Light It Up Blue For Autism Awareness Month With Dietitian Boss Brittyn

Libby Rothschild: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome. I’m excited today to have Brittyn Coleman, Registered Dietitian, based in San Francisco, California. Brittyn specializes in biomedical nutrition and functional medicine for children with ASD, ADHD and neurodevelopmental disorders throughout her private practice, Autism Dietitian. She helps parents across the US take the guesswork out of special diets, supplemental recommendations and lifestyle changes to feel their best and therefore do their best and be their best. Her approach is focused on addressing the root cause, not just treating the symptoms. She uses biomedical labs to make recommendations based on results, not suspicions. She is a sibling of an individual with autism and is dedicated to helping parents all over the world lay the groundwork for proper nutrition for their children all across the spectrum. Hello and welcome. Super happy to have you here today, Brittyn.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:00:57] Thanks so much Libby. I’m glad to be here.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:01:00] I love that bio, that was great. 

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:01:03] Thanks.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:01:04] Was well crafted. I enjoyed introducing you with that. That was a really, really well, well crafted and we will dive more into your message. But I love that you captured what you do and why you do it and you do really important work. So I’m happy to have you on. And I know Autism Month is coming up next month, too. That’s right. Yeah. So maybe I’ll get this to air during autism month so we can make sure that we’re really supporting the cause and bringing awareness to what you do and who you help. So I think that’s important.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:01:35] Thank you. Yes.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:01:37] You want to go into a little bit more for those that, of course, don’t know you and don’t know either what autism means or what autism nutrition, really how it works. You want to explain a little bit of that background for the listeners?

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:01:51] Absolutely. So I work with parents who have kids with autism. So autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which usually kids are diagnosed around two to three years old. And if you’re not familiar with autism, there’s one in forty nine children children right now who are diagnosed on the autism spectrum. So the odds are that you do know somebody who’s diagnosed with autism or somebody in your family is. And, you know, nutrition is so important for kids with autism because they’re higher risk to have nutrition problems with autism. You often have sensory processing issues, which means that you interpret your senses in a different way and it could be heightened. And so this causes increase in picky eating and because eating is one of your most sensory rich experiences, so that can lead to other nutrition issues like nutrient deficiencies or issues like constipation is the most common thing that we see. And then they also have increased risk of gut issues like bacterial imbalance in the gut, yeast overgrowth. There’s a lot of underlying issues there and nutrition is the groundwork. And so working with parents to help their kids feel their best, expand their diet, get to the root of constipation, there’s a lot going on, but nutrition is really the groundwork for these kiddos.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:03:08] Fantastic. And I’d like to hear a little bit more about your brother. So how did you come to crafting out this space? Did you have other ideas before you landed on autism nutrition? Yeah, I’d love to hear a little bit more about your story and your background. I actually don’t know as much about your story that as I do about you as a business woman. So I think this will be fun to dive in a little bit?

