IAM421- Nutrition Expert Helps Others Manage Their Health and Improving Their Wellness

Elizabeth Shaw, MS RDN CPT is a national nutrition expert and best-selling author who works as a freelance consultant, spokesperson, and nutrition professor in San Diego. Her passion for breaking down science-based facts into digestible soundbites has led her to what she loves doing most: helping others understand the important role wholesome food can play in managing their health and improving their wellness, one bite at a time! You can find Liz writing on her website, ShawSimpleSwaps.com, or sharing her delicious simple swapped meals over on @shawsimpleswaps on social media.

• CEO Hack: Mastermind group with like-minded professionals
• CEO Nugget: Keep an open mind when starting your business
• CEO Defined: Having structures but also saying yes to things that make you happy

Website: https://www.shawsimpleswaps.com/

Author: Fertility Foods Cookbook+: 100 Recipes to Nourish Your Body    and  The Stress-Free IVF Nutrition Guide

Check out one of our favorite CEO Hack’s Audible. Get your free audiobook and check out more of our favorite CEO Hacks HERE.

Transcription

The full transcription is only available to CBNation Library Members. Sign up today!

Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:30

Hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Elizabeth Shaw of Shaw Simple Swaps. Elizabeth, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Elizabeth Shaw 0:40

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Gresham Harkless 0:42

No problem. Super excited to have you on and what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Elizabeth so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Elizabeth Shaw is a national nutrition expert and best-selling author who works as a freelance consultant, spokesperson, and nutrition professor in San Diego. Her passion for breaking down the science space facts into digestible sound bites has led her to what she loves doing the most, helping others understand the important role wholesome food can play in managing their health and improving their wellness one bite at a time. You can find Liz writing on our website shawsimpleswaps.com, we're sharing her delicious simple swap meals over on her handle Shaw Simple Swaps on social media. Elizabeth, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

[restrict paid=”true”]

Elizabeth Shaw 1:29

I am and you can feel free to call me with a lot of people just go by Liz.

Gresham Harkless 1:34

Awesome. Well, Liz, I'm super excited to have you on the show. I wanted to ask you my favorite question, What is your CEO story? Can you tell us what led you to get started in your business?

Elizabeth Shaw 1:46

Absolutely. So I've been very interested in the nutrition field ever since I was a teenager. So I actually saw a dietitian when I was 13 years old. And having a one-on-one experience with her. I knew that's exactly what I wanted to do with my career. So Flash Forward, forward 10 years I finished my master's I finished a couple of specialization programs. During my my graduate work and I was an RD, I had my master's in nutrition, I was working on my personal training, licensure and just living all things health and wellness.

So I jumped into my first job as manager managing almost 32 employees. And you know, as a 20, something-year-old managing people in all different walks of life, all different ages, it was a great experience to recognize, you know, what it takes to build and bring a group together and have you know, an organizational structure above you. But at the same time, it gave me a nice piece of what it would take to eventually run my own business.

So I dabbled in a few other jobs for about three to four years. And then the last job I had quite the experience everyone I'm sure has their stories with supervisors. And I just realized, if I'm doing all the work as a supervisor, but getting paid, as an employee, why am I not, you know, really running and being the CEO of my own business? So I took the leap, I had a lot of support from my husband. And in 2014, I came back and decided I was gonna take the leap and just run my own business. And here I am today, five years and six figures down the line. I'm loving what I do.

Gresham Harkless 3:18

Nice. I love that. And it's so funny that you say that because a lot of times people who probably are listening are saying that, you know, you're basically running, you're running your business without I guess getting all the accolades with running your own business, just because you're doing so much sometimes in the jobs and in places that we are that, you know, the only next step we need to do is actually sometimes just take that leap.

Elizabeth Shaw 3:39

Yeah, and you know, I will say, you know, I know what a challenge it can be. And I know that there's a lot of ducks you have to get in a row. But luckily, I had my ducks in a row. And it was it just felt like the right time. And it turned out to be.

Gresham Harkless 3:50

Nice, I definitely appreciate that. So I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper here a little bit more about Shaw Simple Swaps. And I want to make sure I say that. I can't say that three times fast. But I want to make sure.

Elizabeth Shaw 4:00

I should have gone back with a simpler name. And I was like, You know what simple swaps is what it comes down to if I'm going to talk about health and wellness, I have to make it manageable for the average person out there. And that's what it comes down to simple swaps. And so what small manageable changes can you make day to day in your life to just live the healthiest, most vibrant life? You can, you know. So under this umbrella, I work a lot as you mentioned as a national spokesperson.

