175. $8,000 In The First 30 Days with Kristin Whitaker

What if I told you it was possible to start your functional nutrition practice today, make your first $8,000 by this time next month, and have a thriving $50k/yr practice a year from now....without burning yourself out or even quitting your 9-5?

That's exactly what Kristin did and she's sharing exactly how on this episode.

Connect with Kristin: https://www.nourishwithkristin.com/ 

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Transcript

00:00
Andrea Nordling
What if I told you it was possible to start your functional nutrition practice tomorrow, make $8,000 by this time next month, and then grow Your rock solid $50,000 a year practice on top of your other job a year from now? Be kind of crazy, right? Well, that's exactly what my client Kristen did, and she's going to tell you exactly how. Kristin Whitaker, welcome to the profitable Nutritionist podcast. So super excited that you are here today, and we're just jumping in with all the questions. I don't even know where this conversation is going to go. I was just saying to Kristen, before we push play or push record, I was like, I mean, are you good to just talk about anything? She said, yeah, let's go. So that's the best kind of interview, I guess, is it's just going to be a conversation.

00:44
Andrea Nordling
So who are you? What do you do? Why are you here? Let's go.

00:49
Kristen Whitaker
That's a great place to start. I'm Kristen Whitaker. My practice is Nourish with Kristen. I'm an instructor for Restorative Wellness Solutions. My whole life is functional clinical practice, and I love what I do. And the reason it is a job and not a hobby is because of who I'm sitting with right now, Andrea. And the reason I'm here is to clear up, like, an awkward moment I had when something I said was broadcast over your podcast. And I'm like, oh, my goodness, I sound so rude. Like, I sounded so rude. So if I could start there, I would love to explain.

01:26
Andrea Nordling
That is the start there. And you're always your harshest critic. So she did not sound at all. Not at all. But what she's referring to is a previous podcast episode interview with Ashley Bankhead. And Ashley. Well, I'll just let you explain the context. You go ahead.

01:40
Kristen Whitaker
Yes. Ashley's a great friend of mine, and if you listen to that podcast, she's telling her origin story with you. That began when her instructor told her, you need to start with Andrea Nordling, go binge, listen to her podcast. You don't have to spend a penny. Just listen to her. And I'm like, oh, my gosh. It sounds like I'm like one of those users that's getting all the free stuff, like the clients that we hate the most that just are there. Right, Right. And. But that's exactly what I tell people all the time, is in my role as an instructor, I'm teaching people at the beginning of their process. And so I have this conversation a lot. And the reason I tell them that is because that's what got me binging your podcast. I had.

02:22
Kristen Whitaker
I had a holy oath with a friend, like a pact to not spend a penny and not sign up for one more program, not to invest another dime when weren't making money. Like, it was a big deal not to sign your program. Okay. But Andrea delivers in every way, and it's the best thing I ever did. So this is why. That's why I tell people to go. So when I heard that, I'm like, oh, my gosh, I have to tell Andrea I'm not a user.

02:49
Andrea Nordling
Yeah. So Kristen sends this email. She's like, oh, my gosh, that was me. But it's okay. I'm like, I didn't know you were the Kristen, because of course I know Kristen from in the program. And so that was just funny. I was like, let's get on a podcast. Let's talk about your story. Anyway, everyone needs to hear about it, so let's do that. How did you get started in this work? What's the timeline?

03:06
Kristen Whitaker
Right. I have a classic origin story. So if it was Batman and my parents were killed, Right. It's like, I had sick kids and I didn't know how to help them. So how many super mother practitioners do you know that doctors didn't help? There were no answers. So they went back to school. They found all the things. That was me. So. So, yeah, to be able to fund all this education, I took a job at a farm in the local. In this local area. And I actually, I did chores on a farm to pay for school. And then I began.

03:42
Andrea Nordling
Awesome. I love it.

03:44
Kristen Whitaker
It's a great origin story. And I also manage their store. And then, I mean, all the things. And so as I gained certificate certifications, I started working in this store. And I mean, do you walk in to buy a dozen eggs and tell somebody about your raging diarrhea? No. But this is what was happening at the farm store. People would be in line forever because they're telling me about their cancer diagnosis or their sleep disruptions. And. And. And it became a very comfortable place for me to practice and get to know people. But I was very stuck in that rut. And I had dreams of running my own practice. I had no idea how to do it. I kept chasing more certifications, taking clients.

04:24
Andrea Nordling
At this point, you're having a lot.

04:25
Kristen Whitaker
Of conversations with people, but you weren't many conversations. And if they wanted more, I'm like, yeah, well, $50 and let's get on the phone. I mean, like, very unstructured. So. And remember, the intention was to pay my way through school so that I could start working. But it was just so comfortable. Yeah. Yeah. So I had graduated from my first program in 2020, and here it was 2023, and I'm still working at this farm store, and I'm very underpaid. Like, I'm getting. I literally brought home the bacon. They paid me in food most. Most of the time, you know, so like, minimum wage and some eggs. So. Yeah, right. A little bit of money, a lot of food. I do miss some of the food and stuff. But anyway, so my friend and perpetual study buddy, I'm going to name drop another practitioner.

05:17
Kristen Whitaker
It was Bev. Rilla showed me your podcast.

05:19
Andrea Nordling
Oh, awesome.

05:21
Kristen Whitaker
Shout out to Bev, one of my most favorite people. And we had both invested in other coaching programs that just failed. Coaching programs that are selling a specific done for you content or program. They don't work. They're not customizable, and if you don't fit the mold, they don't work. So we had both burned through all this money. We made a solemn pact to listen for a year and not buy anything. Like, we both promised we would check in, we would talk about stuff. Kay. But we're not buying. Enrollment's open, but we're not buying. We are not buying. Okay, so good. Yeah. This is great. So then I have this moment of clarity. I am so stuck. I'm going to a job that is like a teenager could do. I mean, it's great, but it's not fulfilling.

06:06
Kristen Whitaker
I'm having people get freebies off me every day here. I'm taking freebies from Andrea.

06:12
Andrea Nordling
I was just. I mean, I was gonna get there and connect, Right.

06:15
Kristen Whitaker
And I'm like, people are fleecing me. I'm getting people texting me for questions and for help, and I'm just giving and giving, and I'm not getting paid.

