We recently connected with Donna Tomain and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Donna, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I launched my nutrition business, Good Mood Food in 2020. In addition to being a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP), I also had a full-time job in sales. It was a constant struggle trying to find the time to dedicate to my business after being mentally drained from exhausting work weeks. I always felt like I was only able to give 50% of myself to my business and trying to get it to grow.

While on maternity leave this summer, I continued my education into Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) and women’s hormones. Even as a sleep-deprived new mom, I felt energized and lit up by being able to dedicate so much of my time and energy into my work that I am so passionate about.

As I was nearing the end of maternity leave from my corporate job, I began feeling more and more anxious about returning to my sales job that I wasn’t passionate about and sending my baby to daycare. I just kept thinking about how much I struggled juggling my time and resources between my full-time job, Good Mood Food and family and friends before my baby was born. I knew that it would be 100 times more challenging to find/make the time to dedicate to Good Mood Food after a 40 hour work week and being a new mother.

I decided to take a leap of faith and leave my corporate job so I could dedicate all of my time and energy to Good Mood Food and raising my daughter at home. It was a very tough decision to make as I was leaving behind financial stability.

Within just a few days of announcing to my friends, family, and my lovely Instagram community that I would be taking Good Mood Food full-time, the flood of support came rushing in. I offered one of my signature services, Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis, at a discounted price. I signed on more new clients in the span of two weeks than I had in quite some time!

Without a backup plan or supplemental income to support me, I’ve realized I really have to push myself out of my comfort zone and start putting myself and Good Mood Food out there. I know I have the education and knowledge to help people achieve their health goals and feel their best again. Knowing what I do helps people achieve wellness, gives me the drive to put myself out there. My business is my other baby. It’s hard work but it’s also the most rewarding and challenging risk I’ve ever taken.

Donna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Donna Tomain, the owner of Good Mood Food and a Certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP). I became an NTP after learning how to nourish my body and how to break free from the restrictive diet cycle. Good Mood Food was established on the premise that what we eat directly impacts how we feel both physically and mentally. I specialize in gut health and digestive dysfunction.

I work 1:1 with clients to get to the root cause of their dysfunction. Through nutritional therapy and by taking a holistic and a food-first approach, I help my clients reach their health goals, balance their energy, and gain an understanding of how to truly nourish their bodies.

Since healing takes time, I offer personalized nutritional coaching in three and five month packages. We are all unique and have different needs and systems that need support. Part of my process in developing a bio-individual (unique to what your body needs) protocol and recommendations is information gathering. I have my clients complete:
– a Food & Mood Journal detailing what they eat and how they feel mentally and physically throughout the day
– an Initial Interview so I can learn about their health history, goals, and concerns
– a 320-question Nutritional Assessment to uncover areas of dysfunction, imbalances or deficiencies in the body.
This information is my opportunity to do some detective work to figure out which systems need support so we can get to the root cause of dysfunction. I provide bio-individual dietary, lifestyle, and supplement recommendations to help my clients reach their goals. I meet with my clients every two weeks to assess progress, provide support, and adjust recommendations when needed.

I also offer a 60 minute Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) Session. HTMA is a functional lab test, which analyzes a hair sample for mineral activity. From an HTMA test, we can learn our metabolic rate, thyroid and adrenal activity, and so much more. The HTMA test has become one of my most popular services as it provides a ton of information and individualized recommendations in just one session! The three and five month packages are more popular with my clients who prefer to have more accountability.

While I specialize in gut health and digestive dysfunction, I help all of my clients improve the quality of their sleep, reduce their stressors, learn how to properly fuel their bodies, and increase their energy. So many of my clients first come to me saying they no longer feel like themselves because their symptoms are negatively impacting their lives. There is no better feeling than helping my clients feel like their best selves again and exceeding their expectations!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Most of my clients come from referrals or my lovely Instagram community. I’ve received several referrals from medical professionals and my clients. Referrals are the best compliment a business owner can receive! I go above and beyond for my clients so their referrals confirm they are happy with their experience of working with me.

For anyone looking to build their clientele from social media, I think it’s really important for your clients and audience to trust you and know you’re a real human behind the IG posts. As an introvert, I really had to push myself out of my comfort zone when I first started using Instagram Stories. I’ve found that consistently showing up and being my authentic self (messy hair, profanities, openly sharing my struggles and goals) resonates with people.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I just wish I got into this line of work earlier in life! I firmly believe the world needs more Nutritional Therapy Practitioners! One of the things I love most about my career, is that the learning never stops! The more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know. For example, as you take a deep dive into learning about the gut microbiome (the microorganisms that live in the gut), you’ll also learn about the connections between our gut microbiome and our sleep or our hormones. So many rabbit holes to go down. I find it all fascinating. I feel so lucky that I’m always going to be able to further my education which enables me to help people feel their best.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.goodmoodfoodntp.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodmoodfood_ntp/