[00:00:00] Lindsay Sutherland: Hey, everybody. Welcome back to Thriving Holistic Practitioners. My name is Lindsay Sutherland and I'm your host. And joining me today is Kate McDowell. Kate is our first guest on the podcast. I'm so excited. Thank you, Kate. You're coming to us from Ontario, Canada. I'm so excited to connect with you and to hear about your journey.

[00:00:20] Tell us a little bit about your story and kind of what led you down this holistic path.

[00:00:26] Kate McDowell: Thank you, Lindsay. I'm so excited to be here as well. Being someone who works with other practitioners and sees what this can be like at the beginning, I was excited to share this with you because it can be kind of rocky at the beginning.

[00:00:40] And I got into natural health from my own health experience. I was diagnosed with MS when I was 22 years old and went the pharmaceutical route, did everything my doctor said, thought that was the answer. And when I started getting sicker, I realized that I had to try something else. And so natural health kind of appeared for me after a friend said something when I asked her if she would give me money for, or sponsor me for an MS bike ride.

[00:01:12] And she's like, you know, they're never going to come up with a cure. Right. And it was a reality check. It was like a knife in the heart, but it was also exactly what I needed to hear. And when your perspective shifts, often things will show up for you. And so after I was, okay with that, I, I took on that belief.

[00:01:35] I started to see things and that's when nutrition showed up for me. And so reversing my own critical illness diagnosis and realizing it was possible, I couldn't look around and not see that there were lots of other people struggling and in a place that I had been in the past as well. And so that's how my natural health and becoming a practitioner, that's how everything kind of started for me.

[00:01:58] And then I went to school for nutrition and certified in personal training and did a bunch of other modalities. just because I was like, there's so many people that need help and I want to help them as best as I can.

[00:02:10] Lindsay Sutherland: Yeah, that isn't, that actually touches close to home. My uncle has MS and there's been some talk in my family that maybe my grandma had a, or isn't there some sort of correlation between MS and some other diseases and genetics.

[00:02:26] I tried to, I don't know a whole lot about it, but I know I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's and I've heard that there's some sort of connection there. I didn't dive too deep because. I believe that when I focus on and pay attention to, I'll get more of. So I, I was a little nervous to be honest, like about looking into that.

[00:02:41] I'm like, I'm focusing on health. So I just kind of pinned that over, but it has been something that's been in the back of my mind. And then of course, with my kids, you know, thinking about that. And so when we are faced with those things, it's very easy to think, well, it's the science, it's genetic, it's, you know, whatever our doctors say.

[00:03:01] And I, I love how our society is starting to question allopathic medicine in a way that is, you know, really challenging us and forcing us to look at other modalities. So I, I love your story.

[00:03:16] Kate McDowell: I'll just. Absolutely. I mean, that's the biggest message that I'm trying to share with people is like, start asking questions.

[00:03:24] start doing things that feel right for you rather than just trusting and following the beliefs that maybe your parents had. Like I grew up in a family that was like, you don't question your doctor. You do whatever they say. They're the experts. And I followed that until I wasn't getting better and was like, there's gotta be something else.

[00:03:42] Lindsay Sutherland: Yeah. And

[00:03:43] Kate McDowell: it's any autoimmune. We work with lots of autoimmune people. Hashimoto's, I was, given a loose Hashimoto's diagnosis in the past, I've also had Lyme disease, like there's so many different things. And it's like, what are the things that are attacking your body that your body is, is fighting back against?

[00:04:01] Right? Like autoimmune, we're told that our body's attacking itself. It's like, no, you're what if your body's attacking the thing that doesn't belong there, and the tissues are just getting in the way.

[00:04:11] Lindsay Sutherland: Yes, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we don't they don't have like, you know, what do you say like a crystal ball to the inside of the body, they're doing their best with what they know.

[00:04:21] But like you said, when you get that paradigm shift, and you know something different, it leads you down a different path. And I think that is what is so beautiful about holistic medicine in general, and Different modalities is there are so many different ways to go about it. So tell us more about that.

[00:04:36] Like once you discovered that maybe there's, you had that curious question, like there's something different I could look at, you know, you looked at nutrition. When did you finally decide like, this is what's working for me. This is how I help people. Like, what was that journey? Like, at this point, did you have a practice or were you still just kind of in that investigative phase for yourself?

[00:04:57] Kate McDowell: I was still in the investigative phase for myself for a while, because I didn't know that there were some of the nutrition or natural modalities, like what we practice now using frequency to find out where there's imbalance in the body. So I saw a book, Dr. Terry Walls was the initial person that I found.

