Navigating Business Insights: Christen Kaplan of Love A Wholistic Life
Christen Kaplan is the Co-Owner and CEO of Love a Wholistic Life Inc. She is an AFPA Certified Holistic Nutritionist and Supplementation Expert and has held certifications as a CPT, Post Rehab Specialist, Level 1 Postural Assessment Specialist and Medical Exercise Specialist.
Christen’s corporate experience includes 12 years in the fashion industry where she committed her life to a rigorous executive corporate structure with two of the top fashion houses in the world. It was an amazing experience, but the unbalanced lifestyle came at great personal cost to her and her family. She knew it was time to make some changes and left Corporate America to follow her calling.
Company: Love A Wholistic Life
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company
Christen Kaplan: A little bit about me…I am Christen Kaplan an Author, Certified Holistic Nutritionist, Supplement Expert, Wellness Coach, and CEO of Love A Wholistic Life Inc. We are a company that is unique in the nutritional world. Unlike the countless quick-fix diets and lackluster nutritional programs out there that seem to only focus on shedding pounds, our company is all about healing your body from the inside out and transforming your relationship with food. It is that simple.
Our programs are structured differently than many current weight loss programs on the market. Most programs are focused on purely losing weight through unsustainable fad diets. The Love a Wholistic Life courses and books teach how nature was designed to nourish the body, heal the body, and how proper nutrition can sustain your body, putting you back in control of your health. For example, if someone has type 2 diabetes, we educate them on what the disease is, how they got it, what is going on inside their body when they have type 2 diabetes, and most importantly how proper nutrition can help reverse this lifestyle disease. There is a huge misconception that most lifestyle diseases are genetic and that is simply not true. Most lifestyle diseases are rarely genetic which is why they are considered “lifestyle” diseases.
Often many of these lifestyle diseases can seem to be a life sentence. But it most certainly does not have to be. Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol are at the forefront of our nation’s health concerns and proper nutrition is a critical health component for helping mitigate these conditions.
We believe everyone has a right to know what is going on inside their body and our programs and books do just that. Unfortunately, 75% of the United States is overweight and in the obese categories with most of these people taking multiple prescriptions to treat the symptoms caused by the lifestyle diseases that are associated with excessive weight gain. Our nutrition programs educate our clients on the most important information they need to know that their doctors unfortunately are simply not qualified to teach them and that is how poor nutrition can devastate a person’s health but, there is hope and through proper nutritional education a person can take back their health.
Like many Americans I come from a family that has been ridden with preventable lifestyle diseases. When I was about six years old, my mother got sick and became bedridden. She was on so many prescription drugs that had been prescribed to her by her doctors that the side effects from the combination of drugs had her incoherent and incapable of getting out of bed. Back then it was common for doctors to get kickbacks for prescribing prescription drugs and my mom’s doctors handed them out like candy.
My dad worked twelve to fourteen hours a day to provide for six kids so my sister and I would care for our mother and my sister also took on the additional responsibility of caring for us kids while my dad was at work since she was the oldest. While other kids were out playing and being normal kids, my sister and I would be home nursing our sick mother. My father did everything he could to be mom and dad to us kids, but as anyone who has kids knows it takes a village to raise six kids. He found his only solace and comfort in food and eventually his weight exceeded almost 600lbs. Both of my parents had type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, high cholesterol, as well as several other serious conditions associated with excessive weight gain. It was devastating to watch. We spent more time in the waiting rooms of doctors’ offices and hospitals than we did on playgrounds.
My sister and I have not only experienced firsthand the devasting consequences of weight related lifestyle disease, but we have lost many people we love to lifestyle diseases that could have been prevented. In 2019 we lost our brother who died of complications of type 2 diabetes so to say this hits home is an understatement.
I know I can speak for my sister when I say that we will fall on our sword when it comes to getting the message out there that you do not have to be destined to a future of lifestyle disease and a lifetime of prescriptions drugs. You can take back your health!
If you were in an elevator with Warren Buffett, how would you describe your company, your services or products? What makes your company different from others? What is your company’s biggest strength?
Christen Kaplan: If I were in an elevator with Warren Buffet, I would tell him that our company is all about healing your body from the inside out and transforming your relationship with food. It is that simple. We teach people how to be their own health advocate and take control of their health so that they are able to not only lose weight but regain their health without the need for prescription drugs and gimmicks that offer only temporary results. Our programs and books teach you what some doctors and pharmaceutical companies do not want you to know. Our strength is that unlike other programs out there, our company educates our clients about how to heal the body from the inside out. We go to the core of lifestyle disease, and we tackle the disease, not just put a band aid on the symptoms. The results come full circle. It is not just about dropping a couple pounds. It is about restoring the harmony between your health, body, and mind in a sustainable way.
