The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
When I first started out, I had a very difficult situation where another business accused me of copying their workshop (which of course I hadn’t). It was just a very natural progression for me as a dietitian and mum to start offering the weaning workshops. I found that an incredibly difficult situation to overcome and I kept myself small for a long time for fear of something similar happening. As far as I am concerned, people in similar businesses to me are peers and people to connect with, not to feel threatened by. Thankfully, this industry is very friendly and supportive in general, but not everyone feels the same and I found myself triggered by that situation for a long time!
From a personal point of view, I lost my dad to Covid and then my marriage broke down about 18 months later, and both of those situations were extremely challenging. I have come out stronger from both though and with a continued drive to succeed and make a success of my business so that I can do the things I dream of doing with the children. I was also diagnosed with ADHD about 3 years ago and that has been quite the journey to go on! I have learnt a lot about myself and adapted how I live my life and run my business to fit myself, which was very challenging at first, but hugely beneficial as well.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
Pros are definitely the flexibility it offers me. I can work whenever I want really on a lot of my work. Obviously appointments are set times, but even with those I am in charge of when I make those available. I also love being in a position to pick and choose which work I take on. As someone with ADHD, that is very important to me that I can work on a variety of different projects to stop myself getting bored.
The cons are probably the uncertainty of knowing what will happen and whether I’ll have work booked in. Thankfully, the way my brain works means I don’t really stress about the future or finances, so whilst it might be a negative to others, I actually rather enjoy the challenge of needing to support myself and never being 100% certain how much money I’ll be earning. I see that as a positive – the sky is the limit when you work for yourself!
Hopes and dreams: What next?
Lots! I would love for the fussy eating app to take off so that we can really help the parents that are struggling. There’s very little support within the NHS and many families cannot afford to see someone privately for 1-2-1 support.
I have some online courses releasing this year as well as a podcast which I’m super excited about.
I have also decided that I am going to do more intense training on breastfeeding. I had a very difficult breastfeeding journey myself with both of my children and I would really love to be able to support other families with feeding their babies and take some of the stress out of that situation for them.
Visit The Early Years Dietitian website to find out more, and join their supportive communities on Facebook and Instagram. You can also learn more about Sprout here.
