Bye-Bye Imposter Syndrome-This Nutrition Boss Is Running Group Programs Now!

Yaa Boayke: [00:00:10] On today’s episode, we have Dr. Kera Nyemb Diop. She is a passionate nutritionist who works with black women who have been struggling with feelings of guilt and shame around their eating habits to help them build a healthy relationship with food and empower them to respect their bodies and move away from diets. Kera believes food is not only the fuel for our bodies but also our heritage and tradition. Kera brings together her nutrition expertise and her multicultural background, African, Caribbean, and African-American to help her clients define for themselves authentic health beyond weight and size and make healthful choices without feeling deprived. Kera has been working as a nutrition expert for eight years in the food industry and in academia. Internationally, Kera was trained in France and holds a Ph.D. in nutrition science and a master’s in food science. You can find her on Instagram @ black.nutritionist. Welcome to the show.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:01:16] Hello. Thanks very much for inviting me.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:01:19] I’m super excited. I would like for you to start off by telling the listeners where you started with your social media business and where you are now.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:01:30] Good question. So I started with nothing. I just had a vague idea of what I wanted to do, and now I have an account, followers, I have a nutrition group program and I feel like I’m getting closer to my dream.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:01:49] Yeah, it’s amazing to see someone go from nothing, no account, no program, just an idea and just being able to realize it’s possible. Your dreams are absolutely possible. Exactly. And can you share with us the type of client you work with now and what your current niche is?

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:02:11] Yes, of course, so the clients I’m working with is a black woman, around 30 years, she’s been dieting, dieting a lot. So you’re dieting, she’s part of identity. So either African-American or Caribbean, and she heard of intuitive eating and, you know, having a healthy relationship with food. But she doesn’t know how to break from dieting, and especially because the advocates of intuitive eating are mostly white women and they can’t understand her struggles.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:02:48] Well, that’s a very, very powerful niche, I think a lot of people don’t recognize that the struggle to have a positive relationship with food, especially when you start looking at it from a cultural perspective, is so unique and it’s so sensitive. So kudos to you for saying that this is definitely an area that needs more support and more resources, and you’re there to be that support and resource for them.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:03:13] Yes. And thank you for saying that, because I doubted a lot about that niche. I wasn’t sure for a long time that there were women out there with that struggle. I push it and I’m super happy to see that there are women like that. I’m going to be able to help them. So I did.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:03:38] So as a follow-up question, that’s a good point that you brought up. You weren’t sure if they were out there. How did you come to know that they were? Were they DMing you? Are they replying to your stories? Can you share with the listeners what it means now that they are there reaching out to you?

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:03:52] Yes. So, yeah, that definitely I have when I post content, I have a lot of comments and DMs. I have a lot so much, so many DMs about women telling me that I’m helping them. That is the first time they see that nutrition is telling them about their struggles. And so it’s so rewarding. That’s exactly why I wanted to do that. So I love it.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:04:22] Yeah. Yeah. Because that’s a really important point that she noted is a lot of people go into starting their online business using the social media platform Instagram is that they think that their idea is just not good or they haven’t taken the time and time is the keyword to validate it. And if it’s not validated within a few weeks, people often give up. But, Kera, you persevered, I would say, and we were talking about this again, off the record in our Facebook group, your reach and everything for your content have almost 10x, I feel like, since you committed to sticking with it, which is amazing to see.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:04:58] Yes. Yes. Yeah. It’s so good. I can’t believe it. To be honest, when I was telling people around me what I wanted to do, a lot of people told me it’s not going to work because most of black women are interested in weight loss. So it’s not possible. And so we had to focus and believe in myself and, you know, keep applying the methods to see. I told myself, you need to keep pushing and see and give you time. Yes, it’s working. So, so happy.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:05:36] Yeah. So glad to hear. So glad to hear. And this leads to the next point. So I’m kind of hearing that your niche hasn’t evolved. So you started here?

