Greg :
Like, everybody wants to become the best. Every registered dietitian wants to be the best in their city, right? I want to be the best retro diet. I want to be the best physical therapist. I want to be the best occupational therapist. And I always tell them that the best is not going to cut it. What will cut it, though, is becoming the best known you. This is secrets for success. Welcome to the Secrets for Success podcast.
Greg :
I'm your host, Greg Tod. Thank you as always for joining me, my friends. We're going to have an epic episode today. Like, epic, epic, epic. You guys are going to learn so much about so many opportunities that are available to you. And we're going to talk about media, we're going to talk about branding, we're going to talk about sponsorship deals. We're going to talk about this amazing lady's story. Amy Gorin, welcome to the Secrets for success.
Amy:
Thank you. So I just. I'm so excited to be here. And to everyone who's like, you guys are awesome. You're doing amazingness in the world, and I just can't wait to talk to you more.
Greg :
Gosh. Well, first of all, thank you so much for. I've been kind of watching you leave. You're in what state?
Amy:
I'm in Connecticut.
Greg :
You're in Connecticut. I saw you went from Connecticut to JFK. They came down here. And I just want to tell you first, before we start anything like, thank you. Thank you so much. When people come in and they fly in for the podcast, I don't take that for granted. And I know that there had to be a lot of sacrifices and a lot of making sure that this is okay and that's okay and hubby's okay and the animals are okay. So thank you so much for coming down here.
Greg :
We're going to make this an epic podcast. It's going to be awesome.
Amy:
Absolutely. And I mean, this was an invitation I couldn't turn down, so I was so happy to make it work.
Greg :
Awesome. By the way, just to let you guys know, Amy is going to be one of our speakers at SshClive 2024. If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, you are really silly. Sshclive 2024. Dot or one of them things. Just look in the description, you'll see it. But she's going to be a speaker and she's going to talk about so many different things. Being a media dietitian, which we're going to get into in a little bit.
Greg :
Can you tell us a little bit about how you went from working with magazines, to becoming a dietitian, to then basically taking these two parts of your life that seem so separate and bringing them together and helping so many people now build partnership deals and brands for themselves. Tell us your story.
Amy:
Honestly. It's interesting because I've been through the personal struggle that it's like we don't just wake up one day and we're like, oh, life is perfect and happy. And it's like, it was a lot of ups and downs to get to this place where I am, where I am truly fulfilled and so happy. And my second career was as a registered dietitian. And so I'll backtrack. So my first career, I was a magazine editor working in New York City, and I started all the way at the bottom of the totem pole. I was making $14 an hour. I took a pay cut.
Amy:
Like, literally, I was an intern making $15 an hour. They were like, okay, we want to hire you, but the amount of money is 14. And I was living in New York City. It was really hard.
Greg :
That's got to be a hard place to live for $14 an hour.
Amy:
It was hard to make ends meet. I was sometimes working 70 hours a week. Like, literally, if you've seen the movie double worse, Prada, it's real life. Like, I was treated often like horse manure, and I was depressed because I was working, like, 70 hours a week. And I had this thought of, like, if I want longevity in this career, I have to live in New York City forever. And I'm an introvert. And part of why I was depressed was, like, being around people. Twenty four, seven.
Amy:
It was just too much. So I did end up climbing the totem pole. So I got pretty high up in the magazine ladder. But even after having been in media for almost a decade, I was still very far away from earning six figures.
Greg :
Okay, so let's dive into this a little bit.
Amy:
Yeah.
Greg :
You basically started. What year did you start doing that?
Amy:
2006.
Greg :
Okay, so 2006. And you were making around, like, looks like you did that for how many years?
Amy:
So I was on staff until 2015.
Greg :
2015. So, guys, we're talking nine years. I think by the 9th year, you were, like, close to 90, is that right?
Amy:
I was at 87, 80. And that was. I got a one time bonus. So, like, think normally. Closer to 80.
Greg :
Okay. Got.
Amy:
Still living in the most expensive area in the world at this time. I was living just outside of the city, commuting, riding the subway, doing the hustle every day. And I thought, there has to be something more. So I started thinking, about becoming a dietitian. And my focus as an editor was in nutrition. And while I was thinking about this, it was a hard period in my life because I was dating my now husband. I had just gotten evicted from my apartment.
Greg :
Wow.
Amy:
And I ended up moving in with him probably, like, three years before he would have planned for. And we almost broke up. And I brought all my boxes in, and there was nowhere to put them. And we were just, like, living in this chaos for a very long time. And from there, I did end up going back to school to become a dietitian. And then I got to the point in my education where it's a full time unpaid internship for months and months and months. And I had scrounged and saved and saved whatever money I could, but it wasn't enough to pay my rent or my phone bill. And my parents, thankfully, helped me with my rent and phone bill.
