Latest / Nutrition Connection by Dr. Kristen Hicks-Roof / 61: Kait Richardson RDN, LD - SPEAKER / COUNSELING

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61: Kait Richardson RDN, LD - SPEAKER / COUNSELING · Nutrition Connection by Dr. Kristen Hicks-Roof

• Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Welcome back to the Nutrition Connection Podcast, the show where science meets storytelling. I'm your host, Dr. Kristen Hicksroof, dietitian, researcher, and lifelong advocate of the role of nutrition, health, and wellness. Each episode, I bring on dietitians and nutrition experts to share their story and give you tips and advice on how to be successful. So whether you're a student, a seasoned professional, or someone simply curious about food, nutrition, and health, this podcast is just for you. The views, thoughts, and comments on this podcast do not reflect those of my employer nor the employers of my guests. So let's go ahead and get connected. I'm super excited to bring on a guest. We're a new connection. We were talking before we got on the show. Like, do I know you? And we creep each other out on LinkedIn. We follow each other, but we've never met in person. But we have Kate Richardson. She's a registered dietitian. She's a speaker and author with nutrition awareness. Welcome to the show, Kate. Kait Richardson: Yeah, thanks for having me. And I've been a longtime fan on LinkedIn and I'm excited to and that's actually how I heard about your podcast and all the cool things you do. And I don't I didn't tell you this. I learned I had mentioned you to a student that I was mentoring in the mentorship program because I was sharing. I'm like, ⁓ well, you should follow Kristen Hicks because she shares all these niche dietitian jobs and you can really open your mind to all the cool things that you can get into once you graduate. And she was like, Wait, Kristen Hicksford, that's my the woman who's directing this whole thing. And so I thought that was so funny. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: You know, I I have my hands in mini pots, which is a blessing and a curse. But yeah, sometimes that's so cool. I'm happy that you're in our RD mentorship program. And, you know, that program was built out of we had no money in built we've never had money in that program. We just do it out of the gracious of our hearts. And we've had over 10,000 people in the program in the last 10 years. So it's super cool. And it's like a way, especially for people who want to go into niche roles, like Kait Richardson: Amazing. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: that you're kind of in your own niche area, which I know when when you had put your like formal application online, you landed your first TEDx talk. So like to me, that's like a niche area. Like you're really this like gem in terms of like a nutrition communicator. So I wanna dive all into that. ⁓ but I do want to start from the beginning, like what inspired you and made you want to even become a nutrition professional? Kait Richardson: ⁓ man, well, I probably have one of those cliche stories like a lot of dietitians, which was an eating disorder that started in middle school. And I remember I wanted to be, when I was really little, I wanted to be like a rock star or a singer or an actress, but I can't sing, I can't really act, I don't have a lot of musical talent. And so I was kind of like just figuring out who I am and where I belong. And I I felt totally average as a young person. I felt like I was. Average talent level, average in academics, average in looks. But then when I found my eating disorder, all of a sudden it just gave me this purpose. It gave me something to cling on to. Like all of a sudden, I became the healthy eater. And I remember I was in seventh grade and we would have Papa John's delivered to our school cafeteria every Thursday or something like that. And all my friends would eat pizza and fries. And I would get this little pre-packaged salad, I'll never forget, because it was a good salad. It had green or no red grapes and big chunks of cheese and some kind of yummy dressing. But I would sit there and I would talk about how much saturated fat was in the pizza, and I would talk about calories. And you know, thank goodness my friends didn't completely tell me to get lost because I was probably so annoying. But it gave me this sense of identity. And luckily, you know, with time. With self-reflection, I outgrew my eating disorder. And it in a way gave me the gift of just being obsessed with nutrition, made me fascinated with anatomy, made me fascinated with body image and food culture and how society impacts our relationship to food and then of course how our body reacts to certain types of food. So while it really wasn't great for my health for a long time or my self-esteem, I'm really grateful that I had an eating disorder because otherwise I wouldn't be where I am today. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Wow, I mean, that is a story. And you're right. A lot of dietitians, they do get in because they've had this personal relationship, whether it's, you know, overweight and obesity or whether it's eating disorders or being touched by a dietitian who's impacted them with diabetes management or whatever it is. And you know, I think with eating disorders, they're so prevalent, especially in young girls, but also young boys. And as a mom of three little girls, like, Kait Richardson: Yeah. