Welcome to the Marketing in the Wild Podcast. I’m Julia from Stratos Creative Marketing, where we are obsessed with finding real-life, in-the-wild stories about business and marketing.
Julia: Friends of Marketing in the Wild, we have a special guest with us today, a part of our summer series of women founders, Betty. Betty, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.
Betty: Hi, everyone! And hi, Julia. Thank you for having me today. My name is Betty. I am a licensed registered dietitian, I’m a personal trainer. I do like 20 other things, but I am the lead dietitian and the owner of Eat With Betty. I am a consultant, for one, I work with businesses and companies doing public speaking. I also work at hospitals doing some of their clinical and inpatient services. But the bulk of Eat with Betty is I help people improve their relationship with themselves with food behaviors. I also work with people that have diagnosed eating disorders or disordered eating, and I love what I do. Every day is different.
Julia: That’s awesome! So tell me how you got to this point.
Betty: I have a previous background in molecular cell biology. That’s where my first degree is in. I did that at the University of Puerto Rico, and then I went out to tour with my rock band. At the time, I was like, I need to do something that allows me to be more flexible, so I became a certified personal trainer. And once we kind of set roots in the Midwest – I live in Madison, Wisconsin now, I’ve been here for about 10 years – I was working as a personal trainer for a really long time, and I hit this roadblock in my career. I’ve always been very goal-oriented and I was getting very burnt out from being a personal trainer. Working full-time is not fun. You’re working crazy hours, waking up super early, and it’s just very inconsistent. I went back to school, and I became a registered dietitian. Before I did that, I was already working as a nutritionist with different businesses and local gyms. So I knew right from the get-go that I wanted to own my own business as a registered dietitian. As soon as I got done with that, I rebranded myself. It was previously Betty G Fitness, but now that I’m a registered dietitian, I rebranded to Eat with Betty, and that’s kind of where my entrepreneurship took off.
Julia: That’s awesome! You also have an interesting part of your background in bodybuilding. And so how has that played into this career and this venture?
Betty: I started competing in bodybuilding back in 2016, and I “retired” in 2021 when I won my Pro Card. I know for a fact that competing in bodybuilding did play a huge role in this track of my life and my career. I’ve always loved working out, of course, as a past soccer player and lifting weights and whatnot. But it wasn’t until I became a competitive bodybuilder that I realized that the nutrition aspect of everything was the thing that could elevate you and take you from nothing to becoming a pro bodybuilder. And there was also a lot of disordered eating in this area. Not only from myself because I did experience some of that, but with other fellow competitors. So I’ve really tried to focus a lot of my message on social media catered a lot towards athletes and bodybuilders too. I think it’s a great sport for people that want to do it, but I think that only a select few are able to do it in a positive way. I do think that, for the most part, a lot of people develop some not so great eating habits.
Julia: Well, it’s kind of interesting that that is part of your story, because speaking from experience of your own eating qualms, so that you can share that pain with other people. I would imagine that’s been helpful.
Betty: Absolutely! It’s one of those things too, and it’s super funny, when I was in school for this program someone came in and said, if you’ve struggled with an eating disorder, you should never tell any of your clients that. I think that took me aback for a lot of reasons, but I think it’s very important to be transparent with the people that I work with. And I think there’s also value from them understanding, okay, she gets it. She’s been there. And not to say that there aren’t great dietitians working in the eating disorder world that haven’t gone through that experience. And if there are any dietetic students out there listening to this, don’t let your past experiences become something that you feel like you should hide. If anything, it’s something that allows you to learn more, to have more empathy, and it allows you to communicate with people in a different way.
Julia: And I feel like, for me at least, it would create this element of trust to know, okay, Betty has been there, is experiencing whatever recovery that looks like, and now I can see a light at the end of the tunnel too. I love that. So we actually connected on social media and the reason that I found you is because I also have friends in Madison. I love everything that you put out on social media. I think that you have an incredible style, but you also do a really good job of bringing different things into it. I’ll name a few, like your past experience as a bodybuilder, every once in a while that comes up, your own workouts, your own eating habits, your own travels, also your Latina roots, that comes out a lot. How have you figured out what to share and what not to share?
Betty: That’s a great question. I have always felt a lot of imposter syndrome when it comes to social media. Because I’ve never been that person that wants to put everything out there, or sit behind a computer or a phone and curate all these beautiful pictures and these beautiful reels. One of the things that I absorbed the most from the business coach that I was working with a couple of years ago was, done is better than zero, or something like that. And the moment I stopped putting this pressure on myself of, oh my God, I need to put this type of content out there, the more organic it felt. And I don’t post every single day, and they say that you have to post every single day, but I want people to feel like they know me even if they don’t.
