IAM2213 – Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Yoga Teacher and Author Helps Brands Convey Health Eating Messages

In this episode, we have Keri Gans, a registered dietitian, nutritionist, certified yoga teacher, and author of “The Small Change Diet.”

She is also a Shape magazine advisory board member, blogger for US News and World Report, and runs her weekly blog and newsletter called The Keri Report.

Keri has been featured in prominent media outlets like Glamour, Shape, Self, Women's Health, The Dr. Oz Show, ABC News, and Good Morning America.

Keri emphasizes the importance of networking and being open to new opportunities.

She explains how the industry, particularly with social media, has changed over the years.
She emphasizes that she only works with brands that align with her nutritional beliefs and practices. Authenticity and transparency with her audience are crucial.

Keri highlights the challenges of managing everything independently, noting that while some choose building teams, she prefers to stay hands-on with her work. She advises entrepreneurs to understand their capacity and seek help if needed.

Website: Keri Gans

Previous Episode: iam136-dietitian-nutritionist-certified-yoga-teacher-and-author-helps-brands-convey-health-eating-messages

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Transcription:

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Keri Gans Teaser 00:00

So food companies approach me, and they want me to help them convey healthy eating messages, which typically include their projects I'm sorry, their products.

And I wouldn't work with one of these brands if I didn't believe in their product.

Intro 0:17

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 00:42

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresham from the I AM CEO Podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Keri Gans of kerigansny.com. Keri, it is awesome to have you on the show.

Keri Gans 00:52

It's awesome to be here.

Gresham Harkless 00:53

Great. Great. Great to have you. And what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Keri so we can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing.

And Keri is a registered dietitian, nutritionist, certified yoga teacher, and author of the Small Change Diet, a shape magazine advisory board member and blogger for US News and World Report.

The Keri Report, her own weekly blog and newsletter, helps to convey her no nonsense and fun approach to living a healthy lifestyle.

She is a sought after nutrition expert and has conducted thousands of interviews worldwide.

Her expertise has been featured in the media outlets such as Glamour, Shape, Self, Women's Health, The Doctor. Oz Show, ABC News, Hicks, eleven Morning News, Good Morning America, and Fox Business.

She lives in NYC in East Hampton with her husband, Bart, and is a huge dog lover, Netflix aficionado, and martini enthusiast. Keri, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

Keri Gans 01:49

I am ready to speak with them.

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Gresham Harkless 01:51

Alright. Let's do it. So first question I had was just to hear a little bit more about your CEO story and what led you to start your business.

Keri Gans 01:56

You know, it's funny. You talk about, like, CEO. I don't really think of myself that way. Yes. I run everything here. My business is me, and it just kind of had a life of its own.

My passion for nutrition and my passion of communicating sound messages just it took off. And it's an interesting thing when I think back. Like, did I say one day I'm gonna be a CEO?

And it's even when you asked me to talk about being a CEO. I still don't really think of it that way, but I just kind of launched in to being the one and only of what I do.

Gresham Harkless 02:29

Yeah. That makes perfect sense. And it's funny because I know when we definitely talked offline, we talked a little bit about that.

But it's great to hear how I think in, like, true entrepreneurial form, sometimes you just go with, I guess, how things are moving.

And then you follow like what probably is your passion, something you're truly passionate about, but also what you do very, very well, it sounds like.

Keri Gans 02:47

Right. And it kind of sometimes just naturally or organically. I mean, I'd like to say that it was a really strict path.

Gresham Harkless 02:54

Mhmm.

Keri Gans 02:54

But I kind of when I look back, I was just open to new things, open to networking with others. I think that's one of the biggest things that I could talk to anyone about starting their own business is networking.

And being open to meeting others, listening to others, learning from others, and you'd be surprised sometimes where that takes you.

Gresham Harkless 03:15

Absolutely. Absolutely. And sometimes you never know, for one where the universe sometimes take you, but two, you never know who other people know.