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: You know what's crazy is like now I know everything, nutrition. I'm so terrified. I'm like, how can I help you to not develop that? You know, and so we d we have a lot of open conversation about food. And, you know, I'm the total nerd too. I'm like, did you know this has a lot of vitamin C in it? My daughter's like, so? Like, I don't care. I'm like, maybe, maybe you'll be a dietitian one day. But, you know, I think that is it is so powerful that not only did it impact where you went, but then also I'm sure it's changed how you frame nutrition conversations in everything you do. So let's talk about your journey. So you decided you want to become a dietitian. What kind of roles have you had? And then ultimately to bring you our to nutrition awareness, which like talk about it. I know there's a podcast and you do a speaking engagement. So so to give us a a ⁓ rundown. Kait Richardson: Yeah. Well, when I was in college, right, you know, we take a lot of science classes. And I was at college at Missouri State, which is really, really a science heavy program. And looking back, I'm like, I can't believe I picked that program because I had looked at all these other programs that were, you know, their dietetics department was in the home rec department. And in hindsight, I'm like, I think I would have performed better in those kinds of programs. But luckily I went to a science program and I I made it, I made it through. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: You made it. Kait Richardson: And that's where I ended up doing my internship as well. So I realized in my academia I was never gonna get the best grade in medical nutrition therapy. I was getting through organic chemistry by the skin of my teeth. Okay, I'm still shocked I made it through. But where I really thrived was in the motivational interviewing classes and in all the things that I was doing outside of traditional academics. So I was really involved in my sorority, I really liked my social life. I was involved in volunteering. I was involved in leadership. And I really felt, ⁓ okay, this is where I shine. This is what's gonna set me apart. And I think my advisors and the director of the program saw that, and that's how I was able to get that internship. And during my internship, I had the coolest rotation ever. And I don't know if internships still have this or certain ⁓ programs still allow this, but at Missouri State, we got. Eight weeks to design our own experience. And there's a dietitian, Telene Garrett. She was my and still is in a lot of ways like a dietitian economy because at the time she was the dietitian for Bass Pro Shops, which was headquartered in Springfield, Missouri. And she got to do all this really cool programming where she was designing menus for the cafeteria. We were doing counseling for certain employees. And so she let me for eight weeks do one-on-one counseling. and employee health and wellness. And I was like, this is it. I have found what I want to do. I want to sit here and I want to have real conversations with real people about how hard it is to eat healthy in modern life. Because I felt that way and other people felt that way. And connecting one-on-one just gave me so much insight. It gave me energy. It relit a passion and like many dietitians, it helped heal parts of me By working with other people. And so I knew from that experience that I was gonna find my way into private practice. I got a job from a friend all the way in Orlando, Florida, upon graduation. And I was like, let's do it. Let's move to Orlando. My parents were like, wait, what? Why Florida? Eventually they ended up following me here. And I worked at a hospital, which I recommend to a lot of people. I know that is very controversial, but there are so many great reasons to work in a clinical position right off the bat. And one of the coolest parts for me is I worked at this really, really big hospital system. And everyone that I worked with were dietitians, mostly under the age of 30. And so I got to work with all these young new dietitians. We all had energy. Nobody was like jaded, which I thought was really, really refreshing. And I learned so much. And I got really involved with the community Orlando Dieticians Group. And the president is now my business partner. She owns nutrition awareness. And through our relationship and through my relationship with the dietitians and management at the hospital, when she was ready to bring on a dietitian into private practice, they were like, You've got to talk to Kate. Because on the side of my nine to five clinical job, I was a dietitian speaker for a local fitness group called Camp Gladiator. I was meeting with these people who were campers. ⁓ at Barnes and Noble, at Whole Foods, and they would just give me cash and I would help meal counsel them. And so I was trying to Yeah. I don't know what I did. It wasn't much cash. I was undercharging. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: We're not gonna disclose the cash, guys. We're not gonna just I'm just gonna ⁓ which is the story of many dietitians' lives. Kait Richardson: Tell me about it, which is something I could go on and on and on about, ⁓ but I'll refrain. And so she caught wind of me. She was like, Hey, I want to bring another dietitian on. And that was in 2018, and I'm still there. So we do one-on-one nutrition counseling in person and virtual, but a lot of what we do, and I think what makes us different, especially in this crazy era, is that we still offer an in-person experience. To a good market. ⁓ we have a good market. Orlando's a good market. ⁓ obviously, not everyone has the right market to have an in-person practice, but that really energizes me as an extrovert. I think it adds some value. And the cool thing is it really motivates us to this day to get into our community, to connect with physicians, business leaders, ⁓ medical professionals, pelvic floor therapists, everybody. Everybody who has some kind of practice that our ideal clients may be lingering around at, we create relationships. And I think that skill, not only just the counseling skills that I got from ⁓ eight years now or almost eight years now of one on one coaching, ⁓ but it's the relationship building that comes along with it. