062: Moving Past Freelance Fears! Ft. Jessica Panetta, MA, RD

Today I'm joined by Jessica Panetta—a dietitian motivated to work for herself after having two kids during the pandemic. She shares her inspiring tips on how to start freelancing, and why conquering your fear (early in your freelance journey) is critical for your success!

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Transcript

0:01

Hey, and welcome to the freelance dietician podcast. I'm your host, Julia. I used to be a clinical dietician and now I'm a full-time freelance writer. I do cooking demonstrations and a couple other things, but most importantly, I talk a lot about freelancing on this podcast to show other dieticians, all the opportunities out there. Today is the last guest episode of the year. And I'm so excited for you to learn from somebody new. Somehow it's already December. This year has probably been the fastest year of my entire life. I don't know about you guys. And today, as I mentioned is the last guest podcast episode for 2023. Jessica reached out to me through email. She pitched herself to the show and I was really excited to interview her because I think her interests will align with listeners who want to start freelancing. So a little bit about Jessica. She's a registered dietician with over 15 years of experience. She successfully transitioned from working in a clinical workplace to becoming a successful freelance dietician. Within three months of initiating her work on Upwork She successfully doubled her hourly rate from her previous position as director of clinical nutrition. And now she's dedicated to supporting allied health professionals. Follow a similar path and succeed in freelance work. Jessica founded prosper, allied health to equip people with, to equip healthcare providers, excuse me, with the tools and guidance to thrive in this new realm of work. Let's bring her on the show.

Julia: 1:53

Welcome to the show, Jessica. It's so great to have you. Did you want to say hi to listeners?

Jessica: 1:58

Absolutely. I'm so excited to talk all things freelance as a dietitian. So thanks for having me on.

Julia: 2:04

Yeah, it's a pleasure. Did you want to introduce yourself and share your dietitian career with listeners?

Jessica: 2:10

Absolutely. So like many dietitians, I started out in, working in a teaching hospital as a clinical inpatient dietitian. And I did that grind for a while. Um, and when I fatigued with it, I actually went right into private practice. And that was really cool because it was the first time that I flexed entrepreneurial skills and wearing that hat. Um, and I was able to expand out to three different office locations. So it was a really exciting venture. But then as life, you know, happens, I had two kids, 15 months apart. And so I just could not maintain having a business with my new focus now on having two small children. But one thing I wanted to add in there as well is while I had my business and before I was able to scale it to those three office locations, I actually did dabble in freelance work, but locally within my community in person. So I just wanted to throw that in there. After having kids. Going back into work. I needed something predictable hours, you know, time off things of that nature. And so I went into outpatient dialysis, which offered really great hours for when you have kids. Um, and that brings us up to 2020. And I, like I said, I did the outpatient thing for a while and it really worked, but when the pandemic hit, everything changed. So, that's sort of where I segue into freelance work as I'm doing it currently. And so, like many of us, when the school shut down, you know, in March of 2020. I had my two kids home, um, with me and at the time I was working as a director of clinical nutrition for, a home chemo company. And it was, it was really stressful, that job, just in and of itself. Then, factor in, everything is remote. You've got kids at home in the background, virtual school. It got really messy. And, um, I juggled that until summer. At that point, I said, you know what? I really need a break from work. I just need to focus on the household, myself, and my kids. So that was where the break began and my story, you know, unfolds down this path of freelance work.

Julia: 4:50

I love that you've shared your experiences about flipping between full time work and then entrepreneurship. That is so relatable. I think a lot of people who enter entrepreneurship feel pressure to make it work, this is it, um, like how did it feel going back to work after that? I can imagine that would be very tough.

Jessica: 5:10

Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's one thing about freelance work that I think is commonly misunderstood. And I think it's because we, we tend to go into, um, the jobs that we take as like an all or nothing. I think. And really, that's, that's not actually true. We don't have to just be a clinical dietitian. We don't have to just be a business owner. We can actually blend both. And we can flip back and forth just like I did throughout our career if we wanted to, theoretically. Um, and so, yeah, you know, letting go of my business was tough, but motherhood was tougher. That, that was a hard transition. Yeah, that was a really hard transition. That was One of the bigger moments in my life where, um, taking off the work hat and just being home with the kids and learning how to be a mom. Right. That came with, um, a tremendous amount of, self reflection and reworking my identity. You know, who am I kind of thing? Am I a dietician? How can I be if I'm at home with my kids? And I think back to that moment, right? Frequently and I wish I could tell my then self. Hey, why don't you do a little bit of freelance work to like exercise your brain without a full time job commitment while you're home with the kids. And I do think that really would have helped me with that transition that transition into motherhood.

