ER Nurse Masters CrossFit and Becomes Nutrition Coach

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

[Music]

Hey there, side hustlers, what's up? Welcome back to the show. My name is Chris Guillebeau, I am your host. Wherever you are in the world, I hope your week has been going well. And here's a question for you.

Do you like CrossFit? Are you a CrossFitter? Today's story is about somebody who does CrossFit. And I gotta be honest with you, I tried CrossFit a few years back and I really had a hard time with it. I tried to give it a fair chance, like I didn't just go a couple of times and then say it's not for me.

I went for a whole month, did a whole program, and I don't think I'd ever felt worse from an exercise program. The first couple of times it happened, everybody was like, yeah, that's the CrossFit feeling. And I was like, cool, I don't know if I want this every day. And for me, at least, it never really got better. So I finally stopped going and went back to the other kind of exercise that I do, which is mostly running.

But hey, if you like CrossFit, that's great, more power to you. I know it's changed people's lives. I do like watching "American Ninja Warrior" on TV. So I have respect for the whole thing, I just don't think it's for me. Now, you probably don't listen to "Sidle School" to hear about my exercise routines.

So we're gonna jump into the story in just a moment. This one also illustrates the classic principle, if at first you don't succeed, well, change it up. Don't just keep doing the same thing, expecting different results. Stick with your vision, but be willing to adjust your plan. The emergency room nurse that you're gonna hear about today does exactly that and experiences much more success because of the change.

That story is coming right up after this quick shout out to our sponsor. [Music]

For Heather McConaughey, becoming a nutrition coach was a natural decision. As an emergency room nurse, Heather had plenty of experience in the healthcare industry with extensive knowledge on human physiology. And she realized that while taking care of patients was meaningful, she wanted to do something that would allow her to help people before they landed in the hospital. Heather knew she could have an even bigger impact by coaching others on having a healthier lifestyle and approach.

And not only that, but her own personal fitness journey had taught her that many illnesses could be prevented. It all started sometime in 2015 when she began her CrossFit journey. During this time, she also ventured into healthy eating to make sure that she could perform at her best during gym sessions. Her better eating habits quickly yielded results as she set not only personal records, but also mastered skills like handstand pushups, ring dips, and pull ups. Eager to document and help others replicate her success, she launched a website with a vision of having a successful food and wellness blog.

However, that site quickly fell into neglect as she found that she had little audience. It was simply demoralizing and difficult to write quality posts consistently, knowing that her words weren't reaching the people she'd hoped for. And things remained that way for a while as Heather continued to fulfill her duties as a nurse, all the while training at CrossFit. And as she trained, Heather did a nutrition certification program for her own benefit to make sure that she was properly fueling her workouts. Over time, her colleagues began approaching her for advice on nutrition.

And during one such interaction, her coworker remarked that she should start a business around nutrition coaching. Heather wasn't sure it would work until she found out that a friend from her gym was paying $75 an hour for such a thing. If there was one person willing to pay that much, Heather thought it's probably possible to find others. Maybe she could have an entire side hustle doing just nutrition coaching. She started off pitching Mike, an acquaintance at her gym, and Mike became a client.

From that interaction, Heather was encouraged to talk to others at the gym. That's how she got her next five clients. Continuing her strategy of reaching out to acquaintances in person, Heather did a few pop-up shops at a handful of local gyms and hair salons where she chatted with people about what she does and offered free advice. She's also added 40 people to her mailing list along the way. In the four months after changing her approach from blogging to nutrition coaching, Heather made $6,250.

She now has 19 clients, and because many of them have committed to recurring plans or multiple sessions, she now has more predictable recurring side hustle monthly income of about $1,500. And while that side hustle took some time to develop, the financial costs were low. Besides the $80 yearly Squarespace membership, which Heather uses to manage her website, her only other significant investment was an $850 camera for her to take better photos of her food. She uses her regular cell phone to make coaching calls and Google Docs or Google Spreadsheets for just about every other business function, which of course are free. The best part of the experience for Heather so far is helping her clients get their desired results.

Nothing makes her happier than a text from a client detailing how much better they look and feel. This is one big change from her day job as a nurse. She now helps people who are motivated to change instead of patients who are usually unmotivated or sometimes uninterested in receiving help. Not only that, but the opportunity to help others look and feel better through food is something that Heather has long appreciated. As a child, she spent her time watching cooking shows and experimenting with recipes.

She even won a second prize ribbon at the local county fair in the seventh grade for an apple pie. Now as an adult, the newfound excitement and energy in helping others through her twin passions of food and fitness keeps her going like never before. As Heather becomes more comfortable with her side hustle, she's hoping to increase her income, eventually collaborate with other brands, and develop an online course. But her ultimate aim is to have her own cooking show where she can teach Americans how to cook healthy and delicious food. Maybe one day she'll be able to inspire seventh graders to compete in cooking competitions just like she did.

But until then, she's now well on her way to building a solid side income helping people to feel better. [Music]

Well, if at first you don't succeed, change it up. Don't just keep doing the same thing expecting different results. In this case, Heather wanted to serve people in the wellness world, so her vision didn't change. But when she shifted strategies from focusing on blogging to developing a nutrition coaching business, that's when she started to get paid for it.

And not just getting paid, but having traction, having people who cared, engagement, interaction, all those things. So she could have kept working at the blog, feeling demoralized, and maybe eventually something might have worked. Like who's to say, we don't know. But what we know for sure is when she made that shift, once she understood that nutrition coaching was something she was good at, it was also something that people right in front of her at her gym wanted and were willing to pay for, that's when the side hustle was really born. You always have to think about what you're excited to do, what you're motivated to do, and how that interacts with what other people want.

In this case, Heather was excited about two different things, the blog and the coaching, but it seems that other people responded much more to the coaching. So I think she was wise to make that shift. Well friends and listeners, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better. Today's show notes are online at sidehustleschool.com/308. I'll be coming to you tomorrow with the weekly recap.

I'm Chris Guillebeau for Side Hustle School. [Music]