So as you start to connect with people and you start to build your network, you never know what opportunities present themselves. But like you said, you have to definitely be open to what happens.

Keri Gans 03:28

Correct. And not be set and say, this is what I'm going to do. Because if you asked me, oh, god. Maybe it's been eighteen years now. Would I be talking Gresh to you right now?

I'd be like, what are you talking about? I'm gonna have the small little business. I'm gonna be a dietitian who just works one on one with patients and that's what I'm gonna do.

But it's not what happened. And I you know, you talk about the universe having other ideas for us. I think that if you're a specific type of person, sometimes standing still is not what you're meant to do.

And you're just meant to move forward and take on new exciting opportunities. And that's then what probably led me to where I am now.

Gresham Harkless 04:07

Yeah. That makes perfect sense. And, obviously, it sounds like you're doing a phenomenal job.

So I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper in here, I guess, a little bit more on how you support the clients that you work with.

I know you have a bunch of things that you're doing, including your book. So did you tell us a little bit more about, like, what you do to support the clients?

Keri Gans 04:20

Well, basically, what I do I mean, I work with variety of brands is probably what I do most. So food companies.

I mean, I'm in the nutrition space. So food companies approach me, and they want me to help them convey healthy eating messages, which typically include their projects, I'm sorry, their products.

And I wouldn't work with one of these brands if I didn't believe in their product. And they have to align with my beliefs in nutrition.

And what I do is I work with them a lot of times in today's world. Social media is a huge part of that.

So it'd be sharing their messaging on my social media channels and sharing it out there. It's a lot of doing blog work for them, whether on my own blog, the Keri board, or on their blog, whether it be doing media events and influencer events as they're called, and getting other health care professionals or editors to learn more about the product.

So it really it can vary. There's a lot of different things that I do in that space, and it's what makes it exciting is it's constantly changing.

Social media was not a part of the work I did five years ago, and now it's a major part of what I do.

So it's also, I think also here the message is you constantly have to be willing to change if you wanna stay relevant.

Gresham Harkless 05:38

Yeah. That makes perfect sense. And I can imagine he can probably speak to this more than anything else because I imagine, like you mentioned, social media has changed, but I imagine the industry as a whole probably has changed dramatically.

So you would be kind of stuck in I don't wanna call it a bad place, but not maybe the best place that you are now if you stayed stuck in the way that you were doing business before. Is that correct?

Keri Gans 05:57

Exactly. I mean, before, it was you speak to magazines, and then you could also get your brands mentioned in any magazine.

Today, no. They're not gonna just mention brands. I mean, they will, but we fully disclose. I mean, anything I do with brands is disclosed.

I have to say I have this partnership, so the consumer knows. And for years, the consumer was unaware if individuals were working with brands.

But it's changed. The business has changed, and you really have to be willing to change along with it.

Gresham Harkless 06:26

Yeah. That makes sense. And then I imagine with the consumer having a lot more power at their fingertips, so to speak, where they can do all this research and homework and find out who's connected with who and all of that stuff it kind of, is very important for brands to be very transparent about who they're partnering with and also influencers like yourself.

Keri Gans 06:42

Correct. And it's very important, I feel, to also still remain organic. So going back to that I'm not just gonna work with any brand.

I'm gonna work with a brand that is passionate about health in the same way I am. And also, that's why I've also launched into working, with various avenues on yoga because that was also something relatively new for me as becoming a certified yoga teacher, but it was a passion of mine.

It was something that I've been doing for years and years is yoga. And I was like, okay, now how can I get that passion into my nutrition passion?

So I became a certified yoga teacher. Now a lot of my brands are like, wow, that kind of makes her a little different in the nutrition space.

So let's have her feature one of our products in a really cool yoga pose because it's not necessarily what other nutritionists are doing.

So when we think about building our business is what also can make us stand out different than everybody else who's in the same space.

