Introduction
[00:00:00] Detective Ev: Well, hello my friends. Welcome back to another episode of the Health Detective Podcast by Functional Diagnostic Nutrition. My name is Evan Transue, aka Detective Ev. I will be your host for today’s show with FDN Victoria Franca. She has recently been accepted to the Forbes Business Council.
Now, ironically, we actually don’t talk about that today at all, but I had to shout her out for it and put it in the title. That’s a pretty impressive accolade. She had actually come in our professionals’ group and said straight up in the group that one of the reasons she was able to achieve that was because of the things that she learned at FDN. We thought that was amazing, and we thank her for the shout out.
At the same time, when you hear how this woman thinks about business and goes about approaching these things, you’ll know that she also just kind of has that special thing that you really can’t teach. Some of the stuff that she talks about, you absolutely can teach, but what I mean is the drive and the willingness to go and do it.
There’s nothing complicated in a sense about what she’s going to say today. Anyone could go do it, and yet most people will not do it. I do not mean that in a discouraging way. I’m just saying what it is. It’s the reality of how this stuff seems to go.
I hope that you take her advice, and you do the things that she mentions. I think that’d be very wise. Plus, if you’re graduated from FDN and in the professionals’ group, she might, I can’t say this fully yet, but she might be doing something for our professionals’ group sooner rather than later.
About FDN Victoria Franca
That could be something to look forward to as well. She’ll be doing a special training there. Again, I actually don’t know if this is happening, and I really do mean that. But I got all the right people connected, I thought she deserved it. So, I let someone know that I thought she should be doing it and it seems to be going well. We will see how that goes.
But we’re also going to talk about her story today and explain how she even got into the field of Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, if you’ll call it a field in and of itself. She was doing something else before this. We’ll talk about the health story, business stuff, tips and tricks, and how she ended up going full time with this in less than a year of starting out. It’s actually a lot less than a year, so you will hear that in the episode.
Victoria Franca is a certified FDN practitioner, like I said, and founder of Omne Wellness. She helps career driven individuals that are feeling the burden of stress, focus on their wellbeing by addressing the root cause of their symptoms through balancing their minerals, hormones, and gut health.
Victoria also has an array of experience working with luxury resorts and spas. Her portfolio of corporate clients have included The Ritz Carlton Group, Acqualina Resort and Spa, SOJO Spa Club, and Baha Mar.
Now, I don’t even know how to pronounce the last two fully and kind of if in a sense, I don’t even know how to pronounce the last three. I have some work to be doing if I can’t even pronounce the luxury resorts and spas. Yet she has worked with these people directly.
Gratitude for the Five-star Reviews
I think you guys are going to enjoy this episode. The audio was a little choppy, but the information is solid. Stick with us here and you will learn a thing or two. Without further ado, let’s get to today’s episode.
Oh, hey, I lied. I have one more thing before we start today. I just wanted to thank everyone who has recently been leaving five-star reviews for us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. I know I ask you guys a lot to do that. We’re sharing a ton of free information on here and this information gets out to more people when we have higher ratings. I know it takes a few seconds.
It’s something that a lot of podcasts and YouTubers ask for, and it’s really easy to overlook that. I just wanted to say thank you so much to the people who have done this lately. We do see you, we do notice it, and we greatly appreciate it.
Okay, now without further ado, let’s get to today’s episode.
All right. Hello Victoria. Welcome to the Health Detective Podcast. How are you?
[00:03:49] Victoria Franca: Hi. I’m good. Thank you for having me on.
[00:03:51] Detective Ev: Yeah, we are glad to have you. I know you’re having some pretty big success in the FDN world and just in the world in general. This is always, I think, very inspiring for people to hear what some of our FDNs are doing out there because it’s a lot of people. It’s different backgrounds, it’s different personalities, it’s dramatically different ages.
FDN Victoria Franca’s Health Journey
At a certain point, if you listen to enough of these podcasts, I think it is very good for shattering one’s limiting beliefs about, well they were successful cause of this, or that, or whatever. But when I have 60-year-olds that come on and have full-time practices doing $10,000 a month, three months after graduating, and then 20-somethings that are doing the same thing, eventually it becomes kind of hard to keep making excuses in our brain.
