We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alison Acerra a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alison, appreciate you joining us today. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?
When I was in my late 20’s I had quite a free entrepreneurial spirit! After moving to the SF Bay Area, I had a dream of building my own nutrition private practice. I began contacting physicians to see if they would be willing to meet and potentially serve as referral sources for me. One afternoon, I cold-called an endocrinologist with offices in Downtown, San Francisco. Unexpectedly, he answered the phone! I gave him my pitch, and while he told me he already had referral dietitians, there was perhaps another opportunity that might interest me.
Later that week, I visited his office and learned that he was a successful Dummies Book author. It turns out, he was working on his 2nd Diabetes Cookbook for Dummies and offered me the opportunity to collaborate on the project as his nutrition partner. Of course I said yes!
Not long after this project, I found myself at a bachelorette party for a friend. Two women at the party happened to work at the Google campus in Mountainview and shared their experiences – these were the days before free lunches and massage parlors at work so we were all pretty enthralled. One woman asked if they needed a social worker, another asked, if they needed a nurse. I asked, “do they need a nutritionist?” Well it turns out, one of the women worked in H.R. Benefits and knew the Head of the Google Food Team was looking for a Nutritionist to replace the one who just left her position.
Fast forward 2 months and after my resume landed in the right hands, (with “Cookbook Author” on my list of experience) I landed a dream job working with Google’s incredible culinary team, as their Culinary Nutritionist!
Alison, 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 am a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist and Brand Strategist working with the food and supplements industry. In my work, and personal life, I have seen the ways nourishing food can help transform people’s lives. I founded Strategic Nutrition Design, a nutrition consulting and coaching agency because I knew in this capacity, there were infinite ways that I could use my training and experience using Food as Medicine to help build great brands and products while also guiding individuals on their path towards health transformation.
Through managing some of my own health issues, I learned as much as I could about holistic health modalities with a deep focus on the medicinal qualities inherent in fresh, vibrant whole foods and herbs. I knew my own experience would inform the work I do in the world and food as medicine would be at its center.
Today, I help brands leverage food as medicine as a business growth strategy. While I work with a wide range of clients in consumer packaged goods (CPG), restaurants and foodservice my passion lies in supporting women’s health brands that are bringing holistic solutions to the millions of women struggling with debilitating hormonal issues. This might mean assisting R&D teams with evidence-based formulations and product lines that deliver a functional health benefit, developing a brand strategy and story that positions them with their ideal customers, or creating highly focused digital media content that informs and engages consumers on their brand’s promise and products.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Besides my training and experience in nutrition, what has been the most helpful in my professional success has been – hands down – a consistent, focused and daily mindset practice.
When I first started my business, I felt like Sisyphus pushing that boulder up the mountain, with setbacks sending me into a fear and anxiety spiral. I knew this emotional state would only lead me to burnout, was not the energy I wanted to live from and definitely not one that would lead me to any business success. Something had to change.
I began working with a mindset coach, and, everything changed. I could see the ways my thoughts, fueled by my inner belief systems were impacting my emotional state and therefore my behaviors and the results I was getting, or not getting.
So each morning, I practice…I sit in meditation, speak affirmations and list gratitudes, reflect on the things that brought me joy in the past day and set out for a walk. The key has been consistency and there isn’t a day I miss this practice. Like every entrepreneur, I still experience my share of challenges and setbacks, but I have changed the ways I respond to them. Through my mindset practice, I’ve been able to change my inner voice from one that is harsh and judgmental to one that is loving and supportive. Now, instead of sitting in struggle and fear, I am much more resilient, able to feel and process these emotions and quickly move to a place of trust and inner belief.
This practice has been transformative and keeps me feeling inspired and lit up by the work I get to do in the world!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
When I was 23, I left the life I knew and drove cross country to start on a new path. I had visited this magical place on a vacation 3 short months prior, and in that visit, I knew it was exactly where I needed to be.
I built a great life in this beautiful place, made lifelong friendships, hiked to many mountain peaks, danced to fabulous music, gazed at beautiful art and worked at fulfilling jobs. It was a launching pad for a rich life of adventure, travel and transformative experiences.
And then, over time, things began to change. Or maybe it was the pandemic that slowed things down to a halt, and I could finally listen.
And as I listened, I began to recognize some uncomfortable truths. I was stuck. The things that once brought me joy seemed to lose their appeal. I no longer felt lit up and inspired.
The message became loud and clear and deep down, I knew it was time, time to start something new, start down a new path.
The message was as loud and clear as that voice that spoke to me in my early twenties, telling me to put down the life I knew for a better, bigger, more expansive one.
I leaned into the trust I had been cultivating in the unknown and jumped off the proverbial cliff.
Here I am 1 year later, feeling joy, fulfilled and engaged in my new life here in Austin.
This month marks 1 year since I packed my bags and made my transition here. I am finding community, exploring interests and passions, making true, nourishing friendships, and feeling a deeper sense of ease and peace. I have learned that staying in my integrity, being radically honest with myself, facing (sometimes) uncomfortable truths and fears, jumping off those cliffs and being brave enough to follow my own path, always leads me to exactly where I need to go.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.strategicnutritiondesign.com
- Instagram: alisonacerranutrition
- Facebook: Alison,Acerra
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/alisonacerra
Image Credits
Rob Perica