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: And that relationship building can go so far. I remember when I was in corporate wellness, ⁓ and I love corporate wellness. I see how you got that, you know, that itch to be like, ⁓ my God, this is it. I love this. That was my first job when I graduated, was in corporate wellness. And you're right, like helping those one-on-one where you you see this lifelong change in people. And it was even so funny on LinkedIn the other day, which I'm connected with many of the former lawyers when I used to. Do corporate wellness at a law firm. And the lawyer was like, Don't worry, Kristen. She responded to me. She was like, Don't worry, Kristen. I still do my ⁓ 10 lunges every time my coffee's brewing. And I was like, ⁓ my God, how easy, you know, because we talked about how to make it very practical and real. Because real people, right? Everyday people, it's really hard to change nutrition behaviors, especially when you start to layer. Kait Richardson: Yes. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Multiple jobs, kids, the stress, financial management, like all those things make it really challenging that as dietitians, you almost have to like see through all the information and say, okay, this, I think this could work for you. What do you think this would work? You know? So that is really cool that you got to, and the connection that you were able to build with your coworker to be able to bring brought on at nutrition awareness. So let's talk a little bit about your day-to-day. What does a day to day look like for you in terms of connecting with the community and your and your one on ones? Kait Richardson: T Well, it's changed a lot. So you mentioned having kids. I have an era where it was pre-baby and then post-baby. So my oldest he just turned two years. So two years ago, my day-to-day looked a lot different. And I'm really grateful for the experience that I had two years ago because it really laid the foundation of what I want to be doing long term. And so at that time, I was seeing patients five days a week, sometimes virtual, mostly in the office. And We had enough business where I felt like that was really what I was doing. I was constantly thinking about, well, how do I get new clients? How do we get people through the door? How do we get people coming back? Learning a lot on the side, like any of my free time, I was learning about marketing, I was learning about email nurturing, lead generation. And that stuff was really fun and really valuable to learn because as you know, we typically don't get courses on that. And so just kind of like being in business forced me to think about those kinds of things. And then I had my son and I'm like, ⁓ my gosh, what's my life gonna look like? Well, I knew that during my private practice, I started to get inquiries about ⁓ speaking to groups. Sometimes they would be paid, sometimes they wouldn't be paid. But I was like, yeah, of course, I want to go speak to this random women's business group about nutrition. Or I have a client who works with a bunch of j she's a judge, and they have a healthy judge council. It's all about healthy living for judges. So doing some kind of speaking gig there. And over the years, I had gotten about 30 to 35 random speaking gigs under my belt. And so during this time, I was like, ⁓ I really like this. And then I started to learn about how much money you could make doing this and how much you could charge. And I was like, ⁓ this would be something I could do on the side consistently and make it a side gig. And so I got on Google and I was like, how do I become like a more professional speaker? And two things popped up. One is write a book. Publish a book, publish something. It really just makes you it positions you as an expert. It gives you a whole bunch of street cred. And if I was looking at really popular circ ⁓ speakers on the circuit, not even in the nutrition and health space, what do you know? They all had a book. Most of most of us have never heard of these books, but they're all out there and they're all on Amazon and you can buy them hardcovers, soft cover, whatever. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna write a book. My business partner, she had published a book. I saw her do it. I thought, I can do that. One of my best friends, her dad in the community, he is on the council of this writing guild. He connected me with a small publishing company. So I blocked off my schedule. This is before baby. Every Thursday for like a year and a half, I would go to a coffee shop and I would write my book. And I could go on about the the book writing process if anyone's interested, but I will tell you I probably won't write a book again. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: It is a lot. Kait Richardson: I it's a lot. It's a lot. My book is called How to Eat Like a Normal Person, and it's a story workbook. So it's creative and also informative. And then when it was going to get published by the small publishing group, they told me it was going to be published in October. I had just found out I was pregnant, due in May. I was like, great, this is perfect. It'll be published. I'll have six months of being able to market the thing. And then I'm clocking out. Well, lo and behold, they had an internal change behind the scenes. And she goes, Well, it's actually going to get pushed back and we're going to publish it. I can't remember when she said it'd be published, but it was like eight months later. after my son was gonna be born. So here I am, towards the end of pregnancy, working on this book. The night I went into labor, I was still sending final edits of my typeset to my publisher. And my regret is, I I mean it really is no regret. It was out of my control. But I didn't do a lot of marketing for that book. But I, gosh, I'd done it. Now I have a book. It's published. It's legitimate. You can hold it in your hands. I was gonna do a TED Talk. That was my next thing. And my business partner for Christmas that year, she gave me a book called How to Do Your First TEDx Talk. And I said, you know what, I'm gonna do it. And so I pitched myself to four or five different TEDx talks, which if anyone's interested on how to do that, it's quite simple. Step one is have an idea worth spreading. And step two is go on the TEDx website, pick out all the dates and places you're willing to block off or travel to, and just pitch yourself like crazy. Well, I'm sure there Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: No way. It's that easy. I mean, you don't know if you'll get it, but like that's a pretty straightforward process. Wow. Wow. Kait Richardson: Yeah, it's not hard. What you'll do is you'll go to the TEDx site and once a TEDx event is announced, they'll have their own little website because it's independent from TED. ⁓ and so if you have a good idea, do not use AI, by the way, to like write your whole script because the TEDx organizers I've heard about here in Orlando are like we can see through AI. It's it's not hard. So actually Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Yeah, the structure is so similar that you know, you know when content, even on LinkedIn or other platforms, I'm like, guys, like why are we using AI generated content? It's not good, it's not authentic. Kait Richardson: It's we're over it. We all we were all excited at first. We all thought we were bamboozling everyone. Now you're not. Now you're not. So do not use AI. That would be my number one tip. And I was talking to another dietitian. Her name is Marianne Walsh. I don't know if you've seen her, but she's done TEDx talks. And she and I met recently at the symposium. And we were like, you know, there apparently there's people who will tell you they can guarantee you you can get a TED talk. You just have to pay them thousands of dollars. No. Do not do that because you're already probably gonna lose money doing the TEDx talk if you're traveling. You don't get paid to do a TEDx talk. So luckily I found this guy, it was in within Florida, within driving re distance. He liked my talk. It was ⁓ Bayshore Boulevard here in Florida and Tampa. And so I got to do a TEDx talk, and that has just changed everything. So now I can say I'm a TEDx speaker. Gives me a lot of confidence to position myself as a professional speaker, which is where I'm moving towards. And ⁓ I can charge more because I have that credential and more experience. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: That's really cool. So, I mean, so you've been kind of d developing yourself professionally while working and this has been over a long period of time. I mean, you said your your sons too. So I think that is it's a it's a good takeaway that like sometimes these take time to be able to build and grow. And you may be doing things on the side for no money sometimes, and sometimes it is money, but it's that building that credibility. You know, it's so funny that you said like A book brings credibility. I I was backpacking in Africa years ago and I came up with the idea to write a children's book. So I was actually writing it because you had no internet or anything. I was in like rural southern Africa. And so I like wrote this children's book. I came back, I like paid a design an illustrator to like illustrate the book. I get it all done. It's published on Amazon. And then I'm like, ⁓ my God, but now there's so much more work. Like I thought that was the work. And then I was like, Kait Richardson: It doesn't happen. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: No, like to get it into bookstores and to get it on a circuit, like that's the real work, you know? And so mine just basically lives on Amazon, but I it it's worthless in a way. Kait Richardson: You know, that's the thing about books though, is first of all, tell me tell me two things. One, do you feel like because you were in nature and having this unique experience, that's how you got the idea? Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Think it was. So my book is a children's book, so it's not as in depth probably as yours. It's a children's book and it's really about nature and food and like growing a garden. So yeah, I de I de I did have some and I had a lot of dreams when I was out there because I literally was tent camping across southern Africa. So like one night, like zebras were playing outside my tent. Like I was in rural, rural Africa. ⁓ yeah, no running water. I mean, we would use water bottles. Yeah, we were like in the middle of nowhere. Kait Richardson: Beautiful. What part? Well, you know, I think that's where ideas come from. Because, you know, I I really struggle with being able to clear my brain and clear my head. But every great idea that's come to life for me has always happened when I force myself to just be without something in my ears, someone talking to me, I'm on a walk, I'm somewhere beautiful. It's part of the, I think, professional experience is Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Yes. Kait Richardson: creating space to just go and be. I think that's really hard for dietitians because we feel like we have to like work a lot to prove our worth and make money because we're as a profession underpaid. But what I'm hearing is Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Well, now it's like information overload. I mean, you got podcasts, you have media segments, you got webinars, you got so much like digital content, you have AI generated content. Yeah, I think it is really hard to disconnect, but I agree with you. I think there is a way that you can be refreshed, which is hard. Like now that you have kids, and we I have three young kids, you have, you know, family growing, and that is really hard because you always are in demand for one thing or another. Kait Richardson: Yeah, I used to wake up early and journal and now I'm like, Kate, I think about it all the time. I'm like, wow, you just just get up and like journal. I'm I I'm not gonna do it right now. I'm just not in that season. I'm not in the I'm gonna just dump all of my thoughts on paper, which I even talk about in my TEDx talk. The morning pages by Julia Cameron, that whole experience of just putting stuff on paper. And I think that's so important because it really helps you understand yourself and your ideas, but also keeps your communication skills sharp. I just don't have the capacity. I'm three months away from having a baby. I've got a toddler, I've got a job. One day I'll pick it up again, but I would encourage anybody who's got either a speaking goal, a writing goal, or just like a personal development goal to spend some time every week writing, reflecting, without AI. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Yeah, I know. I've taken a lot of writing courses when I was a doc student. And that was one of the feedback. Like it may be in the morning, it may be in the afternoon, it may be after lunch, it may be at night, whatever. But it was like you gotta be consistent with writing. And sometimes you just write like journal, right? It's not necessarily professional writing. It's just it's how to be continuing to bid bridge that communication. So yeah, that I think is good tip and advice, but it's also seasonality. Like understand where you're at. I mean My oldest is eight, my youngest is three. I haven't slept really good in eight years. So at some point I will get out of that phase. Don't know when that will be, but at some point I will. So let's talk about science and data, right? Of when you are a credentialed expert, a TEDx expert, a speaker, how do you take that science and integrate it into your day-to-day? Kait Richardson: ⁓ great. Okay. A couple things here that I think is so important. First of all, if anyone's listening to this and they want to be a speaker, right? They want to do paid speaking events. A professional speaker does a lot of different things, but one of the most important things that I've learned is you have to really understand your audience. Okay, so I just did a talk for an investment banking firm. It was a virtual keynote for their mental health awareness month. They are a totally different audience. Than the group I did about a month earlier, which was a mix of blue-collar and white-collar workers in a construction company here local. So they're gonna have totally different interests, they're gonna have totally different strategies, different stories are going to relate to them more. So when you are ex ⁓ expressing any kind of research data or recommendation, you wanna tailor that to what really matters to your audience. And that might not be The ha like ⁓ I think a lot of us dietitians, we want to share health tips and strategies and fun things you can do to like jazz up your plate and add nutrition. A lot of people don't give a crap about that. So you really have to make sure that what you're sharing is not only accurate, because someone can just Google right there during your talk whether that's accurate or true or not, but relevant to that person. So this group I talked to about nutrition for mental health awareness, we were talking about. gut brain connection. And so not only did I have to be really, really mindful about my science, but I had to position it in a way that would appeal to busy professionals who are working 10 hour days, five or six days a week. This was specific to an employee resource group. So they were all caregivers as well. So it all had to be relevant to them. Versus the group I was talking to who were blue-collar workers, I'm giving more information about dehydration and how that can impact focus. and backing that science up. So I really think when you're a speaker, you have to know your audience and don't give you only have 45 to 60 minutes to share information. You better make sure that those little pieces of research or data or strategies that you're plugging in to your keynote or talk is relevant and that they give a crap. And it's gonna make them say like, ⁓ that actually sparks interest. Because a lot of times as speakers, we are not only trying to help them have a Transformation during the talk, right? Like a change of thought, rethinking how they see nutrition, rethinking food. But we also might want to get them into our program, get them as clients, ⁓ have them follow us on social media, whatever your other goals are. And if you lose them because you're sharing stuff that's not relevant, that talk is not only going to be a flop, but it may not help with your other professional goals as well. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: I think that is so critical. Know your audience. I can't tell you how many times I've sat in presentations and I'm like, they're talking about, you know, eating quinoa and avocados and all this other stuff. And I'm like looking around, I'm like, this audience maybe can't afford it. That makes no sense. That's not in their cultural pattern. Like, not that I'm against any of these foods, but Know your audience and who you're talking about. And I think that also comes to the science, too. There will be different depths of how deep you can go in the science with some audiences versus others. You know, not to say that people are dumb, but it's like how much do you need to simplify it v versus like if I'm talking to a bunch of academics, I can like go deep into the methodology of why that science makes sense. If I'm talking to a a lay consumer who's coming in for a community diabetes class, like they don't necessarily care if things are you know what I mean? Like they know the mechanism of diabetes. They may be thinking, What can I do to control my blood sugar? Like that's real of what I can do. So I think that's really good advice. Kait Richardson: Yeah. Thank I'm glad you think so because you really do I don't want to say dumb down what you know, but you do. You have to be like, Okay, who am I talking to? I'm just gonna assume that they have in a beginner intermediate level of nutrition. And if you don't know, ask the event organizers. And so I think a great tip for any speaker is no matter what you're doing, whether you get asked to do a free talk for your kiddo's sports team. Or you're doing a really high-paying talk for a company, is do a pre-event call and treat it like the event. Take it really seriously, and you have to ask a lot of questions. Don't just tell them what you're gonna talk about, right? You can do that in your pitch. You can do that when they first reach out to you or you reach out to them, but ask a lot of questions. Like, what kind of questions does your organization typically ask about nutrition? What are the biggest problems that they're trying to solve? What are the biggest problems you're trying to solve? Because that's another point. Sometimes with speaking as a dietitian, I think that organizations just want their team members to eat healthier and be healthier and blah blah blah. Not always. What they might care about is performance, productivity, the bottom line. Maybe they're worried about the costs of medications like weight loss medications, and they want me to talk about how. patients or their their employees can get the most out of those medications to keep costs down for them. So really understanding what's important to not just the audience but the organizer will really make sure that you're sharing the right relevant information. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Hundred percent. And as much as I have a love-hate relationship with AI generated content, I also think you can bounce ideas off of in AI. Like sometimes I'll say, I'm speaking to this audience, I'll pull links about like what that audience is. You know, if it's a business, I'll pull links from the business. And I'm like, here's the business. How can I, what would be important to people who work at this business? So I'm not saying it's perfect. I agree with you, ask a lot of questions, but I think we can also do some back end work to really make sure that we're tailoring. to the best of our ability. So you've had a lot of successes. I mean, you've checked your boxes. You've been a Ted X speaker. You've written your book. You now you're on your own path to, you know, becoming an independent speaker. So but what's been your favorite or something you're most proud of so far? Kait Richardson: Ooh, hmm. Well, one thing I'm really proud of since this is coming out in August is that I signed with a speaker agent and they're announcing me this summer. And so we've been working together for a few months, positioning myself, and it really helps me feel like I'm learning so much about the industry. And I think what I'm most proud about that is I hounded her on LinkedIn. I sent her a LinkedIn message because I found her there. I found out she was local. I reached out to a few of her current speakers that are on her roster on LinkedIn. Did my due diligence and felt really, really good. And I don't think I would have had the kahunas to do that three years ago. I think I would have been like, ⁓ my gosh, like I'll just wait for her to like, you know, I'll like her posts and see if she reaches out to me. So I think one thing I'm really proud of is the personal growth I have felt and just reaching out and making connections. Sometimes making connections with an end goal in mind of like, hey, I want you to bring me on on this journey you're having. But other times it's just making connections because it feels really good to make connections and reach out. It feels great to make other people feel valued and seen. It feels great to have a new relationship with someone, to have an interesting conversation. ⁓ and so that's what I would say ⁓ on on the business side I'm most proud of. And I think on a more personal side of what I'm proud of is I'm really proud of me and and Megan Ware. So she's the owner of Nutrition Awareness. She and I have worked as a team together for quite some time. And I feel like we've made a big impact in the Orlando community. We love what we do, we love our clients, we're growing, we put the client experience above as much as we can and try to go above and beyond with both the people who pay us to help them and the professional relationships that we've created in the community. And although that stuff is really great for business, it also is just great for the soul because you feel a part of something in a digital age where it's really hard. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: It is so hard. It is so hard because there's so much information. And I think I think about an everyday consumer. And I am an everyday consumer. Like, there is so much that I read, hear, see that I'm like, is that true? You know what I mean? Like, wait, no way. And then I'll try it. ⁓ my God, my kids the other day, they were like, Mom, dad showed me this TikTok of making puffy paint at home. Let's make it. And I'm like, guys, I'm telling you, like, some things that you see online, like, do it doesn't work the way that they show this in the video. So we spend like 20 minutes making this puffy paint, absolute fail. Like it did not work. It did not come out. And I was like trying to explain that to him because when you're in these digital environments, especially you're working with younger clients, how do you like discern what is real and what's not? I think it's really hard. ⁓ so being able to go make an impact with people in your community, I think, and having that real life experience with them, whether that's one on one or or a speaking engagement, like I just think it is so powerful. And we have the credentials behind us to be able to go and do that. So super cool. You talked about a speaking agent. So I'd love for you to dive in a little bit to that. But like what tips and advice do you have for someone who's maybe interested in a path like yours? And if they're interested in like doing working with a speaking agent, what does that entail? What do you have to look for? Kait Richardson: Yeah, great. Okay, well, as far as speaking with an agent, I can't a hundred percent answer that one because I'm not an agent. And I think I got kind of I don't want to say I got lucky because I saw her out and my LinkedIn algorithm nudged me towards this. In fact, I didn't really know it was a thing. ⁓ so as far as working with a speaking speaking agent or an agency, I can't answer that. But for an agency to take you seriously, I think there's some things you need to do. So, first of all, to be a speaker, or to be anything, whether you're an author or an artist. You have to treat it like a your profession. And so that was a huge switch I made. Before I would just kind of like do a speaking gig and like show up and like have some talking points. And I have no idea if it was good or not. But then I started working with, and I'm gonna plug this c this woman because she's incredible. She's here in Orlando, but she does virtual everything. Speaking your brand with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz. And they're professional speakers, and they have speaking down to a science and an art. And there's a book called The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. If you've ever read it, I'm not sure you have you have to read it because what he says is the artist, whether you are an entrepreneur, whether you are an educator or a speaker or a painter, is you go from amateur to professional, and the professional does things differently. And so the professional sees themselves as a professional. And so once I read that book, I made this switch of I'm gonna see myself as a professional speaker. So I'm gonna seek the help of professional speakers, I am going to invest. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: No, I haven't. Kait Richardson: my money and time into building skills to become a speaker because it is an art. Storytelling is an art. Structuring a talk is an art, connecting with audiences, engaging, all of it is a science and an art. But you have to see yourself as a professional to take it seriously. And so once I started doing that, the book, the TEDx talk, all of those things just felt like the natural next step because that's what a professional would do. And I think to become a professional, you have to put in a lot of repetition. So I'm in this place in my career now where I will say yes to free talks still, especially if it's a favor to a client or if it helps strengthen a relationship or my position in the community. But in the beginning, I would say yes to anything. It doesn't matter what it was. You have to put the reps in, you have to speak. My biggest regret is I didn't get a lot of video footage when I was first on the circuit. So I would say yes to every speaking opportunity you can. I would seek out, I would offer speaking opportunities. And I would get video footage no matter what, because then you can use that to market yourself. So seeing yourself as a professional, speaking as much as possible. We have a podcast that has over 200 episodes. Speaking on a podcast, having one-on-one conversations, literally using your voice in real life and on media is practice. It's putting in the repetitions. But there's nothing like getting in front of an audience big or small to really help you see yourself as a professional. And then you can start charging like a professional and feel confident about it. And ⁓ I will tell you, depending on your audience, don't be afraid to share a rate. And if that person, if they can't pay you, you know, you can adjust from there. But, you know, it especially let's say you have a rate and you shoot out a number and they say, I'm so sorry, I don't have that budget. Well you can backtrack and say, well, you know what, I actually I really want to help you. I think this would be fun. What if instead of paying me ⁓ you videotaped me, right? Or or you could find some kind of compromise that will still help you grow your business. But don't be afraid to shoot a rate out there. And sometimes people say yes and you will poop your pants and you're like, wait, you just said yes to that rate. ⁓ my God. I can't believe and then that's great because then it causes you to ⁓ step up to the occasion and really prove that you're worth that rate. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Right? Well, and sometimes it can start as easy of a question. You know, one of the things that I've been doing as I do some outside engagements beyond my full-time employment is is there an honorarium for this opportunity? Like I may ask that. I may it may not start and they may come back and say, We don't have a budget or we do have a budget. What did you have in mind? And so sometimes they'll come forward with a number and sometimes you need to come forward with a number. And I think that's where leaning on mentors and connections and sometimes just your gut too. You're just like, If it's a nonprofit, it's probably gonna be a little bit less money. If it's for a big corporation, you probably can charge a little bit more money. I remember when I had my first writing book, I wrote a healthy toolkit for the Florida Medical Association years ago. Cause I lived in Jacksonville, Florida when I was faculty. And the first time they had me write it, I charged like two thousand dollars. And then I was like and I thought I was like making bank, you know? And then the second time they're like, We'd love a revised update. And I had grown as a professional. Right. And then I was like, it's gonna be $5,000. And they were like, yeah, no problem. And I was like, ⁓ my God, I should have gotten $5,000 the first time. I didn't ask. You know, and so sometimes I think you just have to learn your rate as you're growing too. ⁓ and once you build that rapport with companies and you build that rapport with community organizations, not only will they maybe come back, but they may talk about you to someone else. And that's where like it's like a snowball effect. So I think that was some really good advice and helpful. if you want to go down this path. I know I can align with many of those things. So my favorite question, Kate, if you had a crystal ball, what do you think is coming next in nutrition? Kait Richardson: You sent me this question in advance and I that's the one that stopped me. Cause I'm battling with that right now. You know, I'm battling with it. I'm not scared, but I'm unsure. It just feels like such a time in the world where like, what's gonna happen? I'm gonna choose my positive brain for this one. Because I I have a scary brain that I don't wanna like go down, but then I have the positive brain. And I actually think talking to the students in the mentor program was really helpful. I had two students. I think the positive things are a lot of dietitians specifically. So I'm just gonna think think of more of the role of the dietitian and nutrition professional and not so much nutrition