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:03:31] Definitely. So my brother’s twenty six now and he was diagnosed with autism when he was two. So he’s two years younger than me. And so I always knew from when I can remember he’s had autism. And so it’s really taught me a lot about autism. I mean, he was non-verbal until he was four. He was in different therapies growing up. I mean, the way that I bonded with him was going to his therapist with him and doing speech therapy and ABA and all of these things with him. That was the way that we bonded. And so it’s definitely a different sibling relationship, but it’s really neat to see how far it’s come. He’s incredible and the sweetest person that you’ll ever meet. He looks like my older brother because he’s like six, five and just this massive teddy bear and the sweetest person you will ever meet. I could talk so much about him because he’s incredible. But I think growing up with him, I realized I mean, he only ate five different foods growing up. And I remember it was like chips, applesauce, McDonald’s, chicken nuggets and french fries and yogurt. And those were the few things that he would eat. I grew up with food sensitivities and he did too. So, growing up with it, you just see how much of a struggle it was for my mom to help him get the right nutrition. And then when he was getting the right nutrition, how much better he felt. And he could verbalize that, too, and say, you know, when I’m not taking my supplements or when I’m not eating a certain way, I definitely feel that I don’t feel my best, and so that can be hard to verbalize for those with autism, especially for people who not only have autism, but are non-verbal and they can’t communicate that. So helping them be able to feel better with nutrition is something that just is a very deep desire for me because I’ve seen that with my brother and help him feel is best.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:05:24] So, yeah, how did you and I love the story as well as you bonded with him going to his therapist and you mentioned the five foods that he chose growing up. Can you talk a little bit about how did you decide to make this connection as a dietitian with autism? What was that journey like? And then what is your family and your partner, how do they support you doing this? Because it’s really meaningful. First of all, that the line of work is incredible and helpful. But secondly, you’ve got that personal story. So I’d like to just unpack that a little more about how you came to that point.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:05:58] Yeah. So I wouldn’t say that I grew up knowing that I wanted to be an autism dietitian. I didn’t even know I wanted to be a dietitian until I was in my sophomore year of college. And it was the first day of school and I hated all my classes. And so I went to go change and figured out that nutrition was an option. So I applied, got in, started as a dietetic student, and they would always ask, what area of nutrition do you want to go into? I didn’t have an answer for that. I was like, you know, it could be interesting to go into autism. Like, I’ll just say that. And when I would say, you know, I’m interested in nutrition for children with autism, heads would turn. My teachers were like, what do you mean? I thought it was wild. I was like, you guys don’t see the need for this at all? I think just seeing how wide of a gap there was, I was like, OK, this is the area, because I know so much about it. I feel like I have such an interesting perspective having a brother with autism. And so, I mean, I remember in the beginning of dietetic school, I was like, you know what this is? This is the area that I need to go into because I feel called to it and it’s something that I really love. So that’s that’s really where it all began was just the beginning of dietetic school.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:07:22] Yeah, so you’re a total pioneer in this space now, would you agree that you’ve carved out this space? I mean, did you feel intimidated knowing, like you said, heads turn when you said you wanted to do this year early on, where, you know, your colleagues can struggle with identifying their space in dietetics? You came about it much earlier. So did that help propel your private practice or talk a little bit about how after you chose that, did you have any struggles or imposter syndrome or did you just say, this is my compass and why? And then you just went with it and we’ll get to that point a minute or two and talk about your private practice more broadly.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:08:01] Yeah, I definitely think that it made me realize that there’s a need for someone like me in this area. And so there weren’t very many dietitians and there still aren’t that specialized in autism. In fact, I remember doing a Google search and I think I found to whenever I first became interested, there was no one in the area that I could be mentored by. It was just wide open. There were some nutritionists that did it, but no dietitians. And so I just, you know, every single opportunity I had in school to dive into autism nutrition like my thesis or different capstone projects or whatever it might be, I just chose always autism just to deepen my understanding. And yeah, I had imposter syndrome and sometimes I still do, not very often, but I still do. I think that’s something to be talked about. Even being an established dietitian and feeling very well educated in my field still happens.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:09:02] Absolutely. And how do you work through it? 

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:09:06] I really love having a community of other Dietitian Bosses who also feel that, and I said that I think someone else is talking about that on a call maybe a month or so ago. And it was nice to connect about it. But I just take a step back and I just think of the clients that I’m working with currently or the ones I’ve worked with in the past and the kind of progress that they’ve seen. I take a look at my Instagram and kind of just remind myself of how far that I’ve come and how many people I’ve helped. I think that helps me kick myself out of it.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:09:37] Those are fantastic, actionable steps for the audience to just keep refocusing. I really hope you’re a trendsetter, a total trendsetter for getting on top of this sooner on in your career. Right, and really taking every opportunity in school to dive in and then just continuing to pave the way. What does your family and specifically brother think now? Are they super proud of you? And oh, my goodness, they must this must mean a lot to your family.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:10:02] So what’s kind of cool is my mom is a psychologist who specializes in kids with autism and diagnosis, kids with autism every day, even before my brother was diagnosed. So it’s very much a family approach, but I mean, it’s basically my mom’s life, it’s my life. I mean, it’s everyone’s life because of it, too. And so I know that my parents and my brother very proud that I got into this area. I don’t know that my brother completely understands everything that I do. I try to explain it to him and he’s like, oh, nice. And then changes the subject. But he gets it. He understands why it’s important. But my mom loves it. She loves talking about nutrition and autism. She started back in the mid 90s using nutrition for autism with my brother, and that’s unheard of. So she was definitely a pioneer in this space, too.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:10:56] Awesome. So that must have influenced you as well?

