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

Hi Kait, thanks for joining us today. Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?

My entire academic life, I was a “B” student. I was smart, but not at the top of my class. I turned in my assignments, but typically lost a few points for typos. While the other students in my dietetics field were scoring over 90% on their microbiology exams, I was happy to walk out with an 80%.

To become a registered dietitian, students must match to a post-grad dietetic internship. These programs offer 1200 hours of supervised practice in the field and are highly competitive, with only 49% of students getting selected in the first round each year. Even though I knew I would thrive as a dietitian, my 3.2 GPA made me feel less deserving of a slot.

Luckily, I knew my strengths early on in my academic career. I’m a people person who is always willing to jump into leadership roles, build personal development skills, and show up every day even when I felt discouraged compared to my book smart classmates.

I prioritized acquiring unique work experience related to nutrition, building genuine connections with faculty and staff, and getting involved on campus. I knew my C+ in Organic Chemistry wouldn’t secure me a spot, but my A+ relationship with department head could.

Luckily, my hunch was right. On match day, I discovered my own university had accepted me into their program with only 7 other applicants. They had seen how hard I worked to be a well-rounded student and valued my commitment to growing my professional skills outside the classroom.

I went on to be awarded “Dietetic Intern of the Year” for my innovation within rotations, my positive attitude, and raving reviews from my preceptors and mentors. This experience gave me the confidence to take a risk- I moved to a state where I knew no one and got to work building a new community. I got involved in local fitness groups, started a side gig as a trainer, and joined the Orlando Dietetic Association leadership team. It was there where I met my mentor and colleague Megan, who encouraged me to go into private practice with her.

To be a dietitian (or any practitioner) in private practice, you don’t need to be the most intelligent one in the room. It does not help to sound like a textbook when sharing nutrition information with clients, and absolutely NO ONE is going to ask you about the Kreb’s Cycle.

The traits that have taken me and Nutrition Awareness to a six-figure company that helps hundreds of people each year reach their nutrition goals have nothing to do with academia.

What does?
The willingness to step outside my comfort zone to make a new connection because it expands our impact and referral network.
The desire to go out of my way to help a client or colleague because it builds report.
The tenacity to endure uncertain times in business because entrepreneurship is a wild ride!!

While I wish I could say I had a 4.0 in college or made the Dean’s List, I’m so grateful I spent my formative years building people-skills, having a strong work ethic, and prioritizing personal development.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a registered dietitian and professional speaker at Nutrition Awareness, a private practice that uses 1:1 nutrition coaching to help people reach their long-term fitness goals. Unlike other nutrition coaches, we are a team of registered dietitians who help cultivate relationships with our clients and help them create custom plans. We don’t sell pills, injections, or fad diets. We teach people how to fuel and focus on what to eat MORE of rather than what to restrict.

I am most proud of the results we get our clients! We’ve helped people lose weight, build muscle, and improve their relationship to food & body.

We also have The Nutrition Awareness Podcast, which has over 100k downloads and 155+ episodes to help supplement our client’s understanding of healthy eating.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

100%. I love being a dietitian in private practice. If I could change one thing, it would have been getting a minor in marketing or business.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

1. Getting people results while being transparent about what’s possible for them. A 60 year old going through menopause may not get back to her pre-baby weight 35 years ago, but she can make changes to make the most of her new body in this stage of life.

2. Relentless support with out clients. Changing habits and diet is HARD, so we make it clear to our clients that they can reach out as much as they need with questions. We check in and hold them accountable as well.

3. Practicing what we preach. We prioritize our health, but don’t believe in extremes. We eat healthy but enjoy chocolate, we love to workout but take rest days, and we don’t shame people for struggling with food or their weight because we’ve been there.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nutritionawareness.com
• Instagram: @nutrition.awareness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orlandodietitian/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitrichardson497/
• Other: The Nutrition Awareness Podcast is on all podcast platforms- Spotify, Apple, Google Play, and more!

Image Credits
Google