Amy:
I'm so grateful to them for that. But I still took out massive student loans to pay for the tuition, to pay for the bus fare to get to my internship. And I thought, okay, this is hard. This is hard, but it will get better. And then fast forward to when I became a dietitian and I had just like, you have this image in your head, and I was just like, once I do this, everything will be great. I'll make more money. Life will be easy. And it was so hard to find a job.
Amy:
I looked and looked, and the only job I could find as a dietitian was part time at a long term care and rehab center. And at that point, I was making $40 an hour. And I was like, okay, I did all this. I paid all this money to go back to school to become a dietitian. And I'm making the same that I was before.
Greg :
Right?
Amy:
And then I stopped to think, and I was like, backtrack a bit to. I thought back to one of my last days as a magazine editor, and I met with a lot of brands when I was an editor. So I had had this meeting with grape nuts to cereal, and they had told me, we hire dietitians and experts to go on tv and talk to the media about our products and, like, we pay them a lot of money. And I was like this. At, in that moment, I was like, okay, all the dots are connecting. I was like, this is how I can marry media and nutrition. Very few people are doing this, and this is how I can get that freedom that I was craving, make the salary that I knew I deserved, and really move forward. I felt unstuck.
Greg :
At that is you guys, please go back and listen to those last three to five minutes of Amy's story. A lot of you are where she was. Amy, you, I think it's actually the norm, what you went through. I think the majority of people are getting into healthcare and it is now a second career for them. They were in another career where it was such a slow ascension. You pretty much were capped out, right? You grinded your way to that peak, but that peak was just under ninety k and it wasn't going to get you any further than where it got you, right? Okay, so now it's like, all right, there's got to be a better way. And we think, all right, if we get into healthcare, in your case, becoming a registered dietitian, that's going to be the better way. You take a step down because now you basically have to study and then you realize that, oh, my gosh, I'm here in the same spot.
Amy:
I hated that job.
Greg :
Right, and you hated it. But this is where wisdom now enters the building. Now it's like, okay, what have I done from my past? What are my passions? What's my proclivity? And can I marry the two? So your proclivity, which is what you're amazing at, is you had nine years of experience of being in this industry. That industry in and of itself is only going to pay you that. Okay, now you're a dietitian, right? I'm assuming like three years is what it took you to become, honestly, an RD.
Amy:
So I was doing it part time while I was working. Seven years.
Greg :
It took seven years.
Amy:
Okay.
Greg :
All right, my bad. Seven years. So we got nine years over here. We got seven years over here. If you take them on its own, they can only get you so far. But what you did is you said, wait a minute, my proclivity. I know this industry well, I might not be amazing at it, but I know the industry good enough. I've been in it for seven years.
Greg :
And then I got this industry over here. And you were able to put the pieces together and then you did.
Amy:
I did. And I mean, it wasn't like none of this was overnight. But from the point where I had that realization that all the puzzle pieces of media and nutrition were fitting together, at that point, I started reaching out to anyone and everyone who would talk to me and give me time. And I just put out a million feelers and I interviewed them like a journalist and found out, like, okay, here's what I need to do to do XYZ. And that's when I started working with the media, I started writing articles for Food Network and everyday health. I started working with brands like Panda Express and Breville and Amy's Kitchen. And I contributed to several runners rule books and went on tv and did social media and blogging. And I knew I was comfortable asking for the help because I knew that if I could just figure out this puzzle pieces a bit more, it would lead to the next thing.
Amy:
And then at that point, I determined, okay, media can help me with two income streams. Like two major income streams. So at that point, I had a very small private practice. I didn't do anything to advertise it. And every time I was featured in the media, like featured in not only was I writing for Food Network, I was also being interviewed almost daily for us news and live strong and eat this. Not that people would find me through those articles. Then they come to my website, they would see those logos on my homepage and they'd be like, instant authority check. Yeah, I trust Amy.
Amy:
I'm going to hire her. And so I built my private practice that way. And then the even bigger thing was building the media income stream. So before I started master the media, and really, until I went full time with master the media in 2022, media was my primary income stream. Working with brands and working with the media.
Greg :
Okay, so there's something that I say to my clients and I talk about, everybody wants to become the best. Every registered dietitian wants to be the best in their city, right? I want to be the best retro diet. I want to be the best physical therapist. I want to be the best occupational therapist. And I always tell them that the best is not going to cut it. What will cut it, though, is becoming the best known.
Amy:
Yes.
Greg :
Would you agree with that?