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:10:59] Definitely, yes. 

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:11:03] I love when you show him on Instagram. I think it’s so powerful. Was that hard for you to share that story because that is vulnerable, or did you need to ask permission of the family and your brother or did you just kind of go forward with it?

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:11:14] Well, my family is really open about it. And so I think it’s different for different families. I worked with some families who have kids with autism that don’t talk about it, and it’s very private. And for us, it was never private. I mean, like I remember when I was in elementary school, I would be like, hi, my name’s Brittyn, my brother is autistic or whatever. I wouldn’t probably say that, but nobody knew what autism was and I would have to explain to them, you know, as a six year old, what autism was. I’ve always been really proud of him. I think all of my friends growing up and anyone who knew me knew it was like Brittyn and he was just my little baby brother. I was very proud of him. We were very open about talking about it and educating about it. And my mom would, you know, go to my brother’s classrooms before he started each year and educate his classroom about autism and how to interact with him or how he might be a little different. And I really think that that helped with bullying and all of these things and then seeing him in this light where they know what to do, they understand what’s going on. I’m such a huge advocate for autism awareness and education because I think a lot of people just don’t understand it and they don’t know what to do and they’re just like anybody else. They just might need you to meet them where they are instead of the other way around.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:12:43] Beautiful. I love that. And that’s exactly what you’re doing, right? You’re educating people and you’re creating a space and you’re showing families that they can be vulnerable and open and then that will segwway perfectly into private practice because recently created a new space with an offer that you have. So I think that’ll be great. We can talk about that. But I really do appreciate you sharing. I know a lot of people are going to feel really inspired after hearing your story and your higher purpose, like why you’re doing what you’re doing, what it means to you on a deep level. I think that’s really connecting. So to zoom out a little bit, can you chat about your journey in private practice and just a little bit about, I know you’ve been doing this for a few years, so break down. What was it like at the beginning? And just anything you want to share. It’s always fun to hear your journey.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:13:32] Yeah, I started my private practice about four years ago and at the time didn’t have a ton of support on how to create a private practice. I was basically fresh out of grad school and I didn’t have any resources in grad school or undergrad that prepared me for being a private practice dietitian and I would say probably drove into it a little sooner than I would have expected. I always knew that I wanted to be in private practice and I just didn’t think that it would happen that quickly fresh out of grad school. And the reason why that happened, I knew that I really wanted to work with kids with autism. And I started working at a clinic for kids with developmental disabilities. It was very private, very I think, I was working three days maybe, and I had so much more time. I was like, why not now? Why not start now? And at the time, my husband was playing professional soccer. You get treated and all these things. I was like, what if I could have a private practice? Because at the time he was my boyfriend. We were dating long distance. But I was like, what if I can have this practice where I can still work with the people I want to work with, reach more people? And also, if you got traded to another team, it wouldn’t be a big deal. I could go wherever I wanted. I have a lot of flexibility and we love to travel. So I was like, it just makes sense. So I kind of started that. And with the idea of eventually when that happens, it’ll be nice. I started loving it, eventually stopped working at that clinic and started expanding my private practice. But this is over years of time. It took time to be able to be full time and I wish I would have had those kind of supports like you for years, there just wasn’t a ton of support at that point. I feel like there’s been so much more support in private practice over the past few years.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:15:29] Yeah, it’s growing. And you, again, you are a pioneer in that area. So it sounds like you are motivated by the flexibility to be able to be location independent. Is it your familial situation that motivated you to get started earlier on? And it took a few years. So let’s go then to now. How are things going now and then? Do you want to explain a little bit about what you offer?