Quiet quitting, The Great Resignation, is an ongoing trend causing many businesses to struggle to keep talent engaged and motivated. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued, and misunderstood in the workplace. In your experience, what keeps employees happy? And how are you adapting to the current shift we see?
Christen Kaplan: Years ago, during my corporate life, I used to work as an executive for two of the biggest fashion houses in the world. I was a National Education Executive, and I traveled the country for years teaching my associates how to develop happy productive teams and how to build their business. In a company that literally dominates the globe in fashion and beauty, creating an emotional attachment to the brand and their teams was efficacious to each account’s success. People work for people, and they want to work for a brand that they can be proud of, with a team they can thrive in. Developing a relationship of appreciation and respect for my teams and my account managers was what drove my success. It does not matter what role a person has in a company, everyone wants to be heard and appreciated. Motivation comes from treating everyone, from the janitor that cleans the building to senior level executives with integrity and respect. Everyone and their position are of important value to the company.
With LAWL, I have had the same team for several years now because I make sure every member of my team feels cared for and appreciated. No one wants to work for a Drill Sergeant. Kindness and respect go a long way. Recognizing and acknowledging your teams’ talents and hard work will motivate them to want to work hard. There is not enough of that in the workplace anymore. Encouraging people through sincerity and respect will ensure a happier work environment.
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
Christen Kaplan: People appreciate the convenience of online shopping, working from home or remotely, Zoom accessibility, as well as other avenues of making life and work experiences more efficient. However, I still believe that we cannot lose personal communication skills and personalization techniques that make our employees, customers, and clients feel special and that their purchase of whatever product or service is greatly appreciated. Regardless of technological advancement people still want to talk to a live person on the phone and want that personal connection. I love that part of my job. I love engaging with my team, clients, and customers. I really want my clients to feel cared for and valued. We do not rush our clients or dismiss their concerns. We take particular care in making sure we give our clients every tool they need to set them up for success. It is not optional; we must provide an elevated level of care because our clients’ health and their lives can be at stake if we don’t. That same amount of care is important in nurturing a high level of performance from our team as well.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Christen Kaplan: The challenge right now for businesses is to create a positive work environment that fosters growth opportunities and entices employees to proudly want to grow with that company. I see some companies with a high turnover in employees because the company’s expectations are unrealistic, they treat their employees like they have no value as employees or as people for that matter, and they set goals that are unachievable which can deflate a person’s confidence in their ability to do their job well. Lack of proper training and mentorship is another issue. I was fortunate to have some of the best mentors to learn from during my years in the corporate world as well as my current career. My mentors poured themselves and their experience into me. I would never have become successful without that level of care and accountability. I strongly believe the best way to learn is to teach. I used to train my people until they could easily teach the skills back to me effortlessly. When they were able to do that then I knew they were prepared to confidently proceed to the next level.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Christen Kaplan: The most underestimated part of running a company for me is time management skills and work-life balance. We are a family run business and although we have a great team that is very hard working and excellent at their jobs, my sister and I often take on more than we should because we want to help everyone and that can come at a sacrifice for our families. We have learned to ask for help when we need it, stay in our lane, trust our people, and we put our family first. Of course, we want to continue to build our business but more importantly we want to help people regain their health and quality of life. So, for us to provide for our clients we have to teach what we preach and focus on a healthy work-life balance.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Christen Kaplan: My business superpower would be the power of persuasion. It is not easy to teach people who have been eating the standard American diet most of their lives’, to develop a new relationship with nutritional whole foods. It is even harder to get them to break some of the habits that have become addictive self-sabotaging behaviors. Most people tend to take their health for granted, especially because most people do not have a clue as to what is going on inside their body and they have been trained to take a pill for everything that goes wrong. People do not know what they do not know. The food you put into your body has a job to do. If you are not feeding your body the proper nutrients, every organ and cell in your body will suffer from lack of nutrition. This is why over 80% of the US population is considered malnourished and much of our population is unwell. I wish we could open the eyes of the American people to see the damage that the standard American diet has caused.
What does “success” in 2024 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision
Christen Kaplan: 2024 has had its ups and downs. We lost our mother a few months ago to complications of a drug interaction. Her loss definitely took a toll on my sister and me. It will take some time to heal, especially because we were not aware that she was on so many prescriptions. When she went into the hospital she was on over twenty-five medications.
However, from a business perspective this has been a great year for growing our business and learning. My sister and I are always continuing to develop our knowledge in this field through research and education. Education is another important business superpower. When we stop learning we stop growing. I am a huge nerd; I love to learn. Business has great so far for 2024 but of course we strive for more in the second half of this year!