I don’t mean that in a rude way to anyone out there that has those limiting beliefs, cause I’ve had them. I want my limiting beliefs shattered, right? Like, give me the stuff that’s going to help me do that. We’ll definitely talk about the things that you’re doing today.
But I am curious. You and I don’t really know each other at all. I’m curious about your health story too, because I’m going to guess like most of us, we didn’t get into this work by accident. Did you deal with a health journey, I’m guessing?
[00:04:50] Victoria Franca: I did. Ooh what a journey. For me, I was on birth control for about 10 years. I decided to quit birth control cold turkey. I had no idea that I should prepare my body to get off of it. I had no idea of the chaos and the havoc that it did on my health.
When I actually came off of it, I really struggled. I couldn’t get my period for over a year. I had severe acne, I was gaining weight, I had severe anxiety and depression symptoms. It was really, really difficult to kind of navigate that without any knowledge.
FDN Victoria Starting with Acupuncture
When I went back to my doctors to really just kind of ask, what do I do? The response was, well, you should get back on birth control. That’s how you’re going to feel like yourself again.
I didn’t really understand that as a response. I, at that point, understood that my body wasn’t producing hormones and of course wasn’t balanced because I was on this birth control for so long. So how could that be the only way that I would feel, quote/unquote, “like myself”?
Basically, I decided to just do my own research. I decided to kind of start diving into more of the holistic health and I found acupuncture. Acupuncture was really my first step into the natural healing world and really focused on supporting my hormones that way. Once I started acupuncture, that was a game changer.
In a couple of months, my period came back, and I said, Okay, like this works, right? Like this is what I need. I need to focus more on the holistic healing and really find answers for my health. At the same time, I really noticed that for years I just really burned my body. Like I was burnt out.
I really had an intense workout schedule. I was malnourished and eating way too little and really didn’t see my body as my temple. I just figured that I can just keep going, keep grinding, and keep focusing on my career. At the time I was in corporate and that was little sleep, little food, lots of workout, and just really not honoring my body at all, not listening to what it needed.
FDN Victoria Found FDN
So, I came across a coach, and I started working with her. At the same time as I was working with her, I didn’t feel like she had the knowledge of doing any functional labs, and that’s what I was looking for. I wanted someone that would be able to have the coaching aspect, but also be able to have the data and be able to give me the stats.
That is when I found FDN. And instead of me finding a practitioner to work with, I said, wait, why don’t I just dive in and do this myself so I can learn how to support my body and heal my health. Really it started off just focusing on me. I wasn’t really thinking of this as doing as a business.
Again, I was working full time. I was very happy in my career, and I did not think that I would completely change directions into what I do now.
[00:07:39] Detective Ev: I think that’s a common enough story here. We get these health challenges out of nowhere. We are self-motivated to go figure it out. Then once we do the work, it’s not impossible, but it’s kind of hard not to want to do this in some way. Some people will just end up talking about it with everyone that they know, and that’s perfectly fine. Others feel like I really can’t go do anything else except this. I want this to be a part of my actual work.
FDN Victoria Thinking Outside the Box
And man, the first whole two minutes of this is just gold. I mean that seriously, because your story is so textbook in a sense, from what I’m hearing for so many younger women out there. Being on the younger side myself, a lot of people from high school or that I met in my early twenties are calling me and asking me for help with stuff. Universally, I’m hearing these issues around the birth control and especially coming off of it.
I smirked actually for those watching the video, not just listening to the audio, when you had said the recommendation from the doctor was to get on another birth control pill. I would’ve put down money on this table that that’s what the response was going to be.
Like you said, I’m impressed that you had this ability to think outside the box and be like, well, wait a second. That doesn’t make sense. We would think it’s simple. I think it’s a huge insult to our intelligence when they do things like this to us. But people are put in a position, cause I’ve been in it myself, where these doctors are extreme authority.
