Meet Bea Swasey Patterson... Certified Holistic Pet Health Coach and Canine Nutritionist
Jul 30, 2024
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Bea Swasey Patterson is a Certified Holistic Pet Health Coach and Canine Nutritionist. Experiencing the profound effects of gut healing in her own life, Bea believes that a nutrient-dense, whole foods diet along with supporting digestive function is the key to health and wellness in both humans and animals. She takes an individualized approach and provides actionable steps to guide her clients through their healing journeys - by honoring each pet’s unique needs. |
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What kind of work do you do? I am a Canine Nutritionist and Certified Holistic Pet Health Coach. I show dog parents how easy it is to prepare gently-cooked food at home for their best friends and the endless health-benefits of doing so.
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What inspired you to get started as an entrepreneur? I’ve always enjoyed being independent and I have a hard time with people telling me what to do. Starting a business, working for myself was appealing as I know I work hard, I’m stubborn and if I put my mind to it, I can get anything done. So why not do it for myself? It took me a while though to figure out what type of business would be the one I’ll thrive in – working with dogs is really a dream come true. And working online, only needing my computer allows me to be anywhere in the world and still be able to help my clients, work towards my goals, and make money. It’s a win-win, I love it! |
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What was your biggest struggle to get things going for your online business? When I started my business, I had zero social media presence. I was not active on my personal Facebook page at all and didn’t even have an Instagram account. I knew I had to learn all that, slowly but surely keep posting to build my presence – which includes putting my face out there in form of videos…that was scary at first. I am very critical of myself and have a very hard time putting anything out there that is not perfect. I am still working really hard on that – but I keep telling myself that “done is better than perfect” and that helps.
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Was there a time you thought about giving up? What kept you from quitting? In every entrepreneurial journey there are down times, rough patches, times when it seems like nothing is happening. Times when I spend hours creating a post that gets 2 likes (from my relatives). When I keep reaching out and nobody seems to care. What keeps me going is the fact that I completely believe in what I do, I know that I can help dogs feel better, pet parents to enjoy more quality time with their dogs. I am probably just not speaking to the right audience. Or I am not communicating clearly. If something doesn’t seem to be working, I try to do it differently. I just keep doing it, I keep going – because what else am I going to do? Give up? Nope, that’s not who I am. |
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What have you learned since beginning? I learnt a lot… for example to trust my gut. I am smart, capable and I am ok with moving forward with my original ideas, with my unique views. Sometimes it seems it would be easier, safer to copy others, “follow the herd”. But I know that while creating my own waves may seem scary at first, it will help me stand out and will take me further.
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What’s the best advice you’ve received? Stay consistent. It really works. |
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What advice would you give someone just starting out? Just do it! The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll see results. Many aspects of building a business take a long time and steady work – like building a website, SEO, social media presence. Work on all these at least weekly and don’t get hung up if after a few months you still don’t rank on the first page of Google. Keep posting those blogs and YouTube videos and see what happens in a year… |
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What’s the professional win you’re most proud of? One of my clients came to me for tips and recipes to help her dog lose a few pounds. We were able to successfully achieve that within a few weeks by switching to a fresh food diet that’s much lower in carbs than kibble and started her boy on low-calorie, home-made treats instead of commercial ones. He has been doing great on the cooked food. When this dog mom decided to adopt a puppy, she scheduled an appointment with me before even bringing her home. Seeing how her other dog was thriving on the new diet, she was determined to raise this little puppy holistically starting with a fresh diet – we discussed natural options for flea and tick medications, titer testing for vaccination and ovary-spaying neutering. This is so huge! |
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How has social media played a factor in your success? Absolutely – Facebook and Instagram are the main platforms I connect with pet parents / my future clients. Many pet owners seek answers in various Facebook groups where I can provide guidance. Better yet, I have my own Facebook group specifically supporting small breed dogs – I love that dog parents can ask me questions directly and have a chance not only to help one particular dog but also provide education to my members.
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What are the biggest social media mistakes you see commonly made? People are still sending cold DMs. It’s something I would never do and I honestly don’t understand how anyone can succeed with that nowadays. |
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What is the business tool that’s been most helpful? Canva, definitely. I don’t know what I would do without it! I use it daily to make my posts, to find pictures for my blog posts, edit videos, adjust photos I took… Also, I have been using Chat GPT more and more lately, to help get those creative juices flowing. |
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Is there something you wish everyone knew? The “secret” is to set goals, write them down and take consistent action. Believe that you already have what you desire. |
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What’s coming up for you in the next few months? I am working on an affordable cooking class so pet parents can easily prepare complete and balanced meals for their best friends. I am also building a low-cost membership around this to provide more information, recipes, tips and tricks in addition to a ton of educational content. |
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What has being successful taught you? To keep my heart and my mind open. The possibilities are endless. |
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What are some fun facts about you? My name, Beata, means happy. I love that! I could not live without milk chocolate, I squeeze toothpaste tubes from pretty much anywhere and everywhere but the bottom and I enjoy two steppin’. |
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How can our readers find you online? FREE Facebook group: Holistic Health 101 for Small Breeds @SparkedUpDogs
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