Julia: 6:43

Mm hmm. I think a lot of people will be able to relate to your feelings and thank you for just being so transparent and honest about how hard it is to be a human and be a professional and be ambitious and, start a family. So thank you for sharing that.

Jessica: 6:56

Oh, absolutely. I think transparency and just being authentic really is what connects us, you know, together. Um, just. You know, in general, so absolutely, I'm an open book. I like to share what I've gone through and relate to others. Yeah.

Julia: 7:14

And what are your key motivators for working for yourself? I think you've hinted at a few, but it's always nice to hear them out loud because again, I think it resonates with listeners here.

Jessica: 7:26

Definitely. So. When I took that break from work in 2020, I realized that I needed to focus on the things that were really important to me personally. I love work. Um, probably a little too much, you know, I'm, I'm a perfectionist and I find great joy and value in my identity as a registered dietitian. I'm really proud of those credentials and you know, all the schooling that we had to do to get to that point. And so when I. Took that break and work. I realized that I could still have all of those things, but also prioritize having, you know, more time with my kids, more time for myself to do the things that I recommend to other people like exercise. And so I went on this journey of like, you know, learning about what my options. are and what they would be for when I re entered the workplace. Um, I was reading books. I was listening to podcasts. And so, combining all of those resources, I realized that I could do freelance work from home. I could have flexible hours. I could pick and choose the commitments, um, And pick and choose the clients I wanted to work with to make sure it lined up with my passions, my values, um, and what I wanted to do, the work I wanted to do as a dietitian, as opposed to just applying for these full time jobs and then abiding by what the organization's goals were. I was like, Oh, wait, I can do my own goals here. And so that was my motivation for, um, going into freelance work and. Staying on the path that I'm currently on as a freelance dietician. THat's giving me goosebumps. I think it's very tumultuous to go through all of those thoughts and questioning your identity, as you mentioned, as a dietitian, and then to arrive at an actionable place is so exciting and rewarding. Definitely. Yeah.

Julia: 9:33

And I, I just will ask this off the cuff here, because I've had some listeners tell me that they're also struggling with their identity as a dietitian, and you know, it sounds like you've gone through that thought process. Can you share any tips of good reflective questions that helped you break through

Jessica: 9:50

Yeah, I definitely would. You know, like I said, I read a lot of books and so there's this one book that I read in particular called happiness is the way and I keep a copy of it on my desk next to me because I've, you know, I've highlighted and I refer back to it. But on the cover, this is what it says, how to reframe your thinking and work with what you already have to live the life of your dreams. And this was a turning point for me because I said to myself, all right, wait a minute, I worked really hard to get these RD credentials and I have a lot of student loan debt to show for it. And I was like, all right, wait a minute. If this isn't working for me working, you know, in a, in a clinical role, this isn't working for my life right now with what I'm juggling with my family and having two small kids. I don't have to throw the towel in and like, go get a different degree or pursue a different career path altogether to find remote work. So I said, okay, you know what, what can I do with my dietician credentials? How can I combine it with a skill or a passion that I already have that I just haven't been using? How can I combine those two things and reinvent myself as a dietitian? And that's what freelancing really offered for me. Um, I was able to dabble with a bunch of different clients over the years and really hone in on what do I actually love doing? And I love working with patients. But do you know what I really love more? I love working with colleagues. I love working with other business owners. And I love operations. So how do I like combine all of those things in one pot and come up with this new soup recipe? And, and that's, and that's what freelancing has done for me. And that's part of the work that I did in reinventing myself. I just embraced what my true passions were, what lit me up, You know, I come to my desk every day so excited to get started, and it's really hard for me to break away from work every single day. And so that's when you know you've hit it. That's when you know that you're on the right path with using what you already have, what you've already invested in, but on your terms and, you know, um, in line with what you need at this point in your life.

Julia: 12:25

I think, um, I'll just maybe grab the author of that book just so I can tell listeners if you don't mind.

Jessica: 12:31

100%. So the author of the book is Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, and he is a thought leader in the space of self help. Um, and he has a ton of books that he's published throughout his lifetime on that topic. So I not only recommend this book, but any of the other ones that he has available.

Julia: 12:50

Thank you. I loved your answer, but I just wanted to catch that detail just because I know listeners will be Googling it.

