We recently connected with Heather Wolcott and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Heather, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
Hi Heather, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
Growing up as an only child, I had a really close relationship with my parents. I had a lot of their attention and time, we did everything as a family, and we traveled a lot which I’m so grateful for. They attended all of my tennis matches, watched me cheer at basketball games, and always supported me in every endeavor I took on. I can’t remember a time when I went to them with an idea I and they told me that I couldn’t or shouldn’t go for it.
When I graduated college with a degree in Secondary Education, I decided I wanted to start my new life and career in a new city and state. With their support, I managed to move from Cincinnati, OH to Phoenix, AZ, live in a house they bought for me (and I paid them rent), and begin my career as a Language Arts teacher. Although I absolutely loved being a middle school teacher and track coach, my heart and passion were in health and nutrition. After my third year of teaching, I had a burning desire to pursue a career and degree in Holistic Nutrition. I wrestled with the idea of leaving my middle school and a job I really loved, and I was worried about letting my parents down after all they had done to help me get through college and move to AZ to teach.
When I finally called my dad and told him I was really struggling with going back to teaching in the fall and instead wanted to follow the path of being a nutritionist and a health and wellness professional, I’ll never forget the first words he said in his response: “Who said you have to go back to school/teaching in August? Why don’t you pursue holistic nutrition?” I paused, and I immediately felt both relief and freedom in his words and blessing to try something new and different. Even as a young adult in my mid-20’s, my parents’ support and confidence in me mattered.
The rest is history. The next day I approached my principal with my resignation, and he was as supportive as my dad had been. I made phone calls, researched, and began my pursuit of a career in holistic health, nutrition, and fitness. Here I am now with 23 years of working with clients 1:1 helping them with their nutrition and reaching their wellness goals as also a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach plus an ADAPT-Certified Functional Health Coach. When I think back to where it all started, all arrows point to my parents and their unyielding love, support, and confidence in what I could do or become.
Heather, 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 have always been interested and passionate about health. As a kid, I remember my grandpa–a man who was ahead of his time and was always trying the latest oil, powder, or vitamin–giving my mom a book called “The Vitamin Bible” by Earl Mindell. When she was done looking at it, I took it and read it like a novel from cover to cover, more than once. I was intrigued by vitamins and all the different ways they worked in the body. That was just a part of the beginning. I was also fascinated by exercise and movement. I was an active kid and an only child, so I had a lot of time to think about things, be creative, and spend countless hours on all kinds of efforts including physical challenges and making up games in the pool that required feats of strength or endurance.
In middle school and high school I played tennis and was a cheerleader. I was always active, and I started to see how diet/nutrition impacted my performance or physical appearance. I was fascinated about all-things health, but I also had a deep love for reading, writing, and teaching, so I went to college for a degree in Secondary Education with a focus in English and Communications. While in college I became a Johnny G. Spinning instructor and started teaching classes. That was when I first got my foot in the door in the health profession…
Fast forward a bit and I moved to Phoenix, AZ with a teaching degree and taught 8th grade Language Arts, coached track, and taught 5:15am Spinning classes at the local gym. I was a busy girl. The more time I spent at the gym as a fitness instructor, the more I was putting pieces together of health and wellness. People took my classes and looked at me as their teacher, and I wanted to help them more than just getting sweaty on the bike at the crack of dawn. I wanted to help them overcome health challenges, weight issues, and improve their performance as I had a lot of competitive triathletes and marathon runners in my classes. Shortly after moving to Phoenix, I left my teaching job and pursued a career as a Holistic Nutritionist and started working with people 1:1. I loved it. I loved helping them solve their health problems, or their weight loss challenges, or their chronic pain or allergies. I realized that my heart is truly postured towards helping others become healthier or “improved” versions of themselves through teaching and/or coaching them.
When someone asks me a question about nutrition, fitness/exercise, weight loss, hormones, sleep, or anything else, it’s pretty much guaranteed that my answer will be, “It depends…” And that is how I think I’m different than many others in my field. I don’t believe there’s a one-size-fits-all approach to health because everybody is not only biochemically different, but they also live a different life from the next person. And although we are all humans and some basic principles apply to all, I treat each client as an individual and have different conversations with each person because I need to know who they are before I can truly help them with their health goals.