[00:05:16] This was like 2011, so there wasn't Google, there wasn't all of the resources that we have now. So it was like a lot of trial and trial and error for myself. But after the doctor said to me, you're going to be in a wheelchair by the time you're 30. I was like, I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure that's not the case.

[00:05:36] So I cut out a lot of things from my diet. For And I realized, wait a minute, I've been injecting myself every day for seven years. Now all I've done is make some changes to my food and I'm feeling better for the first time in a long time. And so then it was like, what else can I do? What else can I get into?

[00:05:55] And so then other things started to come up. And when other people saw me, saw the difference in me, my energy was better. I was like less, I'm dragging my butt all the time. I was less. brain foggy, like I was having less of the symptoms that they'd known me for. They were like, what are you doing? And shortly after that was when I realized, you know what, I need to share this with people.

[00:06:20] Lindsay Sutherland: Yeah.

[00:06:21] Kate McDowell: So

[00:06:22] Lindsay Sutherland: what were you doing during that time? Like what was your career path before switching into holistic medicine?

[00:06:28] Kate McDowell: I was a retail manager. I was managing a camera store. I mean, I've always liked to help people. So I thought I'm helping people take better pictures, but I always kind of knew, like, I think there's more I can do.

[00:06:41] So when nutrition came up and the idea of like, you know what, I could help people with their health. Yeah, that would be so much more powerful of a gift that I can give back.

[00:06:52] Lindsay Sutherland: Yes, so much more meaningful. The gift of life, the quality of life. Absolutely. Not to say that photos aren't important, right? Cause you know, we definitely rely on those for our memories, but I understand where you're coming from and that feeling, you know, so cool.

[00:07:08] Okay. So when, when you were deciding that, okay, this is time, I'm in a pivot moment. Like you were in that crossroads where you're like, I'm going to leave my job and pursue this. What was going through your mind?

[00:07:20] Kate McDowell: I was actually in a sense. It didn't feel like it at the time, but I was lucky because senior management changed in my retail organization and they decided I was too expensive and they replaced me with my assistant.

[00:07:35] Oh wow. And my whole world crumbled. I was like, now what do I do? And that's again, when the universe, whatever you want to call it, was like, Hey, what about nutrition? And so I went back to school for nutrition and I was like, this is what I'm going to do. So I didn't, I didn't have a career that I had to leave to get into this.

[00:07:54] But that doesn't mean that you're immediately stepping into this, like, magic world of multiple six figure business. So, I got started with, I mean, after I went to school for nutrition, I was told at school that weight loss is a giant industry and you should focus on that because it'll make lots of money.

[00:08:13] I didn't want to do that, but that's where I started.

[00:08:16] Lindsay Sutherland: Mm hmm.

[00:08:17] Kate McDowell: And then COVID happened. And a lot of things changed. It was a new perspective and experience of people needing support with their health and needing to find ways to help them on a deeper level. And ultimately 2022 is when we got recertified.

[00:08:37] It's myself and my business partner now got recertified and being able to help people with virtual muscle testing to figure out what's going on in the body. What's the reason these people are having these problems? And so it's, it's been a journey for sure, but amazing and exciting and terrifying and magical and what the heck am I doing?

[00:08:56] And who do I think I am? And all the different feelings all at the same time, but it's so worth it.

[00:09:03] Lindsay Sutherland: My goodness. Okay. Let's dig into that. That mindset piece. I think, I think that is, that's a, a, Baseline for all entrepreneurs, but you know, anybody who has that heart centered focus, it's easy. And again, this is like the entrepreneur rollercoaster.

[00:09:17] You know, we all come into it with this. I guess you might call it ignorant optimism where it's like, it's going to be magical roses and fairy dust and everybody's going to want my help and it's going to be great. And then, you know, the rubber meets the road. And the next thing, you know, you're in the trenches.

[00:09:34] And now you're trying to navigate that while trying to help people while thinking future while thinking present and it's just this. I guess you could say it's almost like a brain exercise. How did you, how was it, you know, what were, what was like one key thing? If you're looking back, what was one key thing that you did?

[00:09:54] Maybe it was like a mantra you said to yourself or a, a belief that you gave yourself something you did to help you through that really muddy water.

[00:10:05] Kate McDowell: I think for me, I had an advantage because there are kind of two sides of it. When you come into an Entrepreneurial journey. And there's a very different mindset between employee and entrepreneur.