Jessica: 12:55

Important. Yes, it's important, for sure.

Julia: 12:58

So do you think that dieticians will want to work for themselves more in the future?

Jessica: 13:06

For sure. I'm curious about it too. I can't wait to see how it unfolds, right? Um, but I do think that as we all want to be debt free, um, meaning student loan debt, maybe other personal debt, but I think this, There's this shift where we all realize we want to be effective dieticians and, and help the world, with the credentials that we have, but we also don't want to be paying off our student loans, you know, until retirement. And we certainly don't want that debt impacting our retirement plans, uh, because that's, that's really important for all of us to come to a place to realize. And with the, um, Mandate to have a master's degree effective next year. I think that we're not quite seeing a catch up in what the standard pay rate is in our industry, meaning is, you know, is an investment worthwhile? Are we going to get paid to match what we're investing in monetarily to get these credentials and then to maintain them? And so I think that's going to be a big push. That's my prediction. I, I think that's what's going to happen. And so, you know, I certainly see more dieticians thinking outside of the box of how can I supplement my income or how can I make more money on my own, um, you know, on my terms.

Julia: 14:38

Yeah, I definitely agree with you. I think people might have to find a second row of income. Um, Which is just crazy considering the level of education we have in credentials and then other people may have a little bit more wiggle room, a little bit more privilege and be able to explore it, but at the end of the day, I do think more people will end up somehow dabbling in the entrepreneur space.

Jessica: 15:02

No doubt about it. In fact, I found myself in that situation when I started out. I, I came from a household where. My single parent home where there was no contribution toward my education. So I took out student loans and I did have some scholarships and small grants, but certainly not enough. I did get my master's degree. So that certainly added to the debt that, um, the student loan debt that I, I still have. And, um. When I first started working and the student loan payments came in, I actually did, I did have to go and work in the evenings, um, at a chiropractor's office doing nutrition counseling just to make spending money. So I had enough to cover my bills, but I didn't have enough to live. To live, to enjoy yourself. Yeah, like what's the point, right? So, um, unfortunately, I agree with you. It is a little sad that I think more dietitians might find themselves in a similar boat. So we'll, we'll just have to see how it plays out.

Julia: 16:02

Yeah. Yeah. And kind of pivoting a bit here, but through our email exchange, uh, when I was learning about you, you mentioned that you started freelancing on Upwork, which I also started freelancing on Upwork. I love that platform. It's not the greatest, you know, money making place in the world, but I just had a good experience. And I'm wondering if you can share your experiences there and maybe some tips, cause I know people find it quite challenging to secure clients and it is hard.

Jessica: 16:30

Yeah, absolutely. I, I agree with you. I love Upwork. I love it because it's safe. Yeah. And I love that freelancers, freelancers are protected on that platform. There's a lot of safeguards in place, not only with contracts, but also communication with clients. I did find it easy to just kind of get on there, make my profile and start poking around. Um, and then eventually, you know, you start applying for gigs, but here's what I would really recommend because I have been, I've been very successful in Upwork and I continue to be. I love it. Um. I would say the biggest thing is to really get crystal clear on what service you're offering. What niche, um, you know, service can you provide that's going to set you apart from the other freelancers and You still might say like, Oh, but that might be tough to do. Like I'm just a dietitian. Actually, no, like you definitely have other skills that have been either untapped or underutilized in the work you've been doing as a dietitian. And so now you just have to sit down and think about, well, what are my other skills? Am I good in front of the camera? Maybe I could be a content creator. Am I really good at writing? Nope, there you go. You're gonna go into writing, um, content and blogs and articles and things of that nature. Or maybe, and this is, this is the case for me, maybe you're an artist. Maybe art has always been a side passion of yours. Um, and so therefore graphic design can become an additional skill that you bring to the table as a dietician. And so if you spend some time thinking about what you can combine that you already have skills, credentials, education, work experience, how do you put that together and package it up as a service that makes you unique on the platform, then it becomes very easy to apply for gigs that line up with just that. And so I would say that that is probably the biggest piece of advice I have for everyone. And once you do that. Pitching becomes really easy because you're like, Oh, I know I'm the person for this. And it reflects in the way that you're writing your proposal. You, you know, the client will feel that, that authenticity and that excitement and enthusiasm. So that's, that's probably the biggest piece of advice I'd give to any new freelancer. Or freelancers who have been on Upwork and are feeling kind of stuck. Like they're not landing gigs.

