Nourishing Business

Meet Alexis Williams

When Alexis Williams first stepped into her role as a clinical dietitian, she never imagined her career would lead her to manage a team of 90 dietitians in grocery stores across Canada. Nor did she foresee that one day she'd be teaching other health professionals how to navigate the business world.

Yet her journey from clinic rooms to corporate boardrooms and eventually to entrepreneurship offers a glimpse into the diverse paths a healthcare career can take.

Through unexpected turns and bold decisions, Alexis discovered that a dietitian's skills could extend far beyond traditional clinical settings. Her story is an invitation to consider the possibilities that lie beyond what you initially see in healthcare.

Discovering Dietetics

Alexis always had a passion for health and wellness, even before she knew what a dietitian was. As a high school student, she found herself drawn to the world of running, fitness, and overall well-being. It was a natural extension of her active lifestyle, but she hadn't yet connected the dots to a potential career path.

"I was really into running and fitness in high school and I didn't know what to apply for. I'd never heard of a dietitian," Alexis said.

It was a chance conversation with her mother's friend that would set Alexis on the path to becoming a dietitian. The woman, a seasoned professional in the field, painted a picture of a career that combined Alexis's interests with the stability of a respected profession.

"My mom had a friend who told me about the dietitian program and she said, 'You should apply for this because you have the opportunity to have a profession at the end of the degree, it's a very employable area, it's about food and nutrition' and so that was very appealing to me," Alexis explained.

As Alexis dove into her studies, she found ways to keep her passion for fitness alive. "I worked at a YMCA as a fitness instructor and became a personal trainer," she said. These experiences, while not directly related to her dietetics coursework, would prove invaluable in shaping her unique perspective on health and wellness.

Overcoming Early Career Challenges

After graduation, Alexis embarked on what she thought would be a straightforward career path. "I took a number of clinical roles, mostly outpatient counselling. I taught at a college... I did Private Practice Sports Nutrition on the side of that," she outlined.

But her dream was always to work in sports nutrition, combining her love for athletics with her newfound expertise in dietetics. However, the reality of the job market presented challenges.

Throughout these early years, Alexis's openness to new opportunities led her down unexpected paths. One such path was writing for magazines, an experience that would last for a decade.

"I wasn't sure if I wanted to write for magazines," Alexis explained. "I'm dating myself because they were print magazines, but I just reached out to an editor and asked, 'Can I write for your magazine?' and I ended up writing for that magazine for like 10 years."

This experience not only honed Alexis's communication skills but also expanded her professional network and visibility in the field. It serves as a prime example of her advice to be proactive in seeking out interesting opportunities, even if they seem tangential to one's primary career path.

Embracing Corporate Dietetics

The reality of needing a stable income to buy a house and start building a life hit hard. Alexis found herself at a crossroads, torn between her dream and the practicalities of adult life. It was a struggle many young professionals face, but for Alexis, it felt particularly poignant given how sure she had been about her chosen path.

Fortunately, an opportunity arose that would change the course of Alexis's career. A large retailer in Canada was looking to create a wellness program, combining the expertise of pharmacists and dietitians in their grocery stores. It was an innovative concept, one that would allow Alexis to use her skills in a new and exciting way.

"When I heard about the position, I was intrigued," Alexis remembers.

Alexis threw herself into the role, helping to create and staff the program across Ontario. She organised heart health events, worked with marketing teams, and even conducted quick consultations with customers. It was a whirlwind of activity, a far cry from the clinical settings she was used to.

But just as Alexis was finding her footing in this new world, the funding for the program was cut. Once again, she found herself at a crossroads. This time, however, she had a taste of what it was like to work in a more business-oriented role, and she liked it.

Leading an In-Store Dietitian Program

In 2011, an opportunity arose that would define the next decade of Alexis's career. The same retailer was looking to develop an in-store dietitian program, having dietitians work directly in the grocery stores. It was a concept that aligned perfectly with Alexis's recent experience and her desire to make a broader impact.

Determined to succeed, Alexis reached out to dietitians in the United States who had experience with similar programs. She became a sponge, soaking up their knowledge and adapting it to the Canadian market. It was a period of intense learning and growth, both professionally and personally.

As the program grew, so did Alexis's responsibilities. What started as a one-woman show quickly expanded to a team of over 50 dietitians across the country. Within four years, that number had grown to 90.

The learning curve was steep. Alexis had to quickly adapt to running a large budget, proving the return on investment for the program, and developing her leadership skills. The company provided leadership training, introducing Alexis to concepts like "Blue Culture" and the principle of assuming positive intent.

"That was a big shift for me," Alexis reflects.

As Alexis grew into her role as a leader, she found unexpected parallels between her new responsibilities and her background in clinical dietetics. The skills of active listening, empathy, and problem-solving that she had honed as a clinician translated surprisingly well to leadership.

"I realised that coaching a team member wasn't that different from counselling a patient," Alexis says. "You're still trying to help someone reach their goals, just in a different context."

Balancing Career Growth and Family Life

But as Alexis's career flourished, she faced new challenges on the personal front. During her ten-year tenure with the retailer, she had two children and was taking two one-year maternity leaves. The experience of balancing her high-powered career with motherhood was both rewarding and incredibly challenging.

"I went from someone who had no boundaries with work to suddenly having very real, very necessary boundaries," Alexis explains, a mix of emotions playing across her face. "It was a huge adjustment, both for me and for my team."