06:22
Andrea Nordling
Yeah.

06:23
Kristen Whitaker
So I have this moment of clarity, and I'm like, something has to change. So there's two awkward conversations that I want to highlight. These are. Everything beautiful comes from awkward conversations, for sure. So one, I tell my husband, I go, sweetie, I love you. I'm quitting my job. I'm charging $3,000 on the credit card.

06:45
Andrea Nordling
Okay. These are happening on the same day?

06:47
Kristen Whitaker
Yes, the same. I always front load the headlines. He's like, can you drip this out? Hold on a minute. Like, this was a big deal. This was a big deal. So we didn't have a lot of money. Anything I did bring in, I immediately paid in school. Or, you know, bills. Anyway, we did not. This was a big deal. This was a big deal. And then later that week, I get on a call with Bev, and I'm like, bev, I bought the program. And she goes, kristen, I did, too. And we laughed so hard, and. And we both had different reasons for going, but what. What it came down to was, like, you were speaking our language. And I knew As a lifelong DIYer, I mean, I have the most crazy, diying, ridiculous things. I had reached my ceiling.

07:35
Kristen Whitaker
I'm like, I cannot do this myself. I don't know what it looks like. I don't have the vision, the drive. I need help to figure this out. And we jumped in. We did the 3030 days challenge. I did 8000 in that first 30 days, which was more than I made in three months at the farm, not counting the bacon, so. Right. And it was good bacon.

08:00
Andrea Nordling
This was good bacon.

08:01
Kristen Whitaker
Yes. I. Well, yeah. So I remember, like, cutting a check, giving it to my husband to say that. I mean, I could have paid the credit card off myself, but I'm like.

08:11
Andrea Nordling
This goes towards the credit card ceremony. Listen, there's a process, right.

08:15
Kristen Whitaker
Of passage. I'm like, it has not even hit. The payment's not even due for another week. And here is that money. So it's back, no interest. And that was, like, such a win. It was so validating. So that's the origin story. But all the things that you teach up front, and I could speak to any one of them launched me with so much confidence. And the imperfect action is exactly what I need. I mean, I live in that space still. You just gave a name and a structure to it. And I took off running.

08:46
Andrea Nordling
It's so good to hear. I love everything about this. And I did not know about the 8,000 in 30 days, so this is news to me. I love it so much. What she's talking about is a challenge that we won periodically in the program. It's called the 3K in 30 days challenge. And the premise of the challenge and the way, or like, I guess, where it came from and what we did is we. We're trying to do a container, a structured container for one month for people to make their money back with the investment in the program. And so that was really successful. I was like, oh, we should do this again. So we've done it several times since then, a few different iterations. And it's so funny, as we're recording this now, we're about to do it in June.

09:21
Andrea Nordling
We're recording this in May 2025. And we're going to be launching the challeng again in the program in June. So it's funny that we're talking about this because it is. Something really magical happens when you have a very specific goal and a very specific timeframe. And it's just what we. We resist it. Our brains are like, what if it's not the right goal? What if it's not realistic? What if it's not the right timeframe? We have all the reasons to not do it. When you just do it, magic happens for real, right?

09:47
Kristen Whitaker
Well, and you've paired it right at the beginning, after you sign. And something powerful you say is that the transformation starts with the transaction, right? The investment. And I had to invest in myself 1. It puts the pressure right, like, oh my gosh, I have to pay this back. My soul is my collateral to my husband. I'm like, he owns me. I've got to do this. And so I had that pressure. But it also shows, like, this matters and I matter and I can do this. And I found that immediately reflected back in my clients, which you also teach, like the things that we struggle with. We're reflecting on our clients, and if they're like, I'm not sure that you're worth this high ticket price offer, well, of course they're not going to invest.

10:27
Kristen Whitaker
But if you know that you're worth it and you are believing in them and offering them this transformation, the transaction is powerful.

10:34
Andrea Nordling
Oh, that's so good. So do any examples come to mind? I don't mean to put you on the spot, but do you have any examples of where you could see that the transformation starts with the transaction for your clients?

10:44
Kristen Whitaker
Yeah, several. In fact, one of my first clients, I had been helping her for free, like I did the whole world for. For quite a while. And now this is gonna sound. Sound horrible. So let me frame this. I have some of my biggest blocks coming in were money issues. You could hear it in my story. $3,000, that's a big deal. Like, I've got a. You know, and so I was always undercharging. So here I launched with my first premium price signature program. And it was enough that made me choke a little bit, but I leaned into that. And one of my first people who signed was like a single mom with very low income. And. And so my brain is like, this is exploitive. You should help her for free. And I'm like, you know what? I can't.

11:27
Kristen Whitaker
I can't help people for free anymore. Because this is why I'm burning out and. And broke. Right?

11:32
Andrea Nordling
Yeah.

11:32
Kristen Whitaker
And so I stood my guns with confidence. And I'm like, you know, I know this is a significant investment. I also know you deserve to feel better. So I didn't apply pressure, but I'm like, I am here when you work it out is what I ended that conversation with. And she signed by the end of the week. And then like, not to brag, but I'm bragging. Her results were so exciting and it built confidence for me going forward. But we just celebrated every time we had a results call because she was getting better and better and it was life changing. So to think that I almost didn't offer that to her because I was taking on her money issues, I would have deprived her of a life changing experience.

12:12
Andrea Nordling
That's so incredible. Yeah. And who's to say that the significance of the investment for her isn't the exact reason why she really got the results. Right.

12:20
Kristen Whitaker
Right. Why she buckled down and actually stuck with the program. Yeah.

12:24
Andrea Nordling
Yeah. Oh, it's so good. So, so good. Okay. Anything else you want to say on that? I have a. I have a follow up question about your timeline a little bit.

12:32
Kristen Whitaker
Oh, yeah, no, let's jump in. I'm open for anything.

12:36
Andrea Nordling
So when did you start teaching for rws? Where does that fit into the business timeline?

12:42
Kristen Whitaker
So, yeah, this is, That's a good story. So at the point when I joined your program, I had done two of their levels, and for a little background, Restorative Wellness is a premier functional clinical nutrition program. They teach you to read functional lab reports. It's, it's. They also come with solid processes, protocols, and when I came out of my.

