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Vegan Nutritionists support people in living in accordance with their ethical beliefs. This benefits animals and, to a certain extent, our environment in many ways. By promoting the vegan idea on many levels, they make an important contribution to the future of our world.
The vegan lifestyle has arrived in the middle of our society because more and more people are aware that their diet has a global impact. Overall, this is a positive development. However, there is also a rapidly growing amount of sometimes contradictory information available to lay people, especially via the Internet.
A vegan diet does not simply mean giving up meat and milk. Therefore, it is necessary to provide interested people with sound knowledge to assist them in the practical implementation of a healthy and varied plant-based diet. While the vegan diet is far from being as difficult and complicated as some people assume, there are still a few things to keep in mind.
The vegan diet can reduce disease and suffering on a global scale. It can contribute to the prevention and improvement of diseases of civilization, which burden not only the patients but also their relatives. On a health economic level, it therefore has the potential to reduce the burden on the state, (health) insurance companies and employers (Springmann et al., 2016).
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change.”
Charles Darwin
On an individual level, people put more value on their diet. More and more people are questioning habits that cause animals to suffer. Others want to reduce their risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and other diet-related illnesses (Selinger et al., 2022).
Vegan diets can also help reduce the environmental and health hazards of (factory) farming (Baroni et al., 2014; Meier and Christen, 2013). However, this can only be sustainable if as many people as possible are educated about the benefits and the implementation of a vegan diet. Professional Vegan Nutritionists will therefore be increasingly needed to provide advice and information.
Personal Nutritional Counseling Remains Important
As technology continues to evolve, so do the offers for questions regarding nutrition. Apps, including those powered by artificial intelligence (AI), are designed to help.
But nutritional counseling is more than imparting knowledge and guidelines. This also available through books or videos. But research is time-consuming, especially because of the risk of encountering misinformation.
At least as important, personalized nutrition counseling is just that: personal. People want advice that is tailored to their specific needs. No machine can provide that. People who feel that their individual needs are not being taken into account lose motivation more quickly (König et al., 2021; Solbrig et al., 2017).
Not to be neglected is the effect of personal care on the interpersonal level. Empathy, compassion, and a generally human vis-à-vis provide a sense of belonging and being understood. No machine can replace social, personal contact. This is why people will continue to prefer human advice in the future because customers do not want to be dictated to by machines (Peng et al. 2016).
Vegan Nutrition Counseling on Many Communication Channels
As a Vegan Nutritionist, you have the power of modern communication at your fingertips: Communication platforms such as Skype or Zoom, or even email and phone consultations, which were previously used mainly by nutritionists in rural areas, allow you to connect with your clients for one-on-one consultations locally and worldwide.
Apps that allow clients to keep a food diary, for example, are a practical addition to the nutritionist’s work. The counselor takes on the important role of explaining and guiding the client through the setup and use of the app. This is important because apps on their own are often perceived as confusing and therefore not used in the long term (Romea et al., 2019; Solbrig et al., 2017). In a 2013 survey, more than half of respondents said they could not imagine using fitness and nutrition apps without the safety and support of a properly trained professional (Luft et al., 2013).
Online Courses and Group Work
In addition to traditional one-on-one counseling, you can also be very successful with group consultations. (Online) courses, workshops and webinars have been gaining popularity in other areas for some time now – this can also be a focus of your counseling work. Now you might think: Isn’t it all the same? It is not, as you will see. By the way, collaborations are a great way to build and expand your visibility and reach. You will learn more about that in a moment. For example, you can offer self-paced online courses. The advantage is that you do not need to offer a lot of support. Other options include webinars and online workshops, which rely on interaction. This is a relatively new area of nutrition counseling, so now is the time to get started. Offering high-quality and interesting content is promising. There are almost no limits to creativity.
Occupational Health Management
Companies and institutions are also potential customers with a growing interest. Seminars or lectures on healthy nutrition can be offered as part of corporate health and sustainability management. More and more companies are realizing that healthy employees are much more efficient and motivated than those who take less care of their health.
Collaborations
In addition to your own web presence and use of social media channels, it is a good idea to seek out collaborations. Network with other business owners to expand your product portfolio and reach a larger client base, or offer your consultations and classes through shared platforms. Fitness and yoga studios are already offering online classes and this will continue to grow. Here you can offer an excellent extension of their offer to work together and effectively for the customers. Delivery services from organic markets, regional producers with delivery services for fruit and vegetable boxes and more will also expand their online presence – another great opportunity for a cooperation. It is foreseeable that educational institutions such as adult education centers or family education centers will also develop online solutions – more possible partners for courses and lectures!
Journalistic Work
Whether it is for an online editorial team, a blog, or in the traditional print sector for newspapers and magazines, if you enjoy writing, this is another area where you can work as a freelancer and to increase awareness of your offer. This will not only bring you clients, but also interesting collaborations.
Tourism Sector
Vegan Nutritionists are interesting partners for hotels that want to expand their menu with vegan dishes. There is even the possibility of developing entire concepts together with the hotel’s chefs. Smaller and larger wellness hotels are looking for cooperation in the form of lectures, individual consultations and other events for their guests. By the way: Bed and Breakfast pensions can easily switch to a(n) (additional) vegan offer.
