Episode 307: Starting a Business from Scratch
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
Erin answers the question, “If you had to start a business from scratch, what would be the first three things you would prioritize?” Erin covers the basic, more tangible topics, like starting an email list, networking with your existing community and getting confident speaking about what you offer. She also dives into more unpopular opinions, like getting started before you have everything perfect and avoiding niching down at the start. Although Erin mentioned three takeaways, you’ll get more than expected from this episode!
Enrollment for the Funk’tional Nutrition Academy
Spring cohort is now open!
Limited spots available
In this episode:
Start with in-person clients before going virtual and get clear on what you offer [5:45]
Utilize the networks you already have to grow your business [18:47]
How to structure collaborations in a way that’s mutually beneficial [23:55]
Say yes to everything & avoid niching down at the beginning [31:17]
Don’t wait until everything is perfect to get started [38:09]
Surround yourself with people that hold you to your vision [47:40]
Resources mentioned:
Funk’tional Nutrition Academy™
Energetics of Expansion Business Course
Carb Compatibility Project™ (Available for free within the Funk’tional Nutrition Collective)
Organifi supplement powder (save 20% on your order with code FUNK)
Ned Natural Remedies (get 15% off your order with code FUNK)
LMNT Electrolyte Replenishing powder (Use code FUNK get a free sample pack with any purchase!)
Qualia Mind (get $100 off and an extra 15% off your first purchase with code FUNK)
Learn more about Strictly Biz & Mindset
Related episodes:
299: Manifest Your Wealth: Money Mindset
278: Magnetism & Aligned Action in Your Business
247: Overcoming Self-Doubt: Mindset of a Successful Practitioner
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Erin Holt [00:00:02]:
I'm Erin Holt, and this is the Funk'tional Nutrition Podcast, where we lean into intuitive functional medicine. We look at how diet, our environment, our emotions, and our beliefs all affect our physical health. This podcast is your full bodied, well rounded resource. I've got over a decade of clinical experience, and because of that, I've got a major bone to pick with diet, culture, and the conventional healthcare model. They're both failing so many of us. But functional medicine isn't the panacea that it's made out to be either. We've got some work to do, and that's why creating a new model is my life's work. I believe in the ripple effect.
Erin Holt [00:00:39]:
So I founded the Funk'tional Nutrition Academy, a school and mentorship for practitioners who want to do the same. This show is for you. If you're looking for new ways of thinking about your health and you're ready to be an active participant in your own healing, please keep in mind this podcast is created for educational purposes only and should never be used as a replacement for medical diagnosis or treatment. I would love for you to follow the show, rate, review and share because you never know whose life you might change.
Erin Holt [00:01:06]:
And of course, keep coming back for more. Hello, friends. A couple of weeks ago, I released part of an FNA coaching call where somebody asked a question, and I answered the question part of the Funk'tional Nutrition Academy, and I got some really great feedback from that. A lot of you reached out to say you really love that episode. So we went ahead and gathered up another one for you. And this is one where I'm answering the question. If you had to start your business from scratch, what would be the first three things you would prioritize? And I love this question because where I'm at in my business, I have a pretty substantially sized company. We do a lot.
Erin Holt [00:01:52]:
I've got my fingers in a lot of pots. We have really great revenue, we have really great profit. We've got multiple revenue streams. Like, it's big. But that is not where I started, not even by a long shot.
Erin Holt [00:02:06]:
The first money that I made through my nutrition business, the first trading a service for dollars, was a nutrition course that I cobbled together because one of my mentors who ran a meditation school was like, hey, I would love to have a nutrition component. Can we pull something off? And I would literally type out an email, email every single night, and email participants in the group every single day.
Erin Holt [00:02:34]:
For 21 days straight. And that was my first offer. And obviously, since then, things have grown, have evolved, have escalated. But I had to start somewhere because things wouldn't have grown, evolved and escalated if I didn't just get started. And we can get so stuck, stuck in the trap of overthinking, overanalyzing, thinking. We have to get everything perfect. Everything has to be done exactly right before we just get started. And this is what keeps people stuck and keeps people from evolving and from growing.
Erin Holt [00:03:06]:
And so I love this question and I want to share this question. I recognize that not everybody that listens to the podcast is a business owner or a practitioner that is starting a private practice. But if you are one of those people, then this episode is going to be hopefully really beneficial for you. And this is just a glimpse, a glimmer into one of the very many things that you get in FNA. FNA is the Funk'tional Nutrition Academy. It's my 14 month practitioner training and mentorship program and we are officially open for enrollment. And I would love to personally invite you in. And like I said, today is a little bit of a taste.
Erin Holt [00:03:43]:
It's a little bit of a teaser of what you get inside the program. It's 14 months of really comprehensive functional medicine training and education. It is also clinical mentorship. It is also business training and business mentorship. And then, of course, we have the community as well. We open twice a year, and right now we're open for the spring cohort. Classes will officially start May 1. We have a limited amount of seats, and once they're gone, they are gone.