13:07
Andrea Nordling
First certification standard in my. Yeah, rws.

13:13
Kristen Whitaker
Right, Right. So RWS was a game changer too. They gave me the actual tools to have a system and a program in place. I still was too scared to do it. You gave me the business acumen and the mind work and the way to like talk to my brain and shut it down and just get it done. Right.

13:30
Andrea Nordling
Okay.

13:30
Kristen Whitaker
So those two things together are what helped me launch. So as I'm going on, I'm continuing the other levels. And they. I was on a road trip and they happened to post that they had a job opening teaching on the teaching staff. And I'm like, I love this program. I could totally do this. And on a whim, I just, I was doing my application on the phone in a bumpy car ride, but imperfect action. Right. So I did that magically I got hired. Not magically. Like, I. I'm really good at my job because I love it so much. Right. So. And I began teaching. Well, this has done so much for my imposter syndrome, because now I'm at the entry point for new students coming in, and I see them doing the same thing. I was like, I don't know if I know enough.

14:15
Kristen Whitaker
I don't know if I can do this. I see other people doing this, but I'm not sure. And so in that after call, I'm like, you got this. You're smart. You know all the things. Go talk to Andrea. Because that's the secret sauce. Like the rws, I feel like, gives you the strategy, the clinical skills, the delivery points. But Andrea is going to give you the vehicle to believe in yourself and get it done.

14:38
Andrea Nordling
I love to hear that. Thank you.

14:40
Kristen Whitaker
Thank you.

14:41
Andrea Nordling
Okay. But you actually got it done because, you know, let's give credit where credit is due. I'm happy that you had a framework that worked for you and that I got to provide that. So I have, like, a tiny little role in this story. However, you did the imperfect action, you did the things when your brain was like, no, no, we're not ready. We're not ready. It's not perfect yet.

15:01
Kristen Whitaker
My brain is really loud. I've got, like, redhead rage and crazy and all kinds of things going on, and it took someone to, like, help me call bullshit on my own. Like, seriously, it's not. It's not a little thing that you did. But so, not to minimize this, but, I mean, I was really spiraling out and blocking myself all over the place. So your program really provides clarity, but it gives me a way to, like, check my own blocks. So it's very empowering.

15:27
Andrea Nordling
I think that's really what's so missing in a lot of programs is the acknowledging how we will sabotage ourselves. Like, our brains are really good at saying, let's not, like, come on, not yet. We're not quite ready. And we have all these really convincing reasons for why that is, and we have all and we know ourselves so we can convince ourselves it's not. No, no, not yet. Not now. Let's not be too big. Let's not be too, you know, whatever that is. There's so many versions of it, but. But realizing that is just part of the game. That's just part of it. That's just what our brains do, especially when we're taking on a new endeavor and doing something for the first time. And it's new, and it is big and it is exciting, and there's reasons that we want it to work.

16:12
Andrea Nordling
That's why we're doing it. I mean, I think entrepreneurship, and I've said this before, but I will say it all the time. It is like the fast track of personal development, because you will get all of your stuff, like, right in your face immediately. It's like, here you go. Here's all of the. All of the things you could be working on, my friend. And that's just part of it. So knowing that's the case, but then also knowing that exact same thing is happening with your future clients that also are starting something new, and they also really want the results, and it really matters to them, and it is an investment in time and in hope and in finances and all that.

16:47
Andrea Nordling
And, like, really understanding why people do and don't make the decisions they make so that we can support them in their goals, too. Like, it's. It's just all connected. It's super important. Anyway, that was, like, a little tangent, but I do feel like everything you're saying makes sense. It really.

17:02
Kristen Whitaker
Yeah.

17:02
Andrea Nordling
Okay, so you had the framework to make some decisions on your offer, your pricing, all the things, and then get out there and actually talk to the people. Let's go back in time. And was this, like, around 2023 I could have looked at.

17:18
Kristen Whitaker
Yes. Sorry. Yeah, 2023 is when I quit my job. I actually, for this, went back and looked at my goodbye, I'm out of here post. And I was like, oh, my goodness. Just so I can look back at everything I've done since then. And it's incredible.

17:30
Andrea Nordling
So incredible. Oh, good for you. That's so cool. Okay, so 2023 is the timeline we're working with here. Do you remember in this era who some of your first clients were? Like, how did you. How. How were you getting your first clients? People always ask that. They're like, well, how do we get the first clients? I understand how referrals can come later, but, like, how do we get the first ones? Do you remember that?

17:51
Kristen Whitaker
I do. And they don't come how you think they're going to come. I was attached to this farm job and all these connections I was making thinking that would lead to referrals, but it really just was. I mean, I was the farm girl. I was the shop girl dispensing health advice. That's so weird. It wasn't like a credible. That's what I imagined. That is not what happened. So, in fact, it was holding me back. When I launched, I emailed my entire warm market. I told all my friends, very clear, like, here's what I'm doing. I am going to, It's official now. I am launching my business. You say all the time, show up as the CEO. I'm like, okay. I'm no longer the shop girl who does health on the side. I'm like, this is what I do.

18:32
Kristen Whitaker
So I got clear on, you know, what I offer and who I serve. And I sent out emails to everybody that I knew. And I'm like, forward this to other people. And surprisingly, my very first sign came within three days from someone I'd never met, because someone I knew forwarded that email. Like, hey. And she jumped on. I was terrified. Like, peed my pants. Terrified. When she signed. Like, in this first pitch, you should have heard, like, this is the price. I know it's a lot. I'm going to let you sit with that for a while. I will follow up with some more question. No, I got it. I'm like, but. But I'm going to give you time. No, I'm signing. I mean, like, for real. That was my. If I. I'm glad I don't have it recorded. It would be so embarrassing.

19:12
Kristen Whitaker
And I can't believe. Because I'm like, are you. You're sure? Yeah. Where do I put my credit card? I'm like, I don't have that set up yet. So. But that. That was.

19:25
Andrea Nordling
I got on this call not thinking this was going to go this way.

