16 Questions to help you connect with bold women entrepreneurs who are making life work for them.
I’m so excited to introduce you all to Katie Hammill, certified nutritionist and founder of Katie Hammill Nutrition. Katie and I were introduced by a mutual friend (thank you Kathryn!) three years ago when we both had recently relocated to the Jacksonville area. Katie and her family have become fantastic local friends and, more recently, Katie and I have connected as entrepreneurs.
Katie is a sports and family nutritionist who works with individuals, groups and companies to help us simplify and strengthen our relationship with food and make healthy eating a sustainable part of life.
As I hinted at in my recent post about my current favorite things, another thing I am loving right now is Katie’s Refresh Cleanse. It’s an online 19-day program which helps you cut cravings, improve digestion, safely lose weight and embrace meal prep and planning for you and your family. After some holiday weight gain and acquiring some poor eating habits that I couldn’t quite seem to kick (thanks Chick Fil A and queso!), I joined Katie’s program last month and have found that it not only completely worked for me (I lost over 5 pounds, my clothes fit better and I have way more energy), but it’s sustainable – I have such a better understanding of how food affects me – in both positive and negative ways. She includes online coaching through the cleanse part and a transition period afterwards, a supportive online Facebook community of other "Refreshers" and lots of healthy and delicious recipes that are easy to prepare.
Not only does Katie offer this Refresh Cleanse several times a year, she also can provide one to one nutritional support to individuals and customized programs for your company.
Admiring Katie as a friend, Mom, entrepreneur and now also as a certified nutritionist, I’m thrilled to share her inspirational and insightful thoughts with you in this month’s Leading Lady spotlight. Enjoy!
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got to where you are.
Let me start by saying thanks so much for having me in your space. I admire your work and am honored to be a part of it.
I am a Certified Nutritionist living and working in Atlantic Beach, Florida. I am a proud Canadian transplant but adore our new (well, not so new, we’ve been here for three years) home at the Beach. My career started in Sports Marketing in Toronto where I worked for 12 years. I loved that job and was exposed to some amazing opportunities; like working with the NFL, NHL and at the Olympic Games. I know you and I share a lot of our past lives in common. But, there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. I have always been fascinated by nutrition and found I would pick the brain of the athletes I worked with on how their diet fueled their performance. So, I went back to school for my nutrition degree and have been working in private practice since 2012. I specialize in sports and family nutrition and work with plenty of clients just trying to feel their best.
2. What are you most excited about in your business right now?
I love how truly global it can be. With the advent of social media your exposure can spread across city, state and country borders. I have clients in California that I work with online and clients who I meet at my local coffee shop and I love doing both.
3. What is your super power or ‘zone of genius’?
I love this question because I talk a lot with my girls about identifying their strengths. I think mine is my ability to speak to anyone in their language. For some this might mean they want a little more hand-holding and a gentle approach, for others this could be a deep-dive into the science behind digestion and metabolism and others just want to their marching orders and sent on their way. I like to think I am good at reading and connecting with people. In my business it is the difference between success for a client or having them check out altogether.
4. What is the biggest challenge that you have overcome along the way?
Outsourcing the things I do not excel at – hello, web design I am looking at you. As an entrepreneur it is hard to invest in yourself when you are just starting out. I always believed in myself and knew this business would be a success but I didn’t put my money where my mouth is. When I invested not only my time but also my money in finding an amazing web designer (shout out to Peach Cactus Photography), and an awesome biz coach my business really took off.
5. Tell us about a bold action you’ve taken.
Recently, I was reading an article on a Silicon Valley CEO who was at the top of his game but mentioned off-hand that he’d like to dial in his nutrition. I don’t know what prompted me, but I tracked him down via his corporate website, pitched him my services and low and behold he called me back. You don’t get anywhere by sitting on the sidelines.
6. What are your 3 favorite things about your life today?
1. Flexibility; I love that running my own business allows me to set my own hours and still do the things I love. I can drop my girls at school, meet a friend for a run and be back at my desk to crank out a few hours of writing or client protocols all before heading back out for pick-ups.
2. Variety; I get bored easily and like to be constantly moving. My job gives me the chance to meet new people which I love, write (which I really love) and dig deep into the science of the body – which is incredibly fascinating. I pepper that with some speaking engagements, keeping up with social media and recipe developing and call that a day!