Julia: 19:14

And do you have suggestions on how a dietitian could drop their fear to start freelancing? Because sometimes we get in our own way and no, not criticizing or judging ourselves. It is scary to try new things.

Jessica: 19:27

All the time. Right? Life is scary. Yeah. But it's also, it's also like the intensity of that fear. Is depending on what we allow what we allow to exist, and so I mentioned this before in a talk that I gave. I mentioned this idea of dropping that cloak of fear for just one day, and I actually use this with one of my Children. Um, and it's a really cool exercise. But if you just, like, envision the fear as something that weighs you down, it's like a heavy jacket or a cloak, and you just, like, give yourself permission to take that off for one day, and You're like, okay, I can, I think I can just sort of like, let myself be free for one day and then put it back on if like, I find comfort in that fear and my safe spot, but in that one day where you take it off. I think that what happens is we then start making decisions coming from a place of positivity and being open to new opportunities. And what that little glimpse that day that glimpse, um, into what that looks like, it actually becomes something bigger there. There's momentum that generates and you're like, Oh, that felt really good. It felt really good to just put myself out there. Who cares what anyone thinks? It felt really good to apply for that gig without. Wondering like, Oh, am I going to get it? Am I not going to get it? I'm just going to apply and see what happens and just kind of be open to that. Um, and so I would say that if you do that simple exercise and you find it to be useful, extend it. Maybe you do it for two days. That may be three and then eventually you come to a place where you just begin operating every day where you're making decisions for yourself and what you're going to do for your work, um, you're coming from a place of opportunity and that lends to success.

Julia: 21:23

Love that. So positive.

Jessica: 21:25

Yeah, I'm, I'm a very positive person, but I think that it's a choice and we can all make that choice and, and come from that place of positivity.

Julia: 21:36

I did want to ask you how freelancing could be useful to dietitians, because we talked about how someone might dip their toe in, and I love your message right now about positivity and dropping your fear cloak. Um, and what would be the benefits of freelancing?

Jessica: 21:53

So, um, I would say I'd like to use an analogy for this. And this is something that I've posted about on social media. Um, I've got a, you know, blog underway about this, but I really love using this bridge analogy where the left pillar of the bridge is that Um, you know, typical clinical role. We'll call it like a full time, we'll say seven to three. I say nine to five because everyone, but we typically work seven to three or something like that. Um, that's the left pillar of the bridge. Freelancing is the crossing of the bridge. And then the right pillar is like being a business owner, being a full blown full time entrepreneur. And so keeping that analogy in mind, I'm going to answer your question by saying that dieticians can use freelance work as a testing ground or like a safe place to cross over into being a business owner, if that's something that they've been considering or thinking about, but have been too afraid to take that, take that crossing or that leap to get to that point. Or maybe you just can't. Maybe you need benefits from your full time job, right? It's not easy to just be an entrepreneur and leave that safety net of having benefits and guaranteed money deposited into the bank account every, every week or every two weeks. So if you use freelance work as a testing ground, here's what you can do. You can keep your 9 to 5 job, right? You can stay full time. And then on the side, you can just start doing a few freelance gigs here and there, no pressure. You just take on a job, you execute it, and you build your portfolio. But you're also building skills. You're also learning how to deliver quality work, um, you know, and being in charge of that with your time management and your ability to communicate with clients. And you begin building up this arsenal of Uh, entrepreneurial skills that you could then use to be a business owner one day if that's still something that you wanted to go for. And then the last thing I'd mention is that you can actually test out the services that you have been thinking about opening a business to do. So let me give a very concrete example there. You're working, you know, your full time job, and you've always thought about maybe you wanted to do, um, a private practice to give nutrition counseling full time. Um, I'm on my way. I'm on my way. I'm on my way. I'm on my way. I'm on my way. So it's not about a lot of time. Uh, what you could actually do is just put yourself out there to your community or even online through upwork, if you find gigs that line up with it, but you can say like, you know what? I'm now offering nutrition counseling on the side. I'm only doing a client a week, really low pressure, low time commitment. And so if you say to your community, you know, I'm, I'm offering, um, nutrition counseling for diabetics. and you start to get some people in, now you're going into proof of concept. Now you're showing that there's a market for the service that you want to deliver as a business owner. And if you can prove that while still working a full time job and slowly but surely build up your, um, portfolio and testimonials and your reputation, it then becomes very easy to cross into Opening a business and being a business owner. So I think that in addition to the ways that we mentioned earlier, the ways that a dietitian could use freelance work, I just wanted to mention this as well, because I think it's overlooked, um, quite frequently and it's a very viable pathway to test out, um, you know, your idea to be an entrepreneur or a business owner.