19:27
Kristen Whitaker
So I'm not excited. The things to work. Yeah. So there's that saying, like, take the leap and build your wings on the way down. Right. That's exactly how my first. You talk about the deliverables and what your program look, and it was all theoretical, but here I was like, great, now I need to write a welcome sequence. I need an onboarding. I needed this. And. And it was crazy, but it got done. I just had to create one step ahead of the process where they were. Yeah. And. And it was invigorating. I remember talking to Bev and like, hey, do you have a handout for this? Because I'm about to get to reintroductions, and I have never done that with a client. Oh, okay, let's share that. And, you know, were literally built.

20:06
Kristen Whitaker
Hey, I'm about to wrap and I want to walk to a maintenance program. What do you think that should look like? Like, were building this as went with our first clients, and that's the best Way to build, like you say all the time, get it built and then fine tune it as you go. Perfect.

20:23
Andrea Nordling
This is such an important, like an important thing to talk about, what's coming up for me, as you say, that is the parallel with client work too, because you said in the beginning, you said like, if you get a done for you program that has like a very specific blueprint of what to do, but you're not the exact ideal person with all of the perfect storm to make that work, that it won't work. And I think that that is true a lot of times because you don't know why you, like, you don't know why is the blueprint set up that way? Why do we send this at this certain time? Why do we say this here? Why do we, why are we offering it this way? Why are we talking to people this way? Why are we following up?

20:56
Andrea Nordling
Why are we evaluating this way? You don't know why. And so your brain's like, this is unnecessary. I don't think this is right for us. Like, I just imagine that in that scenario there's a lot of resistance probably to the blueprint if you didn't make the blueprint and you don't understand the components of it and why it exists. So what I suggest and what I teach in the program is like, okay, now we're going to, you're going to build it. Here's, here's what you need to build and here are the questions you need to ask yourself. And you need to figure out what do you want this to look like.

21:23
Andrea Nordling
We're going to work backwards and you're going to make your own plan because then you're on board with your plan, you understand the plan and you also have a framework for when are we going to reevaluate this plan and see if it's working, which we do because we just have to have the awareness that the first plan isn't going to be the final plan. And like never normal clients, your first.

21:43
Kristen Whitaker
One will work, it will get results. So that was reassuring.

21:47
Andrea Nordling
And then you're going to make it better and it's going to be even better. But the same thing is happening with clients too. Like, yeah, we have a plan, but we don't know how your body's going to react. We don't know what everything is. Like, we don't, you're an individual, we don't know exactly everything. So we're going to move forward and trust ourselves that we can evaluate as we go. But there isn't like One plan that's going to work for every client. And we know that, but we forget that when it comes time to make a program or a package for the clients. And people say, like, well, I don't know, it's not going to work for everyone. Of course not. So your process is like, how do you personalize? How do you make it be that way?

22:21
Andrea Nordling
Anyway, another aside, but I just think that's really important.

22:23
Kristen Whitaker
That brings up two juicy points. And one is that we're not here to serve everybody or catch everybody, right? So it helped me detach from the outcome. When I'm not selling hard. Everybody through the door. I'm looking for who aligns with what I do offer. And alignment is eas. Forcing a sale is icky and gross and none of us do it. But alignment is beautiful. And so you helped with that concept, which made the onboarding process exciting instead of gross. I mean, changed everything and changed my verbiage, my attitude, the energy I project. The other thing about your program is exactly what you said. You have the critical pillars and you have advice on things like tech and you need to set up, you need to separate. Like, there's no reason I should have paid for you on my personal credit card.

23:09
Kristen Whitaker
One of the first things, like get your business credit card. I'm like, oh, yeah, I should do that, right? I mean, you have these milestones and pillars and flow and logic that are so helpful, but at the end of the day, you're asking questions that you can't answer. You're like, this comes from you. This is your business. And that's why other programs have failed. They're telling me what to do. And I'm like, but. And this isn't a critique. That's what a health coach would do. I'm a functional practitioner. They're different things. So just like a health coach wouldn't be able to interpret labs and put that into a pricing package. Right? They're different things. Yet you can help whatever we, wherever we are on the spectrum, whatever our offer is, because you're asking us to come up with that and expecting us to.

23:54
Kristen Whitaker
And then we do it in a way that is tailored and confident because of the questions and the process that you're offering. The one size fit all, it doesn't work and you're going to waste your money and you're good. I mean, I have, I could show you the boneyard of done for you content I bought it doesn't work. But you're. You empower. You give the tools and empower And I found that's what I want to do with my clients. Do I want to tell them what to eat every day? No. That's exhausting. But when somebody gets stuck and I can give them some search terms or some ideas and then say, hey, let me know what you had for dinner tomorrow. And if you liked it, and they come back, oh, I found this great thing.

24:29
Kristen Whitaker
Like, it's so much more powerful and transformative because I'm giving them help and then expecting them to dig in and come up with answers.

24:36
Andrea Nordling
Yeah. And the goal is for them not to need you.

24:40
Kristen Whitaker
Yes.

24:41
Andrea Nordling
We're gonna get you feeling good. We're gonna get you understanding the why behind what I'm suggesting you do so that you don't need me forever. That's the whole goal, right?

24:50
Kristen Whitaker
Yeah. And that feels good. That feels good. When you have a client get to the end of a package, and we're like, we're in maintenance mode now with some touch points, but you've got this.

24:59
Andrea Nordling
And that's where referrals are, like, coming in. Okay. I love this. So those first clients were a total surprise of where they came from. It was not at all what you expected. Let's talk about that just a little bit before we move on to anything else, because that. It's just. It's just such a great reminder that it's the consistently doing the thing. Like, I think that clients are coming from the farm stand is what I'm hearing you say. Like, I think I've been having a lot of conversations with people there. I think now I'm gonna, you know, metaphorically put on my open sign, and those people are now going to pay me because I already have a relationship with them, and obviously I've been talking to them, and that's how that's going to work.

25:35
Andrea Nordling
So you go do the things and you take action, and you're following a process in the program, and you're. You're doing stuff, and you are in action there. And then the clients come from a totally different.

25:45
Kristen Whitaker
Absolutely. I think I've had one. One paid client from that was actually a customer of the farm.

25:53
Andrea Nordling
Yeah. And some people will. Will say to me, sometimes they'll be like, well, it's just. It's not working. Because this thing I'm doing, this specifically comes up with social media a lot. They're like, I'm posting on Instagram all the time, but that's not where my clients are coming from. And so they want me to fix Instagram, and I'm like, why are we posting on Instagram then? Like, I don't understand. Yeah.