Gresham Harkless 07:35

Yeah. And I love the fact that you've been able to it sounds like be able to do that and build that.

And that might be the example of the secret sauce that I was gonna ask you, but you've been able to figure out or you probably know yourself more than anything else and just be true to yourself.

And then those brands find you or you connect with those brands that are in alignment with who you are as a person.

Keri Gans 07:53

Yes. I mean, I think that's very important in what we do is being true to yourself. And when you do the type of work I do, that also means that you just don't take on too many brands because that wouldn't be looking good either for me if all of a sudden I'm working with every Tom, Dick, and Harry.

I really need to be specific in order to communicate the message. And what happens is in my type of business, I am my own product.

So it's also an interesting way to look at it. I mean, people build businesses a lot of times, and what are they selling?

They're selling a particular product. With me, I'm selling a concept, and that concept has to stem from me.

So I have to be organic. I have to walk the walk, the talk as the saying goes. And it's very important because otherwise brands are gonna be like, what does she stand for?

And you need to be very clear on what you're standing for so others will have faith in you and be able to feel that you could carry through what they need to communicate.

Gresham Harkless 08:51

It makes perfect sense. Yeah. If you align yourself and describe, I guess, exactly who you are and stay true to that, then those brands will kind of flock to you just like any clients or customers do as well.

Keri Gans 08:59

Right. And it's not easy being what's the expression goal when you do everything when you're, like, the the bottle washer?

I mean, you do everything. Yes. I mean, some companies who do what I do build the team I mean, have a lot of people who do various outlets for them.

There might be someone who does their social media. There might be someone that helps through their writing.

I still do everything. And I probably even if we have this discussion, Gresh, you know, years from now, I probably still will do everything.

Not that I'm saying that's the only way. I mean, sometimes it's great to build a team around you, but I have a specific voice, not just sounding but communicating.

And for me, it's always been important to just totally be totally hands on. But with that comes challenges.

So I think with people who are launching into various businesses, for them to understand, can I do everything?

If I can't, that's okay. If you have the means to hire and to disperse some of the projects, that could be very helpful.

So there's nothing wrong. It can go either way. I think you just need to look at yourself because it can be overwhelming when you do try to take it all on yourself.

Gresham Harkless 10:05

Absolutely. Absolutely. And that makes perfect sense. And now what I wanted to do is switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack.

And this might be an Apple book or a habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient as a business owner.

Keri Gans 10:19

God. That is a good question. I'm gonna say yoga.

Gresham Harkless 10:22

I love it.

Keri Gans 10:23

I think that when I do my yoga practice, it's like I kind of I zone out for a while. I practice my yoga and I honestly, I don't meditate, but my Vinyasa flow kind of helps me to relax in some way that then I can get back with and running into whatever needs to be done for the day.

So for me, yoga's definitely helped in managing my day to day.

Gresham Harkless 10:48

Absolutely. So you do yoga on a regular everyday basis just to make sure you're getting that low, I guess.

Keri Gans 10:52

Get on my mat every day. I would like to.

Gresham Harkless 10:55

Mhmm.

Keri Gans 10:56

Let's say I get on my mat four to five days a week. Okay. But the beauty of yoga is that it doesn't have to just be practiced on your mat.

And what I mean is it's like a concept. It's so if I'm gonna have it it's helped me to be patient.

So if I have deadlines and something comes up that I didn't expect in my day, I just go back to, like, okay.

Take a deep breath. You're gonna get this done. And I think that's the yoga from practicing for so many years that can help me be more present when I need to be.

Gresham Harkless 11:27

Wow. That's powerful. And it makes yoga not so much of a practice, but actually like a lifestyle as you're saying because

Keri Gans 11:32

Yes. Because it is. And it's not only it's like I mean, it's even waiting online and day to day activities. And you're like, I've always picked the wrong line to stand in.

Gresham Harkless 11:41

Right.