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:05:47] Yes, so it has evolved, but I came back, so I started there. But I was doubting and I wanted to explore, I wasn’t sure because I thought maybe with the body confidence. After all, it’s related, I actually felt guilt and body confidence or body respect are related. I’m actually talking about this. But I wasn’t sure what was the main struggle. So I kind of investigated and tried different content and topics and topics. But I very quickly came back to food guilt, and chronic dieters.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:06:29] So, yeah, it’s good to explore and just iron it all out, because one of the biggest things that you just said is to figure out what’s the biggest problem. And you may not know that right out the gate. It might take you four weeks. It might take you 12 weeks to figure it out. But once you figure it out, everything else is like, whoa, the biggest floodgates of success, and everything just shows up for you when you show up being able to talk about the biggest problem.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:06:56] That’s so true. Everything is easier, even content creation, everything. So I’m happy I found it. And thank you.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:07:06] You’re super excited. You kind of hinted that this was a part of your plan, that you’ve had this dream. So can you share with us what made you want to start and take it to the next level?

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:07:18] Yeah, that’s a good question. I have to think, I guess, is from my personal experience, because I grew up in a family where my mother, I’ve always seen her dieting. At the beginning, I just wanted to help her when I started to work on this topic. Then I realized that this problem was much bigger than just my mother or my aunt because other people were reaching out to me. To be honest, I know that I’m a nutrition scientist. I’m working with other scientists and I working with people wasn’t my first intention, but people started to reach out to me and ask me for help. And I realized there was something missing that no other nutritionist was addressing. So that’s how I started thinking, OK, maybe they are something for me and I should try it.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:08:16] So I love it because embarking on this journey, oftentimes the first step you need to take is just being interested or having something pique your interest. You’re a research scientist, so you love a good research question. So for you, it’s kind of cool, I love exploring tough questions in the universe and finding solutions so quickly.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:08:41] It was my own studies this time, not the one, because where I work, I don’t decide. And for once I decide. I decided.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:08:52] What a powerful question to figure out. How can I help these women break free of dieting and communicate to them that this is the way? What a powerful research. And not only that, you’re actually able to help them in the process, which is so beautiful.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:09:07] Yeah. Thank you.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:09:09] So part of you being able to show up and find these ideal clients and get all these DMs and get all these comments involves you building know, like, and trust. So can you share with the listeners one or two tips for how they can get on Instagram and build the know, like, and trust so they can attract their ideal client?

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:09:29] I think the first tip I would give them is to do it, even if it’s ugly or if you think it’s ugly because you’re going to learn from that. So really, when I’m thinking about my first stories, it’s not good. Let’s say I don’t think it’s good, but I would have never been to where I am today without them. So I would say do it. Even if you don’t like it, do it. The second one is imagine I have a friend in front of me and she’s really looking for any advice and I’m trying to be concise because she’s not going to listen to me forever. And I need to go straight to the point in being able to help her in a minute. So that’s how I do it, that that would be my tip.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:10:22] Oh, my God. That’s a good one. Every time I do these interviews, I’m always ready with my pencil and my notepaper. You guys don’t see me because you guys are listening to the audio and I capture so many good tips and nuggets. That’s my biggest takeaway for me so far. I know I’m going to get a few more. Is that your friends in front of you, she doesn’t want to listen to you forever. Get to the point within a minute. But it’s OK if it’s a little messy. Love it. Love it. A big part of getting on the Internet, in particular getting on Instagram and being on this platform is setting yourself up to think about the bigger picture, how many people you can serve, as well as how much money you can make. So what are some of your short and long-term money goals that you have for yourself?