Erin Holt [00:04:14]:
So get your applications in and we're going to help you start building up the private practice, the business, and the life of your dreams. As one of our grads, Chelsea Sanfilippo says, I cannot recommend this program enough or speak more highly of it. It changed my life and I'm forever grateful. I continue to gain an insane amount of expansive wisdom, more confidence in myself, and helpful support from it. Stephanie Darby says, the absolute best thing I did for myself and my clients was join FNA. Liz Whitcomb says, hands down the best course I've ever taken. And you guys, these aren't even the testimonials from our website. Those are just screen grabs that I took from Instagram this week alone.
Erin Holt [00:04:56]:
So I love this program. I stand by it. I'm so proud and honored that our students and grads feel the same, and I would love to have you participate in the spring cohort. Reach out to us with any questions that you have. My team is always ready, willing, and available to help out. So with all that said, here's me answering the question. If I had to start my business from scratch. What would be the first three things I would prioritize?
Erin Holt [00:05:24]:
So the question is, if you had to start your business from scratch, what would be the first three things you would prioritize? She says she's interested to see if the group has any feedback. I am starting from zero, so appreciate any feedback. Awesome. Started from the bottom. Now we're here. So the very first thing that I'm going to say is get clients in person. Even if your goal is to have an online business in an online presence. I would prioritize.
Erin Holt [00:05:58]:
Whoops, sorry. Getting people in person. Um, the reason that I say this as, like, the number one thing is I just had lunch, uh, last week or the week before with Meg O'Neill. So Meg O'Neill has, has taught some classes here, and she does a lot with marketing and online business. And so I'm like, how's business? How are things going? I'm like, I know you have a lot of new clients. How's it going? And she's like, you know, what's interesting that I'm seeing is a, is a pattern of people, like, kind of just starting out and putting effort into the Instagram thing or into the TikTok thing, into the social media thing, and then being like, where are the customers? And so it's almost like there's this misaligned expectation. It is very true that social media can be a massive boom for your business, and we don't over want to overlook that as a resource, but it's not necessarily the place to get started. And if your goal is to build a full time private practice that can pay your bills, you're not going to do that by, like, tick talking and making smoothies on Instagram.
Erin Holt [00:07:07]:
Instagram. Like, I just. And I. That is true. Like, you can show me the exception to the rule. Even if you go viral, those people want more of that. Show me more smoothie recipes. They're not like, show me how I can pay you to help me with my nutrition.
Erin Holt [00:07:24]:
So you want to get really, really, really clear on your goals. Do you want to build a private practice that pays your bills or do you want to be an influencer? And by the way, it's totally fine if this is what you want to do, totally fine. But if this is the ultimate goal, then we want to make sure that all the action steps you're taking are feeding into that goal rather than a goal that you don't really have. And it's just so much easier to get clients in person than it is to get clients on social media when we're first starting out. Okay? And that's what Cynthia's question is. Starting from scratch, what do I do? Because people will come to you online if they believe that you can get them results, but the way that you show them that you can get them results is through examples of you have already doing it right with clients. So where are you going to get those clients? And I'll talk about workshops. I think workshops built my business, helped me build my business.
Erin Holt [00:08:27]:
So I'll talk about the specifics of what that might look like for you. But even if, let's say, you. You teach a workshop and you have five people that attend, a captivate, captivated audience of five people is going to convert to more paying clients than, like, yelling into the void of thousands of people on Instagram who don't know you. Okay. And it's just so much easier to get people to trust you in person than, like, screaming out into the abyss on social media, whatever platform you're on. So, again, lots of potential, like, almost unlimited potential on social media to get clients. I would say so.
Erin Holt [00:09:11]:
It is a resource that we want to leverage. You have the opportunity to reach thousands and thousands and thousands of people, but we don't want to rely on this for our bread and butter when we're first starting out, because that can take time to build. Okay. Anybody, like, fundamentally disagree with me there? And it's. It's absolutely okay, because I have a business. You have a business. You might have seen very, very different stuff. Okay, so.
Erin Holt [00:09:46]:
So Deb agrees. So what does this look like getting people in. In person? I also want to just, like, shout out Elise here, because she, like, I've watched this, like, evolution over the past year of her, and it's, like, been. I'm gonna get a little teary eyed. It's been, like, amazing and inspiring and incredible to watch, especially because I know that in the beginning, Elise, you were, like, nervous about, you know, doing it and getting yourself out there. And Elise is a great example of somebody who has, like, boots on the ground. Like, has, like, just really got to know a lot of people in the community and collaborated with people in the community, and she's just everywhere now. I feel like she's everywhere now.
Erin Holt [00:10:26]:
And she's been able to build some local notoriety and a customer base based on the fact that she was, like, connecting with people locally. She's still on Instagram. She's still doing some cool shit online. You know, she's not saying, I'm not doing that anymore, but she's doing. She's doing this and she's prioritizing this. So she might be a good one to kind of check out in terms of, like, hmm, what does this actually look like? Um, you have been working hard. It's paying off. And I see you, like, you're.
Erin Holt [00:10:55]:
You're out there doing. Doing the hustle. I love it. Not doing that. Not that hustle. Maybe a little bit. I don't know. Um, Erin says she agrees she spent too much time on the IG thing, and it burnt me out.
Erin Holt [00:11:10]:
It did expand my viewers, but the clients it brought in were already people I knew who maybe just didn't exactly know what I did until they saw the content on Instagram, which is, like, a great way to leverage Instagram, too. They're like, oh, you do that? Oh, okay. You know, so, like, that's like a, that's. That's pro column. That's a bonus. But it might not be the thing that, like, usher in your very first client clientele. Um, so where to start? Think about who you already have relationships built with and who you can build relationships with. So one of the very first things to do when you're just starting out is email your contact list.
Erin Holt [00:11:47]:
So, like, people that you already know, not like a newsletter list for your business, but, like, people like mom, dad, Uncle Frank, like, people who you actually know and just say, hey, this is what I'm doing now. If you think that you know anybody that could benefit from my services, please feel free to forward this email to them. If you decide to you want to offer free workshops, hit up the people that you already know. Even if mom, dad, Uncle Frank don't come, they might know somebody who would be interested and willing to attend. So utilize the network that you already have. I think that that's, like, a little bit of. We can.
Erin Holt [00:12:28]:
We can sometimes overlook the relationships that we already have. And it's not like we're trying to, like, hit up our friends and pitch our services to them. It's just that, like, hey, I'm starting this new venture. Do you know anybody that would be interested? So that's. That's the first thing. Sorry. It's going to be a little throaty with, why I love a workshop is because. And they can be paid and they can be free.
Erin Holt [00:12:57]:
I'm kind of, like, a big fan. You know how I feel about women getting paid for their work. In the beginning, I kind of did a lot for free, and I was a fan of just getting in front of people. Like, if I get in front of people, then I can kind of convert them to customers. So you could do a paid workshop, you could do a free workshop. I think whatever felt the best to you, I would lean in that direction. And then at the end, you can pitch. At the end, you can be like, oh, if this is something that you need help with, these are the services and that I was saving this for, like, number four.
Erin Holt [00:13:31]:
I know you asked for three, but I would like sticking in number four at the end, which is make sure that people know what you do. They know what you offer, they know how you can help them, and they know how they can buy from you. That is something that we don't do. We're not really collectively very good at that. We just, like, assume that, like, they're going to kind of mind read what we do. I just was thinking about this. I follow this person for, like, kind of, like, astrology type stuff, and I just like, I just was like, I like your memes, you know? And then this week, she started posting, like, one on one mentorships spots available. Workshop available.
Erin Holt [00:14:07]:
She started, like, talking more about what she actually does for work, and I was like, oh, I'm going to sign up for that workshop. I'm interested in this one on one mentorship. Cool. But I had no idea because I wasn't, like, sleuthing around. I wasn't taking time out of my day to, like, sleuth around to be like, does this person have a website? What does she do? I was like, cool. Instagram content, memes, I love it. And then she started telling me, and then I was like, okay, now I'm interested. So we always have to, don't ever forget how important it is to continue to tell people, here's what I do.
Erin Holt [00:14:37]:
Here's how I can help you. Here's how you can pay me. Invite them in constantly. Um, Michael, that's amazing. She did a workshop after Erin had suggested it when it was a bit slower and it went so well and brought in a great amount of clients and still is. Workshops are like the gift that keep on giving. And the other thing is like, you can create one workshop one time and then just, like, teach it to multiple places, too. So I believe.
Erin Holt [00:15:08]:
I just don't know where it is in the curriculum. I should have looked it up ahead of time. My bad. But there's like, a gut health kind of, like, workshop type of deal that I was like, use this as the bones of what you're going to teach. Like, add your own personal flair. That's really important. Kind of like pepper in your stuff, but, like, you can use this as the bones, and it's like a really great starter package for a workshop. But you're showcasing to people what you know.
Erin Holt [00:15:34]:
You're showcasing to people your experience. You're explaining to them how you can help them. And so when you have their undivided attention right there, like in lockstep, it's so much it. I've never walked away from a workshop without at least one paying client. Usually multiple, multiple. Because people are like, they're there and they want it. Um, Kerry says, I once had a workshop and was bummed only six came, but three up for a six week course. So size doesn't matter either.
Erin Holt [00:16:01]:
100%. Like, that's incredible, that ROI, like, you, you're not going to get. What is that? What's the ROI? Five to ten. Please forgive me for my embarrassing math skills. I have the flu. It's brain fog. Um, but that's a really bitch. And ROI, you know what I'm saying? Like, that's really, really, really good.
Erin Holt [00:16:22]:
Or conversion rate. That's what I'm trying to say. Not even Roi. That's a phenomenal conversion rate that you're not going to get on line. So I love that. Thank you for sharing, you guys.
Erin Holt [00:18:47]:
So think about. So, you know, you could pitch to your immediate network, but then also think about the people that you interface with throughout the course of your day or your week or your month. Yoga studios, huge, gyms, your chiropractor, massage therapists, massage therapists, salons. Like, where do you already spend time? Who do you already have relationships with? Start to have conversations. So yoga studios, I was. I was big in the. I taught yoga. So, like, that was my core community here.