We look at them as extremely educated, which they are. We look at them as highly intelligent, which statistically speaking, they are. If you look at the average IQ of doctors, it is well above average. They’re making more money than most people. And I think these biases, whether or not we realize that they’re there, are effective at influencing our decisions.
We’re just like, Okay, like the doctor said it, so I’ll just do it. Who am I to argue them otherwise? It takes a certain type of personality and individual to be able to challenge that, think outside the box.
FDN Victoria On Autopilot
And God forbid, I always gotta say this in case it’s someone’s first time listening, this is not a condemnation of doctors. We know that the doctors are not sitting on the fountain of youth. Most of them look very unhealthy or on the medications too. It is the system that I’m condemning. This system is so predictable that I already knew what was going to be the recommendation for Victoria here. It’s kind of ridiculous.
Did you have, looking back, any symptoms at all health-wise prior to getting off the birth control or was that really your first challenges with health?
[00:09:49] Victoria Franca: I feel like I was just on autopilot with my body. I was so careless with my health in a way that I just didn’t take time to really listen and even acknowledge any symptoms.
I think it was when I got off of birth control, that’s when I was like, whoa, I’m really feeling it. Like this is a lot coming to me at once. It’s hard cause I think back and I’m like, Did I feel this way before? I don’t think I did, but I could have. I just honestly might have just brushed it under the rug and said, I’m too busy to deal with it.
You know, it’s a yellow flag. It’s not a red flag that my body is waving at me. Just keep going and keep hustling. I think it was more so when I got off the birth control, that is when everything was just really in my face, and I had to take action. I just didn’t feel good.
I was like, I don’t know who this person is, and I don’t like it. I need to figure myself out.
How Does FDN Victoria Transition to the Natural Side?
[00:10:39] Detective Ev: One thing I’d like to dive into a little bit more, and you said that you’ve listened to the podcast, so maybe you know this, maybe you don’t. I’m obsessed with what happens in someone’s mind that allows them to get into these alternative paths. It’s, one, just cause I’m genuinely interested in it, but also too, if we can figure out that similarity.
Honestly, there doesn’t seem to be a necessarily duplicatable one at this moment. Obviously answers I normally get are like, oh, it was just in my gut. I trusted this feeling and that’s wonderful. I can recommend that all I want, but we know it’s easier said than done.
I’m curious how Victoria goes from this supposedly unrelated career. I’m not actually sure what you were doing before, but supposedly unrelated career. Hops off birth control. Okay. Holy crap, something’s going on, to ending up in an acupuncturist office. I’m not saying acupuncture’s the most far out thing. In fact, it’s probably one of the first line practitioners in addition to chiropractors in the world of functional medicine, but that’s not where everyone’s going to go immediately.
Let’s dive into that a little bit. How did that connection get made? Is it just on a whim or did someone recommend it? I missed that part.
[00:11:40] Victoria Franca: Really what it was, I remember, I was struggling, right? I didn’t get my period for a year. So around month nine of not getting my period, I said, okay, obviously something’s wrong, hormonally, right? And after going to my doctors, the response was birth control. I said, No.
FDN Victoria Balancing Her Hormones
Then at that point, I remember talking to my mom and my mom said, I remember my friend, she wanted to get pregnant, and she wasn’t able to get pregnant. She started going to an acupuncturist, and within a couple of months she got pregnant.
Then I said, well, obviously to get pregnant, your hormones have to be balanced. If she can get pregnant, then I’m sure I can balance my hormones also through acupuncture. So that really was a little bit more of a shot in the dark. I remember I didn’t even do much research of how acupuncture can actually help with balancing hormones.
It was more of; I didn’t know where to go from it. I was like, you know what? This might work, so let me try it. I did research, of course, thoroughly to find a good acupuncturist in my area. Read tons of reviews and then found one that specialized in hormone balancing.
So, I went to her, and it was I think after a few sessions I got my period back and then my hormones started balancing little by little.
[00:12:46] Detective Ev: Okay. Thank you. There’s that missing link that I was looking for. It’s like, okay, that’s a heck of a story, right? I say on here all the time, the facts tell, but the stories really sell. It sold you on this idea that this is going to work.