And that’s one of the things that I miss a lot from other social media personalities or influencers, is their content looks so curated and so perfect that to a point it feels very unnatural. I want people to get to know me, I want people to know the things that I go through. Sometimes I don’t eat the best because I’ve poor planned that day, or I’m out and about doing things with my dog, or I’m out singing with my band. I want people to feel like, okay, this is a real person. And maybe one day it’ll click. I don’t think it’s like for me yet, like, how often should I post? What kind of things do people wanna know? But social media is one of those things that’s ever changing but whatever feels comfortable, I guess, is the way I operate.
Julia: I can tell you one thing that I love about what you post is, when you post your workouts, I never walk away feeling like, oh, crap, I didn’t get mine in. I never feel ashamed or guilty. I’m like, that’s awesome for Betty, maybe I’ll do it later. And so, I feel like people are getting a little bit of a taste of who you are and what it would be like to work with you because they’re getting to see this authentic part of you. That you’re a multifaceted, multi-passionate person, and not only talking about food. I love that. So I’m curious, what has been one of the hardest things about growing your business or starting your business?
Betty: I think the hardest thing about starting the business was moving away from just being a provider or a coach, kind of someone who just gives services, and understanding that you’re now a business person too. I have never been business savvy, I’ve always been more on the nerdy side. Like, I just wanna be in a room or in a lab. I just wanna cook food, I just wanna train people. Business has never been an area of something that I would identify as a strength. So I would say that would be the hardest thing to start off. And I tell people, if I can’t do something or I just don’t have the time, I’ll pay someone to do it for me. When I started, I was kind of struggling a lot because I didn’t know a lot of the things about being a business person, and then I hired a business coach and then everything made sense.
And now that I have those tools in my toolbox so to speak, I think the hardest thing now is keeping the momentum going, especially because we live in a world that’s so dependent on social media. And one of the ways that I’ve combated that has been mixing both my online presence with my physical presence in my community. So sometimes I step away and I look at my profile and I think, oh my God, people probably think that I’m just sitting at home watching TV all day because I’m not posting or doing all these crazy marketing tactics, but I’m doing public speaking locally. I’m doing all these other things in my area. And if anyone’s just starting out a business, I always want people to remember that social media can disappear at any moment, so what would you do if social media stopped existing? And that’s kind of how I live my life as an entrepreneur now. Okay, this is important, but also this other thing too is important because if it just fails one day or crashes, I still need to have a job.
Julia: Did I say that you were doing an event at Dream Bank?
Betty: You didn’t, but I did do that.
Julia: Awesome. I think I saw some advertisement about it though.
Betty: So I’ve done two. Dream Bank is amazing. It’s 3:00 AM, fam, and they just do these awesome webinars. They’ve brought me on twice. And they’re on YouTube, so if anyone wants to go see.
Julia: I think even if they have a digital version, even if it was an online event, it is getting you in front of real people, whether in Madison or outside of Madison. I’m a big fan of Dream Bank. So what are some of the best things that you’ve loved about your business?
Betty: The one thing that truly gives me so much joy every day is empowering people to improve their health and their relationship with themselves, and with food. Throughout my entire programming, it’s, I’m here to teach you all these things, but I want you to fly away and do these things on your own. So when I get people after we’re done working together saying, you’ve given me everything I need to keep going on on my own, or I no longer care about how much I weigh because I’m lifting heavy and my clothes feel different, and I’m so confident now, those are the things that truly keep me going. Because it is hard, it’s emotionally draining, especially when I’m working with eating disorder clients, but at the end of the day, when you’ve given people something that they can hold onto for the rest of their lives, that’s my favorite thing. And of course, that it’s flexible and it allows me to travel, and be with my dog at home, and all that other fun stuff.
Julia: I think that’s incredible! As human beings, we can experience so much pride or so much shame around our own health, and so to be able to give people some wins where they can experience that pride, I love the illustration of, hey, I don’t care if my weight hasn’t gone down because I’m lifting heavier. Like how cool is that? Helping them reframe so that they can approach their own health with pride. I’m curious, if you were talking to somebody who is like, “Betty, I’m gonna start a business”, what would you tell them?