Erin Holt [00:19:21]:
So I taught at. I just. I just. I knew people in the yoga community, so I. Even the studios that I didn't teach at, other studio owners knew who I was, and so they were more likely to partner with me. I remember my, one of my friends saying to me, I was, like, really hurt by it, or, like, maybe offended, I don't know. And she's like, oh, it must be nice to be able to go to yoga classes in the middle of the work day. And I was like, this is, like, kind of like my job.
Erin Holt [00:19:48]:
Like, this is how I, like, boots on the ground, meet people. Like, this is how people get to know me, and they get to know what I do by me showing faces in different communities, you know? And so I'm kind of glad that I put in that time because it helped to develop that know, like, and trust factor. So when I said to somebody, hey, do you want me to do a workshop at your studio? They're like, yeah, that's amazing. Awesome. On top of that, guys, I'm so sorry. On top of that, you get to kind of network out from their network. So one of the yoga studios I was teaching workshops at, somebody was like, hey, my corporate office hires people for nutrition, and so I would travel to Andover, Mass, and teach workshops at this corporate place and do one on one coaching with the clients there, too. So it's like, it gave me.
Erin Holt [00:20:43]:
She never hired me for any services that one person, but she connected me to, like, thousands of dollars worth of services. So face time is huge. PT office. My friend Kristen runs a PT office, but she wasn't my friend in the beginning. She was my physical therapist, and we just would, would talk, you know, about, um, about stuff, you know, work and health and all that kind of stuff while she was treating me. And I ended up renting office space from her and teaching workshops. I got so many clients from her, so many. Um, my husband's office, when he worked at an office, he, I would go in and I would teach yoga.
Erin Holt [00:21:23]:
And then because they knew me and they knew I was, like, in the health space, that all converted to nutrition coaching clients as well. So I'm just giving, like, examples to kind of help expand. Like, we can be so tunneled vision of what it looks like, but there's really kind of, like, unlimited potential. But it's that face time that can convert to clients a lot. And then, and then you can use social media to kind of, like, document all of this, right? You can almost consider social media, like, supplemental to your business at first. Now, once you start getting, like, a lot of clients and you want to kind of push for more of an online space, that's when you can put a lot more attention and time into social media. But in the beginning, you know, like, use it as like a supplement. Any thoughts with that so far? And the other thing, there was, there was a point here where I was like, I'm selling out all of my local workshops.
Erin Holt [00:22:23]:
Like, they're all like, standing room only, they're all being sold out. I was like, what if I just hosted my own workshop? And so I hire, I was going to rent a space, kind of like a retreat space to host my own workshop. So not being attached to somebody else's business, and I had to cancel it because the signups were so partnering with somebody else really made such a big difference. And, like, leaning on and leveraging the relationships made a huge, huge difference. And I will say this for anybody who feels like maybe a little insecure about that, building a business will require you to build relationships. Hard stop. If you're like, I don't really want to do that. I don't really want to reach out to people.
Erin Holt [00:23:06]:
I don't really want to talk to people. You're not going to ever get a business off of the ground. It just doesn't work that way. So much of running a business is relationship building, and so this gives you, like, such an amazing way to do that. Now, the alternative, if you're like hell bent on online or bust. I only want to do online. I don't want to do anything in person. You're still going to have to build relationships.
Erin Holt [00:23:25]:
So maybe in that scenario, you're actively inviting people into your DMs and you're having conversations with them and you're nurturing them through one on one conversations, and you're pitching your services through DM's, but it's still going to require you to build relationships somewhere. Elise says, I want to reiterate the workshop thing. I did one in November, and even though I didn't immediately get clients, I've since had several of the people who attended become clients. Yeah, it's like, can be a slow burn. Emily says, folks have been reaching out to me to ask if they can be a part of the workshops that I'm posting, and it feels one sided, as if they are marketing to my community, but at what value to me? Would love your feedback on co collaborators. Emily, can you unmute yourself and just give me a little bit of an example of what specifically you mean?
FNA Student [00:24:13]:
Yes. So I've been. I host, like, annual or, I'm sorry, quarterly workshops, and they'll usually be kind of geared around, like, equinox or solstice kind of events. And recently I've had some people reach out to me being like, we'd like to be a vendor at your workshop and be like an IV nutrition therapy kind of thing or something like that. And it feels like they are kind of capitalizing on the community that I've put together and the workshop that I've put together and, like, kind of marketing to those people. But what do those people get out of it, and what kind of relationships are we kind of creating long term that that could be of benefit? So I just would love your experience if you have anything like that with vendors kind of wanting to be at your retreat or at your workshops and whatnot, or anything like that.
Erin Holt [00:24:55]:
Um, so is it you? So you are doing all of the marketing like it's Emily. People are, like, coming in for Emily?
FNA Student [00:25:03]:
Yes.
Erin Holt [00:25:03]:
Yeah. So, um. And then, so, for example, this. Give me that example of. Of who wanted to do it. It was like a.
FNA Student [00:25:11]:
There was like an IV nutrition. Oh, yeah.
Erin Holt [00:25:13]:
So would they be like, hooking people up to IV's?