Amy:
So it's funny, because I do think as a journalist and an editor, I was one of the best. As a dietitian, I haven't had enough real world practice. Like, I didn't work in a hospital for ten years. I didn't see 1000 private practice clients. So I don't consider myself, and I don't even know how you would determine, like, I'm the best dietitian, but absolutely my nutrition niche is plant based eating. And so if I'm one of the five people, people are like, oh, I need a plant based dietitian to talk to. And they think of me, then that's what it's all about, right?
Greg :
That's what it's all about. And I think so many people, they invest their time into just becoming the best, technically, at that thing. And they don't spend a lot of their time investing in and learning the skill set and the resources that you need to become known. And I believe if you add the best and known together, you create that authority like what you created, you create the trust, you create massive credibility. And it makes your life so much easier.
Amy:
So much easier. It's like you could do everything the hard and slow way, inexpensive. You can pour all the money into advertising and do all of that for growing your business. Or honestly, you can spend your time doing a little bit of media, and then that grows all these other revenue streams. Brand partnerships. We're not talking just like a drop in the bucket. We're talking one brand partnership could be $50,000, right? And then you're getting paid to speak. So that could be ten, $20,000, and you're adding all of these things together, and suddenly there's this amazing revenue stream that's not full time.
Amy:
That is more than that salary that I ever could have earned as a dietitian alone or that I ever could have earned as a magazine editor alone.
Greg :
But aren't you double dipping with that, too? Because you're getting paid in a lot of these instances, you're getting paid from the media company to give them the expertise that you know, in some cases.
Amy:
That's a good question.
Greg :
Yeah.
Amy:
So I don't personally double dip. Okay.
Greg :
I love the double dip. That sounds great.
Amy:
But this is where the whole ethics, and I know we're getting into a tangent, but this is something that if you guys saw the Washington Post article come up recently about disclosure and working with brands. And so I run master the media, which is a media training program for health experts. And this is something where early on, they get a whole. We dive into the ethics of, if you're getting paid to write something, you shouldn't also be getting, like, by the media outlet. You should not also be getting paid by the brand to mention them in the article. It should be one or the other. And then you have to be really clear to your audience that if you are partnering with that brand, that you're partnering with.
Greg :
Right. Okay. So I think one of the amazing things is that if they are paying you and you're getting that exposure, you're able to showcase your skills. But I just know that when I'm linked to a big brand, it automatically creates instant credibility to me, and that takes forever to get.
Amy:
It's incredible. So I worked with Panda Express as a consultant and then a spokesperson for two years. And part of our partnership was being featured in a press release that they sent out to millions of people. And that's like you said, that's free exposure. Actually, I'm getting paid for that exposure. So that probably is what you actually meant by double dipping.
Greg :
That's what I meant by double dipping. It's you're getting paid to get the exposure, whereas I do Facebook ads, I do Instagram stuff. I have to pay them to get the exposure. You're getting paid to get exposure. That's going to help you in so.
Amy:
Many other ways and oftentimes. I just did a speaking engagement at the end of last year, and they did my hair, they did my makeup. I asked for the professional photos, right? And I have shots of me speaking. I have the photos on its own. It was an amazing partnership, but I have all of that material now to use in my own promotion of myself.
Greg :
Wow. So you would call yourself a media dietitian.
Amy:
I am a media dietitian. I also like to use the word. Have you heard the phrase expert with?
Greg :
No.
Amy:
So, because I know I'm talking to you, Greg, a physical therapist. So I like to use that term as an all encompassing term for any expert. So you could be a physical therapist, you could be a registered dietitian, nurse, psychologist. I even work with, like, we have a mixologist student. And you have influence because you're an expert. So you don't need millions of followers like an influencer does. You could have zero followers and a brand would still want to partner with you to have your endorsement behind their product.
Greg :
Behind their product. Gosh, guys, I hope light bulbs are going off in your head right now on how amazing the potential opportunities are out there for you with regards to this. I think it's just phenomenal. So I want to just tell you a really quick story. This is when the light bulb started to go off for me a little bit. It was in 2015. I was asked to speak at this conference called PPS, which is private practice summit for the APT American Physical Therapy association. And the keynote for that event was a guy named Gary Vee.
Greg :
And he said something at the event, and it made me think of even my current practice that I had. Totally different. And he said, instead of considering yourself as a physical therapist or a dietitian or an occupational therapist, you should consider yourself as a media company that happens to do physical therapy services. Do you look at yourself and your clients as that as well?