So I love public speaking I speak at a lot of conferences related to nutrition health, and moms, actually specialize in fertility nutrition, which is a little bit of a minority when it comes to the health field. So I do a lot with moms and males trying to conceive, people of all different walks of life who just want to bring a baby into the world. So that's why I have two books that I've been an Amazon Best Selling Author with.

And so it's fun because I have a lot of different things that I do under my umbrella. But it's it's nice to connect with that small community because you know, one in eight people actually struggle with fertility issues. So having programs and offerings and different materials that I can provide for them is super helpful.

Gresham Harkless 5:13

Yeah, definitely I bet that is, and especially like you kind of touched on to like, a lot of times, when you want to make any type of change, or improvements, or whatever you need to do to get to whatever your goal might be. Sometimes you think that you have to, you know, do a wholesale change, but it sounds like from your name and everything that you're doing, you're saying that there's like little small things that you can do to make those improvements.

Elizabeth Shaw 5:34

It is and I'm actually working on a big program launch for 2020. And I can fill you in on the skip, you guys are the very first ones getting it, but it's actually called BYOB, build your own body. Because I think so often we're misconstrued in the media seeing, hearing that you should go gluten-free, you should go soy-free, you need to be vegan, you need to be paleo, you need to be all these things.

When it's like, heck, why don't you just build your own body and build what you want to build, follow the program that you want to build with, you know, the advice of a professional who actually has the knowledge and the information behind these different programs. So it's not a one-size-fits-all approach. And that's why I'm excited to BYOB in 2020.

Gresham Harkless 6:11

Nice. Yeah, that's definitely exciting, especially in this day and age that, as you said, there are so many kinds of external factors that say you have to do this, you have to go gluten-free, you have to go dairy-free, or you have to do this or that. But it sounds like all those are just kinds of tools that you use in having your arsenal, depending on whatever your BYOB whatever you want your body to be. And then you start to work backward from there.

Elizabeth Shaw 6:31

Exactly.

Gresham Harkless 6:33

Nice. So you might have already touched on this, but I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And this is the thing that you feel sets you or your organization apart, it makes you unique.

Elizabeth Shaw 6:42

Yeah, I think kind of touching into that simple swaps is that even when I work with like, one of my clients is California avocados. And when I work with them, the manageable, there's a lot of health influencers out there, there's a lot of dieticians. But what makes it exciting to work with my clients and why I truly believe they like coming back and working with me is that, I make things so approachable. And I rely on evidence-based science, but put it in a very digestible form that most people can understand. So I think that relatability is huge. And if you can be more authentic, I know that word is kind of cliche and thrown around. But now my secret sauce is just being real. That's why I think that one of the 100% things that you can do is just be real.

Gresham Harkless 7:23

Absolutely. And I always used to say like, when it can be true at your own race, if you're being authentic, if you're being yourself. And I think sometimes, you know, again, from those external polls, we're kind of believed that we need to be this or we need to be that but I think you can always win because you're running your own race, and nobody can run your race like you can if you're being authentic to yourself.

Elizabeth Shaw 7:42

Exactly.

Gresham Harkless 7:44

Nice. And I wanted to switch gears a little bit. And I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Elizabeth Shaw 7:55

You know, I think one of the best things that I equipped myself with very early on, even before I took the leap, and the risk of owning my own business was forming a mastermind group. And so there's different, you know, websites, there's different conferences and symposiums. But I actually just, you know, with different networking events, I'd been out, I formed a group with like-minded professionals, not within my same field, but just in, in the CEO wanting to run and manage their own life and their own business.

And that has been instrumental in helping me keep abreast and you know, the latest technologies and the latest, you know, gadgets, and this and that and everything, and just keeping me on track. So I would say, find your tribe, and make sure that they help nurture you and lift you up because I think that that's something super important on this journey.

Gresham Harkless 8:40

Yeah, absolutely. Especially with entrepreneurship and running a business, it can sometimes feel so lonely, but did you find that there were definitely a lot of benefits to having people outside of your industry as well to kind of bounce ideas off of?

Elizabeth Shaw 8:51

Absolutely, because I think as a health professional it becomes a little saturated when you're only talking people with your lenses on. So having someone who's a therapist and accountant in my group was just super helpful to see what I was imagining from a different lens.

