We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kaysha Thomas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kaysha below.

Kaysha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

I qualified as a nutritional therapist in 2010. I didn’t think about it much at the time but by the time I graduated, I was the only black person in my cohort. In 2017 I started to specialise in eating disorder recovery and worked for a private eating disorder recovery clinic in London. In the three years that I worked there, I didn’t see a single black client. Eating disorders don’t discriminate and black people are as likely to get eating disorders as their white counterparts. However black people are the least likely to get a diagnoses or even seek treatment for their eating disorders.

So I could see that on the one hand there wasn’t much diversity in the nutrition and dietetics industry. Also on the other hand, members of the black community were being under diagnosed.

I started to create content highlighting the lack of support for black people who are suffering with eating disorders. Moreover the massive gap in the research on eating disorders in black people. I now centre my mental health advocacy around the experiences of black women. As we are often left out of the conversation and usually the first ones to help everyone else whilst ignoring our own needs.

So far the response as been largely positive.

Kaysha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a registered Nutritional Therapist and Pilates Instructor. I specialise in eating disorder and disordered eating recovery. I work through a trauma-informed and anti-diet lens. This can be a different experience for those who have perhaps seen other nutritionists or Pilates instructors. I empower clients to gain a deeper understanding of what influences their food and exercise behaviours. People often come to me feeling like their issue is a lack of control or willpower, in most cases it’s a case of people depriving themselves of food, joy and compassion. This creates a cycle of deprivation, unhealthy coping mechanism (such as binge eating) and guilt. As a practitioner I am not there to chastise anyone for their maladaptive coping mechanisms, instead I create non-judgemental space where people can learn new healthy coping mechanisms. Being trauma-informed means being aware that there are many of us who are going through life with unhealed trauma and doing all that I can not to re-traumatise. Whilst I cannot diagnose trauma, working in a trauma-informed way regardless if a client has trauma or not helps to create a safe space. When we feel safe, we are able to connect to ourselves and others, we’re able to access the part of our brain that allows us to be creative and solve problems. My Pilates work is about moving better. Getting to know the parts of the body that needs more movement so that other parts aren’t being overused. Pilates is wonderfully diverse. You can have sessions that really gets the heart pumping, slower sessions that focus on the breath or even gentle movement that focuses on connecting to your body. I love how the seemingly most fundamental moves can leave you feeling fantastic. It sounds over the top when I explain it myself, it really is something that you need to experience. I have uploaded a few videos on my YouTube channel that are suitable for beginners. Both my nutrition and Pilates work is done on a one-to-one and group basis.

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

Finding a niche. When I decided to focus on trauma-informed eating disorder recovery, my referrals skyrocketed. I get referrals from other nutritional therapists, psychotherapists and occupational therapists.

Focusing on one area of interest is one of the quickest ways to become an expert. It can feel scary at first as it often means turning away clients that aren’t within your area of expertise. But once you’ve built your business, you will have the freedom to branch out into other areas. Also having a niche doesn’t always mean that you won’t take on clients from outside of your niche (I personally don’t).

Five years on after countless one-to-one and group sessions with people who struggle with eating disorders and disordered eating, I’m now in a position where I can train other professionals in my areas of expertise.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I absolutely love podcasts and YouTube. Watching other content creators such as Mo Gilligan, Sunny Lenerduzzi, Roberto Blake, Neil Patel and Ali Abdul has been a great help. They give so much away for free and appear to give a very honest opinion on what comes with content creation. I watched a lot of Mo Gilligan’s podcast but there was one that he did with Nigel Ng (aka Uncle Roger), they talked about their experience with trolls. Up until that point I took trolls very personally. But hearing their experiences helped me realise the ridiculousness of trolls and that no one can actually escape them. The others I mentioned are all fantastic entrepreneurs who helped me realise that you just have to get started. In my case it was content creation. I was camera shy and just doubted every idea I had. However the reality was that the only way I was going to get good was through repeated action. I still have some work to do with consistency though!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kayshathomas.com
• Instagram: Kaysha Thomas: https://www.instagram.com/kayshathomas/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KayshaLThomas
• Linkedin: Kaysha Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaysha/
• Twitter: Kaysha Thomas: https://twitter.com/KayshaThomas
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY4jBXh5lHAva-tFNmnsZeg