Amy:
Yes. This might be a fun time to talk about all the revenue streams that media can open up. But essentially, the fact that I'm a dietitian and I don't take clients anymore, but I use my expertise as a dietitian to fuel all the other parts of my business. So writing freelance articles for media outlets, working with brands, doing speaking engagements, even my blog, Google itself, loves the fact that I'm a registered dietitian. They give my website more heft than some random person off the street offering nutrition advice. And when you have all of those different sources of revenue, even social media, it adds up to in my second year that I did this, I earned $262,000 just from those media and brand income streams.
Greg :
Wow.
Amy:
And obviously that is exponentially more money than I had ever earned in my entire life. Plus, I run master the media.
Greg :
Right? Wow. That is amazing. Gosh, that's crazy. Okay, are you guys kind of mind blown so far? I hope so. Why don't you tell us a little bit on how you got your first gig? Because what I heard earlier was that you got a lot of no's and you were trying to figure out what was the secret code. So how did you pull this off? Was it just volume of just getting so many no's that you finally got a yes, or did you figure something out?
Amy:
Yeah. So once those puzzle pieces connected in my head of, I am a dietitian. I have a lot of media experience. I've worked at seven magazines, and brands value that combination. Then it was just a matter of really using every resource I had. So I went back and took a look at all the contacts that I had who worked with brands that I'd met with over my entire magazine career. And I just started reaching out to them. And I said, and I know that I was fortunate that I have that network, but honestly, that's why I run master the media now, to be the connector between the experts and the brands.
Amy:
And so one of my very first partnerships was with Tripomis. And I remember, you know, I was so excited. We did a radio interview for CBS, and I wrote down, like, I still have a folder full of pages and pages and pages of talking points that obviously you can't cover all of that in a short radio interview, right? But I was like, I almost didn't want to cash that check. I wanted to frame it. I was so excited.
Greg :
How much was that check, by the way?
Amy:
That first check. The thing is, when you work with brands, you could ask me, how much do I get paid for X, Y and Z? But I can't tell you specific brands.
Greg :
Okay, got you all right. I'm assuming that it was more than a dollar, y'all. Okay. All right. No, this is amazing. I think there's one big takeaway that I would take from what you just said, and that is, we all have a circle of influence. So the way that I'll teach clients is that your circle of influence is business associates, former business associates that you've had. It's your family, it's your friends, and usually, like, your colleagues, that's your circle of influence.
Greg :
And I truly believe that everybody's circle of influence has the ability to directly or indirectly make them hundreds of thousands of dollars if they use it properly. Amy, you're not the first person. I mean, I know there's not a lot out there, but you're not the first person that switched careers. You're not the first person that has a network of people in a prior life. And then you feel like when you go to this new life, you've got to leave all that behind. You got to figure out how to bring it together. I have people from college that are now my clients. I have teachers from college.
Greg :
Isn't that the coolest feeling, that are now my clients? I have patients that I used to treat at my physical therapy centers that now rent my vacation rental property. And we have to learn how to use the relationships from our past to bless those people. And it's not that I just have this identity as a physical therapist or a dietitian that. No, I'm Greg. I'm the servant, and I'm here to serve you in whatever way that I can. And I think that's so huge. I think that's what you've.
Amy:
Is. I think you just summarized it so beautifully, and I think it's a huge part of this, too, is not only using your network, but making a series of calculated risks. So, for instance, today, how I use my network of brands is I pass along, honestly, the majority of partnerships I get offered. I pass them to my students. And the first time I passed along a $50,000 partnership to my students, I was like, okay, breathe. Like, this is a calculated risk. It doesn't feel like a perfect fit for me. Like, I could give the brand what they deserve.
Amy:
So that was my first thought. But I also really, really wanted one of my students to know what it felt like to have landed a $50,000 partnership. And so then I thought, yes, I'm taking a risk and passing up income, but I'm fueling something so much bigger.
Greg :
Okay, so right there, you're telling me that you have a skill called an investing skill. You're willing to invest in your student in order to get your student a big win, which you realize that long term, not short term, because short term, you lost fifty k. But long term, that's going to do a lot for where you want this thing to go on a bigger scheme.
Amy:
Also, it's not only growing my business, but it's helping my students just actually live their dreams. Like one of my students. Her dream was to live in Europe one day in five months of working with us. And our program is not. It's longer than that. It's six months long. She had already earned $35,000 from brand partnerships, and she told me, Amy, I'm doing it. I'm moving to Europe.
Greg :
Wow.
Amy:
With my husband. Because I have the money now.
Greg :
Right. Wow. That's absolutely amazing. Well, whether you know it or not, you have the skill of investing. And a lot of people that get into entrepreneurship don't. If you know me, you know that I hate clutter and I love efficiency and a one stop shop. And that's the reason why I am so excited that SSHC has partnered with Janeapp. Janeapp is a complete practice management software that does your online booking for clients, schedules your clients, allows your clients to come in.
