We recently connected with Kathleen Layer and have shared our conversation below.

Kathleen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

I always struggled with knowing what I wanted to do with my career. Growing up I was interested in so many different things, and none of the paths I saw ahead of me ever felt like the right fit. I had a very up-and-down relationship with food and my body for many years, and when I finally discovered intuitive eating, I had this overwhelming desire to share it with as many people as possible. Shortly after, I found out that coaching was a profession, and I immediately signed up for a certification program and knew this was what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t think about how I was going to do everything or what it would look like specifically; as cheesy as it sounds, I just followed my heart.

Really the main things I had to tackle to get things started were completing my coaching certification program, deciding how I wanted to deliver coaching to my clients, and tell people I was a coach. Everything is virtual in my business, so all I needed was a laptop and phone to get started.

What was probably the most challenging thing was stepping into the identity of being a coach and being a business owner vs. who I was and what I did previously. It felt so much harder to get up the courage to tell people I’m a health and life coach and to offer my services because it was now selling me as a person and a human vs. an employee at another company and a service for someone else.

Hands down what I would have done differently is not make it so complicated. I didn’t need the fancy website to start. I didn’t need the business cards. I didn’t need to spend so much time on a logo and Instagram bio. All I needed to do was meet people, tell them I was a coach, and let people know I was open for business.

I think my biggest piece of advice is you’re allowed to do things differently. Everyone is going to have an opinion about you starting your own thing. Everyone will have something to say. MOST of those people will be people who haven’t accomplished what you’re trying to accomplish. So be cognisant of who is giving you the advice and know that just because someone does things one way does not mean you have to do it that way too. You will always be more successful being yourself than trying to be someone else.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up really involved in health and fitness and as I got older, I started to see my relationship with food and body really change for the worse. I wasn’t taking care of my self. I lacked confidence. And in order to fix that, I decided that being as healthy as possible and as small as possible was the answer. Health and fitness became an obsession for me that consumed my life. I was at my wit’s end with dieting when I found Intuitive Eating. That book changed my life. I felt like I had been holding my breath for years and I could finally exhale. Finally, let it all go. Finally, relax.

In that moment, I knew I needed to share this with other women and help other women understand that confidence and health and success and beauty and enjoying life does not come from a meal plan or a workout program or a number on the scale. It truly comes from changing the way you think and feel about yourself regardless of what your body looks like. I immediately enrolled in a health and life coaching certification program, got certified as an intuitive eating counselor, and have since continued to master my craft as a coach in this field.

I help women who want to have a better relationship with food and their bodies do so without pursuing weight loss. I help women who spend 99% of their time thinking about food and their bodies to stop doing that and create space to use that energy toward things that actually serve them and help them live their lives.

We shouldn’t feel guilty for eating cookies. We should think we’re “so bad” for eating pizza. We do not need to work off the Thanksgiving turkey. It is not a requirement for women to pick apart their bodies and to always be thinking about the next diet.

There is another option.

I help women with the other option. To not diet. To create a healthy life they love. To enjoy their body at any size. And to know their worth and their value as a human being is not based on an unrealistic and arbitrary beauty standard that was never meant for us (or created by us) in the first place.

I work with women one-on-one in my private coaching container. We meet weekly for a minimum of 6 months and I’m able to work with clients from all over the world through Zoom and regular old phone calls. I think what sets me apart is what sets many people apart in similar industries is that who I am and what I believe in and what I share is going to resonate with certain people. My experience with food and body is exactly what so many other women are experiencing right now and can relate to and when you find that person who just matches with your energy it makes all of the difference.

Whether I’ve worked with you for 2 years or am just meeting you for the first time, I know, without a doubt in my mind, that you can create a different life for yourself, that you can think differently about yourself, and anything you tell me you truly want — you can have. I will hands down be your biggest fan, supporter, and encourager.

I’m most proud of starting this business in the first place. I won’t lie, it hasn’t been the easiest venture, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Every day I’ll ask myself if future me would be proud that I made this decision or that I kept going when things got hard and the answer is always yes. I’ll never regret betting on myself and seeing what I’m capable of.

My mission is to help women see themselves as the powerful force they are and help them to stop settling, start standing up for who they are and what they want, and give themselves permission to exist in their body and have a damn good time doing it.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Absolutely. I know that my niche will evolve as time goes by. I already think about what I want to do in the future. But, instead of instantly blowing things up and switching everything now, I know that the work I’m currently doing and have done up to this point is creating the foundation for what I will do in the future. No matter what that is, I won’t get there without being here.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Honestly, believing in myself and believing that people want what I have to offer and specifically want to work with me. That was hard to do in the beginning. You have no evidence. You are so new to your craft. You’re nervous. But I always have to remember that I can help someone with the exact brain I have. The exact experience. I don’t need more. I don’t need less. I have exactly what I need. And yes, there are many people further along than I am, but there is only one me and the way I talk about something or teach something will be different than anyone else.

If you believed you were in demand, how would you be feeling about your business, what would your thoughts be, and what actions would you be taking from that place?

You have to believe in yourself first without any evidence of success to create success down the line.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kathleenlayer.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenlayer
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathleenlayercoaching

Image Credits
Stef Streb Photography