I’m also impressed with that connection. I don’t think that’s inherently obvious to everyone that, oh, well because she got pregnant, this is probably the mechanism by which that happened, so that, in theory, would work for me. I know you said it’s a shot in the dark, but it’s still a respectable thought process.
FDN Victoria Moving the Blocked Energy
And I gotta say, if anyone is looking for acupuncture, because we’ve got listeners all over the place now, and you are even remotely close to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bridge Acupuncture in Doylestown, shameless plug. These people are fantastic. The owner of this place, Victoria, graduated originally Magna Cum Laude from Yale and then went to acupuncture school.
She has a phenomenal business. It’s Grace and then this guy, Apollo. They are just natural born healers. So, I’ll save them the research if they happen to be like, I would drive an hour for these guys easily. There’s gotta be someone listening in the Philadelphia area now.
But anyway, was there an explanation, even if it’s just in theory, how acupuncture was able to do this? Because I have a surface level understanding of acupuncture. I absolutely respect it. I’ve been going to those guys for quite some time, and I felt the effects from it.
But you know, when you hear the explanation, it’s kind of like, well the chi is getting moved around and stuff like that. I mean, listen, I believe that, but it’s sometimes hard to connect how that’s doing this with the hormones. Is that your understanding of how this worked or was there something deeper?
[00:14:07] Victoria Franca: To be quite honest, at that point I didn’t really ask many questions of, what’s happening? I just remember that she said, it’s blocked energy that’s being moved. I was like, all right, whatever. Whatever it is, just move it. Like get it going.
[00:14:20] Detective Ev: You move that chi. I just want to get my period back.
[00:14:23] Victoria Franca: Exactly, do whatever you have do.
FDN Victoria Analyzing Lifestyle Improvements
I never really got too much into the logistics and the actuality of what’s happening. But I think at the same time I started focusing more on my lifestyle. I think that’s what I really took also a look of what do I do? Like, do I sleep early? What do I eat? What do I drink?
I think that also brought some awareness because the big thing that she said was you have to be sleeping early. Talked about the adrenal gland. Started talking about different terminologies that I had never heard of. At that point I was like, I guess I should do some sitting back and analyzing of my lifestyle and seeing what can I improve on.
I think the more that I did that, the more that also I started to get more curious and the more that I was like, I think I want to go on and work with a coach. So that’s when I moved on to trying to find a coach, which I found through recommendation of a friend.
At that point it was fine but also again, it was that missing link of, what are the functional tests? How can we go deeper? I want to see more data versus just like, oh, I think you have this. I think you could have that. I think this supplement would be good.
I just wanted more certainty versus just a trial and error because I was doing trial and error for that whole year. That’s when I came across FDN and I was like, Okay, this is it.
[00:15:42] Detective Ev: So funny about like, I don’t really care how it’s working. Just move whatever you gotta move.
Getting Better Whether Long Health Journeys or Short
So just to get the timeframe back here before we start talking FDN. Roughly speaking, what was the timeframe from the time that you went into that acupuncturist office before you started FDN? Is this a year or two years? What are we looking at?
[00:15:59] Victoria Franca: I would say this was about a year and a half.
[00:16:02] Detective Ev: This is good. I feel like some of these stories, especially recently, are becoming shorter and shorter, and I like this. Well, I should specify that.
More and more I’m hearing stories of people on the younger side, such as us, relatively speaking, finding these answers quicker and quicker as opposed to some of the 40, 50, 60-year-olds I’m interviewing. I mean, it’s 10, 15, 20 years sometimes. So, I think it shows how the times are moving and that’s wonderful.
We don’t want people to have to wait 15 years to find something like FDN. But it’s both good and bad. It’s bad that they had to wait that long but the remarkable part on the good side is that it still worked after 15 years of being sick.
So, you go through FDN and what were you learning about? Cause I know things were already getting a little better, but there’s always something to learn in FDN. What were you learning about your own body at that time as you were running the labs? Like were you finding some major healing opportunities or was it more maintenance stuff? I’d love to know about that.
