really matter.

“Self-care makes it possible for us to do this work, particularly from a running a business perspective. Making sure we are tending to ourselves in all the ways makes it possible to show up in the best of ways professionally.” – Anna Sweeney

For more information, visit https://www.pursuingprivatepractice.com/31

SPONSOR INFO:

This Pursuing Private Practice podcast episode was recorded before the traumatic events of the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the United States. 

Jennifer McGurk recently did an encouraging support group call and training for the Pursuing Private Practice group on Thriving in Uncertainty. Right now is an incredibly difficult time for our world with the COVID-19 virus and ripple effect of trauma felt around the world.

The recent Pursuing Private Practice call was recorded to be shared with everyone: Sign up at www.pursuingprivatepractice.com/thrive

Sumner Brooks, founder of EDRDPro sits down with Jennifer on this inspiring episode of the Pursuing Private Podcast. You’ll hear Sumner’s journey of embracing Intuitive Eating, how a business idea kept her up all night, and how EDRDPro is uplifting the dietetics industry with training for eating disorder around the world.

Together they begin with Sumner sharing her own journey of disordered eating throughout her youth and school, including as a dietetic intern. She shares the pivotal and life-changing moment of seeing Evelyn Tribole speak at a CE event, which ultimately led her to find her own path of Intuitive Eating. 

Specializing as sports dietitian early in her career, she tells how her personal recovery journey influenced her professional work, and her desire to stay in private practice in order to specialize in eating disorders.

With sudden life changes including a new baby, a divorce, and a move to Portland, OR requiring the closure of her practice in her familiar community, Sumner reflects on starting fresh in a new location with no connections or referrals, making it necessary to take on jobs in the corporate world for several stressful years.

You’ll love hearing how the conception of EDRDpro was born from an idea that kept her up all night; an idea for a solution to affordable and accessible training in the eating disorders community.

“I really think that all dietitians need to have training on eating disorders, simply because of the prevalence of eating disorders.” - Sumner Brooks

With the creative spark ignited to bring ED training online for better accessibility, Jennifer was the first person Sumner called with her new idea and business plan. Launched as a yearly symposium, you’ll hear how EDRDPro has evolved since its inception, with two symposiums in 2020 that are focused on core themes, such as a deeper dive into a 6-session symposium in April on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

“I really hope what we’re doing here is something that will feel like more than just an introductory step, and really give people a hearty dose of something useful.” - Sumner Brooks

Some of the topics discussed include:

• Sumner’s process of trying different things in her business that didn’t work, and why she took a break and stepped back for a year.
• The creative process of building EDRDPro, why she created a membership branch, how it’s changing for 2020 with deeper training on core themes, and the launch of EDRDpro Ambassadors.
• Why the constantly changing and complex field of eating disorder requires more access to training, and why the learning never stops.
• Why hiring experts is necessary to grow a business, and how collaboration within the eating disorder community helps broaden the perspective and interpretation of Intuitive Eating, and the value from sharing, discussion and collaboration.
• Her passion for helping dietitians with their own healing process and then helping them take it to the next level of helping others, with the goal of reaching more people to minimize the suffering and time.

For more information, visit https://www.pursuingprivatepractice.com/30

SPONSOR INFO:

This Pursuing Private Practice podcast episode was recorded before the traumatic events of the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the United States. 

Jennifer McGurk recently did an encouraging support group call and training for the Pursuing Private Practice group on Thriving in Uncertainty. Right now is an incredibly difficult time for our world with the COVID-19 virus and ripple effect of trauma felt around the world.

The recent Pursuing Private Practice call was recorded to be shared with everyone: Sign up at www.pursuingprivatepractice.com/thrive

Jennifer is thrilled to welcome Tamara Melton to share her game-changing mission of diversifying the dietetics industry, on this episode of the Pursuing Private Practice Podcast.

Co-founder of Diversify Dietetics, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the racial and ethnic diversity in the field of nutrition, Tamara shares the story of its launch in April 2018 and why it is so needed.

With an academic background of teaching nutrition at a university in Atlanta, Tamara shines a light on the lack of diversity in the demographic profile of dietitians, and why that is not only a barrier to attracting new students, but also creates a lack of diverse practitioners to help people of color. With full acknowledgement of how the industry is currently not reflective of the diversity of people it serves, Tamara and Jennifer discuss the dire need for more diverse providers to refer to.

“There was no organization out there that is doing what needs to be done to successfully attract, recruit, and retain students, interns and professionals of color.” – Tamara Melton

You’ll hear how, along with co-founder Deanna Belleny, Diversify Dietetics was created to provide a community to attract, encourage, and empower students and young professionals of color who were seeking careers in the field of nutrition and dietetics.

With a mission to break down the boundaries of stereotypical dietitians, its goal is also to better serve people of cultural diversity who might not otherwise seek out care, or seek out practitioners they identify with regardless of their level of training. Tamara speaks to the incredible opportunity for diverse practitioners to fill this gap in the industry.

Addressing the practical concerns of dietetics as a lucrative career choice, Tamara explains why Diversify Dietetics also helps support entrepreneurship with business training, to attract more diverse students to the industry and take the risk of starting a private practice.

Now, as a community and a point of contact for anyone who’s looking for a dietitian of color in any state, Tamara shares her hopes and dedication to continuing the diversification of dietitians.

“We wanted to create an organization that would create an answer to any obstacle that students or professionals of color might come up against as they’re getting through their educational pathway, and trying to anchor themselves in this profession.” – Tamara Melton

Some of the topics discussed include:

• How Diversify Dietetics is passionate about empowering students and professionals of color to help them become the leaders of the next generation in dietetics.
• Why micro-aggression and unconscious bias can create a barrier to learning and creativity for students of color in all-white learning environments.
• The 3-day learning summit in Atlanta and the diversity of speakers and topics (now sold out!)

For more information, visit https://www.pursuingprivatepractice.com/29

SPONSOR INFO:

This episode is sponsored by a resource for dietitians, The Top 10 Mistakes Professionals Make In Private Practice. Gain insight and information about building a private practice and save time, money, and energy on common mistakes that you may be doing already! Download this FREE resource on the Top 10 Mistakes Professionals Make in Private Practice and learn what NOT to do so you can do the things that really matter and make a difference. www.pursuingprivatepractice.com/mistakes