Greg :
You can do your documentation, take their payments, and everything in between. If you're doing subscription, if you're doing packages, you're doing solution based offers. Jnapp holds all those things in their platform, and it's seamless and efficient, and it is clean. And I can tell you right now, my clients have said nothing but amazing things about Jnap. What's even better is that it's not just for therapists. They work with so many different healthcare disciplines, from chiropractors, mental health counselors, anyone that has a practice, they can basically take care of you. So I highly recommend for you guys to use JNap. I actually have a code, SSHC, one mo that you can use to get a free trial of JNap.
Greg :
Go check it out. So that kind of leads me to another. Like, were you always planning on being an entrepreneur?
Amy:
No. It's funny because I did the hustle for a very long time, worked in offices, left jobs, just literally because I knew the only way to make more money was to get a new job. And then the minute 910 years later that I decided to be an entrepreneur. It's funny. My mom was like, I always knew you never last behind a desk. And I was like, thanks for telling me that, ever.
Greg :
It's so funny because I never thought I was going to be an entrepreneur. I am the anti entrepreneur entrepreneur. And it's just funny how certain things bring us to this course of life that we've decided to travel. I bring this up because I think in order to be a great entrepreneur, there's three things. There's three skill sets that you really have to just have intention and focus to build on. One is investing. And I'm not just talking about investing money. That's a huge part of it, but also investing in other people.
Greg :
And just from everything I'm hearing so far, I was like, gosh, she has that. That's fantastic. Okay. The second is visionary skills. Visionary being able to see something and I can see the bigger picture. And that's usually if you don't have that, you can't invest. Like, if you couldn't see the bigger picture, there's no way in hell you could have given that person that $50,000 gig. Yeah, it might have been perfect, but you'll figure it out.
Greg :
You know what I mean? But you had that visionary skill set, and then obviously, I can tell just from the podcast, and I'm sure you've written a gajillion articles for people, that you have communication skills. And so I'm just assuming that you didn't always have those things. And I'm saying that because as people are listening, I want them to understand that if you have a growth mindset and you understand I can get good at anything, I might not be the best in the world, but I can get pretty darn good if I just work at it. You can do what Amy has done. Just got to have the intention to do it.
Amy:
I love that so much. And it's funny because before 2022, I was part time with Master the media. And then 2022, it was after the pandemic, I saw that people were struggling, and I just thought, I really, really want to be there to help them have more freedom, financially and time wise and comfort wise. And then at that point, I feel like kind of like a huge believer in the universe doing its thing. Kind of like how I met you. And I was connected really randomly with my business coach. Like, I met her on an Instagram giveaway, and that's when I met her. And I was like, this is expensive, if I actually want to see her again.
Amy:
And then I just was just, I'll just do the thing. And I'm still working with her, however many years later. That is like two and a half.
Greg :
Give her a shout out. What's her name?
Amy:
Her name is Megan Wang.
Greg :
Megan. Okay, give a shout. Hey, y'all. Listen, man. I'm not the only one out there. There's some good people. There you go. So we'll put her stuff as well.
Greg :
I don't know her, but if she.
Amy:
Says she's good, then, honestly, she has helped open up my mindset. And I'd say that's when you're running a business and you're making those calculated risks and you have to have someone doing check ins with you, whether it's one person or a community of people. And that's. I feel like, what expedited that growth from there on forward, I was able to grow, master the media, to be this amazing connector of. I'm in the process of hiring some really incredible talent to add to our team. So there's someone who literally marketed Super Bowls and a Today show producer, and I'm pulling people from my former life. Like you said, it's all circular, and I'm just so excited to kind of use all those amazing people and subject matter experts to teach, experts with influence all the skills that they need.
Greg :
Did you ever imagine you'd be here five years ago?
Amy:
No, but that's the cool thing, right? It's like, all of it. I'm just like, the fact that a couple of weeks ago, I had three family emergencies happen I wanted to talk about in the span of two weeks, and I was like, okay, I've got this. I have a team who I really trust, and they support me, and I can be Mia and just hand things over to them. It won't be perfect because nobody's perfect. And when I talk about comfort, that was one of my biggest goals was like, can I have a child and go on maternity leave and trust my business to somebody else? Can I go on vacation for two weeks? And I did this last summer for the first time and just peace out. And that's the beauty of it. Right?
Greg :
I heard that you had your biggest launch ever.
Amy:
I did.
Greg :
And all that happened while your family emergencies were going on, is that correct?
Amy:
Yeah. I literally just got chills when he said that. We enrolled 31 people.
Greg :
Wow.
Amy:
So $186,000 in revenue.
