My first mentoring session was with Sandy Wan. What a beautiful person to start the journey with! Full of heart and positivity, Sandy explained that she has a lot of drive but can be an over-thinker at times, which can make it difficult to decide on a direction. She made it sound like she was stuck in a roundabout, not knowing which exit was hers.

Recently focussing on her passion for nutrition in Asian food, Sandy started a brand called @asianfood_nutrition. When asked about her audience she said, “anyone that likes asian food”, to which I responded, “you mean everybody?” She quickly understood my point was that “if she's for everybody, she’s for nobody”.

We broke down Sandy’s audience and landed on a hero target persona, who closely resembles one of her best friends. She’s now delving deep into understanding who her content is really for, utilising her friend to validate or disprove any assumptions she may have had. Sandy is now focussing on younger people in their mid twenties, who are just starting to become more conscious of their health, noticing their invincible metabolism becoming a little more vulnerable to butter chicken.

After we established a more defined audience, we begun to discuss our favourite feelings; insecurity and imposter syndrome. Something we all feel at times but find it hard to express due to vulnerability feeling pretty shit to speak about.

Not being a nutritionist made Sandy feel like she wasn’t 'expert' enough to speak on such subjects. She worried about being called out by industry professionals or told that she's mistaken. But Sandy came around, acknowledging that she is an incredible researcher with integrity. Her audience would be engaged by her journey of discovery as she learns more about a subject that she's incredibly passionate about.

We then discussed the loneliness that a lot of us are faced with currently. Isolation breeds insecurity and self-doubt. I showed Sandy a way that she could instantly create a supportive team for herself with a process I sheepishly call the 'starting 5' (basketball nerd), which she implemented immediately and now lovingly refers to the group as her ‘trait mentors’.

This is essentially the process of reaching out with admiration to people in her immediate circle and communicating how they can actively support her through this time. Sandy recently mentioned how helpful this has been for her, as it gave her a practical way to do something that can be incredibly intimidating for introverted people.

We often find it difficult to ask for help. But sometimes that's all it takes to change your life.