26:11
Kristen Whitaker
Why are we filling up our schedule with that? Yeah, yeah. Like, well, like, okay, so what is.

26:15
Andrea Nordling
Working with where the clients are coming from and also just be surprised and delighted when it. It comes a different way. And it happened. It's working. And it's like, it's not a problem that. That is how it always is. But doing the things and taking the action consistently, even when your brain is like, could we just not today do it? And you. I put yourself out there and you're having conversations. You don't know who is going to send referrals. You don't know who is forwarding that email. Like, you said, like, you. You know, you reached out to people in your life that already love you and probably would be happy to support you. So, yeah, they did forward that email on and it came back and you couldn't have antic. Fast that would happen. And who. You just have to trust.

26:54
Andrea Nordling
You're like, I'm gonna just keep going and it is all gonna work out. And. Yeah, I think. I just think that we should just have a little moment for that, because it never goes the way you think it's gonna go. And that is.

27:06
Kristen Whitaker
And it's exhausting to try to think, you know, or to all the contingencies. It's gonna happen this way. Just do the things, be consistent and show up and be open to whatever comes.

27:18
Andrea Nordling
Be open to letting the magic happen, to serve people, help them, and, you know, like, trust that it. It is going to work out. Okay. That's so good. So initial clients came in. They surprised you. You were a sweaty disaster doing these sales calls. Didn't have. I'm paraphrasing, but I'm also, like, bringing in my own experience here because I know this feeling all too well. You don't know how it's going to work. You don't have the payment link figured out yet, but you quickly do figure it out. You do. You get. And then all of a sudden, you have an infrastructure in place. And then you go into the next sales call with, like, I know what to do when they say yes. And then it just. You know, your confidence builds and you're just. You're.

27:51
Andrea Nordling
You're more compelling in the way that you talk, and it is more clear. And you. You just keep doing it better. I mean, I'm assuming that's what happened because you're.

28:00
Kristen Whitaker
And it gets better and stronger. Yeah.

28:03
Andrea Nordling
Yeah. Okay, so that must have happened for you. What did this look like keep, keep bringing us along so you have clients coming in.

28:11
Kristen Whitaker
So maybe it's good to set some expectations because I do feel like when you're in a community like this and you're hearing the big wins, like they went to a multiple six figure business in three months. And that happens. Like Andrea sees this happen all the time. And I know people that's happened for. That did not happen for me. I did absolutely go from jobby to career. I surpassed my income, even counting in all the food. And I had enough that I was contributing to our family, which was a dream come true to actually be like, oh, here's what I brought in this year. And, and this was great. I would say that first year I probably did 30k, and then the next year 50k. And like, I mean, numbers are, can be uncomfortable to talk about, but I'm in the 50k range. Okay.

29:04
Kristen Whitaker
Love it. Not counting, not counting my teaching income also. So from my business, a solid 50K. What's amazing is that has been sustainable. I haven't been pulling my hair out or dying or chasing my tail. I've done that while I finished the clinical mastery course for level four, which is very intense while I interned for school and trained to be a teacher. So I'm doing this while doing other things and then not to derail with a story, but yet last year, 2024 was the year from hell that my entire life blew up. Okay, in a nutshell, we found toxic mold ceiling to floor in my house. We had to rip it to the studs, like my entire house. So I'm essentially homeless, living in a friend's basement. It's not covered by insurance. So now DIY me is building a house. Like this office.

29:55
Kristen Whitaker
I built, painted, built the floors, put the floors in, like, rebuilt everything with like, how hard can it be? Okay, let's watch YouTube and my friend's going to teach me how to do this. Like, this is. This was my year last year. I still held that 50k in my practice. Okay.

30:10
Andrea Nordling
It's incredible, Kristin. Incredible.

30:13
Kristen Whitaker
Exhausting. So I'm like, oh, my gosh, that was a year. You could see. Like, there's a time when I'm doing a client call, I'm sitting on a case of toilet paper with the only clear spots on a partially built wall so that I have a clean background on my laptop. This is how I'm working. But it's working because I have systems in place, right? So I had one client say, I got a snatch from your social of the trauma that you're going through but show up on camera. I have never realized you were going through all this, because with a client, it's all about them. And I'm confident and I have my processes, so that was great. So I've held at that 50k. And so now this year, I'm like, hey, I have been through all the things.

30:52
Kristen Whitaker
I have freaking built a house from scratch. I have, you know, I've held my ground. I'm comfortable in my teaching niche. I'm not new there anymore, and I'm ready to play big. So here I am, ready to play big. And now I'm. Now I'm digging into. This is. I love Andrew. She has all the stuff to get you where you want to be, and then she has the next layer laid out. So, Right. So I'm eyeing, I'm streamlining, I'm scaling, and I'm laying out what the next phase looks like. So I've had this imperfect action. I've had the plug and play. I've polished my systems. I'm good at what I have. And now I'm excited to be like, now I can take it to the next level. Now I'm eyeing that. Like, the six figures and the multiples and all the things.

31:35
Kristen Whitaker
I'm like, now I'm going for that. It's been slower for me than other people, but it's been exactly what it.

31:40
Andrea Nordling
Needed to be faster than other people. I mean, it's just. It's also relative.

31:44
Kristen Whitaker
It is what it is. And I'm. I'm having. I love. I truly love my work. I love where I am. So whatever it is, it's just what it's had to be. And now I'm ready to level up.

31:53
Andrea Nordling
So, yeah. Oh, my gosh, this is so exciting. Okay, so let's do a little dreaming. Like, what. What does the next year look like?

32:00
Kristen Whitaker
Yeah. Okay, now. And this is where she's like, okay.

32:03
Andrea Nordling
No, I don't have notes for this part.

32:05
Kristen Whitaker
Well, you talk about the hot, sweaty mess. I'm like, okay, armpits activated. Because saying it out loud, right? But I started with my business. Nourish with Kristen was a placeholder name when I was in school. And they're like, for your assignment, you need a name by Friday. I'm like, oh, so that's what I have been, but not what I'm. What I want. Right. When I signed with you, I did not have a niche. I have found my voice more. I speak powerfully when I'm talking to moms. Actually had A coaching call with you where I brought that up and I'm like, okay. Everyone's telling me that moms are not a niche. And you're like, why not? You, like, dug into that. And since that day, that has been my voice and it transformed my. My emails and the conversations I have. It's been powerful.