I truly care about my clients. I want to get to know them so that I can help them holistically, meaning as a whole person and also connect many areas of their lives to their health. When people come to me for help with their diet whether it’s for weight loss or to work through a health challenge, I also need to know what their movement/exercise/activity looks like, as well as their sleep and stress loads. It’s never just about one thing. It’s always about many things. I call these the 4 PIllars of Health: Sleep, Stress, Nutrition, and Movement and I address each of them with every client.
People often come to me for information, advice, or my expertise, so we typically begin with a Nutrition Consultation where we spend 90 mins together discussing their food journal, their goals, and what I see can be tweaked, improved, or changed. I ask a lot of questions and get to know my clients in this conversation. I take copious notes during our call and email typed Consultation Notes the next day and we schedule a follow-up within the month. Once someone has worked with me, I invite them to text or email me with questions or concerns so that I can continue to engage with them and help them in those moments when they are confused or conflicted about something.
Most of my clients continue to work with me as my coaching clients where the dynamic does a 180! As a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach, I wear a different hat when I’m with my clients. As their Health Coach, I’m not longer the expert in the relationship, but rather their guide and partner in co-creating a vision statement for their health and wellness, along with setting SMART goals (Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Timebound). In our coaching sessions, my clients choose the focus for that conversation and our time together, and I let the magic happen by actively listening, asking them meaningful questions, and reflecting what I’m hearing. I’m not telling them what I think they should do, but rather asking them what’s important to them about what they are talking about that day.
Coaching is where my heart is. If I could have coaching conversations every day with people, I’d be fully satisfied because when it comes down to it, people are truly their own expert and often just need someone to give them the time, attention, and space to verbally process what they are uncertain about. Do I know a lot when it comes to nutrition, health, fitness, and weight loss? Yes, I sure do, but sometimes my knowledge is irrelevant if my clients don’t know what motivates them or don’t have a chance to express their own knowledge too. Coaching is powerful in changing lives and the trajectory of people’s health because it addresses the behaviors behind the health issues. I can tell people all day long to improve the quality of their diets, but first we have to look at changing the behaviors and beliefs that lead to them buying unhealthy food or not moving their bodies in the first place.
What makes working with me unique is that I can offer the whole package between educating people on nutrition, fitness, and the 4 Pillars of Health, and then continue to help them by implementing behavior change as their coach so that they have incredible success.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
I’ve learned over the years the importance of being relational in my business over being transactional. Building relationships with people first has always been my best strategy for getting clients, referrals, and growing my business.
When people get to know me, and I get to know them, not only does it help build trust, but it also provides me with a better holistic view of them and their lifestyles. Most people know when they need to improve or change their behaviors for better health outcomes, but they often don’t know who to turn to or ask for help. It really helps them to come to me for my services if they already know me ahead of time.
But if I try to sell myself to a person I just met and convince them they need to work with me, it rarely works out—for either of us. They have to want it, and they also have to want to work with ME. In order for that to happen successful, a relationship is the best place to start.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
Being in the health profession is a big responsibility. I’m dealing with people’s everyday habits, lives, and lifestyles and how they impact their health and longevity, so I take it very seriously. I’m well-trained and “full of knowledge”, but if I don’t listen and ask my clients meaningful questions, I’m not serving them or helping them to my best capacity.
As I said before, my best strategy in building clientele is to build relationships with people, but that also applies to how I can best help my clients. I have to be curious and want to know as much about them as possible. I need to get to know them. If I’m not curious enough, I won’t ask the right questions–the ones that get to their core values, strengths, struggles, or motivations–and then neither of us are successful in the end.
When people feel heard and seen, they want to share more. They open up. For me to be successful in my field as a Health Coach, I need to get to know who my clients are in their everyday lives, and for them to know that I’m sincerely interested in them. That builds trust, and people need to trust the person they are handing their personal health history, decisions, and behaviors to.
I think a lot of people struggle in their health journeys because their doctors aren’t able to spend enough time with them to get to know them and ask the deeper, more important questions. Those relationships become transactional very quickly when time is limited.
The beautiful gift about being a Health Coach is that our job is about holding space and giving time to our clients, asking meaningful questions, and getting to know them. That is where success comes from, for both the Health Coach and more importantly the people we work with.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.heatherwolcott.com
- Instagram: @heatherjohnsonwolcott
- Facebook: Heather Johnson Wolcott
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-wolcott-ba6747269
- Other: www.heal.me/heatherwolcott
Image Credits
Amy Allmand The Syndicate Models AZ Snaps with Sally