We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Haley Bishoff. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Haley below.
Haley, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?
Last April, I started my nutrition private practice to create a different life for myself. Ultimately, I did this to avoid the burnout from standard medical field jobs that overwork you day in and day out. Before I started my private practice, I was working for other companies who made us see ten or more patients a day doing back-to-back nutrition counseling with little breaks and an unrealistic amount of work to complete in a day’s time. I quickly understood that in many healthcare jobs, if you don’t go your own route, you’ll likely be stuck in a job that ultimately leads to burnout.
When I started my business, I realized quickly that it brought on a different type of stress and burnout that I wasn’t expecting. Solo entrepreneurs really do it all, from being the healthcare provider, to billing, marketing, scheduling, networking, administration and more. I found myself completely stressed, but in a way I’d never experienced. I knew that being constantly overworked and burning myself out wouldn’t be sustainable and would eventually affect my health, which it did. I had to find new strategies to create better balance in all aspects of my life and within my new found career path.
As someone who has always loved activities like rock climbing, skateboarding, hiking or biking, I completely lost the energy to do the things I enjoyed and had to find a way to bounce back. Setting boundaries with myself, my time and my business was the only way to limit the constant overwhelm and burnout. Now, I stop work at designated times versus allowing myself to send emails all night, and I’ve slowed the pace at which I try and accomplish things in a given work day. Taking more time, slowing down and setting limits with myself has allowed me to regain the energy and passion for things I’ve always loved to do. While work is important and we need it to survive, we also need our peace, hobbies, rest and time to re-energize so that we can actually be productive through the week. Getting burned out can sometimes be a choice – it just depends on how we prioritize different things each day and how much time we give back to ourselves to actually enjoy life.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a registered dietitian and the owner of Rūtsu Nutrition in Las Vegas, NV. I offer individual nutrition counseling for various health conditions like diabetes, heart disease and other chronic illnesses, or for those looking to prevent chronic disease and stay healthy. My practice accepts most major health insurance plans which typically cover nutrition visits 100% with zero cost to the client. I also offer brand work, group health challenges and freelance writing services.
The name Rūtsu Nutrition was inspired by my time spent in Japan as a professional kendama player. Rūtsu means roots in Japanese, and I specialize in plant-based nutrition. During my time in Japan, I fell in love with the culture and concept of Kaizen – the philosophy of continual self improvement. Kaizen can be applied to all aspects of life, but especially health, wellness and nutrition.
I offer one-on-one visits, but have recently launched 14-week group health challenges and packages for my clients who want to work with me for a more extended period of time!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three qualities that were most impactful in my journey were:
1. People & customer service skills
2. Traveling & real world experience
3. Having bad job experiences I could learn from
When you’re first starting your career, or whatever journey, you will likely have many experiences that are not 100% positive. I think going through bad jobs and hard experiences helps you understand what you do not like and what you will not tolerate moving forward. There’s always something to take away from negative situations!
Also, if there are opportunities that align with you and allow you to experience the world in a way you’re not used to, take them! I was very fortunate to travel a lot through my early 20’s which helped me gain so much more perspective about the world outside of my own bubble.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
The most impactful things my parents did for me was allow me to follow any path I chose. I truly feel that I had the most supportive parents, and I know I am so fortunate and lucky to say that.
I was a competitive gymnast growing up and they took me to every competition and practice. Then, at the start of college, I became a professional kendama player (traditional Japanese skill toy), and they encouraged me to travel the world and get the most out of it because I loved it. When I pursued my career in nutrition and my business, I got nothing but support. My mom still helps me day-to-day with various business tasks and constant support when things get difficult. I don’t know how I would have done anything without them!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rutsunutrition.com
- Instagram: @rutsu.nutrition and @hbishhh
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haleybishoff/
Image Credits
Jeremy Stephenson
Justin Santiago
Rafael Andrade
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
