Community Highlights: Meet Becky Hill of Heart Coaching & Heart Baker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky Hill.

Hi Becky, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Thanks for reaching out, this is fun! After working in the advertising industry for many years, and climbing to a high-level position, working with a great client, basically getting to where I had wanted to be in the corporate world, I was feeling unfulfilled. I felt like I wasn’t making a difference in the world, so work still felt like a grind.

I decided to follow what I was passionate about in life and turn that into a career. I was still working at my advertising job while I opened my first business and was in school training to be a certified health coach! It was a lot to juggle, but so worth it. In January 2021 I opened Heart Baker, a vegan bakery business with lots of GF options and better-for-you ingredients here in Buena Vista. It’s been an incredible journey.

The strong community support and the love that customers have for my baked goods – even if they aren’t vegan / GF – makes me so happy. It’s been so fun journeying through the farmer’s market, to collaborating with local businesses on pop-ups. I now bake at The Asian Palate on Main street, and being there is like being with family. I have lots of goodies at the market there on Thursdays 10-2 pm, and I also do custom orders for weddings, birthdays, and other events. I am starting to hold baking & decorating classes too! My first big one is a holiday cookie decorating class on December 10th. It should be a nice cozy time.

In November 2021 I opened Heart Coaching after receiving my Integrative Nutrition Health Coach Certification from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I specialize in working with clients who desire to eat more plant-based and live in balance. I grew up struggling with my relationship with food and with myself and my body. When I first went vegan, a switch flipped in my brain: food went from being something evil to something bountiful, beautiful, and meant to be enjoyed.

I worked to heal my relationship with food and myself as I ate & lived in alignment with how I wanted to be. My purpose with this business is to help others who are struggling, and who want to find this peace & joy in life. It’s been challenging striking a balance between these two businesses, but after a year of owning both, I’m starting to feel in the flow!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Outside of the logistics of learning things like applying for an LLC, how to accurately do taxes, etc. I feel that the challenges that I have faced have come from emotional obstacles that I have been able to work through.

5 Examples that come to my mind:

Boundaries – I am a yes person and a perfectionist. In past careers, I have not set healthy boundaries for myself and always ended up feeling burnt out. Of course, I never want to feel that way with something I am passionate about – so the goal is to strike a balance between work & life, and I am always reminding myself: if it’s not a “100% YES” then it’s a “no” or “not at this moment”.

Self-Worth – Appreciating and reflecting on the work that I put into both businesses, and accurately charging for what that time, effort, customized resources & quality ingredients are worth, and sticking to it. It’s a similar feeling to going into salary negotiations. Especially as women, owning our worth & asking for what we deserve is something that can feel foreign & intimidating at times, but it’s so important to ask for what you know you’ve earned.

Vulnerability – Putting myself out there and telling my story, helping others, or showcasing my products & recipe videos, was something to get comfortable with. Social media can be daunting – I still don’t love talking into a camera! – and so can talking about yourself to other people. I’ve felt sensitive to coming off as braggy or salesy. But if I am pulled to share something, even if it makes me nervous, I do it and I always feel good after. My husband told me something that sticks: “If you don’t put yourself out there, you’re doing a disservice to the people who need your help.”

Losing Ego & Expectations – Due to a really strong baseline of self-love & assurance that I’ve built over the last few years, I don’t seek or need validation from others. But when I started putting myself out there on social media – I became so tied to followers, views, trending audio, etc. when that was never the goal. I want to reach people to help people, not to boost my ego. And I have to remind myself of this if a reel I worked on “doesn’t perform”, because if it helps one person it’s worth the effort.

Integrity & My Truth – Haters are difficult – people that might say “yuck” when they see a vegan/GF label on baked goods (it’s happened more often than you’d think) or try to start arguments with me in regards to plant-based health info that I put out there (I’ve even been told to “go die”). It hits at the moment, but I can move beyond this hate by answering from a place of love & attempt to understand their point of view. And then easily let it go, knowing they’re likely coming from a place of inner turmoil they need to work out.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Heart Coaching: I am a certified health coach, and work 1-1 with clients (mostly remotely over the phone or Zoom) on their personal goals. I specialize in helping clients eat more plant-based and make healthy lifestyle shifts that are sustainable and work for them. While I have a plant-based program in place, recommendations and resources are personalized, because what works for one person won’t work for another.

Every Heart Coaching program is based on the individual client’s goals and how they best integrate new habits. I also provide a tiered system and decided to set my pricing lower than most programs I’ve seen, because I believe health & wellness should be accessible to all. The big tie in between my coaching & baking businesses is that life is about balance & finding joy in the small, sweet things.

Heart Baker: I feel great when I eat baked goods that have quality ingredients, so I create recipes & buy quality products that I consume myself. Yes, I eat everything I bake! I love sourcing produce, grains & other ingredients from our CSA Mountain Freshies, our local health food store The Lettucehead, and using ingredients that are locally made or produced here in Buena Vista. I use organic & local whenever possible, stay away from refined and processed ingredients, and use natural sweeteners. I put love into all of my baking, and it’s reciprocated with lots of support and appreciation from our community!

What matters most to you?
Staying true to myself and acting by my morals, values, how I want to be, and how I want to live. Practicing staying with this mindset is under my control, and stems into my personal & professional life. I don’t want to act in a way that isn’t aligned with who I am, I would feel that I’ve betrayed myself & what I stand for. Our highest stage of moral development is: I do this because it’s who I am.

Pricing:

• Initial Heart Coaching Session: FREE
• Heart Coaching Programs: $75-$125 / session (discounts available)
• Heart Baker Thursday Marketplace: $3-$10 / item
• Heart Baker Custom Orders: Price varies
• Heart Baker Classes & Events: Price varies

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.heartbaker.co
• Instagram: Heart Coaching (@rkayehill) and Heart Baker (@heartbakerco)
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heartcoachingco and https://www.facebook.com/heartbakerco
• Free consultation link: https://calendly.com/heartbakerco/health-history-consultation