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:15:52] Definitely. So now I’m completely virtual full time dietitian. I mean, I’ve been full time for a few years now in my own private practice and financially and making more than I ever thought that I would. So I’m really happy about that and help from you. It’s been incredible to get there to my offers really developed over the years. So when I first started private practice, I was in person and I would just have an initial consult. I was taking insurance. You know, sometimes people would come back, sometimes they wouldn’t. It was so sporadic. And then I started offering packages maybe a year after that where I’d have an initial console and three follow-up consults, something like that. I eventually stopped taking insurance because we moved to San Francisco and you can’t make a living on insurance here because it’s the most expensive city in the US. So that was not going to work if I wanted to pull my weight in our marriage. That’s really important to me that I was able to contribute. At the beginning of our marriage, I was not able to contribute very much. I always felt bad about that. And now, I don’t know which is another thing that we can talk about, but then I moved into doing private coaching packages like three to six month long programs, and then eventually it went really well. And I mean, I’m blessed to say that my caseload filled up, but I was so burned out and I just was like, how can I somehow do more, make more, but have more free time? Because when I signed up to be a private practice dietitian, I signed up for the flexibility. And this is now not very flexible because I’m working all the time. So I created a membership and we can talk more about that. But now I’m moving more from the private practice area into group coaching with your help. And just recently launched my first group on Monday, just two days ago, and I’m filling my second group right now. I’m already so relieved.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:18:02] Incredible. So thank you for sharing that story. I love your honesty about the burnout. And I got to admit, you make everything sound easy. Has there been a challenge or anything that may be just a difficult day or situation you want to share. I love the story, but I want to just make sure that we’re we’re being honest that the private practice does take work.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:18:27] Oh, my God. It takes so much work. And I almost threw in the towel so many times when I first moved here, I wasn’t making it to San Francisco. We moved here in twenty eighteen. I was not making very much money and I wasn’t getting very many clients and I couldn’t like pay off my credit card bill sometimes, and I just felt so bad that I couldn’t contribute and pull my weight and I didn’t know what to do. I was like, you know what? I’m going to throw in the towel. I’m going to apply to work as a pediatric dietitian at Stanford Children’s or like these other places nearby. And I reached out to physicians because I was like, can I work as a dietitian under you? I just wanted some stability. And thank goodness they didn’t work out because I don’t know that I would be here today if I just would have done that, and so I just decided to stick with it and, you know, get additional help. But it was really hard. It was really, really hard. And so having support from people like you, like, I wish I would have known about you sooner when I would have been in that moment because I was feeling so burnt out and just didn’t know if I could keep going in my practice.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:19:42] What do you think motivated you to keep going at that point? I’m happy that you brought that up, because I think all of us have that moment. And unfortunately, some of us give up or we give up. I just want to send the honest message that the successful dietitians like you have kept going when times have been difficult. Do you think that being clearer about your higher purpose and doing what you do dedicated to your brother, do you think that helped or what do you think motivated, or is it the fact that you wanted to contribute? Because you mentioned that a couple of times in your marriage. And so what kind of drove you on difficult days to keep going?

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:20:20] I mean, same thing I would think back to the clients that I helped is there isn’t there aren’t very many dietitians to do what I do. I was like, if I give up now, I’m going to do a disservice to so many people that I could help. And so my mentality was like, well, I’m still helping however many people that I was seeing at the time. And then I also thought of my future, too. I mean, again, back to the flexibility. The whole reason I wanted to do this was for the flexibility to be my own boss to all these things. And we don’t have kids yet, but that’s one of our goals here in the next two years is to have start having kids. I can’t wait to be a mom. That is a huge motivation for me and is also a motivation for me now is to figure out a way to scale and have more time to myself so that when we do have kids, I’ll be able to still run my business and then spend time with them in those precious years. And so that was something that I remember reminding myself. It’s like if I give up now, I would just give up on everything that I was on, those goals that I would have for myself. So that’s a huge motivator for me.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:21:28] Incredibly inspiring. Thank you for breaking that down. And you did mention also the contribution aspect, like you like to be a contributor and that’s important in your marriage. Can you speak a little bit about what motivates that? Or is that what does that mean to you?

