What made you decide you wanted to become a sleep consultant?

I am a children?s counselor, and I love working with children and their families. I was a children?s counselor for ten years before I had my first child. I thought my career had prepared me for parenthood but I was sorely mistaken??..my son did NOT sleep!!! I struggled with my son?s sleep for 10 long months. When I finally taught him how to sleep, I felt so empowered and wanted to help other families teach their little ones how to sleep.

What do you love most about your job? And what is the most challenging aspect?

I love meeting new families and supporting them through the sleep learning process. I find marketing my business challenging; I would rather spend my time working with families.

 Therefore, my business has always relied on word of mouth, which I consider one of the highest compliments.

Most common sleep difficulties encountered?

The most two most common sleep issues I see is parents feeding their babies to sleep and not giving their babies enough space to learn to put themselves to sleep.

What has changed in the industry (e.g trends, research, products) since you started your business ? for better? Or worse?

I have been a sleep consultant for 9 years now, and it has been very exciting for me to watch how rapidly the sleep consulting industry has grown. When I first started my business, most people did not even know what a sleep consultant was. Today, hiring a sleep consultant is the norm for parents!

How have you evolved in your knowledge, and approach to sleep consulting since you first started with your business?

I have learned that less is more. When I first started working with families I felt the need to educate them on all aspects of sleep. Over the years, I have learned to share only what is relevant to the specific family I am working with. I have noticed that this helps reduce the parent?s feelings of anxiety and prevents them from feeling overwhelmed.

Most challenging client experience to date?

I once worked with an 8 year old who had never slept through the night. I let the family know that their child was the oldest client I have ever worked with, and that I could not make any guarantees that their child would learn to sleep on their own.  After three nights of sleep coaching, the child slept through the night. It was very exciting for everyone involved.  This has been my most rewarding experience to date.

What is one piece of advice you give to all clients, regardless of their circumstances?

Consistency is key!!! It does not matter what type of sleep training method a family chooses, if they are not consistent, their child will not experience sleep success.

What advice would you give your former self, or another consultant starting out in this industry?

My advice would be to make it a priority to become a great listener, be patient and always be empathic. It is a huge step for families to reach out for help and make the big decision to teach their children how to sleep independently.

How do you want to leave your mark on the industry?

My goal is to give the gift of sleep to as many families as possible.