FNA Student [00:25:16]:
So I think they would be doing more like, intramuscular injections, but they're an IV nutrition company, so they do, like, mobile work. This is just an example of someone that reached out to me recently, but I was like, when I was kind of trying to respond to them. I was like, it feels sort of one sided. It feels like you're just going to capitalize on my people and market yourself to them and then, like, what do we get out of it from this whole thing? I don't want it to feel like icky marketing, you know what I mean? Yeah, I want them to come in and, like, have an, yeah, I want them to come in and, like, have an experience and not be, like, sold to, um.
Erin Holt [00:25:48]:
I think that there's a way to do it tactfully and respectfully. If you think that, gosh, this could be like an added bonus. Like, somebody comes to my workshop and it might even bring in, like, a different type of clientele that would, that maybe wouldn't come to your workshop, but now all of a sudden they're like, oh, I can get that there. Like, that's a bonus. If you feel like it's bringing something to your table and can potentially expand your reach and, or offer something different that you wouldn't be able to offer to your audience, I think in that scenario, it would be something to consider. You do want to make sure that the company and the brand is in alignment with, you know, your value system and all of that. That's an important thing, too. But I would have them be responsible for marketing as well.
Erin Holt [00:26:30]:
So they're marketing your event to their audience. Like, there would be a share, there would be expectations created around the actual marketing of the event and, like, really clear guidelines and contracts signed. Um, and I would let clientele know ahead of time that these people will be here and for an additional cost. So it's like, not part of the cost of the, of the workshop. And so it's kind of like, it's up to those people, like the other people to kind of market and pitch. Like, why it, you know, like, why that is something that they would want to do. Does that make sense? So it's like, it takes, like, so you're, you're kind of sharing the responsibility of the marketing. So now your event is getting in front of their audience as well, which is, can be a benefit.
Erin Holt [00:27:24]:
Um, it's kind of low risk to you because if your clients come and they're like, we don't, we don't want those injections. We're good. We just came here for, like, the moon shit, then, you know, oh, it's like, okay. Like, that's not, you know, like, that's not something that we need to repeat. They're not interested in it.
Erin Holt [00:27:38]:
Whatever.
Erin Holt [00:27:39]:
I'm I am a big fan of just kind of trying things out and experimenting, and if things are a bust, okay, we don't repeat that again. But I would go in with clear expectations, clear guidelines, and absolutely, there's an expectation that they're going to be marketing the event if they want to be present at the event.
FNA Student [00:27:55]:
Okay. Thank you.
Erin Holt [00:27:56]:
That's kind of how I'd probably handle that. Um, okay, so, like I said, so any. Everything that you're doing in person, you can create so much social media content based off of that. The. The way that I started my podcast is like. Like, I was like, this is what I'm seeing in practice. This is what I'm seeing with people. If I'm seeing it here, it's probably happening on a bigger scale.
Erin Holt [00:28:20]:
And I just kind of started speaking to what I was seeing. And so it becomes a lot easier to produce content and educational information that lands with. With people when you're working with people first. And it's. It's just. I can't say this enough. It is so much easier to meet a need that somebody has than to create a need. And I've done both.
Erin Holt [00:28:44]:
It's much easier when somebody's saying, like, these are my problems. You answering, you creating solutions for the problems that people are aware of that they have, versus being like, here's why you need functional labs. And people are like, what? You know, like, creating a need. And so if you're not actively working with clients, it can be hard to know the self identifying needs of your customer base. Okay? And on top of that, it allows you to speak to them at, like, a fourth grade level versus a PhD level. And that's, like, another. I'm kind of, like, weaving in a lot of lessons into, like, do this one thing. I'm like, also do these 17 other things, too.
Erin Holt [00:29:24]:
But that's. That's a common, common, common mistake, and I certainly have been guilty of this in the past and continue to be, is that we're like, I want to tell you everything that I have so much good information up here. I know so much, and I want to tell it to you. And people are like, it's too much. It's too much. And I used to get so mad. My first business coach was like, speak at a fourth grade level, stop speaking at a PhD level. And I was like, I do not want to dumb myself down.
Erin Holt [00:29:51]:
I don't like this. I do not like it. And kind of hate to admit it, but he's right, because that just brings in people. You're speaking their language, you're talking to things in a way that they understand. And the best way to get to understand people and, like, what they need, using their own words, is to listen to people. So you have to be having those conversations. And I think in person is a really solid way to hear those conversations. Okay, so that's, number one.
Erin Holt [00:30:19]:
In person, start in person. You can do the social media thing on the side, but really fixate in person. Number two is focus on building reps. And this kind of aligns with what I said. It's like, just get that experience, but I'm going to take it a little bit further. So if you did the Energetics of Expansion, you remember at the very base of the pyramid is hone your craft. Like, just get really good at what you do. Like, be so good that they can't ignore you.
Erin Holt [00:30:50]:
Right. Just get good at what you do in the beginning. Here's my advice. Say yes to everything. I know, I know anti hustle culture is, like, a whole thing. And, you know, like, all of that. I get it in the beginning, you gotta hustle. In the beginning, you gotta work your ass off. In the beginning, you're just saying yes. In the beginning, you might be doing paid work for free.
