We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Abby Jellinek-Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Abby thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Covid has brought about so many changes – has your business model changed?
Just as with most industries, COVID forced us to think outside the box and pivot our business model to meet the current needs of our patients. Prior to 2020, the majority of our sessions were in-person. In 2020, insurance carriers began to cover telehealth visits the same as in-person visits. This was a huge opportunity for us to continue to serve our patients while keeping them safe. Nearly three years later, we still see about 75% of our patients virtually. This actually helped us and our patients to realize the true benefit of virtual sessions.
Patients are now able to meet with us more frequently. They can check in with their dietitian on their lunch break or in the morning before going into work. Having more frequent check-ins really allows the patient to feel like they more of a partner on their health journey to help keep them accountable their goals.
Another thing we love about virtual appointments is that we often get a tour of people refrigerators and pantries. People are able to show us exact examples of what they are eating. Also, sometimes patients forget the names of certain medications they are taking. Being able to walk to the medicine cabinet and tell us the names of supplements and medications can also be very useful during an appointment.
If there is any silver lining to the pandemic, it is that we see people becoming more interested in preventative health and looking for ways to take better care of themselves.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
The tagline for Harmony Nutrition is “a body in harmony performs at its best”. That pretty much summarizes my mission. I sincerely believe that food is medicine and I live and breathe by that philosophy. I knew people were looking for healthcare professionals that would take the time to listen to them and help them to come up with lifestyle plans that don’t automatically include prescription medications. We take a preventative approach to chronic disease by looking for nutritional root causes for many of the issues our patients are suffering from.
I believe what sets us apart is the functional and integrative approach we take to health. Nutrition is a field of science. So as the science evolves, so must we. Exploring things like food sensitivities using mediator release testing (MRT) and micronutrient testing when necessary allows us to go beyond common nutrition therapy approaches by looking for the root cause of nutrition related issues such as difficulty losing weight despite a seemingly sound diet, chronic migraines, GI related issues, poor energy levels, and more. This allows us to recommend individualized dietary and supplemental recommendations to help our patients achieve an optimal level of wellness. I also love that our team has an array of specialties including two diabetes educators, one intuitive eating counselor, and three LEAP therapists who understand food sensitivities. Having these specialties allows us to match patients with the perfect dietitian.
When I built my team, I looked for people whom I believe wanted to go the extra mile for patients by making sure patients fully understood how their dietary habits related to their health conditions. I looked for people who demonstrated the ability to tailor their teaching approach to meet the patient where they are. We use very few paper handouts in our office. We do that for a reason. We are not going to hand you a piece of paper full of things you could have looked up on the internet. Our recommendations are specific to each patient. I wanted to provide a place that people can come to and be heard. So I came up with Harmony Nutrition and the rest is history.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
My hard lesson has been to not spend too much time mourning failure. I think every business creates ventures and ideas that fall flat. Sometimes you lose time. Sometimes you lose money. And sometimes you lose both. I believe that “failing fast” is the key to success. I have lost money in my business through putting a lot of time and budget towards an idea that didn’t take off or training employees who didn’t end up working out. A colleague of mine suggested to me that this the “tuition” to the business school you never attended. A lot of entrepreneurs have learned the art of business as they go. I am one of those. So while my formal education is in science and nutrition, all of the knowledge I have gained in business has come from real world experience.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I became a dietitian in 2014. I knew I wanted to start a small private practice in 2018 and so I started seeing patients on the side of my regular job. As my clientele grew, I knew pretty early on that I wanted to start a group practice and hire other dietitians. I never wanted to be a “boss” but I did want to provide an awesome place to work. Too many people hate going to work and life is too short for that. So my primary focus in the beginning was not to make more money for myself to make enough money to hire others and provide opportunities. In 2018, I was the one scheduling appointments, billing, and seeing patients. Today our team consists of one office manager, one scheduling coordinator, and eight top notch dietitians. We are a real team.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.HarmonyNutritionATL.com
- Instagram: @HarmonyNutritionATL
- Facebook: @HarmonyNutritionATL
- Linkedin: @HarmonyNutritionATL
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@harmonynutritionatl2039
Image Credits
Danay Nazaire