Julia: 25:49

I totally agree. I think freelancing is A gift in that it is unlimited creativity, I love your point of just keeping it super small and super direct. Like, maybe taking one client only a week, for example, or one a month, like, just Yeah, whatever! You make the rules, so just start with whatever's realistic.

Jessica: 26:08

That's right, that's the beautiful thing about it. You're absolutely right, Julia. You make the rules, you call the shots, and you can even do it just certain times of year. Let's say you just, you know, have more time in the winter, things are quiet for you on your personal calendar. So you do a little freelance work, you know, make a little extra money, build your portfolio. I love it. I love the flexibility and, um, the fact that, yeah, we're in control of that with freelance work.

Julia: 26:35

Yes. So we are slowly running out of time here. I'm just being mindful of it. So I'll just ask you two questions left, if that's okay, Jessica. The last two. Absolutely. Bye bye. How do you handle rejection?

Jessica: 26:49

Very Uh, very easily. It's in the wake of my boat. I'm just a boat cruising along the water, and rejection is that wake that's behind my boat. I just keep going. Um, it's quite frequent, uh, in freelancing, whether you're pitching, um, you know, to people in your community, within your network, or to a client on financial development. Upwork, for example. Rejection is just part of the process. And honestly, I probably wouldn't even use the word rejection. That feels a little heavy. I would probably just say it wasn't the right fit. They weren't the right client, it wasn't the right gig, and so you just keep putting yourself out, out there. And what does stick, that's what's right for you, that's what's meant for you. And what doesn't stick, let it roll off the back of your boat and just keep going. That's it.

Julia: 27:39

What comes next for you down the, like in the new year, I guess, cause this is going to be released in December. So what's in store for 2024?

Jessica: 27:46

Oh, such an, always an exciting time to think about what you're going after, but I'm really excited to keep building my business, um, and continue to offer services, um, to help others start freelancing. And so one of the things that I've been toying around with that I'm now going to be offering is an intensive program, like a one day where it's like, all right, let's get in. Let's roll our sleeves up. Let's get your, your freelance work off the ground in one day. We're not messing around. I'm here. Hand over hand guidance. And so I think that some people really need that, um, as opposed to just access to resources they can use on their own. I think there's some folks who just do better, like I'm just jumping in, I'm doing it, I'm getting it off the ground in one day and that's it. So I'm really excited to offer that, um, in 2024 and something I've been working on. Um, and I've got some speaking engagements, which is super exciting too, just to keep spreading, um, The knowledge and the awareness and that positivity around this topic for. Not only dieticians, but actually allied health professionals in general. Um, I'm pretty passionate about that, so that's what's going on for me in 2024

Julia: 29:01

that's great. We are at the end of the episode. Thank you so much again for sharing all your insight. Did you want to share any closing thoughts and maybe drop your social media channels where people could find you online?

Jessica: 29:12

Sure, thank you. Um, I just want to say in closing that freelancing is What you make it doesn't have to be a big commitment, or it can be a full time thing. It's it's whatever you know you want it to be. And it's also an opportunity for you to reinvent yourself as a dietitian like we talked about earlier, you don't need additional investment in credentials or degrees. It's just work with what you already have, because it's actually enough. And it's super exciting to see doors open and opportunities unfold when you. Move forward with freelance work. And I'm just, I'm excited for all of you to go down that pathway for yourselves. Um, You can find me, um, my website is prosperalliedhealth. com and I'm on LinkedIn as JessicaPanettaRD and I'm also on Instagram at prosperalliedhealth. So you can find me in any of those places and, um, you know, hopefully this has been inspiring for, for all of you listening here today.

Julia: 30:18

I think it certainly has. Thank you so much. I will link those in the show notes so you can quickly access all of Jessica's online materials. And thank you so much again.

Jessica: 30:29

Thank you. Thanks, Julia.

Julia: 30:32

That wraps up today's episode. Thank you so much for tuning in. Next week will be the last episode of 2023. I'm going to be going on by myself and talking about how the second year of being a freelance dietician has been for me. Uh, I'll also be giving some shout outs to listeners who wrote in and shared their greatest accomplishments for 2023. Which I am very excited to highlight all of your achievements. Thank you again so much. I'll see you next week. Bye.