Eliza Kingsford is a licensed psychotherapist and certified Mind/Body practitioner. She specializes in body image, disordered eating and weight loss, helping to create breakthrough experiences for people who have tried everything to feel comfortable with their body and feel like they’ve failed. Initially working with people in-person, she expanded her business online to be able to reach many more people. She offers a variety of programs for clients – from a 14-Day Weight Loss Jumpstart Program to a Brain Powered Weight Loss Master Class to personalized private coaching sessions that are available for one person or for a family. She’s also written a best-selling book to introduce people to the #1 most important component in the weight loss journey (hint: it’s not about the food!). Her goal for her clients is to move them from feelings of depression, hopelessness, and frustration to joy, happiness, and healing. Overall, we find Eliza as amazing as she sounds, and we hope you do too!
Meet Eliza Kingsford!
What inspired you to launch a web-based business?
I worked in the corporate world for 12 years. During this time, I watched as more people were turning to online products and ‘do it yourself’ solutions for weight and body image struggles. My company had treated over 10,000 clients and their families, and there were repetitive patterns that emerged that I felt I could share to a large-scale audience.
What do you love most about having your own business? Running my own business allows me to help people in the way I am best at helping. I am a perpetual student of my craft and I spend a lot of time learning, tweaking and perfecting my programs. Owning my own business allows me the freedom and flexibility to do this. In turn, I give my best work to my clients. I also love the freedom and flexibility I have to do the things that light my soul up, which again, makes me better at serving my clients.
What is most challenging about running a business? I ran two corporate businesses before starting my own business. I actually like the challenge of business. However, starting my own business and being a solo-preneur is definitely not for the faint of heart. For someone like me, who is a clinician and would love nothing more than to just serve my clients all day, focusing on all of the other things that make a business run consumes a lot of my energy. I had to get really good at implementing systems and processes to prevent burnout. I had to learn what to prioritize and when. I had to learn to stop comparing myself to what I was seeing out there in the digital world so I could tune into what was uniquely right for me. I had to shut out a lot of the noise so I could focus. That takes discipline and time.
What are some of your proudest accomplishments?
- In 2017, I wrote a book published by Penguin-Random House called Brain-Powered Weight Loss. That experience has allowed me to reach people that need help but didn’t know I was out there.
- From 2013-2017 I was asked to sit on a scientific advisory board for obesity and eating disorders. I sat alongside many of my idols in my fields of obesity, weight management and eating disorders. I learned a great deal from this experience. I had access to the greatest minds in the business. This was an invaluable experience.
- I have been featured on Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Shape magazine, Health magazine, CNN health, NBC health, Psychology Today, Mental Health Weekly and many others. I love the way this gives me a chance to connect to audiences around the world.
Where’s your favorite place to get work done? I recently renovated my guest room in my house into my home office. I created a space that is my very own. The paint colors, the furniture, the decor all make me feel grounded and peaceful.
Do you have favorite podcasts?
- I love James Wedmore, Mind Your Business Podcast
- Jim Fortin Podcast
- Amy Porterfield- Online Marketing Made Easy
How do you unplug from work? I live in Boulder, Colorado and I spend a great deal of time outside walking the trails in the mountains behind my house. Nature is where I feel most grounded and connected to myself and my work and Colorado has no shortage of ways for me to connect with nature.
What tips for maintaining work/life balance would you give to other businesswomen? For me, the concept of balance didn’t really work. I really needed to understand that saying “yes” to things inevitably meant saying “no” to others. Rather than trying to balance it all, I look at it more as weighing and measuring. What do I want to say yes to and what do I want to let go of. This allows me to do the things I say yes to really well, and let go of the things I say no to. It prevents me from doing everything at 70% rather than doing a few things really well. For example, I say “no” to clients after 4:00 pm each day. This allows me to say “yes” to my daughter after school. I also say “yes” to my hour alone in the morning from 5:00am, which means I say “no” to staying up late or sleeping in. I am clear about my yes’s and my no’s. This took time to cultivate, but it works best for me.
What’s something you do every day to take care of yourself? I say a morning mantra to start off my day in the direction I want it to go. I also walk in nature at least 5 times a week. I meditate 3-5 times a week. I practice belly breathing multiple times a day.
What investments have most helped your business grow? I make investments in my personal development. This can be conferences, coaching or other programs that help me become the best version of myself. I believe it’s imperative to look outside myself for my growth because we are too close to our own psyches to really see what is holding us back.
Business-wise, where do you see yourself in 10 years? I will eventually move into training other clinicians to do the work that I do. I trained hundreds of clinicians when I was in the corporate world, and I have a strong desire to get back to that. I will also continue to build a community of warriors who support each other in overcoming body obsession. I will also write another book when the time is right. My mission is to help as many people as I can heal from an unhealthy relationship with their body so they can go out in the world and be the person they were meant to be.
What is the number one piece of advice would you give to someone who wants to run a web-based business? There is a saying, “If you build it, they will come”. I find that saying somewhat misleading for someone just starting out. It implies that if you create a great product, people will find it. I don’t believe it’s that simple. Yes, you MUST have a great product. There is a lot of junk out there, and I believe it’s our duty to create effective, research-based programs that actually help people. However, building a great product is only a small portion of what it takes to be successful online. You then need to create and engage an audience, find your target market, market to your target market, etc. I was naive in the beginning and thought that my experience and expertise in my industry was enough to carry me into the online space. That just wasn’t true. I needed to learn how to execute on all fronts, and not just the clinical side of the business.
–
Learn more about Eliza Kingsford and her business by visiting www.elizakingsford.com and follow her on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook!