Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Monica Salafia, founder of Mind on Nutrition LLC., located in Denver, CO, USA.

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

Mind on Nutrition is a fitness nutrition coaching and consulting company owned and operated by Monica Salafia (aka Denver Fitness Dietitian! - find me on Instagram!). I work with all walks of athletes, from beginners to elite professionals like The Denver Nuggets players. I coach individuals on fueling their bodies for their workouts and composition goals. I have a therapeutic approach that combines evidence-based approaches, education, and a ton of individualization. I love working with women in the Denver fitness community and helping them forget about dieting and restricting and finally get their nutrition optimized for their goals - physical and mental!

Tell us about yourself

I've always loved fitness, and that's how I dove into nutrition! I was 15 and working out with my big brothers, and it was bench day! Having read really poor nutrition advice from a magazine, I was under-fueled and couldn't lift. I knew after passing out under the barbell due to under-eating (do not recommend!) I decided I had to learn nutrition on my own and not from a magazine. I'll admit magazines have gotten way better at representing healthy nutrition and a lot of it is due to Registered Dietitians, which is what I knew I was destined to be at 15 years old! Fitness nutrition isn't just my career. It's my identity; it's who I am through and through. The marriage between the two are just so important to my clients and to me, so I work on their relationship with food because I've gone through rocky ones myself.

That's why I am here, individually coaching members of Denver's fitness community through telehealth sessions. I'm always taking on clients, so visit my website to get a consultation scheduled.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I have 2! First, I'm a business owner! That's an accomplishment for me as a first-generation college student. I think it's so important that we recognize and honor even just the basics. It's kind of like how I approach nutrition. We have to congratulate ourselves on every victory. If we put too much pressure on ourselves (in business, fitness, nutrition, etc.), we forget to appreciate the simple things. If I asked a client of mine, I would hope they'd answer that they just got on their nutrition journey in the first place. A lot of people don't get there, and it's such an amazing feeling once you get it going and keep it going!

I'm so proud that I am a 29-year-old woman, single, and living in Denver, running a coaching business that started pre-pandemic and is still going. I have every single member of my client base to thank for that! Meeting them and making those connections is a real accomplishment!

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

Working both ON the business and IN the business. Chances are, many of us business owners love one of those more than the other. For me, I love working in the business. By that, I mean the actual coaching process is my absolute favorite! If I could spend my days just talking about nutrition to an audience, what a dream! But at the moment, I am also acting as COO - and operations are working on the business. It's easy to slip into burnout more, but I keep it so real with my clients and Instagram followers about my energy. Communication is key! I hope to exemplify this for my clients as well because working on your nutrition can lead to burnout as well. We keep each other accountable by respecting boundaries and making the hardest parts more bearable :)!

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

Stay in your lane! If you have expertise in something, a legitimate expert-level knowledge, then start there. I love the idea of following your passion, but I could not imagine having to run a business on a subject I didn't know or fully understand. To add to that advice, watch out for Imposter Syndrome (definitely read up on that before starting your business, too.). While it's super exciting to start a business, there is so much physical work, mental and psychological work. You must prepare yourself to be in constant work mode and figure out a way to "balance." And lastly, don't be afraid to pivot, take a break, and allow for failure. Everything I would tell a coaching client about missing workout weeks or forgetting to meal plan week after week. We all get caught up in a lot of life events. You are allowed to have setbacks, and learning from them is literally how you grow and get better. Keep going; become a lifer!

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Nutrition is both complex and very simple. I have two phrases I often use when I'm talking to audiences about nutrition. I'll share those with you here!

  1. "It's not nutritious unless it's eaten." This means that even if you know something is "healthy" (which is largely subjective, by the way) but you don't eat it because you don't like it, didn't buy it, don't know how to cook it well enough to actually enjoy eating it, then you will likely never eat it which misses the point. The best example I can give you of this is I'd rather my client eat broccoli while dunking it in their favorite high-calorie dip than not eat the broccoli at all. I'll teach you how it's possible to do that!
  2. If we followed all of the nutrition advice out there, we would be left with nothing to eat but nuts and ice. And if you're allergic to nuts, ha, tough luck! What I mean is we have to not assume every item of nutrition we read about in media is meant for us. Just like you don't assume every available male/female or non-binary is the right partner for you, don't assume every diet out there is either! Understand what your needs are full. Get so specific on your goals, learn what your individual nutrition needs are (I teach you that too!), and then build your own diet. Writing your own diet book is essentially what I'm saying and helping you do in my coaching!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.mindonnutrition.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denverfitnessdietitian/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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