Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rosy Crumpton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rosy , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

Prior to being a health coach, I worked in social work/behavioral health. I worked with people- a very wide range of people. The organization I worked for served as the go between the person receiving services, the service delivery professionals, partnering community organizations, and not to mention the people I shared office space with. Being part of the team of middle people, I got very used to working with a lot of different personalities. Day in and out we were hit from different directions with challenges, systems, needs, and a host of other tasks that many in social work would relate to. Thanks to this experience, I feel extremely confident working with a diverse number of people regardless of what life experience they show up with.

Most of my days involved problem solving, creative thinking, policy reading and following, mediating, and a lot of ignoring my own personal needs and care. There was no time for me. While the job was highly stressful. Everyone else’s needs seemed greater than my own. I am immensely grateful for the experience I received. Not only do I view it (still) as a privilege to have been a small part of people’s lives through a period of our shared time, but the hats I wore were always many and the skills I gained are useful to me in my new career as well as my personal life.

Lessons learned at my prior job-
Acknowledge the beauty in the present moment, regardless of how stressed I may feel. There’s beauty in having the knowledge and resources that people need to be connected to. The ability and experience in working with diverse populations will be your greatest asset. Everyone has gifts, they just look different person to person. Just because your job requires so much giving of yourself, time and energy, it doesn’t mean you have to ignore your own needs. No one else will meet your needs like you meet your needs so you might as well carve time out for yourself. Every season of life is necessary, even the toughest emotional periods of life. What is this time teaching you? Find the beauty in the moment, especially the hardest ones.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. I partner with medical practices, organizations, and individuals to promote physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being. I do this by offering 1:1 health coaching, group coaching, and wellness workshops. Essentially, I help people live their ideal health- whatever their ideal health may be.

The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” I wholeheartedly back that definition because it means we all have the power to live our ideal health. Whether this means managing a chronic disease, a newly diagnosed illness, working on preventing disease, aging gracefully, etc. Health looks different at different stages of our lives. And health goes beyond what we eat and how we move. Our approach and background is in whole health which considers emotional wellness, rest/sleep, professional wellness, nutrition, movement, and all dimensions that impact our health and well-being.

My office is located on the outskirts of Charlotte, NC. My services are offered both in person and virtually across state lines.

While working my prior full time social work job, I was introduced to the Health and Wellness program at Duke Integrative Medicine. After repeated signs to enroll in the program and with some hesitation (I felt too busy to take on something new at the time) I went for it anyway and completed it. I loved it so much that I went for certification, also through Duke Integrative Medicine. It was through my certification process that I began health coaching people while getting mentored through it. I completed the certification program and began health coaching part time under my own LLC while still working my previous full time job. I enjoyed the work so much, I left my secure full time position to pursue full time health coaching. I value this profession and work so much that I sought to become national board certified, a robust certification created in collaboration with the national board of medical examiners. I achieved national board certification in July 2022 and cried when I got the news that I had passed. That was a tough test that required a lot of time and dedication to the knowledge and skillset required to support people through behavior change. I’m proud to be one of only 8800 people (to date) with this certification. It’s a growing number with three opportunities per year to sit for the exam. It’s one of the things that sets my coaching company apart in the world of coaches.

When it was time to bring on another health coach, I onboarded another national board certified health and wellness coach who is also a registered dietitian and licensed dietitian nutritionist. Our team helps people meet their goals based on medical needs and their personal preferences. We are highly skilled and trained in supporting individual behavior change to help people live their vision of healthy.

Not only am I proud to have obtained the highest standard in my industry through our certification, but I’m proud of the work we do day in and day out. It makes me so happy and honored to witness the transformation of our clients when they reach their desired health goals, and throughout every step of their change. We celebrate all their wins and work through any challenges they may encounter on their way to progress and goal achievement. I’m proud of the fact that we don’t offer cookie cutter approaches. That’s not how true sustainable behavior change occurs. Every person’s vision of what healthy looks like, motivators, and values differ.

Our individual clients are people who know and feel they need to make a change and are ready to make a change in their life who welcome support, reputable resources, and the accountability systems we offer to get there.

Our corporate partners are organizations that want to offer their staff members health and wellness offerings and understand that healthy employees supports staff retention, healthy company work culture, and healthy communities.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Starting a new business from nothing with deep faith that it becomes my full time profitable sustainable career, AND can financially support staff member(s) requires A LOT of hard work. People do business with people they like and trust and reputation is an important part of that.

If I have to give a practical response to this question, I’d say a combination of things helped build my reputation as a health coach.

For one, I think my previous reputation carried over. People who knew me already (from a past work life or community volunteer role, professional organization, etc), know me, like me, and trust me enough to work with me in a new capacity. See “KLT principle” for more on this. Leaning back on those people you know has often been a source of clientele and/or referral source in my present business.

PR and marketing has also been a big focus in my business. This has helped me break out of my circle to meet new referral networks. I’ve used different forms of media to educate, promote, share, and connect with new people. If the media platform can reach my ideal client and aligns with my values and those of my company then the chances I’ll say yes are high. I did have to learn that I can’t say yes to everything. A few other factors go into play, such as how I allocate my time and energy and the ROI of each commitment.

Being a guest on podcasts, publishing an article as an expert on the topic, being interviewed and featured on print, a video news piece, opportunities to speak, and my company having a commercial have all been tools for connecting and delivering a message. It required getting out of my comfort zone and a lot of practice, but high value can come from it, sometimes not immediate but down the road.

Differentiating myself from other similar businesses and being consistent with the message has been a tactic that I practice and has been helpful. While I may seem like a broken record to myself, people who see me over and over again KNOW that I’m a national board certified health and wellness coach. And that’s a good thing. People know what I do and when they need me, they know to call me.

This last one may sound a little cliché, but it works for me. Showing up as my authentic self has been most helpful in my reputation. I know being authentic is a message that is loud and maybe a lot of people have heard that one before. Being authentic helps keep me honest and grounded. I may not be for everybody, but those of us that click, we form a genuine connection.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Building my networks- and I can’t say this enough. Getting out there and meeting people in the real world as opposed to staying 100% behind a screen in virtual spaces has been crucial. Meeting people face to face and continuously seeing them on a regular basis has helped me make and build connections that I wouldn’t otherwise have. Being a part of different organizations and getting involved in them helps build authentic relationships. It helps build continuous touch points. People learn more about what each of us do and how we can help one another.

Get a business mentor. Find someone to hold you accountable to your business goals.

Lastly, in my experience as a business owner, it can often feel lonely and strings of disappointments can easily bring you down. When that’s the case, I access my resiliency tool belt and start each day fresh and motivated to try again, gain the next client, meet the next potential big client, and so on. As Finding Nemo taught us, just keep swimming.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sophrosynewellness.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophrosyne_wellness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophrosynewellnesscoaching
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosanny-crumpton-nbc-hwc-7b30878b/

Image Credits
Interviewee’s own