FDN Victoria Learning and Healing
[00:16:55] Victoria Franca: There was so much healing opportunity. I think also to one point, I dove into FDN so deep. I saw the modules and I just went in. I made a schedule for myself, and I gave myself three months. I wanted to go through it all and wanted to focus on just spending as much time of my day working on it and learning. I was so excited about finally having so much answer at my fingertips, really.
I think the GI MAP was huge for me. I think that was like a big wakeup call because I had never done anything like that. The DUTCH test also was incredible. Then I had started to hear also about the HTMA. That was one that I wanted to do as well to learn more about my nutrients. So no, everything was really eye opening.
I definitely got a little bit overwhelmed; I think with putting the protocols in action myself. Because it was also during the time, I’m learning everything and then I’m taking it in and I was like, wow, I have to do a lot of changes. Clearly, I haven’t been doing life the right way the past couple of years.
That was a big wake up call, but it was also really exciting. I truly believed in the answers, and I truly believed that healing was possible, and healing is possible once you know what’s actually going on.
[00:18:02] Detective Ev: We’ll talk more about the labs in a second.
FDN Victoria Giving Some FDN Course Feedback
One question I want to ask first, and please, you could always be honest with this. I actually encourage people to do so. Constructive criticism is always welcome. I’m curious, how did your expectations of the course prior to going through it match up to the reality of the course?
Did you find that you got what you needed? Was it more than you expected? Are there certain things that could have been better? Anything is fine. I’d love to hear that from you.
[00:18:27] Victoria Franca: I loved everything. I think the practicals were incredible. That was my favorite part. Just having that one-on-one time to go over and even get that feedback. That was huge. I do think for myself, the modules itself, I went through it relatively quickly. I was able to capture the education, information and really take it in. Then putting it into action, I was like, this is the fun part. This is when I actually learned.
I don’t know how it is right now specifically, but back then the practicals were just at the end. I don’t know if now there’s any practicals in the middle of the course or not, but I think that would be great also, like a touchpoint base. Just because some people like myself are learners that are more hands on. The more we can practice, the more we actually understand the information. That would be my only feedback.
I think now knowing the HTMA test, I would have loved to have done that as part of one of the tests. It was a game changer in my health personally. It’s one of the tests that I run with all my clients. I definitely would have loved to do that earlier on.
Foundational FDN Practices Helps Balance a Body Out
[00:19:30] Detective Ev: Man, that’s going to be an interesting topic cause we had an episode recently with Barbara Madimenos and we actually analyzed the HTMA in and of itself. That was the episode.
It was kind of a risk because we know how trainees get. If I start showing them all the tests we have access to, they’ll be like, wait, I want to do all of them. There’s a very specific time and place to use these. And FDN has no problem with someone like yourself for example.
It sounds like you’ve probably been one of many people who have adopted this as something that’s like a standalone or even a primary test in your FDN practice. Fair enough. Again, many people end up doing that. We’ll talk about that.
The one disclaimer that I need to put on every time we talk about these things is, and I’ll debate for Reed here, I’m not getting into a debate with you. I’m debating myself more. The reason that it is still not a foundational thing in the course is because it’s Reed’s understanding that if you focus on the things that are taught foundationally, in theory, the minerals should balance out themselves. I have found that to be quite true.
I won’t speak for you, but I’ll say the reason that many people do include this as a foundational lab now is because it is cheap. It is very simple. The supplements are great. We have an FDN that, well, I mean you could use a variety of supplements, but there’s an FDN that had invented something called Vykon Customs. I have it right now and it’s working great to be dead honest. It’s a fantastic company.
FDN Victoria Benefited From the HTMA
You can get these people quick results in terms of how they feel and there’s something to be said about that. So, do we need it? Maybe not, I’m not sure. I don’t think any mass studies been done to prove one way or the other, but I can understand both sides.
With that disclaimed, I’m curious, what ended up being the appeal for you? I wanted to break down the test that you mentioned. Why did you end up using the HTMA, and what success have you seen with that, with clients?