The struggle to find balance was real. Alexis found herself constantly torn between her dedication to her work and her desire to be present for her children. It was a juggling act that many working parents know all too well, but it felt particularly acute given the level of responsibility Alexis held.

Oh, how we parents relate! For some of us, depending on our job, going to work is the break.

Despite the challenges, Alexis found ways to make it work. She credits her supportive family, particularly her parents, who helped with childcare, for making it possible for her to continue her career trajectory.

Taking on Association Leadership

As the years went by, Alexis found herself at another crossroads. She had been in the same role for a decade, and while she loved her work, she began to wonder what else might be out there for her. When an opportunity arose to lead the professional dietetic association as CEO, it seemed like the perfect next step.

"I thought it would be a great way to use my leadership skills and business experience to give back to the profession," Alexis explains. "It seemed like the logical progression of my career."

However, the reality of the role quickly proved to be different from what Alexis had envisioned. It became clear that this position wasn't the right fit for her. “I think they probably needed a different type of leader”, she reflected.

The decision to leave the CEO position was one of the hardest Alexis had ever made. She felt as though she had made a huge mistake, giving up what many considered one of the best jobs in the country for dietitians.

I can relate to Alexis's experience. I too have had roles that seemed perfect on paper but turned out to be poor fits in reality. It's a challenging situation that many professionals face at some point in their careers. Alexis's experience reminds us that even when a career move doesn't work out as planned, it can often lead to unexpected opportunities and personal growth.

And as the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens. Alexis's spouse had been setting up a consulting company, and she decided to take a break and do some business-to-business consulting in the food sector.

Navigating Professional Identity Shifts

As Alexis navigated these career transitions, she found herself grappling with questions of professional identity. The way she introduced herself to others became a reflection of her evolving career path.

"When I'm telling people what I do, it really depends on the audience," Alexis explained. "I think I normally lead with being a dietitian, but that's kind of recent. There was a period of time where I maybe didn't lead with that because I wasn't working as a clinician."

This shift in how Alexis presented herself professionally mirrored her journey from traditional dietetics roles to more entrepreneurial pursuits. "I do talk about being an entrepreneur and doing a number of different things, as well as career coaching and helping health professionals. I think I tend to lead with that for most audiences," she said. "But you know, if I'm talking to athletes or friends that are active, I'm probably talking more about Sports Nutrition because they can understand it better."

Alexis's experience highlights a common challenge for health professionals who venture beyond traditional clinical roles: how to reconcile their professional training and identity with new career directions. It's a balancing act between honouring one's roots and embracing new identities, often tailoring the presentation to the audience at hand.

This challenging period was a pivotal moment in Alexis's career journey. It forced her to reassess her goals and aspirations, leading her to revisit a list of business ideas she had been cultivating over the years.

Launching a Business Skills Venture

One idea stood out: using her extensive experience to help other health professionals learn about business. It was a way to combine her passion for dietetics with the business acumen she had developed over the years. This seed of an idea would eventually grow into her current venture, Business Skills for Health Professionals.

As Alexis began to explore this idea, she took a course on how to design your life. It introduced her to the concept of prototyping – testing out ideas before fully committing to them.

"At first, I thought I needed to develop six full courses before I could launch anything," Alexis explains. "But the course taught me to start small, to test the waters."

Alexis began by running paid webinars on various business topics for health professionals. As she built a following, she realised she was onto something. People were hungry for the kind of knowledge she could provide.

However, balancing her new business venture with consulting work proved challenging. Alexis found that project-based consulting work was unpredictable and often conflicted with her efforts to grow her own business.

In a moment of clarity, Alexis decided to shift gears. She returned to her roots in sports nutrition counselling part-time, finding that it provided a more predictable schedule that allowed her to balance her own business pursuits.

"It was about finding the right rhythm," Alexis explains. "I needed something that would give me the stability to build my business without the feast-or-famine stress of project-based work."

Empowering Fellow Health Professionals

As Alexis settled into this new balance, she found herself truly enjoying her work for the first time in years. She particularly loved hosting a podcast where she interviewed health professionals working in unique environments.

But perhaps the most rewarding aspect of Alexis's new venture is helping other health professionals recognise their own potential. She finds immense satisfaction in boosting people's confidence and helping them see how their skills could translate to new and exciting roles.

"I had this client who had worked in long-term care for years," Alexis recalls. "Her facility was closing, and she was panicking about finding a new job. Through our work together, she realised she had skills that could transfer to the business side of healthcare. She ended up getting a job with a food company that sells products to long-term care facilities, and she loves it."

As she helps health professionals navigate their own career paths, Alexis hopes her journey will inspire them to think outside the box, to be brave in pursuing new directions, and to remember that their skills and experiences are valuable in ways they might not yet imagine. 

"I never could have predicted where my career would take me when I first started out," Alexis says with a smile. "But I wouldn't change it for the world. Every step, every stumble, has led me to where I am now – and I'm excited to see where the path leads next."

Alexis’ Wisdom

• Be open to opportunities that intrigue you - If you're drawn to something and have the ability to explore it, you should. Many positive career developments can come from leaning into interesting opportunities and experimenting with them.

• Proactively seek out things that interest you - Don't just wait for opportunities to come to you. Reach out and ask.

• Maintain connections outside your workplace - It's important to continue friendships and professional relationships beyond your current job. Even if it's just a virtual coffee chat once a month or connecting on LinkedIn, these external connections can be valuable for career growth and future opportunities.

Explore Business Skills for Health Professionals or connect with her on LinkedIn