[REAL ENTREPRENEURS] Giving Up Your Full Time Job (and a Steady Income) to Follow Your Entrepreneurial Dreams

Welcome to post #4 of the REAL ENTREPRENEURS guest blog series

I’ll be featuring a number of health & wellness entrepreneurs who are at various stages of their entrepreneurial journey.

They’re going to be sharing where they’re at right now!

It will be real, raw and unfiltered. Just as life should be – when you’re grabbing it by the lemons, that is 😉

All of the posts in this series can be searched under the CASE STUDY category.

---

Hi there, I am Lucia Di Cesare, BSc, RHN, and a graduate of CSNN – the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. But, I like to keep things simple and go by Lucy. 

Let me share my story with you… it is nothing miraculous or fabulous but simply a story about a woman who gave up her day job, and steady income, to follow her passion.

I guess I started my business about four years ago. I say “I guess” because it took me some time to gain confidence and trust in the knowledge I had obtained from my studies and to actually announce to the public that I was a Holistic Nutritionist.

Funny story, I actually ran into an old high school teacher that asked what I was up to and my response was “I’m between jobs”.My sister overheard me and quickly stated, “No, you are a Holistic Nutritionist, it is time you own that title!”.

From that moment on, I made the commitment to fully embody my new role. 

My journey began many years ago with my own health issues. I had kidney stones. My first incidence was at 16, then again at 18, and another attack around the age of 21 when I decided — this has to stop! 

I stumbled upon a quaint little bookstore whose focus was on holistic health and I was directed to the booklet for the Master Cleanse. I began to understand how certain foods had certain benefits to the body, and how important it was to ensure we met our bodies needs. 

After graduating from university with a degree in chemistry, I first began to explore post-graduate nutrition programs.  However, what I found is that I did not align with the philosophy of those programs. I wanted to explore a more holistic path, but at that time that school of thought was almost non-existent.

So off to the corporate world I went and, well, life happens. 

Although I felt I led a fairly healthy lifestyle, morning workouts, packed lunches, all based on my personal exploration of holistic health, I once again began to experience health issues. 

The stress of the job was getting to me! Falling into the corporate job cycle, more caffeine to keep me going through the day, business lunches, doughnuts for the office = the perfect recipe for adrenal fatigue! 

After losing my best friend to cancer, I experienced one big wake-up call and I decided that it was all truly enough!!

And why did I give up a full-time job and steady 6-figure income?!

It was finally time to pursue my passion for holistic health. 

I want to be able to support others like my best friend, as well as those in stressful careers (much like mine was) to avoid adrenal fatigue and all the chronic illness that comes along with that. 

I want to support my peers in a healthy, vibrant life!

My entrepreneurial journey has been challenging, but at the same time rewarding. I am so excited about everything I have learned and even more excited to know I can help others reach their wellness goals.

I knew it was going to be challenging to go out on my own, especially in a career that not many people understood. But I am savouring every moment, and I am creating things, not just ‘doing’ the things.

So I have been at this for approximately 4 years since I graduated from CSNN and ventured into this new world of entrepreneurship.

I am still not where I want to be, but I am working on it daily.

As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t have the confidence at the start to really put myself out there, so I took a job as a demonstrator for a supplement company and offered consultations at a local gym. Not really much action there but it gave me the opportunity to find my voice and learn more about the industry. 

I didn't have the confidence to put myself out there at first, so I sought out opportunities to find my voice and learn more about the health & wellness industry. Click To Tweet

I then took the next step of creating a web page, and getting myself online – which included setting up a Facebook page and Instagram account. I’ve never even had a Facebook account so this was all new to me and a learning curve!

Today, I am really pumped about getting my online business off the ground.

However, if I could go back and start over…

I would have invested in a DFY program right off the bat and got that online business established first.

That way you have the opportunity to earn some money while you are out there trying to find your voice, ideal client, and possibly even create your own signature program. 

I am still struggling to get this part of my business going, but I am determined!  If you have the funds to hire a coach, do it! 

Save yourself some time and start earning! I know it is not all about the money but you do need to earn a living, and we have chosen a career to do both — help people AND earn money.

I absolutely love being a Holistic Nutritionist. I am not making the living I want just yet, but I feel as long as I am genuine and offer my clients excellent service this business will build on a reputation based on integrity.

I can’t even explain the joy I experience when a client comes to me and explains how grateful they are for my help and guidance. 

How I have helped them to discover some underlying issue or motivate them to change their daily diet, or simply tell me how much better they are feeling. 

So what does my business look like right now?

I spend part of my time in Mexico working with retreat leaders or groups, creating healthy vacations, offering healthy homemade meals, and nutrition seminars. 

The other part of my time is spent in Canada offering cooking classes, one-on-one consultations, and group seminars. But, I can’t wait to start my online business where I can reach more people!

Lucia is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, a Personal Training Specialist from CanFitPro, and a Chemistry geek from the University of Western Ontario.

Her education combined with a passion for cooking, eating and fitness makes for the perfect combination when guiding health coaching clients.

Connect with Lucia on socials!

www.simplyhealthyliving.ca
Instagram: @simplyhealthyliving_lucy
Facebook: Simply Healthy Living