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:21:44] Yeah, well, my husband Jack is very, very supportive. And you asked me that earlier and I didn’t mention him, but I am just so grateful for him because every step, even when I wasn’t making very much and like a thousand dollars a month or something, which in San Francisco is like you can’t live on, you can’t. But he is the most supportive person and always reminds me of that. I’m really, really grateful for him and the way that our relationship has always worked, that it’s 50 50. If there’s no like we both pulled away and whatever it is, whether it’s errands or cooking or whatever it might be, it’s 50 50. And so I just hated the feeling that I wasn’t contributing my half of it. And he didn’t feel that way. Reminded me that he’s just happy that I’m doing what I love. But I just had that deep desire. I was like, I don’t want to be not, I want to make as much as him, if not more, to be able to contribute. So that was just a big deal for me, that I wasn’t able to contribute.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:22:53] And when you did, when you were able to make more than a thousand dollars a month and it sounds like Jack’s supportive either way, but again, it’s an internal thing. How did you feel? Did you celebrate that? Is that something that’s a big deal, right? To go from a thousand dollars a month in San Francisco to meeting their goals is definitely an accomplishment.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:23:15] Definitely. Yeah. And it’s I mean, we’re open about I mean, we have to, in marriage, talk about finances, but it never felt like a competition. Now, I just said I wanted to make more than him. I think that’s just me setting goals for myself. But it’s never been a competition for us. But I mean, I remember selling like my first big package and got home from work and we were celebrating. So excited. And he’s just very supportive. I mean, it feels great to be able to make that much. I mean, now it’s my goal for this year is to make two hundred thousand dollars profit. I feel really grateful that I’m able to do what I do and then support our family and our growing family, hopefully soon. But I just feel very excited about it. And he’s really supportive in that incredible.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:24:09] I love that you’ve set that goal and I love that you’re on your way. And so when it comes to group coaching, I do want to go back to that. You mentioned that you’re filling your second group. I also know that once you announced it, you booked up with sales call. I just feel like your audience just wants your support, right. They want to be in your membership. When you offer your group, they’re excited. So how does it feel? I guess if you’re talking about the membership and the group, how does either one of those models or roles of those models bring you and your audience, you, your clients, joy? Can you talk a little bit about those models and why you like either one, what it means to people get to purchase your services?

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:24:53] Definitely. I mean, first of all, just even talking about my audience, my audience is mostly women. I was looking at my stats like ninety six percent women. It is like twenty five to thirty five. So women who have young kids with autism is my main audience. And let me just say parents who have a kid with autism are the biggest superheroes because they’re constantly doing research. They’re constantly digging in, trying to figure out what can I do next to help my child. I mean, thinking back on that, I just am so blessed to have such an amazing audience and they’re so supportive too. They are so eager to jump into any opportunity. So that makes it easier for me. But there also are so few dietitians out there that do this that it’s also just such a narrow field. So they need support and they’re looking for that. And there just aren’t very many resources to tell them about this. So that’s the first thing that I will say. I have my membership, I have my group coaching, and in the past have done the private coaching too. The reason that I started the membership was for a few different reasons, of course, it’s nice to make passive income, but at the same time, a lot of parents have kids with autism are in PT/OT speech, aba, all of these therapies and spending, oh, it can be over hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on therapies that might not be covered from insurance. Now, that’s a very high estimate, but I mean tens of thousand dollars for most people. And so to have another therapy sometimes can just be a lot. And so having something in your back pocket, like my membership, where they can refer back to the low amount each month that they can have access to is something that a lot of people were looking for at least get started and get that kind of support. And then from there, my group option would be the next option for them that is also more affordable for them because they are doing so many therapies. But I think it’s a great model for that reason, too. I’m able to serve my clients a little bit better because I have multiple offers that can kind of meet them with what kind of support they need or a different financial need as well.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:27:12] And you mentioned recently to me that the group call is powerful, right, in the group program. Talk to us a little bit about just some differences with the level of support in the membership, assuming, you know, the deliverables are lighter than your group program. So when they pay more and you’re getting people that experience for a group program, are they in there ready for that journey or they are getting that community in that space with like-minded families? They’re learning on a more in-depth level, like how is that for them and does that show up?

