Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Vesanto Melina, Founder of Nutrispeak, Plant-based Nutrition, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am a Registered Dietitian, author, consultant, and speaker specializing in plant-based nutrition. My customers are people across North America, Europe, and sometimes in other locations who are adopting or fine-tuning plant-based diets and want to do so in excellent health. My 13 books have won awards internationally and received a star rating by the American Library Association as "the go-to books" on plant-based nutrition. My books (mainly with Brenda Davis) are in 9 languages. I am the lead author of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' current Position Paper on Vegetarian Diets. I taught nutrition at Seattle's Bastyr University and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Tell us about yourself

I became vegetarian in 1978 while living in India, where it is a norm to create excellent vegetarian food. In the 1980's I started learning about what happens to animals in the factory farming industry and became vegan. Over the years, I have raised a family, and thus I have a wide experience with the issues that arise when one shifts to eating a plant-based diet or when family members have a variety of dietary choices. I started sharing what I knew with the general public and with other Registered Dietitians. This was a foundation for our first book, "Becoming Vegetarian," which quickly became a best seller in 1993.

I still care about those beings we have classified as "farm animals." Added to that now is the mountain of scientific and medical evidence that we can reduce the risk of chronic diseases (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease) by 66%, reduce the risk of various cancers by 19 to 50%, and even reverse these conditions. Added to that is the mountain of evidence that adopting a plant-based diet can be a powerful action to limit climate change. Tofu has 5 percent of the CO2 emission that results from beef production. (Reference: josephpoore.com)

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I guess producing a book every two years since 1993 is a big accomplishment. You may check my books on this link - https://nutrispeak.com/index.php/books/

Also, it is an honor to be the lead author of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' current Position Paper on Vegetarian Diets. You may check this link for full details - https://nutrispeak.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Position-Paper-Veg.pdf

It has been a privilege to have helped so many clients succeed brilliantly in creating plant-based diets that suit their lifestyles and keep them in optimal health.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

I am not finding it hard because although my business is solo, I have excellent collaborators. It is an honor to work with, and continue to be good friends with, Brenda Davis. She is amazing! We have been critics of each other's work and done this in a way that supports our decades-long friendship and ends up with outstanding, award-winning books.

Also, my husband, Cam Doré, has created my websites: nutrispeak.com, becomingvegan.ca, and kickdiabetescookbook.com. He is amazing too.
Being a solo business owner brings with it many, many roles, and it is a blessing to share some of these.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. It is good to have some work experience before starting out in your own business.
  2. After being salaried, in the 1980s, I took a course in entrepreneurship. This was a real help as I learned some business skills.
  3. Center your business on something you really care about. I have no trouble finding the energy to keep working every day as I really care about what a shift to eating plant-based can do in terms of personal and planetary health and can help us move away from cruelty to billions of animals.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

It is such a blessing and a privilege to do work that really matters to you! I wish this situation for everyone who wants to! At first, it was tough going financially, and I had part-time jobs to be sure of meeting financial needs. Though we have sold almost a million books on plant-based nutrition (in English alone and more in 8 other languages), it took time to become known and have additional income from consulting and speaking. But I sure meet some wonderful people, and it gives me confidence.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://nutrispeak.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nutrispeak
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vesanto.melina/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VesantoMelina
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vesanto-melina-07a4134/

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.

Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.