Gresham Harkless 9:10

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's definitely you know, one of the benefits of having a mastermind or even a team with people with, different and varied histories and perspectives that a lot of times it can make you a lot stronger because you have those different perspectives that kind of bounce ideas off of think through different ideas and so on and so forth. And you can only sometimes do that by being outside of yourself or having people close to you that are that are not sometimes always thinking like you.

Elizabeth Shaw 9:36

Absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 9:37

Nice and I wanted to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget, and this is a word of wisdom or a piece of advice or if you can happen to a time machine. What would you tell your younger business self?

Elizabeth Shaw 9:48

Oh, gosh, I think that there are so many things I would tell myself, the first thing I would tell myself is that your passion is going to be important to fuel your flame, but sometimes you have to deviate to some degree. That doesn't mean I'm throwing in the towel on your initial spark, but you have to learn to roll with the punches.

And I think it was so narrow-minded at the beginning that I wanted to do this specific subset. And then, as I started evolving and opening my mind and my ideas to more expansive ideas within my practice, it really helped me grow into what I am today. So I would say keeping an open mind is probably one of the best things you could do for yourself when starting a business.

Gresham Harkless 10:35

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's really, really hard to do sometimes. Because like you said, you know, if you really have that passion, and that fire that's burning to do something. But understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, I find this myself is that sometimes I really have to do some of the work or have that space to really understand why I want to do exactly what it is that I do. And sometimes there are other alternatives that I never thought about doing. But I was just so kind of focused on, I want to do it this way that I kind of can sometimes miss opportunities that are around.

Elizabeth Shaw 11:06

Exactly, I think that's very well said.

Gresham Harkless 11:09

Awesome. And now I wanted to ask you another one of my absolute favorite questions on the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote and quote, CEOs on this show. So Liz, what does it mean to mean to you?

Elizabeth Shaw 11:21

Yeah I think being a CEO, in this new I actually have a one-year-old, is being able to eat breakfast with my daughter every day. And it's being able to say yes and say no to the things that bring me joy, that bring me an income, that brings me just a lot of enthusiasm. Also being a dietitian means being a certified eating officer so I make that joke. My husband is known as Mr. CEO, all over my, blog, my social handles, you know, you just have to have fun with it. So I think being a CEO also means having structure but being able to laugh a little.

Gresham Harkless 12:01

Yeah, absolutely. And I love that just because you can kind of paint that picture of what you want in your life, just as you mentioned with your BYOB that a lot of times as a business, if you want to make sure that you're spending time with your family, you can opportunity to eat breakfast with a one-year-old, whatever that might be for you, you have the opportunity to do that because you kind of paint that picture yourself.

Elizabeth Shaw 12:19

Exactly. And you know, like a lot of hustle a lot of late nights, a lot of grind. I'm sure many of you know, it's you're making the choices of what you're saying yes to.

Gresham Harkless 12:31

Exactly, you have the power within you to do that. So thank you for that great reminder. And Liz, I appreciate you appreciate all the awesome things you're doing. I appreciate your time even more, what I wanted to do is pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you can let our readers and listeners know. And then of course, how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things you're working on.

Elizabeth Shaw 12:50

I think one of the biggest pieces of advice I would say to your listeners is to have a board, whether it's an inspiration board, a vision board, just something you're looking at even if it's on your phone, and it's an album, where you're collecting quotes, I think quotes is such a big important part of my day to day just giving me fire, reminding you that you're doing a great job, things like that. So find that vision that helps remind you day in and day out, especially when it gets hard that you're doing a great job and that you're here for a reason. So don't forget that.

Gresham Harkless 13:19

Absolutely. And I think sometimes we will definitely forget that, like you said with the ups and the downs and so many things in the struggle sometimes that we have that you need to have that positive reinforcement, and a lot of times it's what we're putting into not just our bodies, obviously but also our minds as well too.

Elizabeth Shaw 13:36

Yeah, absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 13:38

Nice and people that want to follow up with you what would be the best way for them to do that?

Elizabeth Shaw 13:42

Yeah, you can follow me on Instagram or social media. I'm at Shaw Simple Swaps. I'm on my blog, my website shawsimpleswaps.com. And I'd love to get in touch, feel free to reach out.

Gresham Harkless 13:58

Awesome. And we'll make sure to have those links in that information in the show notes as well. But Liz, thank you so much again for your time, and hope you have a phenomenal day.

Elizabeth Shaw 14:06

Thank you, you as well.

Outro 14:08

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

[/restrict]