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:27:49] Yeah, great question. So my membership called the Autism Nutrition Library, there is a community forum where they can ask questions, but there are so much more to being with people and video and being able to speak with them. And what’s so special about this area is that a community is truly so important whenever you’re raising a child on the spectrum. And so what’s really special about this group, like I was telling you earlier, is that it’s more than just nutrition. There’s more here than just getting nutrition support. And that’s the reason why they’re here. But it was so special to be able to see parents supporting each other outside of just nutrition like yesterday’s call that we are on. We talked about some visual supports that help children with autism. And some parents said, you know what that is? And all these other parents hopped in and said, this is what helped us here is like they had these vigils that they had in front of them, these token boards that they use with their children. And they’re like, this is what we use. And they were sharing. It was so special to be able to see that. And then a past group that I ran last year, it was a mom who had just gotten a diagnosis for her son about a week prior. And she brought that to the call and she started crying and all of the other parents came off mute and they were like, hey, we’ve been there. We know how hard and devastating a diagnosis can be, but like, we’re here for you. I was just, I had to take my video off because I just couldn’t control that kind of emotion that was brought to the call. I didn’t really turn off my video, but it’s so special and it’s just more then. So that’s why I’m also really excited to have this kind of a group option to support these parents as a powerful space.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:29:41] Right. So not just during covid, which we all know that’s special. And we want to create a safe space for people that might not have that accessibility or wherever they live. So you’re creating a really fantastic opportunity to bring people together and where you do have that on different accessible levels. Right. Your membership is more affordable. It might not be as in depth. So they can still connect for free on social, they can connect on a deeper level in your membership, and then they can connect on a much more intimate level and really share and support one another in those calls. And the fact that it’s moved you and I know it’s moved your clients must be so meaningful to kind of reflect and think, wow, you created that space.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:30:25] It’s really special. I’m really grateful that parents trust me in that kind of way where they can have that kind of community together.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:30:34] Absolutely fantastic. All right. So I want to ask a couple of questions for our colleagues specifically who are probably very much inspired from your story, but they don’t want to be burnt out. So with the multiple offers you have and the passion and what do you do, how do you kind of unplug or balance? I know recently took some time off. Are you able to separate business and personal? And what tips do you have for the listeners who might be inspired but scared that they don’t know if it’s possible to have it all?