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:11:06] Yes, so my short-term money goal would be 5K a month and I would be confident. Now it’s a side business, but I would be confident to be a full-time black nutritionist if I reach 10k a month.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:11:27] Yeah, I love it. It’s going to happen. We’re going to put it out in the universe. Good energy. I have my crystals right here. So it’s going to happen. It’s going to happen. So and sometimes people setting goals like this, it can be very scary. I know when you start saying, oh my God, you’re working for yourself, making 5K, 10k initially it sounds scary. And for those listeners are like, how is this possible? It all stemmed from a money story or belief about money. So can you share your money story and what beliefs you had about money and how you’ve worked to overcome that? You can confidently say, I’m going for 10K months.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:12:10] Very interesting for me. My nine to five job is I have a good salary, so I really want to help and to do what I love, but I cannot be lower than what I am today. And so what I’m looking for by working for myself is being able to have the flexibility with my family, being able to be my own boss. But I don’t want to give up on the money piece. So I would say that’s my main history around money for this business.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:12:57] Yeah, that’s a really good reason, and it’s something about the flexibility piece because to be able to make the same money, if not more than your current job and have the flexibility that would be worth it to you. That’s a really big why. And can you share with the listeners now that you have gotten to this point where you’re like, I have my reasons why I know that I have to work through this money story that I have and be able to show up and grow my business on Instagram, they need to know now how they’re able to do that. So can you tell us how you’re using Instagram to grow your business? You can maybe walk us through your content creation process and then how you’re able to put words on your graphics or whatever you’re talking about, where you’re getting those insights from.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:13:46] Thank you. So I started at the beginning getting insight by doing interviews as the women around me and the women who were like the women I’m trying to attract. What is the biggest problem? What have they tried before? So I started like that. So that’s how I was getting wording to create content. I’m trying to be consistent and publish content a week, at least five times. So that’s my goal for me to keep pushing for it, even if sometimes I’m, especially at the beginning, I wasn’t very comfortable because I believe I wasn’t sure what to say on my content. Then gradually, when I started to have more DMs, I always asked my followers, what’s resonated the most with you on my page? And from that, I’m able to have content that is even more relevant. Then I started to look at my insights and see what’s resonating with people, what’s driving reach, or website clicks, and this is how I selected the most relevant content to keep recreating those. So that’s how I do.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:15:08] Oh, I love that. Yeah, that is essentially the life cycle of it. A lot of people need to come to terms with the process. But the best way to start is, like you said, interviewing people around you. People always forget you have a network of existing people. If there’s someone that’s even 60 or 70 percent like your ideal client, they’re worth talking to until you get to the point like what you said, where people are gradually damning you and you’re able to get even more specific words, because now the people messaging you are like 80, 90 or 100 percent like your IC. But part of it is just getting out there versus I don’t know anyone that that’s like this. And just sit there and not post, we think, who’s the closest person you can find? Interview them, use that information. Because you’re right, consistency really does help and so does collecting the data from what did well before, which is actually why I’m going to add another sidebar question, not to throw you off. I know you can answer it, so I’m going to throw it at you. How long did it used to take you to create content before? We’ve joked about this before because you said it was a struggle to post and you didn’t know what to post. How long did it take you before? And then, as it within the last month, how long does it take you?