Erin Holt [00:31:13]:
It's just how it goes. And this is sort of an unpopular opinion, but I don't think the beginning is the time to niche down, because how are you gonna know what you love to do? You know, like, how are you gonna know that you love to do that forever and ever? My focus in the beginning was gonna be on eating disorders and emotional eating. And I started doing that with clients, and I was like this, no, I don't want to do this. I actually don't want to do this. But if you start off by putting all of your focus on building an audience around a niche, and then you realize, oh, I don't know if I actually like this. And you want to change and pivot away from that niche, your audience probably won't follow you. That's the truth. Or if it's going to require a real heavy lift to get them to come along for the ride.
Erin Holt [00:32:05]:
So it's kind of like building from scratch. And so that's why I think niching can be so helpful for people to find you. And I'm not anti niche. I'm just anti niche in the very beginning. Like, get experiences, build your reps, figure it out, work with a shit ton of people, just say yes to everything. And that's the way that not only are you going to build up experience, but you're also going to understand what you really, really love to do. So. And the other thing is like, I just see people starting out trying to, like, figure out their voice and they're like, this is what I do now.
Erin Holt [00:32:41]:
No, just kidding. I don't like that anymore. This is what I do now. This is what I do now. And it's part of that is like just part and parcel with figuring out who you are. But it doesn't help to build trust with an audience if you're changing all the time. They're like, who is she? What is she doing? I don't even know how she can help me. I'm out.
Erin Holt [00:32:57]:
So. So that's why I'm kind of a little bit anti niche. Like, this is my pigeonhole. Just kidding. This is my pigeonhole. And then this is what my pigeonhole. Sarah says that's exactly where I am now. Say yes to it all.
Erin Holt [00:33:08]:
And it's been super helpful to learn and understand the client population I want to work with. Exactly. I do want to shout out Chelsea San Filippo. I don't know if she's on the call today, but I asked her permission to use her as an example because I think she is somebody who has really found footing with her voice and her message and her branding. And for a while, we've talked about this, Chelsea and I, like here in these calls. For a while, it wasn't really a clear message. She was a little bit all over the map, like hormones and gut healthing and motivational quotes. And so when you landed on her instagram, it was very hard to be like, how can this person help me? But there is so much normalcy to that, right? You're just throwing shit against a wall to see what sticks.
Erin Holt [00:33:58]:
Like, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what my voice is. Let's just try it, all right? Let's just try it all. All the while, though, she was working with a wide range of clients. She wasn't pigeonholing herself into like, oh, I only do hormones. I only do this. She was working with a lot of people as she was finding herself as a practitioner, as she was finding her voice along the way. And now she has.
Erin Holt [00:34:23]:
If you go to her instagram, you can see it's like a very clear and strong message. Like, I pick up what she's putting down. She's into cycles, she's into nature. She, like, bought a farm. She's like growing fruit. She's always in the mountains. She's in the rivers. Like, she's doing herby stuff.
Erin Holt [00:34:40]:
Like, it's very. Even the colors that she uses is like, very, like, earth tones, you know? And so it's super fucking clear now. But her niche came through building reps. Her niche was born out of working with a lot of people and figuring out what do I like, what do I want to talk about? What am I passionate about? Right? And so give yourself permission to kind of just, like, throw things against a wall to see what sticks. But I think if you try to be like, I do diarrhea and diarrhea only, and then in two months, you're like, I don't want to talk about loose stools anymore. I do infertility that is a real hardcore about face. And people are going to get whiplash. And that's when we start to lose trust.
Erin Holt [00:35:26]:
So just kind of like, get as much experience with as much as you can in the beginning. Cool. Cool. That's number two.
Erin Holt [00:38:09]:
Number three is, and you've heard me say this before, no doubt. Go ugly early. The thought, the idea that I'm going to wait until I build out the exact right offer, the exact right website, the exact right program, the exact right pricing. That is the thing that keeps people so stuck and so trapped. I've seen it time and time and time again. It holds people back from just getting started. I had somebody who spent nine months working on the exact right offer. I was like, that's nine months
Erin Holt [00:38:43]:
I would have been collecting cash from people and changing people's lives. But she was telling herself, like, I can't roll this out until I know exactly what it looks like. Two months after she rolled out the exact right offer, do you want to know what she did? She fucking changed it. Because how do we know what the exact right offer is? We have to figure it out. Like, as we go go ugly early people want to know that you can help them. They don't give a shit about a perfectly branded website or perfectly sculpted copy. That stuff can come later, right? That comes later. It's important, but it doesn't have to happen right now.
Erin Holt [00:39:18]:
So you can spend so much time building out something that nobody wants, and that's wasted time. That's wasted energy, and that's time that you could have been making money and helping people. So I personally like to. Oh, that's good. Your earn while you learn gave me heaps of anxiety, but has been so helpful for learning where to shift. Do you want to say more on that, Emily, I'm going to talk about. Oh, sorry. Go ahead.
FNA Student [00:39:48]:
No, yeah. I launched a teacher training program for my studio, and we were in kind of a beta like period where we were trying to figure out what platform to utilize. And I was looking at Teachable, and I was looking at Skool, and I was looking at all these different platforms to kind of house all of the information. And we settled on one that was sort of, I don't know, subpar. But it was like, let's just get the people in. We had the demand, and so we needed to kind of. We needed to launch it, but I was really nervous, and it gave me a lot of anxiety. And throughout the teacher training, I mean, that was the only piece that we decided to shift.