[00:10:18] And I came into this from, I was a sales manager in the past when I worked at the camera store. So I was used to managing a team and I was used to focusing on sales in the business. And so I had a little bit of an employee background, but I also from a family of entrepreneurs. So I understood that side of it as well.

[00:10:36] And a lot of it too, was looking back and saying, you know what? I beat Ms. So, this isn't going to beat me, right? And just remembering the things, what are the other hard things that you've done in your life? And that you thought that, I don't know if I can do this and it's too much and it's too much work and it's too stressful and, and realizing, you know what, if I've done hard things in the past, why can't I do this as well?

[00:11:01] I think belief is such a big part in that. People aren't going to believe in you at first. So, you need to believe in yourself and just know that eventually they will and that it, your belief in yourself matters more than the external world as well.

[00:11:16] Lindsay Sutherland: Yes. And just taking that next step and that next step and the next step.

[00:11:21] Pretty soon you're going to look back and be like, Oh my gosh, look what I did.

[00:11:25] Kate McDowell: Exactly.

[00:11:26] Lindsay Sutherland: That's so good. Okay. So, you know, from a, from a business perspective, that was kind of a mindset perspective, but from a strategy perspective, what would you say was one of the biggest challenges that you had and how did you overcome that?

[00:11:41] Kate McDowell: When you start a new business, you're going to wear all the hats. I learned that pretty quickly. And it was like, okay, so I have to be in charge of everything here. And that's a lot to take on at the beginning. And one of the hardest things for me was learning that it's okay to ask for help. It's okay to not be perfect at everything.

[00:12:02] It's better to just get things out there and see what performs well and then adapt from there versus sitting back and taking two years to make sure you put out one piece of perfect content. Have many of my creations flopped? Yes, but it's reminding yourself like, There is no failure. There's just feedback.

[00:12:25] And when you can just kind of pivot and adjust as you go, things come together in the end.

[00:12:32] Lindsay Sutherland: Oh, such great advice. Like I love that. There's no failure, just feedback and being mindful of that. Moving. In fact, I would say those of you listening, you know, that's just something to write down and stick in front of you as you're getting started, because you are going to have.

[00:12:49] Failures. I'm using air quotes because it's just part of the process. I mean, even as children, we fall a lot before we walk, you know, it's just part of the process and accepting that, and then just making a plan for how you're going to navigate through that is really a powerful piece.

[00:13:05] Kate McDowell: 100%. Absolutely.

[00:13:06] That's not my quote. I don't know where that came from, but it's a good one, right? And it's one that I remind myself too. And I remember my dad saying when I was younger, like, if you're not failing, you're not trying. So just keep moving forward and like. You'll be guided the, what response you get and the feedback you get from people.

[00:13:25] It'll be like, Oh, okay. That didn't work, but that really landed with people and just kind of pivot and keep moving forward.

[00:13:32] Lindsay Sutherland: Awesome. Yeah. So from a systems perspective, have you found a certain system that works good for you and I'm talking technology, do you guys use a specific sort of technology to help you?

[00:13:44] I guess, manage your, your clients and your processes. Every business kind of has systems in place, you know, like a client management system or a, I think you guys use Kajabi, don't you?

[00:13:59] Kate McDowell: We do.

[00:14:00] Lindsay Sutherland: Okay. So something like that, because it's something that a lot of new people get hung up on is technology, especially when it's, You know, they're looking at the modality, they're looking at helping people.

[00:14:12] And then all of a sudden they realize everything is on a notebook, you know, or in their cell phone. And so making that to where you're really running a business, it requires some sort of software to help you organize yourself in some way, shape or form. And maybe Kajabi is just one part of what you do. I don't know.

[00:14:27] I just happened to see that when I was looking on your Instagram profile. But that's what I mean.

[00:14:33] Kate McDowell: Okay. Yeah. We've been using Kajabi. I use. It kind of adapts and changes as you go as well. Like I'm currently in the process at looking at Jane, just because I've heard really good things about that too. But what I like about Kajabi is that it's all in one because we do have a podcast.

[00:14:51] We do have a blog. I can send out emails from there. There's landing pages. Like I liked everything all in one package. So that's why I went the Kajabi route, but I think it's important to figure out what are the key things that you need for your business that you want to. Use or to help keep you organized and then look for something that's gonna support that because if you're not using all the features of Kajabi, it's pricier than some of the other options.