Betty: The first question I would ask them is, why? Why do you wanna start a business? I think it’s very important for people to have realistic expectations of what starting a business entails. “Oh, because I wanna be my own boss.” “Okay, but why?” Because sometimes having a 9 to 5, and not bringing home work is great. After you’ve identified why you wanna start a business, what do you want people to take away from it? Do you want people to depend on you forever or do you want people to learn skills and apply it on their own? Because those are two different business models. There are businesses where it’s subscription-based and the person’s there with you forever and ever and ever, and then there’s other business structures where you are just teaching them and they fly away on their own.
So why do you wanna start a business, what do you want your potential client to take away from it, and do the research. It’s so important to do the research. I would say those three things, and if I were to add the fourth, which I think should be number one, it’s the most important, just start it. Because if you fail, it’s fine. I do think there are ways to fail gracefully. I would never recommend anyone sinking their entire life savings into a business without having a safety net. But you can start a business with $0.
Julia: Totally. And you can try something and if it doesn’t work, then you just have to recalibrate. I love the question of why. I recently had a graduating senior who is thinking about going into entrepreneurship. And I’ve been doing this for five and a half years, and so she asked me, “At what point did you feel like everything was stable?” And I was like, “Well, stability looks different now, but trust me, there are days where I am still freaking out.” I was like, “You really have to define the why, because if stability is what you seek, this isn’t for you. And that’s okay.” Because sometimes things happen and you just don’t know what to expect. And so I think that ‘why’ is really important.
Betty: Absolutely. And just like when I talk to my clients too, why do you wanna work with me? Why do you wanna lose 20 pounds? Because the road gets rocky real fast, and you need to have a clear cut vision of why you’re doing this in the first place. I mean, Julia, how many times did you freak out in the beginning? And five years later, how many times do you continue to freak out? And it’s okay if you’re one of those people that wants to go into an office, do your 9 to 5 and go home, that’s awesome if that’s what you wanna do.
Julia: Well, and that’s the thing, there’s something for everyone. I remember when I first started my business, and I had these wonderful friends who would take me out to eat because I had zero time, and they were like, “You have to eat, so we’re gonna take you out and we’re gonna pay for you because you’re also poor.” That’s the highlight of my week. And every time we would talk about how my business was going, they would just say, “I would never wanna do that.” They were like, “I love being able to go into a 9 to 5, leave and not have to think about it.” And I think that here’s something for everybody. I think sometimes entrepreneurship is glorified, and it is fun for those of us who want to do it, but it’s not for everybody, and that’s okay.
Betty: Absolutely! I love that you have such good friends
Julia: I know. They are the best!
Betty: One of my best friends too, he tells me at least once a week, your life is exhausting.
Julia: Like, thank you!
Betty: He works for the state, he goes to work, and then he goes home and does whatever he wants. And I’m like, sometimes I would want to have your life.
Julia: For sure! There’s something out there for everyone, and we need all of them. We need all of us to make a good functioning society. Betty, this has been so much fun. Thank you. If people wanna find you, where can they follow you?
Betty: They can follow me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bettyg.guerrero/?hl=en). That’s kind of where I communicate with people the most. I don’t think people use email as much right now. Betty G. Guerrero, that’s my last name. Or you can just email me. I love this! eatwithbetty@gmail.com. I’m also on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@bettyguerrero33) making funny videos sometimes. The most animated dietician. Email me, DM me, whatever you want. I love talking sweet to people. If you have questions, shoot me a message.
Julia: For sure! Well, Betty, thank you, thank you, thank you for just gifting us with a little bit of your presence and a little bit of your wisdom. I really appreciate it.
Betty: Thank you. And thank you for making this platform available for female entrepreneurs.
Julia: I’m so excited. This has been my favorite summer yet.
Friends, thanks for tuning into this week’s podcast episode. I am so glad that you have. If you’ve enjoyed it as much as we have, I just ask you to subscribe so you know each time we have a new episode coming out. If you loved our podcast and wanna give us a rating or a review, I promise, we will read each and every one of them. A special shout out to our friend, Carson Childers, who is producing our podcast. We really appreciate him and all the hard work that he’s done for us.
Also, thanks to the Stratos Team. They have been behind the scenes doing all of the graphic design, brainstorming, et cetera, et cetera. Really, this wouldn’t be possible without them. I’m thankful for each and every one of you guys.
Lastly, listener, we’ll be back next week, and I hope you will be too.
Recent Comments