FNA Student [00:40:22]:
Like the lectures, the discussions, everything else was on point. So it was just the delivery of the information. And throughout the teacher training, we realized and we took feedback and figured out that that was the piece that needed to be improved. And then over the course, the last nine months, we've been developing a new kind of platform to house everything on and really buttoned everything up. And so I was. I was very trepidatious to even launch it because of, you know, this idea of kind of not feeling ready and wanting to dive in headfirst and whatnot. But when you had talked so heavily about the learn before you, or, sorry, earn while you learn. And then I was like, okay, let's just do it.
FNA Student [00:40:56]:
And it gave me anxiety, but it worked fine and everything went great. Now we know how to improve for the next group. So I'm into this beta launch thing that you do a lot of.
Erin Holt [00:41:07]:
Fucking love a beta. I love a beta so much. That's exactly what I was going to talk about right now. So thank you for that segue. My dog's barking. I wonder what's going on outside. Perfection is the enemy of good. Absolutely.
Erin Holt [00:41:22]:
That is, like, a hardcore quote of mine, for sure. I mean, not of mine, but, like, that's something that I've echoed in a mantra that I've definitely thought about an awful lot. So the reason that I love a beta tester is because it takes so much pressure off of me to get it exactly right. And I know doing this so much, I know that, like, everything is going to be, like, tweaked and refined, but, like, I can't anticipate people's feedback before I run the program. Right? Like, I can't. That's, like, impossible. So Manifest Your Health. I'll talk about this a little bit.
Erin Holt [00:41:58]:
This has been something that has, like, been baking for, like, three years. Like, a solid three years. It is literally based off of 15 years of research. So every single time I thought about it, I was like, I'm so overwhelmed. It's too much. It's such a big project. When am I ever going to have the time? I found a journal of mine that I was like, it's so overwhelming. I don't know where to get started.
Erin Holt [00:42:19]:
That's all I said. That was the entire journal entry. I was like, oh, wow, I can't do this. And so part of the reason I joined the Stanford program is because I knew that I had to create a program. So it was like I was baking in that accountability. I, like, probably joke with you, I spent $10,000 to hold myself accountable and a shit ton of time, too, but I knew that I had to do this. And I'm like, I just have to start somewhere. I just have to start somewhere.
Erin Holt [00:42:47]:
And I kept being like, does it have to be like a three month program? Like, it just felt so big. And I'm like, what if I just looked at my schedule and I was like, what do I have time to teach? I have five Tuesdays in June, or, you know, starting in June, I'm going to do that. That's it. So five weeks. I'm like, I have to teach this stuff in five modules. What does that look like? And I took a clipboard. Literally, this is, I had a clipboard with paper, and I just wrote 12345. And then I just wrote the topics.
Erin Holt [00:43:14]:
And then I, like, wrote some bullet points underneath. And that's how I got started. Literally that. I mean, I have, like, I don't even want to tell you how many resources that I pulled from, but I had to start somewhere. And then I asked myself, I've taken myself through this process. Essentially, I am teaching people what I've done, and I want to include a lot of research, but ultimately I'm teaching people what I've done. So what is the process that I went through to get to the other side starting point, where I am now, what was the bridge that I built to get myself there? And I do talk about this in one of the modules, like, how to build your own program. This is literally how I do it.
Erin Holt [00:43:52]:
It's like, what did I do? And so I started kind of thinking about that and mapping it out based off of that. And then I'm like, I'm going to see if anybody wants this because, like, the worst thing in the world is to spend months and months and months and months of your time building something and then be like, okay, cart open. And then it's like, crickets. People are like, we don't want that. So rather than spend all the time building it out, I'm like, what if I just sold it first? And I did this with, when I first started my nutrition programs, like, twelve years ago, I did this for CCP, I did this for YHR, I do this for everything. I'm like, I'm going to sell the concept first. I'm going to get proof of concept. People actually want this, and then I start building it out.
Erin Holt [00:44:33]:
And so if you're going this approach, and that's why I say, go ugly early, just figure it out. If you're doing this approach, you need to build out enough time to actually build out the program. So really? So during those five weeks, that was, like, the main focus of my work is, like, building out the program. Um, the beta group, I kept it smaller, um, and I sold it without any details. I'm like, I was very transparent. I don't really know what we're doing here. I'm building it out. This is a beta in every sense of the word.
Erin Holt [00:45:04]:
So it was low pressure for me. I didn't have to uphold any promises. I was just like, are you interested? And people were like, yeah, yeah, we're interested. Like, it was the weirdest thing. I was like, okay, in five days, it was beyond sold out. So I just created it as I went. And so I had planned on five classes. Halfway through, I'm like, people need another class.
Erin Holt [00:45:27]:
We need to build in a little, like, breathing room right now. And so I wouldn't have known that had I not been actively leading people through the process. I'm like, this is gonna be messy. It's gonna be a little bit bumpy. We're gonna figure it out together, and, like, let's go. And then I was able to give people what they needed in that program. And then the second time. So I take people through a beta test.