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:31:09] Yeah. Oh, definitely. I would say that’s something that I’ve been working on for a long time, is separating personal and business. And that was just one small step at a time, like getting a work phone instead of having everything on my personal phone or turning off my emails on the weekend so I don’t get the notification. So I think that’s still a work in progress for me because I love what I do and I could work every day and for the sake of myself and being able to have that time to take away from my business, but also for the sake of my marriage and not being on all the time, I’ve had to make sure that I learn ways for that work life balance. And it’s definitely gotten easier over the past six months or so. I hired on an assistant and it’s just been so nice to be able to delegate those tasks to her and not have to worry about some of that stuff and just take all the stuff I hate off my plate for her to do it. So that’s been really nice. And I think it’s allowed me to also relax a little bit more, knowing that, like my business, like my baby is taken care of as well on those times where I’m not there. And so now I have a better work life balance. I was able to go on vacation for five days and look at my computer once. And it was just the most exciting thing to be able to be in Palm Springs and get a massage and be by the pool and go to Joshua Tree and like all of these great things that in the past I would have maybe restricted myself from having that much fun, because I would have been like I have to work.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:32:46] Did Jack notice or was he cool either way.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:32:51] While we were there? Yeah, he noticed.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:32:53] Ok, because it sounds like at this time you had more boundaries where previously you didn’t. I was wondering if he made note of that or if he was just supportive either way in your journey towards having more boundaries with your personal in your work life.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:33:07] Yeah, he has noticed. And even though small steps like taking email off my phone so that I can’t see it on the weekends, he notices that too. I think that it helps me also just be more present.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:33:22] Yeah, absolutely.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:33:23] But it takes time. It’s hard to pull yourself away when it’s your business. It’s hard to network.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:33:29] And it’s definitely a common struggle. And it’s a good problem to have when you love what you do that you have to pull yourself away from it. But it also is important so that you can plan for other things, such as time with your partner, time traveling, you know, the future of children and all those things that are important to you and whoever’s listening, whatever’s important to the listener. So thank you for sharing that specific example. And then reflecting on the past, you said that you recently hired somebody. Any quick tips on that as we kind of wrap up as far as hiring and delegating? You know, that’s a tough issue for a lot of your colleagues.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:34:08] Oh, my gosh, it was so hard. I mean, for me, I didn’t start delegating anything until year three of business. I don’t know why. I just was scared to hand it off because I thought that I was the only one who could do exactly what I do. There are some of the admin tasks that I don’t need to be doing that. I need to be the one ordering labs or uploading stuff or scheduling my clients and tracking all of these things. And so I started with one small thing, and it was my emails that I started with last year that I had one of my friends started doing my emails for me. And I was like, oh, my gosh, what a relief. I think that just encouraged me to start delegating. So I eventually hired the assistant and it was just like, why did I not do this so long ago? Because it’s so worth it that I feel so much better. I felt like I just love what I do so much more because I get to enjoy the stuff that I do. I thoroughly enjoy and I don’t worry about all that. So I would say just start with one small thing. Even if that means passing off your email newsletter to get done, it’s delegating that first thing is the hardest. And then gradually finding those other tasks, writing down the tasks that you think somebody else could probably do for you. I couldn’t say more, I wish I would have started delegating way earlier. I would have loved what I did a lot more.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:35:41] A great reflection. And then when you said starting with a small task and you mentioned your friend help with emails, when you think back to that evening, it was a few years ago, was there something specific that happened that kind of moved forward faster to have that friend help? And was there a specific moment or was it difficult for you to start, because I think a lot of the listeners even have a hard time, starting with one thing. So if you remember any reason as to why or if you just kind of one day said someone just suggested and you said, OK.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:36:13] I guess my business was growing and I just didn’t have time to write, I hadn’t written the newsletter in like five months. It had been a long time. I was like, this is something that needs to happen, but I hate it so much. And so I was like, you know, I’m just going to try this and see how it goes. And that’s kind of how it started. Then I just gradually built it up. But I would say, like I said, I just wish I would have written down all the stuff that I hated to do earlier instead of forcing myself to do it, because then I didn’t enjoy what I was doing. If I just would have delegated, it would have been such a different story. And because that’s one thing that I became frustrated with a little bit with private practice is you don’t realize how much admin stuff there is, too. And there’s billing. And now I have a CPA who does all of my billing and bookkeeping. And it’s just such a relief to let go of all of those admin tasks that I never realized that I was going to do. I was like, OK, so when can I see my patients? I’m like here doing admin work. What’s the fun in this? I didn’t sign up to be a bookkeeper, so I just wish someone would have told me to delegate sooner.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:37:28] Yeah, well, you’re getting some great valuable insights from the listeners on that note. Thank you for sharing your story. This is a really nice way to inspire your colleagues and let them get to know you and autism, which is what you do and why you do it. As we wrap up, is there any any final things that you might want to share or reflections for the listeners?

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:37:52] Oh, man, I mean, if you’re thinking of starting a private practice, I think the first thing that comes to mind for me is just to take one small step, whatever feels meaningful for you, just to make that step, because it is truly amazing. Once you get going and get all of your systems in place, it takes time. But just take one small step, because if that’s your goal, you’re probably the one holding yourself back. I am glad that I kind of was just forced, like I started doing it and jumped in. I just think, like, what if I wouldn’t have done that? I think I would have put it off for a long time. And so just take one small step to start.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:38:33] Just to think when you hired your first friend or person to help you out with writing that newsletter a couple of years ago, who would have thought that you’d be making on your way to making two hundred thousand dollars a year within your first few years of private practice?

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:38:48] Yeah, that’s right. Absolutely right.

 

Libby Rothschild: [00:38:50] So it’s inspiring for the listeners to know, OK, I’ll take a small action. So I think that’s a manageable way for them to move forward. So thank you again, Brittyn. If you just want to share with everybody can find you on social and make sure they’re supporting you and what you’re doing.

 

Brittyn Coleman: [00:39:05] Yeah, thanks. You can find me on Instagram @autismdietitian. And I also run the Autism Nutrition Library. You can find more information about that in my bio as well. Find me online at autismdietitian.com.