32:51
Kristen Whitaker
So I'm launching. I've invested again. Ka Ching. I didn't even tell my husband first this time. In fact, he's not on your list. I don't know. I haven't told him yet. I invested in a website redesign and a rebrand.

33:06
Andrea Nordling
Okay.

33:07
Kristen Whitaker
So all this I did myself. Website in a weekend is another awesome program that Andrea includes in her. In her best salesperson.

33:13
Andrea Nordling
Kristen. Just go for it.

33:16
Kristen Whitaker
Like, seriously, all the tools to get you going. And remember, it worked. It took me from hobby to job to career. Yeah. But now I want to level up. So I am investing in. I'm hiring somebody to help me with that.

33:27
Andrea Nordling
Yes.

33:28
Kristen Whitaker
So that I can work on the content creation that I plan to drip out. So we're rolling out. Drumroll. I'm so excited for this. The Vital mom is my new brand. Amazing. Yep. And the Vital mom method rolls out hopefully this fall, which is a program with pillars for help. And each pillar has vital signs to help you map where you are and where you need to improve. And it's a program I'm really excited about. So it's going to capture like a mid tier people that really can't or aren't ready for the big ticket. One one, they can bounce around in this interactive program where we can have touch points and they can help themselves. And that might be all they need to go on their way and feel great.

34:09
Kristen Whitaker
And if they need deeper, it's kind of nurturing them and educate them about the lab testing I do and the deeper work I do with autoimmune or toxin exposures or. Or different blocks like that. So things to help mom level up. But that's the.

34:25
Andrea Nordling
So this is structured more as an online course or is it a group coaching program? What's the structure?

34:30
Kristen Whitaker
You know, there's where I'm like, oh, you're getting. It keeps changing as I dig in and ask these questions and all the conversations that you prompt us to have. So the voices in my head say, I have a thousand million programs I purchased and never cracked open. So I do need an ongoing platform like a membership. However, I also know busy moms don't want to sign up for things with deadlines and the done for you content? It's just gonna. So, yeah, my big funnel lead also Andrea's teaching me how to do funnel marketing. The big funnel that I'm going to launch is the well mama checkup.

35:11
Andrea Nordling
So love it.

35:12
Kristen Whitaker
I have a pile. Do you have your well baby checkups where you're like, look, my kids in the 90th percentile, they weigh this, they do this, they measured this. I'm like, I'm going to do the well mama checkup. To be like, hey, how? And it will highlight. Are your hormones off? Is your digestion? Where's your energy lagging? And then it will tell you which of these pillars you need to focus on. By the way, you can learn on that in this program. Yeah. So it's not linear so much. It's like, here, take what you need out of it and then go deeper as you have time. There are quarterly challenges, kind of like you do, that are interactive, that are included if they want to. Those will also be entry points for people as we go through this program.

35:51
Andrea Nordling
Oh, I have ideas for this. This is so.

35:53
Kristen Whitaker
Oh, good. Because I'm like, I am very much.

35:56
Andrea Nordling
Into this, but I love hearing this. Because what I'm hearing when you say this is you are taking the data that you have collected in working with a lot of one one clients about what works and what doesn't and what they actually need. And the program that you're laying out here is not abstract concepts that you're going to be testing. This is the mistake that I made. So I made an online course way too early in my nutrition. Yeah, Paleo Boss Babe. The ill fated Paleo Boss. For anybody that doesn't know, and most people probably don't, Paleo Boss Baby was the hottest thing in 2016 in my. In my mind. And when the entire Internet didn't buy the Paleo Boss Babe online course in 2016, my world collapsed. Basically. I couldn't believe it. It was like, what is happening?

36:46
Andrea Nordling
And so Paleo Boss Babe died a very quick, tragic death, never to be seen again. And we should laugh about Paleo Boss Babe every single day.

36:52
Kristen Whitaker
No, we love it. We love it.

36:54
Andrea Nordling
But the point is, I hadn't brought enough clients really through the process in that course to know for sure if it worked. It was my best guess. The actual reason I wanted to create an online course in all transparency was because I was afraid that working with one one clients, that they would stump me. People would ask me questions I didn't know the answer to. I wouldn't know what to say. And so it felt so much safer to pre record everything with really scripty answers. And really, yes, like, whatever that is. You know what I'm saying? And so this is a safe zone and I can price it really cheap and everyone on the Internet will buy it and it'll be so great. And then I won't actually have to be uncomfortable because I'm just like, you know, these are prerecorded videos and buy.

37:35
Andrea Nordling
That was not a great energy to sell from. So you can imagine that it didn't sell very well and that I still had a lot of resistance to work through and I had a lot of mindset stuff that I had to figure out. So I love that you're saying I want to put together a program that is lower ticket than what my premium 101 is. I have the data to do that. I know what they want. I know exactly how I'm going to help them. Now we get to massage the rest of the deliverables of that offer and figure out how you know, how. How supporting them best works for them, but also in your business and in your life and what's sustainable for you. And those are questions that we can. That we can answer.

38:10
Andrea Nordling
So when Kristin says she has something to look forward to, I think she's thinking about the mastermind. I have the streamline and scale mastermind.

38:15
Kristen Whitaker
Yes, yes. I have my eye on it.

38:16
Andrea Nordling
Really flesh out your scalable offer and like, what does that like? So these are questions that we'll get the answers to. But you have the framework of it. You have the basics of it. You have the data to know that we can make really good decisions about that, which we did not have in 2016 in the era.

38:33
Kristen Whitaker
Well, I mean, anything pre pandemic, that's like BC and AD it's like back in the olden black and white days, we didn't have those 100%.

38:42
Andrea Nordling
Like the, like the camera was one of these where we had to like, yes, that's exactly what's happening. So, okay, this is so good. Everything about this, so good. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about? Otherwise, I'm gonna ask. I just. I kind of want to ask a question about what has surprised you about your business. You've already said a few things, but was there anything else that you wanted touch on that would be helpful for somebody just starting out?

