Today we’d like to introduce you to Naiomi Catron.
Naiomi, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Being the Founder & CEO of a successful lactation consulting practice was the farthest thing I could have ever expected considering. English was not my first language, I am the first of my family to graduate from a four-year college and my birth and breastfeeding experience was marred with misinformation and chronic challenges.
Growing up in a blue-collar family and only ever seeing people with W2 jobs, I never had the desire to become a business owner… It seemed too scary, unpredictable and quite frankly, I enjoyed leaving all the work worries behind me and punching in and out of my secure hospital Labor & Delivery nurse job.
I thoroughly loved being a Labor & Delivery nurse for the first few years but after the newness wore off, I quickly learned it was becoming more and more of a strain on my physical and mental health.
In an attempt to find balance and happiness I reduced my work hours and tried working at different hospitals including taking on a travel nurse job in California. I also tried my hand at helping my husband launch his real estate business (I have been known to have at least 2-3 part-time jobs at any given time:). As a result of these experiences I learned, I hate real estate, love women’s health/wellness, but hate feeling so dispensable as a hospital healthcare worker.
While navigating this period of discovery, I started to work with more in-patient postpartum women needing breastfeeding help. Seeing these women transform from feeling defeated and discouraged to inspired and confident sparked a journey bigger than I could have ever imagined.
And finally in the Fall of 2018, a patient said, ‘Naiomi, you should do this [become a private practice lactation consultant] as a business. So many people need your services and skills.’ I thought to myself, “If I can start a real estate company and I don’t even like real estate, surely I can start a business I like. Two months later I formed Milk Diva LLC, and ten months later I saw my first patient as a private practice International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
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?
The biggest bumps in my business’s journey have been learning to cultivate a growth & abundance mindset and resist the temptation to default into a scarcity mindset. I am great and giving my patients advice, hope and confidence to help them meet their goals but I have a terrible time taking my own advice.
What I thought was going to be a huge bump in the road turned out to be the biggest blessing ever…..COVID-19.
While getting Milk Diva Lactation started, I continued working very part-time at the hospital, so I didn’t really have a choice to stay home and ‘stay safe.’ While many companies discontinued home lactation visits, I continued to see families in their homes. By June of 2020, I had way more lactation consultation appointment requests than I could handle on my own and I made my first hire. Since that point, I have added four consultants and four support team members. Learning how to hire, train and build a team was also a bit of a challenge, but with the quick global adaptation to zoom meetings and other online planning and organization tools, this bumpy road became more smooth.
As you know, we’re big fans of Milk Diva Lactation. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Milk Diva is a team of Advanced Practice Lactation Consultants who specialize in uncovering the root cause of infant feeding issues and developing a collaborative plan to meet each family’s feeding goals. Each baby is different and we understand the process can be overwhelming and confusing. Milk Diva is here to equip families to meet their breastfeeding goals. By instilling expert education, technique and confidence, Milk Diva comes alongside families to help nurture and nourish our future generation.
I am very proud that with nearly 40 years of combined lactation experience and over 100 hours of in-person, hands-on training in tongue-tie management, we are still dedicated to ongoing training and continuing education to provide our clients the most current, evidence-based lactation support and interventions.And lastly, I am MOST PROUD of our new collaborative location (Opened July 6, 2022). We are thrilled to finally offer one location where families can come to find answers to their infant feeding challenges by having access to our Advanced Practice Lactation Consultants, Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist AND Pediatric Dentist (Pedi Dentist is who would release a tongue/lip tie). We are the ONLY practice in Central Texas to have all of these services under one roof!
Who else deserves credit in your story?
God for giving me the skills and passion to do this work.
Christian Catron, my husband who is the person who has persisted to teach me to shed the scarcity mindset and believe in Milk Diva. He is my biggest cheerleader!
Caroline Moon, friend and SEO/web designer. She has been pivotal in helping Milk Diva’s growth and has been a huge support and encourager to me personally as well.
The amazing consultants who choose to work for Milk Diva and elevate the lactation profession. I’ve learned so much from each one of them.
And Jen Pacana, my administrative assistant who is the glue that keeps Milk Diva running!
Pricing:
- Lactation Consultations self-pay rates are $175-250/75-90 mins
- We work with select insurances which may result in $0 out of pocket costs.
- Virtual Consultations $125/60 mins
Contact Info:
- Website: www.MilkDiva.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milk_diva/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MilkDivaAustin/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg8I79fBYu-hpyj0HeQF2zw
- Other: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1885195
Image Credits
Gaston Cherry Photography, Lucero Archuleta Photography