[00:21:16] Victoria Franca: It was interesting. I did, the protocol that I went through in the practical. I did my GI MAP; I did that protocol with the supplements. I did my DUTCH also. I followed it to a T and I felt better. But only until I did the HTMA, really focused on the specific nutrient imbalances, that I felt a significant change.
I think for me personally, it was one of those tests and results I implemented within a month. I was like, wow! I feel very different than a month ago. And the only changes really weren’t lifestyle. It wasn’t anything regarding D.R.E.S.S. I had already implemented all of that. But it was more of the specific supplements that I was focusing on, just rebalancing those specific nutrients.
So, for me it definitely was something great for my body personally, to link it with the other tests, the other results, the other protocols. But I think the Vykon supplements you mentioned, that made it really easy.
When I first did it, that didn’t exist yet. They were still building that out. But for my clients now, it makes it a lot easier for them to stay compliant.
FDN Victoria Offers Options with HTMA Supplements
[00:22:19] Detective Ev: You might spend a little extra money, but for me, I just didn’t even care. It made so much sense to use a supplement that I can take this powder and put it in a smoothie or mix it in water very quickly.
On the road this morning, I was able to, between all my work and stuff, I could feel the difference cause I was presenting today. I could feel the difference when I took it. And I actually only ever even use this test because I knew I was like working myself to the bone. I’m like, all right, this year I’m going to be a little smarter.
I have this prepared and stuff. I mean, it really does work. It’s a targeted supplement, very specific to your body and kind of how it reacts to stress or just where you’re currently at in one’s health journey.
So, are you using this with pretty much all clients or maybe all clients period now?
[00:22:56] Victoria Franca: I use it. I do offer both. I either offer supplements through Fullscript if clients want to buy monthly and just individual, or I do offer the Vykon supplements. I like to just offer the option because some people don’t want to pay upfront for the Vykon supplements, it is a little bit more expensive, although it includes a lot more.
Some people are on a budget. So, I want to be respectful and give them options.
[00:23:18] Detective Ev: That’s what’s really cool. Sometimes it’s like, all right, well, I gotta swallow a bunch of capsules, but if I can save this money, it’s a no-brainer. Yeah, and it’s all seasons, right? There was definitely a time I would take that option.
FDN Victoria is Exploring Vykon’s Different Flavors
Now it’s just like, I got so many supplements here that it’s ridiculous. I’m just like, I could take the powder, that’s my thing. And it’s really cool having this big supplement container with my name on it. That’s really what sold me Vykon Customs.
Victoria Franca: What flavor do you use?
Detective Ev: It was Ryan Monahan who hooked me up, so he gave me that fruit punch or whatever. Again, I put it in a smoothie. I know some people have issues with the taste, and maybe that’s just specific nutrients that were customized to them.
I wouldn’t recommend it. I have been in a pinch and have definitely taken that scooper, thrown it on the tongue, and just kind of chugged it back. Listen, I’ve done it with worse supplements. It went down easy enough and I got my electrolytes in. I don’t think mine is that bad cause I’ve done it with like, very minimal flavoring and it doesn’t seem to give the taste that many people swear these supplements give.
[00:24:10] Victoria Franca: So that was one of the things in the beginning. In the beginning the taste was very, very strong. Then they came out with capsules. Then you could basically order the same thing, but they’ll put it into the capsule. So that was my go-to. I would just do the capsules versus the powder.
But now I saw that Lisa actually shared, I think yesterday or something, that there’s four different flavors now. There’s even like a chocolate flavor. So, I’m excited to try that one and see how that smoothie version is.
FDN Victoria and Her 100% Referral Based Business
[00:24:35] Detective Ev: This is the last thing I’ll say about the flavor. I’ll put it this way for the listeners. Minerals and vitamins as standalones can taste so bad that Vykon Customs, what they’re doing is they give you your customized supplement, but you don’t get the flavor added in. They literally have this like hyper concentrated flavoring thing cause it’s that bad by itself. So, you need to sprinkle that in.
