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The first word that comes to mind when I listen to Niki Hunter's story is dedication. The second word is persistence and the third word is opportunity.
One, two and three....The ingredients of a great business indeed.
Niki calls herself a "helicopter mom" with great pride and humour. She and her husband had been wanting a child for 9 years but had not had success with conventional methods. So, finding another way to achieve her dream, Niki and her partner decided to adopt their daughter. Niki was so happy being a mom that she spent the next fifteen years doing the best job she could. She volunteered, she helped out...in Niki's words "I hovered" hence the helicopter mom moniker.
Fifteen year olds are not known, usually, to want their moms to know everything they do and Niki's daughter was staying true to form. She began to want her own time with her own friends. Niki thought that this might be a good time for her to do the same thing but she wasn't sure how to do this.
Niki had studied at the Alberta College of Fine Arts and her pottery was sold at fairs and other venues. She also took her artistic creativity to another level by setting up a home based web design company: again partly to be home with her daughter when she needed her mom.
When Niki started looking around for something to do outside of the home her sister suggested they go to a weight loss information session being presented by SureSlim Wellness Clinic in Calgary. Niki was hooked immediately and was especially impressed with the approach that SureSlim Wellness Clinic took toward offering a healthy, balanced, safe weight loss alternative with the science to back up their claims. There were no diet pills, no injections, and no prepackaged foods. It was not a starvation diet and although exercise is important, there was no need to do it excessively. Niki realized that this was not a gimmick, but a lifestyle change that was reasonable, logical and could easily be implemented into her every day life.
Niki was so pleased with the program that she enrolled with SureSlim and within three months had lost 40 pounds and was feeling healthier than she'd felt in a long, long time!
Niki says " It really was educational for me. I now understand my body, when it’s hungry and what to feed it. I understand the value of food and the how to get the most out of it to optimize my nutritional needs."
While working on the home based web design business and participating in the SureSlim program Niki was offered a part-time position with the company as a consultant. Not one to shy away from something new Niki took advantage of the opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy watching and supporting other people attain their weight loss goals and good healthy choices.
Niki continued to enjoy working at SureSlim and within a short time heard that the clinic was up for sale. Again Niki did her due diligence knowing what her ultimate goal was. She worked and trained for five months before jumping on the opportunity to purchase the clinic. The time she took to do her homework gave Niki the confidence she needed to have a better understanding of how the business ran and to really solidify the results she was seeing for her clients. "The proof was in the pudding" (low fat I'm sure)
I ask Niki how the process works, and I quote, "What I really love about the SureSlim Method is the fact that we take the overall health of our client into consideration. Our clients are sent for a comprehensive blood test, which is analyzed by our physician who forwards his recommendations to our programming team. Also forwarded to our programming team is personal information such as age, gender, height, weight goal, medications or medical history and physical activity. With all this information an individual eating plan is formulated for the client. This plan consists of a food selections list and a menu planner with food portions. All the foods on the list are available at the local grocery store. The client is monitored weekly through consultations, which I also like to refer to as an educational/training period.
Following this plan will correct the metabolism by balancing the key hormones responsible for weight control and the client loses weight quickly, safely and permanently. The client is also equipped with knowledge for a lifetime of success! "
Niki is very proud of her many achievements and first and foremost her family. Second though is her business and her courage to set a strong example for her daughter in more ways than one.
Niki knows it's important to get some relax time,especially as an entrepreneur and small business owner and one of the ways she does that is to wander around her mature neighbourhood in Calgary with her two weiner dogs Bean and Chili with the trees overhead and the chance to see many of her neighbours, young and old alike.
I ask Niki two final questions. If you could have one thing in the whole wide world what would it be and why did she decide to join Roaring Women. Both answers come easily. # 1 A beautiful home by the ocean and #2 She really liked the support she felt from the group when she was referred to the web site by a franchisee owner in Victoria who was already a Roaring Woman. A chance to meet Mandie shortly after convinced her that this was the right place for her to let her business shine.
Niki doesn't hover so much anymore and she says "you never know. My daughter may become a second generation Roaring Woman." How cool is that?
Niki was recently featured on CBC Calgary Radio One Daybreak Program. She featured a recipe for a low fat breakfast smoothie which she shared with the listeners. You can contact her for the details..SureSlim Wellness Clinic: it's as easy as 1,2,3.
written by Janet Auty-Carisle |
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