itself. I think we're going to see a different type of career path where people are piecing together two to three to four to five different types of work to create one career. I've heard it being called the creator economy or something. Or instead of like climbing one ladder where you get a position and then you move up in the hospital and then you go to sales and you move up in sales, you're gonna be, I think a lot of people are gonna be doing a lot of different things. And finding a niche is so important for that. So really understanding who you speak to and why you speak to that person and how they need to be spoken to and on what platforms and on what mediums, I think that's gonna become more and more popular than it already is. I think that the human connection is going to be so important to everyone who's already had human connections. As far as our kids, I look at my son, I'm like, are you even gonna care about meeting with someone one on one? I don't think so. But I'm like, well, for the gen older millennials like me and like the Gen X's and the boom, like that still matters. So I think it's gonna be valuable. But I think why that's really, really valuable is that if you want to grow in this creator economy, nothing beats real life relationships, connections. It doesn't have to be your best friend. In fact, your best friend's usually not the one that's going to refer you to your highest paying gig. It's a loose tie that you met at the Chamber of Commerce because you showed up four times in a row and they recognized your face and you finally made a conversation and they brought you in to do something or they sent four of their clients to go see you. Like that is the stuff I really think. is going to help dietitians and nutrition professionals position themselves in this rapidly changing tech world. That's pretty terrifying. Is just being a a constant in your community. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Well, in that creator role, I could totally see it, which in a way is really good for dietitians because many are type A and they're already doing a billion things at once. So I think in a way that is a good thing for us. But two is one of the things that we were talking before the show got started about Gisela, who is an expert in LinkedIn. And, you know, one of the some of the data points are showing that like your content generation, whether it's on a podcast or it's on YouTube or it's on a social platform. These are going into AI algorithms and large language models. And so how can you be that credentialed and professional voice in the world of noise? And that can that bubble up into recommendations that AI would generate if you're like, hey, is this good, is this food good for me? Or how can I find a a nutrition expert or a dietitian in my community to give a talk? Well, all of a sudden Kate's name pops up in the AI and you're like, ⁓ my gosh, this is when I know I made it. So that's That's mine, Kate. You said your made it is your TEDx talk, me. I'm like, I wanna be I want it I want AI to be like Kristen is the go to there. ⁓ Kait Richardson: Christian, have you asked AI how to do that? Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: No, that's a great idea. Okay, we're gonna do this after. Kait Richardson: This is what you do. Let me tell everyone this. I just learned this last week. Your personal website. Okay. What platform do you use? Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: I f for AI? Whip okay, so I have nutrition nutrition connection.us. I don't have a personal website. I mean I have my LinkedIn. That's my personal platform right now. Kait Richardson: ⁓ no for your website. Okay, here's what I would do if I you. If you create a personal website, it doesn't even have to be more than one or two pages. It could just be one long page. You can actually I use Squarespace. So I asked Claude, I was like, how do I start showing up on AI search engines? It walked me through how to put specific code into the subheadings, the headings of pages of my website. And it's written in this specific way that AI likes. And then ⁓ it had me create like a a page that's not linked so you can't really find it that kind of supports all that. And so it used all these keywords and it wrote about me and I just copied and pasted the code in and then I tracticed it with ChatGPT and I showed up. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: No way. ⁓ my gosh. All right. Well, call to action for everyone listening. There's a great opportunity. Kait Richardson: So I don't ha I don't know what Yes, literally whatever. So I would say like if you are like a PCOS dietitian or I'm sorry, I know they changed the name to something else now. ⁓ PM yeah. Mm-hmm. Maybe you Yeah. Yeah, just ask your preferred source engine ⁓ you know, how to show up on AI specifically. I think this is something too, is you have to really think about like well, what is my ideal client putting in the AI like? Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: PCOM. PMOS? Better. Kait Richardson: Should I work with a dietitian for endocrine disorders or who is the very best? So you can kind of think about that and try to put that stuff in your website in blog form. But yeah, apparently there's code. I just tried it like I put it in there last week. And so I was talking Yeah. So ⁓ Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: That is so cool. Yeah, I'm gonna have to, I'm definitely gonna have to try it. So thank you so much, Kate, for being on the show and really telling her story and finishing with the the final tidbit of advice of sometimes you just gotta do it to be able to be more present. Sometimes you gotta do it. You gotta say yes to the opportunity, you gotta build your own website, whatever it is, say yes. So thanks again for being on the show. If you like the show, make sure you like, subscribe, leave a review. But most importantly, Check out the next episode because every episode I bring out a different dietitian and nutrition expert to share their story and give you tips and advice on how to be successful.