But in terms of the clients that you’re helping, I know we read it in the bio, but it’s always great to hear it from yourself. Who do you serve? Who’s your type of client that you ended up starting to work with? And did you start working with them like immediately after graduating? Did you just get right to the races?
[00:25:07] Victoria Franca: It’s been interesting because now it’s going to be, I’m on year two. Honestly, the clientele has shifted. I think that’s the beauty of it, is being able to adapt with the clients that are coming to you.
I am not someone that has that niche down very, very tight. I’ve been pretty broad with helping women balance hormones, minerals, and gut health, and that’s what worked for me personally. I didn’t want to exclude ages. I was open, I did say that it was women, so I kept that in regard to who I help.
But in the beginning, it started off with friends. Friends were coming to me. I was doing that. I was doing family members, and then it became referrals. Those friends were referring out. I can say that my business right now, till today has been a hundred percent referral based, which is incredible.
Never Having a Problem with the Pricing
My clients come to me through Instagram mostly or through my website. I do a couple different calls. Of course, just for clients that are interested in working with me. But most of them are already decided, and they’ll just say, how do I sign up and how do I get started?
A lot of it, I don’t do calls anymore. It’s just more the word of mouth has been so good that they know and they reach out when they’re ready. They’re ready to sign up.
[00:26:14] Detective Ev: This is really interesting that you mentioned that part about they kind of already know. I feel bad, I don’t want to speak ignorantly here. But I do hear from some people sometimes like, oh, I’m having issues with price or this, that, or the next thing.
I don’t think I’ve ever had, in five years, one person actually arguing me on price. They might say, I need to save for it. Then they do that, and then they come back. I don’t know what I’m doing that is so special. I also don’t do it full time. That’s my disclaimer. Maybe I have a narrow lens because I’m really only working with people that get sent to me because it’s not my full-time income. Fair enough.
If I’m just trying to advertise myself out there and get it that way, then maybe that’s why. But it sounds like you have a practice where at one point at least it, wasn’t always this way or that you’re doing it full-time and yet you’re not having those issues either. I don’t know what the difference is, but I think what you’re saying is much more common than it appears.
FDN Victoria Doesn’t Chase Clients
Obviously, people like you aren’t in the groups complaining about a price thing or whatever. You only hear about the people that are struggling with that, that are going to say it. No, I think most FDNs don’t really have a huge issue with this. People are ready to go, or at the very least, like I said, they see the value in it and might just need to save or adjust finances accordingly to make that investment in their health.
[00:27:26] Victoria Franca: Exactly. I think that’s the big thing. You know, I will get clients that will say this is a little outside of my price point right now, but I am going to be saving for it and I can get back to you in a month or two. And wonderful.
My thing is this, I think maybe in business, I think in the business world online, a lot of people will chase clients. That has never been my practice. I am a firm believer that if you want to work with me, you will work with me. It’s not going to be me who’s going to follow up or chase you and ask if you’re ready to commit.
That is not the game I play because it’s your health. If your health is actually in dire need, you know, you need help. And you know you’ll do what it takes to actually get help and sign up.
I think that was something from the beginning with me is that I would rather have a client or prospective client walk away and me not go after them and chase them. And prefer to have a client that will say, hey, I can’t right now, but I will come back next month.
FDN Victoria Warns Against Troublesome Implementation
That’s it. I’m going to leave the ball in their court because I don’t want to be someone that gives off energy of desperation because you need me more than I need you.
That’s the truth. I’m here to help you and serve you, but you have to be decided and you have to commit. Otherwise, when it comes to the protocol time, you’re not going to implement it because you didn’t actually take it seriously from the beginning.
[00:28:45] Detective Ev: I had no idea that we were going to even get to this kind of specific topic today, but I love that you brought this up. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone else say it that way yet.
I was a salesperson. I did car sales; I did door to door. All you hear about is follow up. You’re knocking on the same door; you’re calling the person incessantly in car sales and maybe there’s a time and place for it. But what happens is a lot of these sales trainers and all this stuff, they act like every type of sale is the same.
I am not a sales professional in that sense, I’m not a sales trainer. But I would argue that. Because my thing is, like you just said, why would I want to be chasing someone when it’s something like this?