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:16:17] So it used to take me maybe a whole weekend of struggle. Maybe I would spend two, four, five hours thinking about what can I say? And now it’s taking me thirty minutes for the whole week, so. I’m shocked myself when I start at 11 p.m. and finish at 11:30 because I have to work and if I do that late and it’s done.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:16:47] Yeah, that’s a big win because I often hear a lot of people say I don’t have time to grow an Instagram business. I’m not great at doing this. But once you create systems and you follow the method and you realize the process for recreation, you can literally do everything in 30 minutes. It might take you four or five in the beginning, even I was there. I was like, what am I doing? But now I’m like, oh, I could do 30 minute. Everyone have 30 minutes. So I love that you shared that.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:17:18] I was thinking, how can I do that? Get new clients? And, you know, it’s not possible. It’s not going to fit. And now I understand. I understand that it does fit.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:17:28] Awesome. On the topic of transitioning, can you share what your Instagram feed looked like before compared to now? And I guess this question, I know you started it from zero, but maybe in terms of your messaging may be and how you were able to go from flipflopping a little bit to being more clear, sharing some more insights about that.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:17:50] So for me, honestly, the biggest change is that I am fully embracing my message and what I wanted to say, because at the beginning when I started, I knew I wanted to talk about cultural foods. I knew I wanted to talk about specific, specific struggles, my IC. But I was also talking about freedom in general, and I was trying to imitate the others dietitian who were in the freedom space, and then it took me a bit, I think a bit too long, but it took me a long time to realize that my value was my difference and that I needed to fully embrace my message and say exactly what I wanted to say. So because I’m advocating for women to be themselves and embrace themselves, but I wasn’t fully embracing my message. I think now the big change is that I’m finally saying what I have to say. I’m not afraid. And even if I don’t look like the other dietitians on freedom, I love it, actually, because that’s the difference that makes me stand out.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:19:03] Yeah, exactly, and it definitely oh, my God, that’s so powerful, I often joke, I’m trying to start a shop with all the quotes that I hear on this podcast. And one thing that really, again, you’ve said so many amazing things so much, you’re asking women to fully embrace themselves, but you weren’t fully embracing your own message. Oh, I felt that. I totally feel you on copying what was already being done and out there. There’s something about it. I often refer to it as doing the steps, doing the process, doing all the things, but not truly embodying it. Like some people, I’m doing everything. Then I often say, but do you feel it, is your heart in it? Or are you just saying, I have this checklist of things to do in this program and I did them, something should happen versus I wasn’t really aligned. I wasn’t allowing myself to really speak what really needed to be said. I think that’s a brilliant aha that when you land on it, it’s just like, yeah, it you may think it took you forever but you got there. To me that’s more rewarding than you just not getting there at all.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:20:06] I totally agree. I agree. Yeah.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:20:11] What advice would you give someone who wants to start getting out there and trying to start speaking to their IC in a genuine way. And they want to show their face and they’re struggling. So what’s some advice you would give because you said you were struggling before?

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:20:27] I would say it’s OK to struggle and be uncomfortable, but I think it’s part of the process. You have to embrace that discomfort because this is where you’re going to have the inspiration. It’s going to be uncomfortable. I’m telling you this, but don’t stop there. Don’t let it stop. You keep pushing for it because there’s someone out there that is also uncomfortable, struggling and looking for you. So keep doing this.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:21:00] I love that. Another part of getting out there is starting imperfectly, too. A lot of people are coming from, I have a supervisor with a checklist and I need to be told what to do. This is completely different, right? There is a method. There is a framework and business that you can follow that can help eliminate a lot of the barriers, but you really just have to start imperfectly. So can you share with the listeners how you started imperfectly, what that looked like for you?

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:21:30] Um, yes, I can tell you about that, especially because as a scientist, my identity of being perfect. So honestly, embracing that those imperfection was tough at the beginning, understanding that it doesn’t have to be perfect because you have to start. What I do, honestly, is just doing it, I know I’m going to learn from it. And I take it, I take this as a, you know, exactly it’s a research question. So it’s going to evolve and understand that it’s going to change and that’s fine. I’m not afraid. And also, I’m not judging myself because I know my question is valid. My business and my purpose is valid. So I have that confidence. I’m not afraid of being judged.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:22:32] Sure, I definitely get what you’re saying, you’re not afraid of the risk and not afraid of failing because you know what you’re doing serves a higher purpose. That’s exactly that. I love that. That’s so true being a scientist, you of all people accuracy is like if it’s not ninety-nine-point nine percent within one point five deviation, the P value is what point five.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:23:01] It’s insignificant. It doesn’t count. So we write a whole page on the limitation, the first studies, and we excuse ourselves for doing that studies. And that’s where I’m coming from. So doing what I do right now, knowing that it’s not good and it’s going to be better tomorrow. It’s a big mindset shift for me, but I love it.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:23:20] I love this. I totally keep forgetting. I’m like, yeah, we’re so many people that are so highly analytical. And when you think about where they’re coming from and there is something that’s really holding them back because their current job is just there is no room for imperfection, you might get written up for that. That can end up with a study wasting six months, you have to remove that from your life and your mind. So that’s a helpful insight. The next question I have is, what are some of the steps you would tell someone who you think should just get out there and start, what would be step one or step two that you would say is necessary to get moving forward?

