Adventures in Businessing
So I finally did a brave thing that I’d been quietly contemplating for years: I’m two weeks away from finishing the M2 Performance Nutrition ‘Practical Nutrition Coaching’ module. (The other three modules — Metabolism, Gut Biology, and Hormone Health — are each going to get their turn over the next 6-12 months, but as a PA, I’m reasonably familiar with the ‘science’ portions already; the practical/business skills were the part I needed to nail down before I’d feel comfortable working with anyone.)
I’m not sure why the time was suddenly right, but (as usual) I recognized the opportunity when it came. I had never mentioned to anyone that this was something I’d thought about doing, but in early July (after I presented a rather elegant hormonal explanation for some of the physical symptoms I’d noticed that week 😂), my own nutrition coach said out of the blue that she thought I’d be good at it. It was the first time anyone had ever said so — and literally the day after that conversation, the ‘Practical’ coursework module popped up in my newsfeed. It was too big a coincidence to ignore.
Five weeks deep, I keep waiting for the bubble to pop — but honestly, I’ve gotten more excited and invested with each successive week. Created an intake questionnaire, picked a payment platform, bought a new laptop, mapped out a tentative business plan. Speaking frankly, it’s a new experience for me to be this genuinely enthusiastic about something that’s technically ‘work’ — and it’s also a new experience to NOT feel (too) intimidated by all the new things I’m going to have to learn. I’d toyed with the idea of nutrition coaching for years, but the practical hurdles always felt insurmountable. Now that I’m in the thick of it, I’m feeling a weird new confidence — certainly not that I won’t make any mistakes along the way, but simply that I do belong in this space, that I already understand the really important things, and that I’ll be able to figure out whatever obstacles crop up in order to make this work.
This has been a rough season as a healthcare provider, for obvious reasons (#pandemic) — but I’m noticing that the first steps of this new adventure are also indirectly validating how far I’ve come in that career over the past almost-decade. I can manage a full clinic day of 18-20 patients entirely on my own now, with no support staff (don’t get me wrong, it’s still stressful as hell, but I have the skill and experience to DO it). My charts are regularly flagged by the review team as ‘best practice’ examples of good documentation. And, most importantly — I can acknowledge that my patient rapport is truly second to none, in part because I’m no longer afraid to admit when I don’t know something.
It’s taken me almost as long to get over the impostor syndrome as it has to develop that skill set in the first place — but nine years into this career, I can confidently own the fact that I am really, really good at ‘meeting someone where they are’, earning their trust, and communicating what’s necessary. I also have no qualms (anymore) about saying, “that’s a great question, and I’m not totally sure, but here’s what I would think, so let’s look it up together and find out for sure.”
And THAT is how I know I can be a good nutrition coach. Because it’s the exact same set of skills:
Understand human science AND human psychology.
Be a good communicator AND a good listener.
Know your limits AND your capabilities.
Be confident AND humble.
Never stop learning.
I’m pretty stoked about my first little cohort of prospective clients, mostly because of how different they all are in terms of their goals and their life situations. I think I’m about to be challenged in ways both broad and deep… which is really exciting. I’m going to reach out to the initial few folks tomorrow (!) and see who wants to formally jump on board for September.
One of the (MANY) things I’m currently questioning is whether I should reshape this website to be more ‘business-y’. But I don’t think I need to, at least not yet. Because I would like to think that part of what attracts people to me is my authenticity. (I sometimes joke that I’m “all skeletons, no closet,” because I’m fairly open with most information about my life.) I obviously understand HIPAA and privacy and basic boundaries, especially when it comes to the individuals I work with — but I also don’t think I necessarily need to share ‘less’ information about myself in order to be a ‘better’ professional.
I have so much to learn, I’m gonna make so many mistakes, and this whole adventure is probably not going to play out anything like I think it will. 😂 But I can also sense that I’m at the point where it’s time to just start, and trust that I’m going to gradually refine everything along the way into something that feels like ‘me’.
Excited for the road ahead.