START: How to Counsel Your First 5 Clients and Keep Them Coming Back

About this episode

This episode discusses the START stage of private practice, focusing on counseling skills and customer service to retain clients.

Welcome to the Pursuing Private Practice podcast! Join Jennifer McGurk, CEO of Pursuing Private Practice, and team member Courtney Vickery, CEO of Declet Designs, to talk about the START stage of business, the time where you transition from setting up your private practice to seeing your first clients. We'll explore the emotions, challenges, and action steps involved in this stage, focusing on the importance of developing strong counseling skills and effective customer service strategies. Whether you're just starting to see clients in your private practice or looking to refine your counseling approach, this episode offers valuable insights and resources to help you keep clients coming back. Characteristics of Dietitians in the START Stage: Highlights the experience of working with dietitians and the importance of counseling skills. Thoughts and Feelings in the START Stage: Discusses the excitement, overwhelm, and hopefulness experienced by dietitians in this stage. Challenges in the START Stage: Identifies selling services and customer service as key challenges for dietitians. Requirements to Move Forward: Stresses the need for strong counseling skills and forming therapeutic…

People in this episode

Host: Jennifer McGurk

Guest: Courtney Vickery

Topics covered

• counseling skills
• customer service strategies
• private practice
• dietitians
• START stage

Keywords

• private practice
• counseling skills
• customer service
• dietitians
• START stage

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Pursuing Private Practice, Declet Designs

More episodes of Pursuing Private Practice

• Midlife Nutrition: Helping Clients Navigate Food, Body Image, and Identity · June 9, 2026 · 46 min
• From Client Care to Professional Education: Growing a Reproductive Health Private Practice · May 26, 2026 · 41 min
• Beyond Carb Counting: A Real-Life Approach to Type 1 Diabetes Nutrition · May 12, 2026 · 42 min
• What Dietitians Are Missing About Celiac Disease · April 28, 2026 · 44 min
• GLP-1 Medications: What Dietitians Need to Know Right Now · April 14, 2026 · 41 min
• The Power of Supervision To Build Confidence, Prevent Burnout, and Grow Your Practice · March 31, 2026 · 1h 12m