Greg :
Wow.
Amy:
Literally. While handling three emergencies.
Greg :
Wow.
Amy:
But I knew what I had to do to be present for my potential customers and my clients and everything else that I could get off my plate at the time I did. But those are two things that I'm never going to put off my plate.
Greg :
Yeah, you guys just. I know sometimes I can be a bit optimistic, if people want to call it that. But it's just because I hear stories like this, whether it's directly or indirectly related to me. And it's just phenomenal to think that at one point you're making $14 an hour, working 70 to 80 hours a week to years later, quite a few years later, but able to have $186,000 launch and not even work, probably half the time that you were doing when you were pushing papers in New York. It's just mind blowing to me that really, the only difference is you just continuing to move forward, not quit, and extract everything from your past and make it work together. Stir it in this Amy bowl. Right. And make it work together and create something amazing.
Greg :
And so just so much props to you. Okay, I still have more questions. Okay. You're not getting let off the hook yet. Let's talk about brands, and let's talk about paying brands versus getting paid by brands. Yeah. I think that's a huge thing because it's like, at the end of the day, I think we all understand, okay? I want to link up with brands. I want the authority.
Greg :
I want the trust. And you get awareness, too, right? So I want all those things. You've got times where you're getting paid. Then you can also pay to be affiliated with the brand. Can you just explain the difference between the two?
Amy:
Yeah. So, you know what's interesting, Greg? This is a big deal. You are the first brand that I have ever paid.
Greg :
Really?
Amy:
Really.
Greg :
Wow.
Amy:
So, you guys, I'm sponsoring. I'm one of the sponsors for sic Live.
Greg :
Well, I'm honored.
Amy:
Thank you. I'm so excited to be included. And when the opportunity came up, I was like, honestly, my thought process was like, well, this is a chef. Normally I get paid by brands. And, okay, I'm paying a brand, but it just felt like such a no brainer because what you offer is so in alignment with what my community does and serves. And so I think that there's opportunities like that that come up where it just makes sense. But then getting paid by know. Before Greg and I went on camera, he's eating wonderful pistachios.
Amy:
And I was like, I know those.
Greg :
And what did I say? Can you get me some honey roasted pistachios? What do I need to do? Do a blog for them? Can I get a lifetime thing of it?
Amy:
I think your exact words were like, I would love a brand partnership. So I'm just putting that out onto the universe for you.
Greg :
Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate it.
Amy:
And so I think that's one of the cool things. A lot of times we think you hear the words working with brands and people think, I have to sell my soul. I have to lie through my teeth to promote something that I don't love. But that's absolutely, like, it couldn't be further from the truth. I just finished up a partnership with Amy's kitchen. I love Amy's. Like, I have been eating them since college. Literally during the pandemic, my husband was like, why is there nothing in our freezer but Amy's kitchen? And they saw that over time, they weren't working with dietitians.
Amy:
And when they finally decided they wanted to work with a meaty dietitian, they came to me and we partnered together. And I think that's the amazing part of brand partnerships. They can be so authentic and they should.
Greg :
Right.
Amy:
And just true to, like, you're literally getting paid to eat the foods that you would eat anyway, but now you're shying it from the rooftop.
Greg :
Rooftop. Okay. So I see there's so many opportunities. I can see it. Dietitian, food brands, this, that. How about the other professions? How about occupational therapists, physical therapists, chiropractors? Are they going to those food brands as well, or are they looking at other brands? Like, how do you help with.
Amy:
Yeah, that's a great question, and I'm going to ask you a question. What's a tool that you used in your physical therapy practice, like a resistance band?
Greg :
Resistance bands, different types of tables, different equipment that helps with pain relief, et cetera, et cetera.
Amy:
Do you have a favorite brand of.
Greg :
One of those for the resistance bands? I'd say theraban is a big one. Oh, I actually did a partnership with newbie fit. They're another company that has these amazing pain relieving things. They're actually one of the sponsors as well. For.
Amy:
Mean, it could be a product. It could be an app or tech that you use. It could be literally this microphone that we're talking into right now. It could be anything. And, I mean, even for me as a dietitian, when I moved into my house, I was like, I really would love some free furniture. So I got a partnership with a mattress company and with Wayfair.
Greg :
With Wayfair.
Amy:
Yeah.
Greg :
Okay, let's talk about that, please, because. No, dead serious. Because wayfair is like, that was who did 40% of our vacation home was Wayfair.
Amy:
I mean, and you cannot go wrong. I'm going to give you the story. I'm going to caveat it with, I don't normally get paid in furniture, but I make exceptions. Right, normally. So we did a photo shoot. I say we, my husband and I, it was two days in our house, and they were just like, okay, we're going to take over your kitchen, the dining room, the living room, and it was Christmas time, so they put up three Christmas trees in our house.
