Evidence-Based Nutrition - CityDietitians

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sophie Medlin, Founder of CityDietitians, located in London, England, UK.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My business is called CityDietitians, and we offer dietitians who are at the top of their field to people who are looking for highly specialist medical nutrition advice. For example, I have worked as a colorectal dietitian for over 12 years, both clinically and academically, so I see patients with colorectal diseases and disorders. We have a team of eleven dietitians with many different specialties, including a children's dietitian, a diabetes dietitian, a sports dietitian, and even dietitians who specialise in particular cultural diets, for example, South Asian and African and Caribbean diets.

Tell us about yourself

I qualified as a dietitian in 2007 and initially thought I would work in hospitals for my whole career, but I quickly found myself at the ceiling of what I could achieve in the NHS and moved into academia. Within the academic sector, whilst I loved teaching, I found that 80% of my work was admin related, which I didn't enjoy. During my time as an academic, I always saw patients in private practice, and it became clear to me that there was a need for the public to access highly specialist dietitians. At the time, most dietitians in private practice were generalists and would see all conditions, but with the public being able to access advice about their own health easily online, I felt that the need for highly specialist dietetic support was greater than ever.

I founded CityDietitians in 2018 and have slowly added specialist dietitians to the team over the years. I now run the clinic and do consultancy for other companies doing work such as developing probiotic and vitamin products, and I work with the media, most recently featuring in Channel 4's flagship gut health programme "Know Your Sh**."

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Providing a livelihood to my dietitians, building their confidence, and knowing that they're all supporting people to improve their mental and physical health every day.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

I find the constant demand for my time challenging. There is no full downtime when the buck stops with you! I am very fortunate to love everything that I do, and I don't have children, which reduces the demand for my time from elsewhere.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

1. You can probably have it all, but not all at the same time. Different periods of your life will be for different things, and your business will benefit from your time and attention, so if prioritising having a family is important to you, remember it's much harder to do an amazing job at both things at the same time.
2. Be patient! More patient than you want to be! Things build gradually. Setting goals and reflecting on progress and growth is important because you can get lost in the gradual increase in business and still feel like you're not doing enough.
3. Make sure you have the right support and inspiration around you because it's not always easy, and you need people who believe in you.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.citydietitians.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/citydietititians/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophiedietitian/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SophieDietitian
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-medlin/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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