Expanding Vegan Food Options
The demand for vegan meals for children in educational institutions such as kindergartens and schools is constantly increasing, but the supply is lagging behind: there are still far too few vegan school meals on offer. Vegan Nutritionists will therefore be increasingly needed to expand the range of training courses for educators and teachers. Cooking together with the children and teaching them about healthy nutrition in a playful way could also be part of the training. Montessori and Waldorf schools are certainly at the forefront here, as they tend to be more open to such offerings. This can lead to other areas of activity, such as offering healthy children’s birthday parties in indoor playgrounds. In the long term, you can help to introduce vegan food in community cafeterias and restaurants. Those who like to give talks can contact vegan restaurants or health food stores. The owners of such stores and their customers are usually very open and interested in the vegan diet.
The involvement of older generations in the vegan lifestyle is promising. The growing interest in healthy eating and active lifestyles among the elderly offers opportunities for the establishment of meeting places and local groups for advice and exchange, where they can get information. Cooking together and socializing will benefit all participants. Vegan Nutritionists could play a central role by working with retirement homes and sports centers for the elderly.
Other Opportunities
Local bookstores offer another opportunity in this area, as a talk by a Vegan Nutritionist paired with a display of vegan cookbooks will boost sales. If your target audience is primarily athletes: regular speaking engagements at gyms, local athletic clubs, specialty sporting goods stores, or colleges with athletic teams are just a few examples of how you can get involved in vegan nutrition for athletes.
Targeting Customer Groups
To be successful, it is advisable to clearly define the subject you want to address. In this way, you can design a suitable offer for your customers and address them specifically. Then not only will you be successful (financially), but your clients will also benefit from what you have to offer. Vegan mothers who become Vegan Nutritionists can speak from their own experience and give competent and authentic advice on vegan nutrition for mother and child – certainly a sympathy point with future parents. Seminars on individual topics, such as vegan nutrition and breastfeeding, or offers for midwives are also possible. (Video) lectures help to inform interested parties and to introduce oneself to potential customers. In addition to (expectant) vegan families, older people such as senior citizens are becoming more and more interested in healthy nutrition. Athletes are also a very interesting group of customers who can be supported in following a vegan diet that can improve their physical performance. Volunteer work is also possible. Lectures or articles on the websites of animal protection organizations and animal shelters can support the vegan idea and introduce you to potential customers at the same time.
Future Perspectives
Major nutrition organizations recommend the assistance of a vegan dietitian for people who want to eat vegan. In the long run, vegan counseling will become more and more important – online and offline. Even if not everyone wants to follow a completely vegan diet for animal welfare reasons, it is becoming increasingly clear that diets with a reduced consumption of products of animal origin are becoming more and more important from an ecological and social point of view.
Becoming a Vegan Nutritionist – Your Income Potential
How much you can earn depends primarily on your field of work, where you live and whether you are self-employed or employed. As an employee, the average salary for a nutritionist in the USA is between 40,000 $ and 160,000 $. If you are self-employed, there is no limit to how much you can earn. Your income depends on what you offer, your performance and your clients’ willingness to pay. You can usually charge more as you gain experience and a reputation over time. This is true both as an employee and as a freelancer.
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Steve Jobs
Personal Benefit
If you do not want to work professionally as a Vegan Nutritionist, you still can benefit from our “Certified Vegan Nutritionist” Course. For many people, their own health, a healthy diet for their family, and science-based knowledge in discussions are reason enough to complete this course.
In which ever way you use the knowledge you gain, one thing is certain: it will put an end to myths and half-truths. Extensive knowledge of dietetics allows you to differentiate without the help of third parties. In other words, the distance learning course allows you to distinguish between fact and opinion.
This is How You Get Started Now
The foundation of a successful counseling practice is, of course, your online presence. This is where you show who you are, what you do and how your clients can benefit. Honest, focused, credible: show who you are and what makes you tick.
You already know who you want to consult? Great! Not sure yet? Then find out by defining your target group. Rely on high-quality content marketing instead of lame advertising: Show your customers that you do not just want to sell them anything. Are you committed to providing high quality services that your customers really benefit from? That’s good! Let your future clients know it, too!
When it comes to building and expanding your successful consulting business, it is important to define clear goals.
Vegan Nutritionist – The Nutritionist of and for the Future
Conventional nutritionists often do not know how to make a vegan diet healthy and suitable for everyday use. Vegan Nutritionists will pave new ways, not only regarding nutritional knowledge. As a new generation of nutritionists, the personalized support of people as well as the need for pleasure and enjoyment are important to them.
After Graduating
Vegan Nutritionists are registered in our ecodemy International Directory of Vegan Nutritionists and are entitled to use the ecodemy Seal (also as a handy Online Badge) after completing their course. Our community enables a permanent professional exchange through the forums. You also have unlimited access to our Nutrient Database. Additional trainings allow continuous education and specialization.
You see, as a Vegan Nutritionist, you have a promising future ahead of you. Become a Vegan Nutritionist now!
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