39:05
Kristen Whitaker
Yeah. Yeah, I want to dig into that imposter syndrome, because I was, like I said, paralyzed, riddled with it. And now here I am. I'm an instructor at this elite school that I have nothing but respect and love for. They're tremendous and I'm in the ranks with them. I teach at this school. It's one of the things I'm so proud of. And here I was like, I couldn't ask $50 for a consult and now my premium price is 3500 for a six month program that might go up. Like when I have this course, it's going to nurture a higher ticket. Right? So. And I don't flinch when I offer that. I'm very confident what I deliver. So I mean, look what I have been able to do.

39:44
Kristen Whitaker
And yes, I have achieved more education, but much of that has been my mindset and like, believing in myself and like, no, I can do this. And a lot of that comes from looking back to where I started. Like the vital mom. My, my avatar and who I speak to was me 15 years ago when I was overwhelmed and burned out and worried about my kids and not taking care of myself. And will someone please just tell me what to eat? That's my avatar. And I'm like, to look at how far I've come is where I draw my strength from and how I keep going. Even when you see me sweating, like, here's what the next phase looks like. I'm. I'm not sure what I'm doing it and that's all I need. I just need that.

40:23
Kristen Whitaker
I'm not sure, but I'm doing it and I know I'll get to good places. So.

40:28
Andrea Nordling
Oh, it's so good. Because human nature is to think about how far we have left to go. And we're only looking ahead and we're like, oh no, I have this ideal out there that six figures, multiple six figures. That's, you know, whatever it is that I'm healthy, that I like never have any health issues, whatever it is. Like, we have this ideal and it's out there somewhere and we're only looking ahead at how far there is to get there and we forget to look back at how far we've come. Like, you 15 years ago, couldn't have imagined you today. You two years ago, couldn't have imagined you today. And we all have that and we, it is always a surprise.

41:00
Andrea Nordling
Like, you know, we kind, we have like the idea of where we want to go, but we don't know which way Google Maps is going to take us to get there.

41:06
Kristen Whitaker
Yeah.

41:07
Andrea Nordling
At all.

41:07
Kristen Whitaker
At all. So I, yeah, I love to have conversations with like farm girl Kristen and be like, oh, honey, let's keep. Yeah, we can. We got this. We can do this.

41:16
Andrea Nordling
We got this. And Farm Girl Kristen had to happen for 2025. Kristen to be here, having the experience that you've had and, you know, just all, like, so grateful for Farm Girl Kristen. So grateful past us always, because that's how we get here. I think that we just. Human nature is that like, oh, I did it wrong. I didn't already succeed two years ago, so I did it wrong. It's like, no, you. That needed to happen so that you can do it now, right?

41:42
Kristen Whitaker
Absolutely. Every. And like I think we said before went on camera, everything we did wrong is a great story to tell and something to learn from, so.

41:48
Andrea Nordling
Sure is. Sure as especially on a podcast like this, which is lay it bare. Right.

41:54
Kristen Whitaker
I love it. That's part of why I love your podcast, too, because you're like, let's see what we're gonna get. It's live, it's unscripted.

42:00
Andrea Nordling
Yeah.

42:01
Kristen Whitaker
Who knows?

42:01
Andrea Nordling
It's always a surprise. It's always a surprise, which is just as it should be, in my opinion. Okay, so good. Anything else you want to talk about?

42:11
Kristen Whitaker
Only if you do. I mean, I feel like we just took a chunk of your time.

42:15
Andrea Nordling
So I love this. It's a great conversation. I know that this is so valuable for those that are watching that are thinking, okay, is this me? Like, two years from now, can I have a totally different experience?

42:26
Kristen Whitaker
It could be whatever you want it to be. And I truly believe that your program enables people to do that because it brings out the best in what you have inside of you and then lays out actionable steps to get there. It's just the combination of, like, the mental work and. And the actionable items. So, I mean, I can't say that enough, which is why I love having the conversations. And yes, they do start with, you don't have to spend a dime. You are listening to this free podcast, and there's probably some tidbits that are going to help encourage you. You don't have to sign up for the program, but if you do, it's going to accelerate you to where you want to be.

43:03
Andrea Nordling
So I appreciate that so much. Kristen's the best salesperson. I didn't know she was going to come on and do full sales pitch. No minute of it.

43:10
Kristen Whitaker
Alignment. If I align, I'm very excited to speak about things I align with. So.

43:16
Andrea Nordling
Yeah. Okay. So I have a question for you. This is a left fielder. I was going to wait till after we Stopped recording. But like, oh, no, typical Andrea fashion. We're just going to do it right now. Creating long form content like I have on the podcast. You've said this many times like you just love the podcast. Podcast. You binge the podcast. Super valuable is creating that sort of content on your radar to do for your people.

43:37
Kristen Whitaker
Right? So I am at capacity for creation right now, but I have. So I, I started with the email, which was transformative because I, I am able to repurpose those pieces. I turn them into blog posts. I have had clients from blog posts I, I blogged two years ago and forgot about, you know, okay, so these.

43:56
Andrea Nordling
Are marketing emails that you're repurposing.

43:58
Kristen Whitaker
Marketing emails that I repurpose. I'll put bundle maybe three of them together that had a theme and they could turn into a blog post. So things like that. Back in the day when I was throwing spaghetti, I had like my little farm girl Facebook Live where I would record and talk and have a conversation. And it was exhausting to produce that. The tech has changed and I can see how easy it is. So I'm like, you know, that might be in the future and it might be part of this Vital mom method. I will say, when I was doing your funneling course, it brought up all kinds of objections to being seen or.

44:32
Andrea Nordling
To creating or like the time driving.

44:35
Kristen Whitaker
Traffic in larger numbers to nourish with Kristen, which was a brand I never really believed in. It was a placeholder brand. And I had this vision for this Vital mom has been brewing for a very long time. And I'm like, if I'm going to invest in marketing and bring in the numbers and be like, hey, look at me on a grander scale, it needs to be something I'm aligned with and proud of. And so that's why now in the program, you're like, you don't want to stop and rebrand and build your site and do all these things at the beginning phase. Because believe me, that was me. I'm like, wait, I have to have a business card. I need to do my color scheme. I need to have, you know, all the.

