The Genesis (& Exodus) of Reformed Nutrition: Part II
I didn’t plan on a “Part II”, but it occurred to me that Part I was reflecting on the distant past and not on the immediate past. But first, in case someone is wondering…
“Why aren’t you writing about food in this blog??”
I’m sure I will at some point. But to be honest, I am not any more interested in writing another article about the health benefits of kale than you are in reading it. I’ve said for years that, “I love food so much that I majored in it,” but it wasn’t until I launched Reformed Nutrition that I added, “Actually, I love people so much that I majored in food.” After dietetic registration I studied clinical counseling in graduate school, solid working relationships in this setting are important. I like to get to know my patients and it’s fair that they know more about me as well.
Gift or curse, I tend to make friends easily. I remember how embarrassing it used to be when my mom would chat up literally anyone and everyone in stores, lines, waiting rooms, anywhere. Yet now I do it. If I see your face in the same circles as mine more than once, I’m probably going to say something. And if you come into my HOME, I’m going to want you to be my friend before you leave. At the end of Part I, I mention circumstances that were just right for Reformed Nutrition - one of those was our basement renovation.
A friend recommended the designer she was using for her project. I’ve never used a designer before, did I even need one? Would it be a waste of money? What if they just recommend expensive things I don’t want? What if I HATE how it looks later? Sometimes I have a hard time making decisions, asking myself a million questions like this and I realized… this IS why I needed a designer. So, I took the designer’s info and sat on it for weeks, like I always do, but I did call her. And I still call her.
Most of R/N photography is IN the actual office I see patients in.
Want to meal prep? I have a kitchen.
Do our talking over a game of pool? We can do that too!
Tameca Brown is the owner and chief designer at Villas10. She takes the same approach to decorating as I do to nutrition: if you work with me, I want to know you first. Just like I don’t farm out the same meal plan templates to everyone, I didn’t get some pre-fabricated design palette she’s done 100x before. Her design was created carefully and thoughtfully for ME. I was just in awe of her creativity, thoughtfulness, attention to detail, and then I began to understand what an entrepreneur this woman is. She is so polished, so professional, so focused with her business, so motivated… My negative self-talk said, I could never do that. But I still asked her to tell me more, the business plan, the behind-the-scenes of V10, and she let me in. She inspired me. …Maybe I can? At this point I’m past sold on the designer I didn’t know I needed. Now I’m wondering if I need to push the dream and get a BRAND agent I definitely thought I didn’t need. Enter: AKC, “Anna Katherine Creative.” The artist also known as Anna Bullock.
We scheduled introductions over coffee. I hadn’t noticed her last name yet… (Bullock is my maiden name!) Coincidence? I think not. It’s not that common of a name. This was a wink from above to reassure me this was where I needed to be. We clicked. She understood me, the vision, the anxiety. It was actually therapeutic to sit down with this kind soul and diarrhea all of my professional daydreams with her. I hired her right away. I even had another job, I just thought that one day I’d need a solid back up plan because sales is so unpredictable. Phase 1 (Branding) of our plan was complete before Christmas 2023. I was so inspired by Anna’s creativity and vision for Reformed Nutrition that I was terrified by it and she returned to the back burner. The doubt and questions crept in: What if? …NO, not now, maybe later. Just two months later, the job I had briefly wasn’t a good fit (another wink), the Reformed Nutrition brand was done, my space had been done, and it was time to pull the final trigger(s). So, I sent my new “cousin” Anna back to work on my website while I figured out business licensure and insurance.
All of the skills, resources, timing, support were aligned. I get to do what I love in a space that I love with a business toolbox choc full of content and branding to help me get started. I am so glad that I asked for help and heart-warmed by how to completely separate story lines in my life have merged together to support my career-long goals.
Morals of the story: (1) Maybe you can’t do it all on your own - that’s okay - the good news is that you don’t have to. (2) Admit when you need help. (3) You are worth the investment.