Barbara Cox, BcNutrition
After running and selling a successful healthy meal-delivery company, Barbara Cox now helps people achieve their wellness goals via online courses and cookbooks. Read about her journey so far and why she loves being a Wellness Warrior.
How did you end up sitting where you are today?
I founded and ran one of the UK's largest healthy meal-delivery companies for 12 years and sold it in a 2-year buy-out in 2015. Since then, I've created certified online wellness courses, authored two cookbooks and helped over 23,000 clients achieve their wellness goals!
My vast and varied experience makes my approach to wellness unique, engaging, and results-driven.
I absolutely adore what I do.
What kind of work does your role involve?
My day-to-day work is with clients looking to improve their health to achieve success. This involves providing advice to enable them to live a healthy lifestyle with more energy, more focus, higher productivity, and more vitality.
I also create cutting edge nutrition products for the supplement industry and train health industry experts on wellness through the Global Wellness Council.
On top of this, I create bespoke programs for companies and teams to create a wellness culture that drives excellence and success.
What gets you excited about your industry?
All the myth-busting!
One day a carrot is good for you, then the media find some evidence to twist it, confuse the public, and then WHAM: a carrot is bad for you!
This helps me lead the way with science and evidence-based wellness information. I do this to help customers avoid being duped by the marketing of poor health products or publishing of bad advice.
I love being a Wellness Warrior!
What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?
Best advice: "Expect the Unexpected".
This advice was given to me in 2009 when I was doing an ultra marathon across the Sahara desert. I planned for most things to go wrong, but the unexpected on that adventure was a sandstorm, which threw me off course by 2 miles, but I made it camp safely anyway!
This is so true now with the unexpectedness of Covid19! Let's hope we all make it through the Covid Storm safely.
What, or who inspires you?
LOTS of things inspire me; from people to products!
I must say that my kids are a constant inspiration, though. They are all brave, driven, honest, open and lovely people to know. I work to support them in their potential, and they have lots to offer the world.
How do you keep up to speed with what's happening in your industry?
I am always learning and investing in my learning!
I read, listen to books on Audible, attend online seminars and do courses. I'm a big personal development believer, and I'm always open to new opportunities.
I've created my own courses so people can actually learn from me too. These are business courses as well as health-related courses.
What was the most challenging project or situation you've overcome?
One of my biggest challenges, when running my own company, was people management. I was so passionate and enthusiastic as the Founder/Creator, but I lacked people management skills. I quickly learned some of those skills, and I smartly hired a "Manager" to help me.
We had a super team, and I believe people need to understand their strengths and weaknesses, OWN those weaknesses, and ask for help!
You finish work today and step outside the office to find a lottery ticket that ends up winning $10 million. What would you do?
Invest more in my business so I could help 10 million more people! I have so much to give to the world of health and wellness, this $10 million would amplify my passion and creativity to expand across the globe!
I think I'll buy a lottery ticket too!
How do you switch off after a day at work?
I live near the beach so I love walking by the sea, sea swimming, and cycling on the promenade by the sea!
Cooking is great fun too, and I also love to paint, do Pilates and travel!
If you had one wish for the future of your industry, what would it be?
Make nutrition a mandatory subject at school.
If we have general health and wellness knowledge taught at school - attached to lifestyle skills like healthy cooking, healthy snack making, and budgeting for health - then I think we would see better health in the UK.
What book or podcast should everyone know about?
I read a lot - I have 54 titles in my Audible from the last 18 months alone!
This is my top 3:
1. Dare To Lead by Brene Brown - how to do brave work, have tough conversations and wholeheartedly achieve your goals.
2. The Compound Effect - Darren Hardy - this is hugely insightful from the Success magazine editor. He's taken the BEST of Success Magazine and put those nuggets in this book.
3. Outwitting The Devil - Napoleon Hill - a profound book of the secrets of freedom and success. Written in 1938 and it's fascinating!
How should people connect with you?
If people want to feel 10/10 effervescence every day to achieve their business and life goals, then I'd love to connect.
I love educating, motivating and inspiring everyone to be the BEST they can be and live their BEST life ever!
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