Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Renee Pletka, an Intuitive Eating Counselor and Holistic Health Coach based in San Francisco, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
As an Intuitive Eating Counselor, I’ve been helping individuals cultivate a nourishing, trusting, peaceful and relaxed relationship with food and their body since 2011. My holistic, weight-neutral, non-diet approach helps people recover from disordered eating, break up with diet culture, eat intuitively and develop life-enhancing, sustainable self-care practices.
• I help folks stop yo-yo dieting.
• End food and weight obsession.
• Reduce chronic overeating and emotional eating.
• Release food anxiety, guilt, and shame.
• Experience greater satisfaction from eating and movement.
• Elevate body appreciation and acceptance.
• Reclaim their time, energy, and headspace from diet culture.
• Navigate internal and external weight stigma and more.
Tell us about yourself
For the most part, my disordered relationship with food and my body brought me to where I am today. I was laid off from my corporate job during the 2008 recession, and while looking for a new job in my field, I would get terrible stomachaches. I realized my body was trying to tell me something—that the work I had been doing was not what I was meant to do. I had no idea what I was meant to do and had never imagined working for myself.
After taking a year off to volunteer in the U.S. and abroad, a friend who had also been laid off shared she was studying to become a health coach. I had never heard of health coaching before the profession was just starting to emerge. I swiftly took to the idea as I had been obsessed with health and wellness for years. Once I became certified and started working with clients, I quickly realized the people seeking my support didn’t really need someone to help them consume more water and dark leafy greens. What they really needed was someone to help them with their relationship with food and their body. This was true for me, too.
The more I learned, the more I realized how disordered my own relationship with food and my body had been since I was a teenager. I had wasted years of my life restricting my eating and overexercising—basically trying to have a body I was never meant to have. As I dove into my healing journey, I dove into becoming better educated and trained on how to help people heal their relationship with food and their body, which eventually led me to Intuitive Eating.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Helping hundreds of individuals make peace with food and their body so they can spend their time, energy, and headspace on more meaningful, fulfilling pursuits.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Holding yourself accountable for everything.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
There are many things, but these three immediately come to mind:
- Be Open to Evolving. When I was doing my health coaching training, there was a lot of pressure to figure out my target market, business name, logo, etc. As I was unsure about what area I wanted to focus on, I was resistant to setting anything in stone. For me, it felt important to get a feel for what resonated the most once I started working with clients. I’m glad I didn’t box myself in from the get-go, as my business and I have evolved significantly.
- Keep Learning. It’s important to continue learning, whether enrolling in training programs, reading articles and books, listening to podcasts, reviewing research, participating in professional groups, etc. In an effort to expand my knowledge base and skills, I’m constantly consuming information.
- Get Support. I have always had a private practice, and working by yourself can be very isolating, especially when navigating challenging realms like disordered eating. To help with this, I regularly participate in supervision groups where I can get guidance and support from a supervisor and my peers.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Stay true to yourself and your values.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.reneepletka.com/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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