Greg :
Wow.
Amy:
They brought in 30 chairs. I'm not kidding. 30.
Greg :
Wow.
Amy:
And then literally, our garage was entirely full of all the ornaments and all of the kitchen accessories. And at the end, they were like, keep what you want.
Greg :
What? That's it? You had all this Christmas?
Amy:
And we got paid for our house to be used as well. So now we have two Christmas trees, and we kept, like, 25 chairs.
Greg :
Wow. That's crazy. Okay, so you've had a lot of good brand partnerships. Can we talk about some no no's? What are certain things that I need to. Those are the red flags that I need to kind of have on my.
Amy:
Yeah, so, I mean, there's the obvious red flags, and it's a gut check that you're doing. So for me, the products that I won't endorse, there's actually a big list of them, but I personally can't eat anything with the sugar alcohol, so, like erythritol or xylitol without having a stomach ache.
Greg :
Right.
Amy:
So if a company comes to me, and there have been many over the years, that is their product, or it contains that, I'm just like, I'm sorry, but that's when I connect them with my students.
Greg :
Right.
Amy:
So that's the obvious red flag.
Greg :
Okay?
Amy:
The kind of more like the one that sits in your gut and you want to try and ignore it, and you're like, oh, but I can't ignore this.
Greg :
Right?
Amy:
That's the next one that we're going to talk about. And that is when you get past the initial discussion, like, say you even have a contract and the brand asks you to do something really shady. Like, they want you to talk about their products in the media, and they want you to pretend that you don't have a paid relationship. And there's, like, actual FTC government rules that say that you have to be transparent about that. So then I'd be like, this doesn't feel right. Okay, got you. There's also. Are they paying you what you're worth? And it's not like every brand that comes to the table is like, hey, Amy, I want to pay you 50, 60 grand.
Amy:
Some of them are like, here's $50.
Greg :
Right?
Amy:
And that's when you kind of have to. Sometimes you can have the conversation and you can present the facts of why you're worth what you're worth. And sometimes you can negotiate, and sometimes you just have to walk away.
Greg :
Right? Wow. Okay. This is great to know. Just to let you know, when I started, I guess as you're saying, I'm like, wow, I guess I've been doing this stuff for a long time. I didn't even realize it, but it's called advanced pt. It was a magazine for physical therapists, and they hired me in 2010 to do app reviews. Take an app every month that's in the rehab fitness wellness world and just review it. And so what was happening is that over top, and I just became known as a guy.
Greg :
And I only became known as a guy because I've always been the tech health guy. And people found out about me through my blog. That's how this all started. But then I got a lot of, I guess, opportunities to link up with brands. And I never really took it. My focus was somewhere else, but now I'm like, oh, my gosh. They were all trying to do brand partnerships with me back then, so this is, like, so cool to know. But I didn't know what things to look for, what things not to look for.
Amy:
It's never too late. And I mean, just from talking with you, all the things that you just naturally love, like theraband, wonderful pistachios, anything and everything is something that you could at least go to the brand with and then say, can we have a conversation? I have this really great idea for you, and it's really kind of magical because you're not getting paid for your time anymore. You're getting paid for your expertise.
Greg :
Right? Well, my big thing is helping people leverage everything that they have. I want to do a minimum input to get maximum output so that you can buy back your time. And you've been able to do that. I will try to get my clients, if they have a practice, get paid for results, don't get paid for your time. Get paid for your influence. Don't get paid for your time. And when you do that, you can collapse time. So there's a couple of things.
Greg :
Number one, I want to just say this. Where can people find out more about you and this magical world besides coming to SSHC live? How can they get immersed into your world now?
Amy:
Yes, and thank you for asking that. I'm so excited to stay in touch with everyone who's listening. So if you go to Masteremedia co, that's Masterthemedia dot Co. We have a bunch of free resources, including a free masterclass on how to earn six figures working with brands and media. We have a free Facebook group that's really awesome called, oh, my gosh, master the media for dietitians.
Greg :
I just joined it today and I already went in the group and I started scouring through and whatnot.
Amy:
Oh, that's so cool that you're part of the community now. And then we have master the media, which is the creme de la crumb. It's the paid program where I work with you and my instructors work with you, and we truly hold your hand for six months. We teach you how to work with media and brands. We bring you opportunities and honestly, it changes your life.