3. Community; My community is my life. My family, my friends and my wellness community. I am so fortunate to have an amazing tight-knit family but for the most part they are back in Canada; although moving to Florida certainly pulls them down here for lots of visits. My friends here and back home in Canada have become like family. It is so comforting to know I have friends in my corner to help with carpools and sounding boards on tough days. Lastly, my wellness community of colleagues and those in my social media communities. I love the questions and comments I receive on facebook and Instagram, it makes me feel as though what I do matters.
7. In one word, what is your theme for this year?
Hustle
8. What is your crazy, wild, maybe-someday dream?
I would love to write a book. A cook book, a guide for parents on preventing picky eating, or maybe a preventative health manifesto. Who knows – I have so many ideas that float around my giant head 😉.
9. What are you most afraid of?
Not contributing to my family. I was a stay-at-home mom for the first year of both my girls' lives and loved that time with them. Now that I am working they hear the words “Mommy, just has to take this call” or “Mommy is just working right now” a lot more. I want that time away from them to have an impact on the world to make it worthwhile.
10. Give us your #1 piece of life or career advice.
Start Now! I got that one from my Biz Coach (@JoyousHealth). We are so often crippled with ideas and thinking we need to have every aspect of our business perfect before we actually start hustling. I spent a couple of years in private practice before launching my website and social media. It allowed me to just get out there and work and now that my girls are in school and I have a little more time I can start growing all avenues of Katie Hammill Nutrition.
11. What is your morning routine?
Now, this is my favorite question. I love hearing how everyone starts their day. To make things go smoothly my day starts the night before with packing the kids’ lunches, laying out their uniforms and packing my gym bag. I am awake just before 7:00 when I start to hear my daughters’ voices or little feet. After downing a large glass of water, brushing my teeth and putting on my gym clothes, I make their breakfast while prepping my Bulletproof Tea. I typically have the same breakfast every day which simplifies life and keeps my body and brain buzzing on all those good healthy fats. I try my best to give them some sort of a hair style (this is probably one of those areas I should outsource) and then it is out the door to drop them off at school before hitting the gym or heading to the beach for a run. My workday starts the minute my workout is over.
12. What do you do to recharge when your energy is low?
Talk to me in 10 years 😉. Finding solo time is hard with two young kids. My parents live in town during the winter, so I am taking advantage and joining my husband on a business trip to Charleston for a couple of nights. To be honest my daily workout is my recharge and has been for as long as I can remember. I do my best thinking and creating while running. A glass of wine or cup of tea with my husband while watching the girls swim sums up perfection in this stage of life.
13. What is your favorite resource that makes life and/or work easier for you?
My phone. I can schedule appointments, check in with an online group I am coaching, skype a client, email my husband another long-winded idea I just had, send cute kid pics to my best friend and text my friends to make weekend plans. It’s my life line.
14. Give us 2 excellent book recommendations – one personal development and one for fun.
From the world of nutrition, I love Mark Hyman’s new book, Food: What the Heck Should We Eat? and I like the deep research approach that both Dr. Alejandro Junger and Mark Sisson take in their books. For fun, I am in a book club which is awesome and pushes me to read books I wouldn’t normally pick up. We just finished The Handmaid’s Tale which is so topical right now. A great Canadian author 😉.
15. Is there anything else you want us to know about you?
I am passionate about what I do. I view my work like detective work and each case is different. I dig deep to find the root cause and get my clients to a place where they not only feel great but are equipped with the tools to sustain it. I’d love to work with your readers and I hope they reach out. Like I said, I am really friendly!
16. Share a photo that represents where you are in your life.
Thanks to Katie for sharing a little bit of her life with us. I particularly love how she turned that nagging feeling and fascination for nutrition into a fulfilling purpose and a lifestyle.
Check out Katie's beautiful new website for more details about her program (and recipes!) Follow her on social media to get in on her next Refresh program and get lots of great tips and inspiration for day to day nutrition:
Thanks for following along. Comments, questions or feedback on this post or anything else? Drop me a line!
I look forward to sharing yet another Leading Lady with you soon!
Comments