The chair almost exploded (my very first client story)
I started my nutrition coaching business in 2010 before I even graduated. No clinic, no logo, just a wobbly kitchen chair that almost exploded under my first client. Here's what sixteen years of relentless action looks like, and what I wish I'd had from day one.
2-Tips
By Jennifer Broxterman, RD
Kind Nerd Note:
Earlier this month, a PRO$PER student told me he feels intimidated by my accomplishments. I had to stop him right there. Because he has no idea where I started. And honestly? Neither do most of you. So today I'm pulling back the curtain on Year One. Here’s the real and embarrassing version of being a full-time nutrition coach for the very first time, and learning lots of lessons along the way.
Tip #1:
My Very First Client Almost Broke My Kitchen Chair
I started my nutrition coaching business in 2010, before I had even graduated from my university’s Nutrition Masters Degree.
I didn't have a clinic, so I invited my very first nutrition client over to my student rental house for our first meeting. I scrubbed the place like a maniac, and made sure every surface sparkled.
Her name was Susan. She had seen my homemade flyer at a coffee shop that I created using MS Paint (hey, give me a break, Canva didn’t even exist yet, let alone AI).
Susan’s doctor was pushing bariatric surgery and she wasn't sure about it. So she came to me looking for another way to lose weight and have a healthier relationship with food.
We sat down at my kitchen table, a wobbly hand-me-down from my great Aunt Laurie. One of those creaky wooden 1980s dining sets that had absolutely no business holding a serious medical conversation.
The second Susan sat down, the chair let out a loud, creaky groan.
We both froze.
Her weight was in the high 300s and we both had the exact same panicked thought as our eyes locked:
Is this chair about to explode into a pile of splinters?
THANK GOD the chair held it together. But my anxiety… 12/10 during our first nutrition coaching session.
After that appointment I went straight out to buy an emergency bariatric chair that could support up to 650 lb of body weight. No one tells you that's something you need to think about before your first client walks through the door. No one tells you a lot of things.
In year one of being a self-employed nutrition coach, everything I did was made up on the fly. For example, I dug up this old and cringy Facebook post I also probably made in MS Paint.
I was figuring out absolutely everything in real time. I had no idea what I was doing. I just had a relentless bias toward action. Put something out there, make it better, repeat.
As I started to make some money, I began to pay for speed by hiring real, professional support. One of my first big purchases was a web designer to build my very first website (ahhhh, the good old days when you had to actually know how to code if you wanted to build your own website).
Here’s one of the earliest versions of my first website:
Instead of feeling cringy, I’m proud:
- I actually took action and built it. That was me saying to myself, this is my real job, and I’m going to figure this out and pay for support to help me accomplish my goals faster.
- I listed my contact information clearly for people to reach me.
(it’s ugly, but it worked!) - Done is better than perfect.
Sixteen years later: I’ve made millions of dollars in nutrition coaching sales, I’ve helped more than 10,000 clients lose weight and eat healthier, and I’ve personally mentored hundreds of nutrition coaches around the world via PRO$PER Nutrition Certification to grow their own dream business.
None of that happened because I waited until I felt ready. It happened because I started anyway, creaky chair and all.
Oh by the way, in Year One, I only made $3,600 as a nutrition coach, so don’t feel bad if your chapter 1 (year 1) is going the same way.
Fast forward to chapter 16 (16 years in), and it’s pretty awesome to make $4,000+/day, like I did this past Friday selling 3 x $1,599 nutrition coaching packages, all to dream clients I’m excited to work with.
And if you want some support in growing your own nutrition coaching business (whether you’re a brand new coach, or have been at it for a while), take a look at what Carly just said about graduating from PRO$PER Nutrition Certification and putting what she learned into practice.
Tip #2:
Career Changing Trajectory
"This program changed the trajectory of my career! It not only helped with my clients' experience and retention, it has given me an additional revenue stream with clients I already had."
— Carly Munson, PRO$PER Nutrition Certification grad
Here's the honest truth.
If I could go back to 2010 and pay to learn from someone who already had a sold-out practice, worked only with dream clients, and never had to dance on the internet to get new clients, I would have signed up without blinking.
That is what PRO$PER is. The framework I wish I'd had before the chair incident.
You get direct training from me to level up your nutrition coaching skills, plus personalized one-on-one mentorship. Not a group cohort where you get lost in the crowd. Not a folder of videos you watch alone. Real mentorship, done-for-you tools, and client-tested resources straight from my own practice.
Brand new to coaching or been at it for years, it does not matter. The coaches who go through PRO$PER make the tuition back fast.
If you have been sitting on the fence, I genuinely do not know what you are waiting for.
Join the PRO$PER Nutrition Certification here.
Stay kind + nerdy,
❤️🐻🌈
Jen Broxterman
Registered Dietitian
Prosper Nutrition Coaching
Thanks for reading. Here are a few additional ways I might be able to help you.
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Jennifer Broxterman, MSc, RD
REGISTERED DIETITIAN & SPORTS NUTRITIONIST
• Award-winning Foods & Nutrition University Professor
• Successful entrepreneur of owner of NutritionRx
• 16 year CrossFit affiliate owner with my husband
• Founder of Prosper Nutrition Coaching & lead nutrition coach