Erin Holt [00:45:51]:
I don't really over promise because I don't really know what I'm promising, right? And then people go through it and they have experiences, and I collect testimonials, and I start to hone the details of what the program is. And so for the second round now I have marketing material, and so I start talking about the testimonials. These are the results that you can expect. This is exactly what we do. I can speak to what it is and what it does. And so that's why I love a beta group. That's why I say, go ugly early. Just push it into motion and figure it out as you go.
Erin Holt [00:46:22]:
Um, I think that that's probably, like, the strongest piece of business advice I could give anybody anywhere, ever. Um, and then I also, like, wrote this down. It's, like, kind of, like a sad little. Like, there's no context or anything. It just says, build an email list. I don't know. I think it's important. And I kind of wish I had, like, started building an email list earlier.
Erin Holt [00:46:41]:
We have, like, ten. Just. Just under 10,000 people. So for the size of my audience, like, my email list could be a lot bigger. It's just nothing I've really put a tremendous amount of focus on. And so we're kind of doing that now, but it's just, like, a really, you know, like, you have people's attention and you own that email list, and so I think that's an important thing to do. Like, in the beginning, I'm like, I should have.
Erin Holt [00:47:04]:
I mean, should I could have, would have, but, like, I would probably have benefited from starting to prioritize an email list. So that's, like, that was, like, the little afterthought one. And then the final thing that I will say here, but it's such a good question that I really wanted to take a lot of time to answer this because I think a lot of people are in similar boats. The last one, and it's not, like, a tactile, like, tangible thing. It has everything to do with support. We were watching a stand up recently, and this guy was talking about dream crushers is what he called them. And he's like, fuck dream crushers. And we have a lot of people in our lives that can kind of crush our dreams.
Erin Holt [00:47:46]:
And usually it's from people that want to keep us safe and keep us small, but that can really kind of bake into our confidence, like, our sense of self worth. Like, can I actually do this? So I would say in the beginning and kind of all along, make sure you stay away from the dream crushers. Like, I don't like dream crushers don't bother me now, because I'm like, fucking hold my beer. You think I can't do it? Like, okay, sure, I'm going to do it three times while you sleep. Like, it doesn't bother me now because I've proven myself to myself over the past, however many years. But in the beginning, if somebody was like, you, probably, like, if I had people that didn't support me, it would be really, really tough. So find people that hold the vision of what you're building and what you are creating.
Erin Holt [00:48:32]:
I am so fortunate that my husband was one of those people for me. My mom was, too. So my two closest people really did that for me. When you get flaky and shaky, you will, by the way, they can pull you up rather than try to convince you to throw in the towel. Okay? Like, you want the people that, like, are constantly, like, holding you to the standard that you set for yourself, holding you to your goals. Find people who inspire you and motivate you to be your best, your most expressed version of yourself, and they hold you accountable to that. So I, things really changed and took off for me when I started talking to two friends, Emily and Sarah, on Voxer. On the Voxer app. It's just like a free walkie talkie app.
Erin Holt [00:49:21]:
And it was like, almost like we created this little mastermind for ourselves. But we were all business owners. We were all entrepreneurs. We were all trying to grow. We, like, were signing up for courses together. And so we would talk through what we were learning, and that kind of, like, helped me do a little quantum leap. That really helped to amplify things. And I always think about that, and I think it, because it removed the sense of isolation.
Erin Holt [00:49:43]:
And for a lot of years, I didn't have, like, entrepreneur pals. I didn't have anyone who really understood what I was doing. So I felt very, very isolated and alone. And I think that instigated a lot of shame in me. Like, I'm like, why am I so weird? Why am I so different? Why don't I have, like, a normal job? It was like a big shame trigger. And I think if I, if I had had support and, like, I had support, but if I had had, like, a connection of, like, other entrepreneurs and I was, like, talking to them every day, I think that, like, people who really got it, um, I think that I probably could have gone bigger sooner. I don't like to do the whole regret thing because I really appreciate where I'm at and I appreciate everything has led me up into this point, but I do think about that. It's like, I think I could have made it easier on myself by removing the sense of shame that I felt about doing something so radically different than what other people in my life was doing.
Erin Holt [00:50:41]:
So that's just kind of a more of, like, an emotional type of thing. Elise says I had to stop talking about my business with certain people and only talk to the people who are like, you go, girl. It's been a game changer. Yes, yes, totally. You'll also, and this is probably, we'll stick a pin in this maybe conversation for another day. But there will also be people who support you up into a certain point, and your success and your ambition and your drive can instigate feelings of lack of worth in them. And that dynamic can get really, really funky and clunky. It's like they give you permission to grow this much, and then once you go beyond that, it becomes a problem in the relationship.
Erin Holt [00:51:28]:
And sadly, that is a common thing for, for some folks. Okay, so that was a, that was a mouthful. Thank you for that question, Cynthia. I think it was a really, really good one.
Erin Holt [00:51:45]:
Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Funk'tional Nutrition Podcast. If you got something from today's show, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, share with a friend, and keep coming back for more. Take care of you.
