Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Elizabeth Lee, Founder of Communal Table Wellness, located in Fullerton, CA, USA.

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

Communal Table Wellness is a reimagined approach to nutrition coaching. One of the core values is recognizing and elevating collective wisdom. In a 1:1 setting, that means validating the knowledge and experience that the client brings to the table. In a group setting, it may include using purposeful activity to draw out collective wisdom to help each other get unstuck.

My customers include people who:

  • can use a trained professional’s help with navigating through all the nutrition noise
  • are sick of getting nutrition guidance that doesn’t consider their cultural foods and traditions
  • are looking for help with managing chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure
  • will flip the table if someone tells them to “eat less and move more” one more time

In addition to working with individuals, I also consult with companies and organizations that are looking to convey nutrition information with integrity and accuracy. Past and current clients include public health agencies, colleges, and wellness startups.

Tell us about yourself

I’m a dietitian by training, but I am intrigued by the intersections of nutrition with culture, behavioral science, and the environment. I’m also a first-generation Asian American who spent some of my most formative years in Hong Kong.

I started Communal Table Wellness after being in my field for 11 years to add more cultural inclusion and non-judgment into the nutrition coaching space. Nutrition, as it’s taught and practiced in the U.S., has largely omitted cultural foods and traditions. I also feel that nutrition has become a bit of a proxy for morality and virtue. It’s helpful to have a reminder that food choices reflect many influences that are beyond personal knowledge and willpower.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Being patient and being clear on practices that align with my values despite wanting to rush to have faster growth at times.

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

The need to be a bit of a jack or jill of all trades, whether that’s copywriting or understanding SEO.

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

  1. Sometimes, the most useful advice or inspiration comes from those who are outside our industry.
  2. It’s not frivolous to make joy and fun a priority. It’s essential for sustaining a solopreneur and their business.
  3. Being humble enough to rethink our beliefs and approaches as well as detaching our opinions from our identities.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://communaltable.co/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/communaltablewellness/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/communal-table-wellness/

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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