The Health Kick
I decided to set up my business The Health Kick following redundancy from my corporate job.
I had always had an interest in health and wellness and decided that working shouldn’t feel too much like work. I wanted to have fun!!
How did you get started?
I trained as a Personal Trainer and group exercise instructor in Birmingham, I loved this aspect as I got to exercise and take people running as my job which was heaven but I missed thinking and was keen to study further into nutrition, as being a PT doesn’t cover much in that area and yet people want to see the results that only a good diet can bring (you seriously cannot out exercise a bad diet, no matter how much exercise you do!!).
What hurdles did you have to over come?
Starting from scratch is tricky especially when you’re not a planner! Mostly I learnt from my mistakes and would certainly do some things differently but that’s all part of running your own business! Whilst studying nutrition I became pregnant with my little boy (now 5) so my entire business (and world) changed to accommodate him. I didn’t want to be in gyms every night and at weekends so I focused more on nutrition clients, dropped the group exercise and reduced the PT.
How do you cope with managing a business and a family?
By juggling, as everyone does!! I remember taking Owen to a nutrition client when he was 7 weeks old and breastfeeding him during the consultation, I had carried on with my PT clients until over 8 months pregnant and I started running again 7 weeks after having him, when you have your own business no-one else is going to step in so you have to find a way! It is easier now he is 5 and has been a great help in the diversification of my business into a more early years nutrition focused approach.
He has been both the inspiration for it and a creative influence!!
What inspires you?
I’m inspired by many things, I am quite creative so I get ideas from things all around me. My little boy inspires me as it is through him that I decided to focus on children’s health and nutrition, when he was around 2 I started to notice that the choices of foods available for him were not great and that marketing and product placement has a huge influence over how easily a parent can navigate a supermarket. He is amazing with food and has never had many foods because of my health message but this does mean I am lucky that I have never had a sweet related tantrum in the supermarket! On a grand scale the health of the next generation inspires me, children are experiencing diseases that they shouldn’t even begin to worry about until later in life; Type 2 Diabetes, joint aches, low self esteem, poor mental health, cardiovascular problems. These are lifestyle issues and largely preventable, due to certain nutritional changes children are experiencing metabolic decline at an accelerated pace, for example an 8 year old being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.
Do you ever look back on how far you’ve come?
I don’t look back and reflect often enough but when I do I am sometimes amazed at how far I have come and what I have achieved!!
I started out being happy doing a few PT sessions and group exercise classes a week.
As my interest and training in nutrition grew so did my client experience and I started to see the real issue with our health is largely down to what you eat, yes how much you move is a factor, as is sleep and stress but food is very underestimated!
I grew the nutrition side of my business holding nutrition clinics and spent two years running Learn over Lunch sessions on nutrition topics.
I decided to learn more about children’s nutrition and studied nutrition for children’s brain development, this then inspired me to write a book!
I wrote my book How Food Shapes Your Child last year and from the idea to the book launch party was a time-span of 3 months, (I am quite inpatient).
My book has seen a seismic change in my business (again, not all planned)!
Off the back of the book I have;
- Been asked to be a keynote speaker on early years nutrition at an international nanny event
- Been invited to a roundtable dinner discussion on children’s obesity with both the BBC Breakfast’s Dr and Sky News Dr
- My book has won a parenting award with Janey Lee Grace
- My business has won an award with Theo Paphitis
- I have had several articles published
- I have regularly appeared on the radio
- I have book sales in 6 countries
I have launched a webinar schedule as part of my aim to make nutrition advice accessible and affordable to all. Each webinar is only £10.00 for expert advice on a number of subjects.
Any advice you wish you’d been given?
It’s harder than it seems! There will be tears and tantrums there will certainly be bad days, there will be times when it doesn’t seem worth it, when the work is never ending and no one seems to be listening. I haven’t picked an easy message and it is one that many choose not to hear, this makes my business extremely hard work!!
I am stubborn, I think you have to be to run your own business and every client testimonial. every book review, every headline about our health keeps me going
Share your closing thoughts…
If you don’t believe strongly enough in your message your business will be hard work! My business is extremely challenging, most days are a battle, the achievements look great but there’s years of hard work behind them. If I didn’t believe it was worth it I wouldn’t have carried on, you have to truly believe in your message and your ability to make a difference!
It may take me a while but I believe that I will have an impact on some children’s health and that is enough for me!!