[00:15:20] And so yeah, I mean we went with it because I was like I want everything all in the same place

[00:15:27] Lindsay Sutherland: And it's user friendly. I've used it. I think of all a lot, a lot, a lot of the systems I've used, it's one of the most user friendly systems. Anybody. And if you are wearing all the hats, it's a good one to start with.

[00:15:38] Yeah. Well, that's,

[00:15:41] Kate McDowell: I didn't, I found it was, there's a learning curve for sure. But once you learn it, it's like, I don't want to move to anything else. Cause I don't want to have to learn anything else. Right.

[00:15:49] Lindsay Sutherland: 100%. Yeah. I've switched multiple times and I. I doubt that has actually been one piece of advice that I've given people is do your due diligence and choose the software based on where you think your business will be three years from now, not where you are today.

[00:16:06] Cause a lot of times people will start to stitch things together because they're trying to keep cost effective. Not to say that's not smart. I understand the reason behind it, but. What ends up happening is three years from now, when you want that all in one, that whole process of switching is almost not an, it's like not even worth it.

[00:16:24] It's such a nightmare. Sometimes then you pigeonhole yourself into staying with something that you don't like, or that's subpar because you're almost like all of the landing page links and things like that. All everything, everything has to change and people don't think through those things. They don't know.

[00:16:38] Cause I've never done it, but that is exactly. And if you're planning

[00:16:42] Kate McDowell: to get busy, which is what. Most people's goals are right, there's going to come a time where your time is worth so much more money. And so switching is like, it takes a lot of time to do that. And so I totally agree with you from the perspective of yes, look for something and look, plan for where you want to be, not for where you are now.

[00:17:02] And yes, it may cost you a little bit more to take the better option. But if you're planning to grow your business, you're going to get to a point where you don't have the time to be messing around with learning a new system and moving everything over. 100%.

[00:17:16] Lindsay Sutherland: So that leads me to my last question then, Kate, where is your business headed?

[00:17:19] Where do you see yourself going? And what are some new challenges that you guys are facing right now?

[00:17:26] Kate McDowell: So the goal for our business, I want to grow the team because what we're offering people, I do. muscle testing, but virtually is what we were certified to do through COVID. And it's a service that's very sparse in Canada.

[00:17:41] Not many people offer this. And so we want to continue to grow the business, but I won't be able to do that with just me and one business partner. So my goal is to grow the team to help as many people as we can, because there are so many health challenges out there. And there's so many people that are in a place where I was With MS and not being able to find the help that I needed.

[00:18:04] So, yeah, I mean, we want to continue to grow it. We want to expand and grow the team, make more of a presence in Canada because Canadian healthcare, as much as people think it must be, it would be amazing to have free healthcare. You get what you pay for. And it's, it's really leaves people short in a lot of ways.

[00:18:25] So, yeah, I want to help people in so many different ways. And so that's going to lead to expanding the business. That's been kind of my biggest challenge recently is like, we're almost at the point where we need to have a wait list for people, but I also don't want, I've seen other practices where there's a four year wait list, and I don't want to have to make people wait that long to work on their health because I think it's so important.

[00:18:49] Lindsay Sutherland: Agreed. Yeah. Are you going to be certifying people then? Or do you just have them go through the same certification you went through and then bring them into your practice? Or is there a way to apprentice with you? How do you plan to kind of navigate that if somebody were to, I'm just thinking if someone's listening to this and they want to work with you, what would be those steps?

[00:19:09] Kate McDowell: I want to eventually certify people. I'm like a teacher background by nature. I love to educate and teach. But at this point, yeah, I would send people to the same. Kind of program that we learned in as well, get them certified there. And then they could come and start working with us or start a prep or apprentice with us to get used to how we operate.

[00:19:32] So yeah, pretty fascinating.

[00:19:36] Lindsay Sutherland: So where can people connect with you?

[00:19:38] Kate McDowell: My main platform? Uh, I have a couple, so we have our own podcast as well, which is called Limitless Health. And then. You can find me on YouTube, but I'm mostly on Instagram. So that would be under what's your handle aligned natural health.

[00:19:56] Lindsay Sutherland: Perfect. And I will put that in the show notes. But I always like to say audio because, you know, people are busy, they're listening, and they're like, not going to always click into the notes. So I always like to mention it. And that's fantastic. Well, thank you so much for joining me on this podcast. I'm grateful for your wisdom and your willingness to share I think it's going to make a difference in a lot of people's lives.

[00:20:17] Well, thank you for having me.