Greg :
Wow, that's so amazing. So I want to give you your flowers. There's a couple of things I think, number one is typically when in the beginning, you have to say yes to everything, to just try to get things going. So that was how it was in 2005, 2006. Today, I say no to a lot, and Katie told me about you and made that introduction and I'm so happy I said yes. And the reason why you're here and the reason why we are starting our relationship and partnering together, it was because of that first Zoom call. I want to give you your flowers for your energy, for your disposition. Now that you've come here, the amount of value that you have brought to not just me, but to my audience, no wonder you've become so successful.
Greg :
So I want to tell you amazing work for that.
Amy:
Thank you.
Greg :
I also think there's a lot to be said for your wisdom, and it's one thing to have knowledge, but it's a hard thing for a lot of people to be able to extract that knowledge and turn it into a practical way to make the world better. And you've done that and you've been able to take times in your life where it seemed like it was pretty rough, but say, you know what, I'm not going to let that. I'm going to figure out a way to be able to pull from that and bring it to other aspects of my life. And a lot of people haven't done that, and you've done it as. So thank you. I just want to say thank you so much. Not only for coming here, not only for being a partner with us, with SSHC live, but with just your story and not giving up and willing to grow into the person that you become. Like, phenomenal job.
Greg :
Absolutely phenomenal.
Amy:
Thank you so much.
Greg :
So we appreciate you. Any final thoughts? Is there anything that I should have asked you that I didn't?
Amy:
I think that, and I know we talked briefly about this, but if you're ever on the fence about a having a community and b investing in yourself, do it. I have never spent money on myself, and that includes everything from hiring a business coach to flying here to be on this podcast. I've never spent money that I regretted. It's only helped me grow. And I think you don't know what's possible until you invest in yourself.
Greg :
Yeah. Wow. That's amazing. That's amazing. There's so many things that I want you to take away from the podcast. I'm actually going to listen to this as just a listener. And a lot of times I listen to the podcast. I listen to see how I can do things better, or this, that, whatever.
Greg :
I'm actually just going to listen. Just to listen to what you just said. That was epic. Want to say that again? But I think one other big thing is this. You got to ask yourself better questions to have a better life. And one of the questions you should be asking yourself is, how do I collapse time? Right? I'm still stuck on this thing of you making $14 an hour, working 70, 80 hours a week in New York to basically making $262,000 in brand partnership deals over a very condensed period of time. And I'm assuming this is only going to get more opportunities, more amazing things coming your way, and that's not even including what you're doing for so many healthcare providers now. So, you guys, the difference between Amy Lauren of 1214 16 years ago versus her now is in her ability to accumulate additional knowledge, but then extract that knowledge and turn it into taking all of her relationships that she's had and practically creating something that wasn't there before and having the intention of helping other people with that.
Greg :
And that's what you've done.
Amy:
Thank you. And I think if I can say something else, you hit on something so important. And that's the people aspect. I think a lot of times people come into our lives and we're like, oh, I'm not going to need that relationship or even find it useful. And literally, 1520 years later, the instructors I'm hiring literally were my peer editors. Back in 2006, 2007, I met Katie Dodd, who brought you up, and I said, katie, can I have an introduction to Greg? Like, I asked for something and I think you can't be afraid to ask. And here we are today. And I think it's just you never know who is going to come into your world and what that's going to lead to.
Greg :
So can I say, I've said I'm going to end the podcast. I ain't ended it yet. Golly. Okay, so can I say one more thing? I truly believe that there is no way you are where you're at right now. Had you not gone through everything that you went through. Not just the relationships, it's the grind, it's the no's, the rejections. Can I tell you something? Katie has met many other people that if you would have just asked to be introduced to Greg, and all you have to do is just say Katie, and I'm taking it. But most people wouldn't ask.
Greg :
But you did. You did. And that's going to get you now to a whole new realm of people. And the only reason why it happened is because you asked.
Amy:
It's so wild, right? I am so grateful to her for introducing us and for you, for just like any, any friend of Katie's is someone I at least want to talk to. But I think that's also so important. I know we said we'd end this, but I'll just keep on talking. One of my instructors that I met recently, I met at a speaking engagement I was doing, and he's like the guy who's marketed super bowls and I'm going to hire him as an instructor. So you just never know.
Greg :
You never know. You never know. Full circle, you guys. That's it. That's it. Okay. Where can people find you besides your group? Where can they find you on social media and all the others?
Amy:
Yeah, so I am master the media on Instagram and I'm really an open book and very approachable. So if you have a question, email me. I'm Amy at Masterthemedia Co.
Greg :
Okay, there you go, guys. I hope this was truly a masterclass and I'm going to go back and listen to it. And, yeah, this was a great one. So I'm sure people will be reaching out to you. Thank you so much for being on so much, Greg. We appreciate you so much.
Amy:
That was easy.