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:24:02] To start a business, I would say, first up, you don’t have to do it alone so you can have help. If people are doing the same thing, you be part of the community, don’t see the others as your competitors, but as a friend that can give you advice that I’ve been there before. I would say that the first one then don’t be afraid to work with the coach, of course, because that’s what I did. If you want to be efficient, hire someone who with who can help you do that and accept that you don’t know everything that you have to learn. That’s the third tip, you don’t know everything and you have to learn to listen and do it and do what you’re being told to do and you see for yourself if it’s working or not. But I guess for me it worked so that great.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:25:03] I love it because people don’t really allow themselves to learn or listen. You can show up, how many times you go to a lecture in college, not you, you smarty pants. But let’s just go back to maybe before you knew you wanted to be a scientist. Maybe grammar school we’ll go back to care and grammar school. Remember what it’s like to go to a classroom and the teacher talks and you don’t listen, but you showed up.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:25:28] That’s right. Yeah, that’s that exactly, you have to show up and listen and do it and be committed. There is a commitment piece. But when you’re not alone doing it, honestly, you have the motivation.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:25:43] Yeah, I totally agree. Part of being able to show up and get the systems in place is being able to have an effective sales call strategy because the money is able to flow, if you can actually get on the call. A lot of people have come to call it not even a sales call, but really a friendly conversation. A lot of people are starting to love it in this program. So how do you approach your sales call/friendly conversation and how is your mindset evolved around the sales call?

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:26:12] So at the beginning, I didn’t even realize that I had to sell anything. So just framing it as a self-goal is helpful because I understand that, you know, I’m here because I have a service that I want to sell. And then I studied the method that was given to me a lot. I practiced a lot in real time with other dietitian or Dietitian Bosses that are in the same group. Now I really understand the once I have that, I use it as a tool. I try to be myself because people who can cope with me or who can cope with a black nutritionist and Kera, so I’m really trying to be myself. Listen to the struggle, listen to what they have to tell me and just being myself. But I just do that as a frame and as, you know, to be more organized. But that’s how I do it.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:27:17] I love that because it should be about you and adding your personality and spin, but at least having that structure and outline of what it should be. You’re like, OK, I know how to frame this out. I know what I should start with, what should be the middle, what should be the end, and how I can use certain effective language to kind of illustrate a point. So it’s true. You should, at the end of the day, create your own signature style, but it helps to know, OK, at least I know the order of this call. The way I’m supposed to get to the point is done in a way that makes sense.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:27:47] Exactly. I wouldn’t have been able to start this without the structure that was given to me. I wouldn’t have been able to, for sure.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:27:54] Oh, wow. That’s really helpful insight. Thank you so much for sharing that. The last thing I would just like to end on is a note of empowerment. Can you provide a specific example of how the Dietitian Boss method has empowered you?

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:28:08] At the beginning, it’s something I haven’t even had time to talk about, I was about to invest in a new degree as if my kids isn’t enough. So I was about to invest in your degree because I always felt like I know that I’m specializing pretty, but I’m not specialized in these topics. I always felt I wasn’t enough. Really what that program did for me is to understand that I’m the expert. I know a lot and I don’t need any extra degree or, I don’t know, certification because of not even my degree, but just who I am. My experience as a person. I have so much value and can help so many people, so that’s, I think, the biggest things that I think I’ve learned from that program that I mean, I don’t need, I can go to school, I can have certification if I want to. But because I want to that because I need to. That’s a big change for me.

 

Yaa Boayke: [00:29:06] Oh, that’s powerful. I don’t think you need another degree. I mean, a Ph.D. that is a peak. You must really like learning, and there’s nothing wrong with being a lifelong learner. It’s like you said, though. I would say that totally. And just I’m completely joking, but I think what that’s an important distinguishment is wanting to versus needing to. Education is great. But to feel like you have to get another X, Y, Z to be credible, to be able to solve your client’s biggest problem, to be able to serve at a high level is craziness. So I’m glad that that was an empowerment piece for you. Congratulations on that. Thank you so much for being on this episode. It was a blast. And as a reminder, you can find her @black.nutritionist on Instagram.

 

Kera Nyemb Diop: [00:29:58] Thanks for having me being.