Keri Gans 11:41

Slow moving line. But then I will be like, all right, take a deep breath and just try to stay present.

It's so hard to stay present in today's world. I mean, social media, I have to do it for work a lot and I can get sidetracked.

So I have to get back to I catch myself. I'm like, alright. You're now not doing this for work. You're kind of, like, looking at various things that like dogs or other interests.

Gresham Harkless 12:05

In cat videos.

Keri Gans 12:06

And I have to bring myself back in to be present in what I'm doing. And I do think that yoga has helped tremendously for that.

Gresham Harkless 12:13

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, I love that CEO hack. And now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget.

And this might be a word of wisdom. You might have already given us some. I know you've already given us some, but you might have anything else you wanna add.

But this is like a word of wisdom or piece of advice or something you might tell your younger business self.

Keri Gans 12:29

Don't give up. And that's probably not anything novel. But when I tell stories of how I began, it's really funny. I mean, I didn't even get accepted into my first internship as a dietitian.

Gresham Harkless 12:40

Mhmm.

Keri Gans 12:41

Alright? So if I had said at that point, oh, I didn't get the internship, then I've never would have been gone on to do what I'm doing today.

You think, like, I never thought I was a writer because I was told, oh, you're not a really great writer, Keri.

You're a great public speaker, but your writing style, not so great. But here, I'm an author of a book.

So I really think you can't let others tell you what you cannot do. I hate that word can't, and I think the least we all owe it to ourselves is to try and let ourselves be the deciding factor, not somebody else.

Gresham Harkless 13:16

I love that. And it's a great reminder. Sometimes, just because you don't fit into a certain paradigm or a certain box, it doesn't necessarily mean that maybe you're not an innovator.

Maybe you're not doing things ahead of where everybody else is doing it. So they might end up following you and writing a book because you did one largely because, that's you following in alignment with who you are.

Keri Gans 13:35

Correct. And it goes back to being who you truly are.

Gresham Harkless 13:38

Mhmm. Absolutely.

Keri Gans 13:39

Ever being afraid to do that. I mean, yes, we follow social norms in this world, but still there is no set path, and sometimes we just that's what makes an entrepreneur.

It means brave enough to set out and create your own path, because sometimes that's what one needs to do.

And then others decide, hey. I like that path. And who knew that you were the trendsetter and they're following you?

Gresham Harkless 14:03

There you go. Exactly. Exactly. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question. I know we touched on it a little bit in the beginning, and it's the definition for what it means to be a CEO.

And we're hoping to have different quote, unquote CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business owners on the show. So, Keri, I wanted to ask you, what does it mean to you?

Keri Gans 14:17

What it means to me, it means to be the one that basically does it all. I am to me, it's almost synonymous with my name.

I don't think of it as a specific title. I never thought of myself as a CEO, but I think of CEO then as it relates to me as the one that makes decisions of everything that I do.

I am the decision maker and ultimately, it all falls on me. So it's freeing that I don't have to confer with others in what I do per se, but it can also be difficult because at the end of the day, it's just me.

But it's a challenge that I'm always willing to take.

Gresham Harkless 14:57

Absolutely. You seem like you're doing an awesome job with that challenge. So, Keri, I truly appreciate you for taking some time out of your schedule.

What I wanted to do was pass you to the mic just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and our listeners know and, of course, how best people can get in touch with you.

Keri Gans 15:10

Well, it's been a pleasure being on the show. The best way to get in contact with me is to visit my website, and that's kerigansny.com.

You can find all my social links on there, and you can subscribe to the Keri report. Lots of ways to stay connected to me, and I hope that all your listeners do.

Gresham Harkless 15:31

Absolutely. And we'll have those that link in the show notes just so that anybody can follow-up.

But again, I appreciate you. I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Keri Gans 15:38

Thank you too, Gresh.

Outro 15:40

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase. It's a community.

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Subscribe and leave us a 5-star rating. Grab CEO gear at www.CEOgear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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