45:12
Kristen Whitaker
But at this phase, I had the Andrea in my head, like, does it make sense? Is it okay? Is this a distraction in a squirrel or is this a vehicle? It became a vehicle. So I'm stopping to focus on this rebrand and re. And then when I get past that, I'm like, sky's the limit. Let's see what I can do. And I said before we began, I'm like, when she goes, oh, sorry, my team sent the wrong link. I'm like, oh, when you say my team, I just get goosebumps all over. Like, I cannot wait to. The day I hire an assistant is like the day I've arrived in my mind.

45:45
Kristen Whitaker
So, yeah, when I have someone who can lift off some of the logistics that I have, and I'm thankful for the processes that make it manageable, I have so many things I'd love to do. So perhaps the long answer, yeah, maybe. Maybe I will do some long content like that.

46:01
Andrea Nordling
I think you will. I think you will. Okay, so I'm imagining people will be hearing this and they're going to be confused about when you talk about funnels and stuff. So Kristen is talking about an advanced program that we have inside of TPN called the Client Attraction System, which is a very specific system for running paid ads to a digital funnel. It is not for everyone because a lot of people in the program have no desire to have a digital presence like that, and tech stresses them out. And it is certainly not something to focus on in the beginning of your business. So, I mean, all the disclaimers here, that is an advanced strategy, but we do teach that in the. In the program.

46:35
Andrea Nordling
It's available, but it is not something that you do in the beginning for all of these reasons, because we can really get distracted and waste a ton of time trying to be like, trying to have a crystal ball, trying to, you know, predict the future of, like, what is the brand that I'm going to have forever? What is it?

46:55
Kristen Whitaker
Well, we don't know the answers to.

46:56
Andrea Nordling
Those questions, and we don't need to answer in the beginning. We just need to get some clients and we need to help them and we need to, you know, get some data to evaluate. So, yes, we do. We do have those, but those are more advanced little nuggets.

47:08
Kristen Whitaker
I feel like this is the span of. So in everything, I just dumped. Where are you on this journey? Journey. Are you at the beginning? But the story is there is. There's always a next step. Like, it's never done.

47:19
Andrea Nordling
It's never done. It's never done. Another thing about the personal development that entrepreneurship is to realize the to do list isn't actually ever done. There's always more to do. There's always more ideas. There's always a next level, and we're not behind ever. Or ahead or any like, that doesn't even exist because there's always where we're supposed to be. It's just having the discernment to be like, okay, it's okay. I'm doing the right thing today.

47:48
Kristen Whitaker
Let's see. I joined in 2023, and just look at what profitable nutritionist has done since that time.

47:54
Andrea Nordling
Oh, it's such a great point. It's totally different. Yeah. You know, our core curriculum, what we teach, not necessarily different, but we've done so many different. Different things. Different. I mean, as far as, like, team goes, we have a lot more help. We have. So we're able to do a lot more stuff than we could do two years ago, three years ago, five years ago. Because your capacity changes as the revenue comes in, as the, you know, like, all of that, as your brain changes.

48:19
Kristen Whitaker
Right, Absolutely. So it's witnessing that has kind of been, like, permission for me. Like, okay, well, Andrea experimented with this, and she grew this way. And so I. It's been now, like, I'm sure I'm older than you, so I don't mean that, but it's like having the big sister I can watch be like, okay. She did it like, I'm an oldest child, so it's a real novelty to have, like, oh, a big sister vibe from the someone. Because I can look at your business and be like, that is permission to try something new, like, okay. Or yeah.

48:48
Andrea Nordling
And just to know that the new things we try most of the time don't work out the first time. And also normalizing that and it's not a problem. It's okay. So I just want to make that disclaimer too. Like, yeah, watch me experiment. And you experiment. We all do that. And it is one big experiment. And then only after things work can we come back and be like, oh, yeah, that was the way.

49:15
Kristen Whitaker
Yeah, yeah. Oh, now I see it. Yes. Yes. Like, even when I'm. I say, and that's so hard to say. Vital mom launches this fall. Oh, but it's a beta launch and a soft launch, and really the real one will be at the new. Like, I'm already spinning with that. I'm like, it doesn't matter what it looks like. It's just happening. And then it will better.

49:31
Andrea Nordling
Yeah. Oh, my gosh. I love it so much. Okay, so tell people. Where do they find you now? Today.

49:42
Kristen Whitaker
Nourish with Kristen.com is my website in a weekend. And. And you can hop on my email list, which I. I do. I have been consistently showing up on that email for three years now, and I love it. It's a great way to chat. I'm on socials, but it's not consistent, so. But you can find me nourish with Kristen as my handle, and I will be transitioning to vital mom, but you'll be able to access me both ways.

50:06
Andrea Nordling
Okay. Yeah. Amazing. Oh, my gosh, Kristen, thank you so much for popping on today and sharing your experience. I do not. You know, it has never lost on me that this is an hour of your time in a workday that you came to share, so I'm so appreciative of that. Thank you.

50:21
Kristen Whitaker
Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. My pleasure. Yeah, you got my panic email. Oh, my goodness. I promise I'm not a mooch. So if you want to follow up on that, I can say that on air, like, everybody, go binge her podcast. But it's going to align and then you'll. You'll find yourself moving forward, so.

50:42
Andrea Nordling
Oh, I so appreciate that. Okay, well, I'll just tell everybody there's a link to join the profitable, nutritious program in the description. Make sure it's there. We would love to support you. Oh, my gosh, Kristin, thank you so much.

50:53
Kristen Whitaker
Yeah, thank you so much, Andrea. Good to see you.

50:56
Andrea Nordling
Well, there you have it. Kristen's story from just starting out to having a thriving business, that she is now starting, scaling and getting to live her dream, which is freedom as a business owner and helping all the people. So incredible. So I know that you have questions about how you get some of what Kristen's been getting in the profitable nutritionist program. And my friend, we would love to support you in that container. All of the information, including a link to book a free short sales call with yours truly to find out if you are a good fit for the program or if the program is a good fit for you right now can be found at theprofitablenutritionist.com join again, that's theprofitablenutritionist dot com join or you can click the link in the description of this episode to take you right to that details page.

51:41
Andrea Nordling
We'll love to see you inside.