Let’s say I do follow up. What is it? The average sales actually made on like the seventh follow up in like correspondence? Let’s say I follow up seven times and now I sold you on this mega package, $5,000, nine months of coaching. Okay, great. And you didn’t actually want to do it, but I convinced you of it. Now I have a troublesome client to work with.
FDN Victoria Warns Against Getting Drained
They’re not getting the results cause they weren’t ready for it. I need the money cause I’ve spent the time, but I feel really guilty for taking their money. They’re not happy. I don’t think that’s the right way to do it.
A friendly email or something might be okay, but I wouldn’t use the normal sales processes that are typically touted in the sales world on something like FDN. I think it’s a bad idea. This is my opinion. I’m not saying that everyone in FDN agrees with this. It’s my opinion.
You’re having the success you’re having and also agree with this. Maybe it’s one thing for me to say this as someone who’s not doing it full time. But I think it’s a little different when someone comes on and says, you know, if you want to work with me, you’re going to.
And it’s not like there’s any shortage of people who need this work. So why would I force people into this that don’t want to do it? I think it’s unethical and it’s a bad idea for everyone.
[00:30:21] Victoria Franca: Absolutely. Then you’re going to get that client that’s going to be unhappy no matter what you do or how much you provide to them. I think it’s about as professionals in this health space, we have to be able to protect our own energy.
I think we give so much of ourselves to our clients, and we provide so much support. But if we’re signing on the wrong people, that starts to drain us even more and more. We can even look at it and say, I don’t want to do this anymore. I feel drained because I’m working with the wrong people, I’m attracting the wrong people into my business.
FDN Victoria Encourages Asking for Two Referrals
So, I think if there’s a recommendation, stand your ground. Know your value, know what you’re serving, continue serving your clients for free through social media, Instagram, YouTube. There’s so many different ways to do it. Also know that the people that are meant to work with you, will work with you.
[00:31:06] Detective Ev: I know that the initial argument from someone, or the thought in their head would be, well maybe that’s easy for you guys to say, but I need clients to eat or whatever. So how did you make the transition? Did you just have enough saved, or did you have to work the other job first and then move into FDN?
How did you make that transition into just having almost a hundred percent referrals?
[00:31:26] Victoria Franca: I still worked full time while I did FDN until last December. I was still running my business. It could have been a full-time business, but I was still working my other job just because I felt like, well, if I can do both, why not? It was working smoothly.
At the beginning, yeah, it was, I think, much easier to just say, whatever comes in, comes in. I don’t need this. This is extra for me. But to be quite honest, nothing changed once I left that full-time job other than me getting more clients and working more hours.
I think if you’re providing good service and clients are happy with you, and you’re also, I think this is the big thing, you have to be open to asking for referrals. You have to say, can you connect me with two people that are in your circle that may need my services?
Simply Ask for Referrals
The reason I say, can you connect me with two people is because it’s very simple and easy for someone to remember or think about two friends. If you say, can you connect with someone, they’re going to go through like their whole database of friends in their mind, their family members. Then they’re not going to make any connections.
I think that was key for me, is being very honest. Like, hey, I am a referral-based business and if you’re happy with my service, I would love to be able to support someone, you know, two people that you know, and not being ashamed of asking for that help.
That’s how I’ve been able to really grow my business to just be referrals.
[00:32:44] Detective Ev: That is one part of sales training that I would imagine is nearly universal, although I’m not in every industry, so I don’t know. But definitely here. I get it cause I’ve been very nervous about the stuff in my life.
It’s amazing, such a simple question. You could talk to this client for six months and then someone’s afraid to ask for a referral when they’ve done a good job. I mean it’s very hard for me to wrap my head around.
And may I ask, are you giving something in exchange for those referrals if they’re completed? Or is this just, I’m going to ask and hopefully you do it.
FDN Victoria Has a Referral Program
[00:33:10] Victoria Franca: In the beginning, no, I wasn’t giving anything. Now I have a referral program, which is, if you refer me to two clients and they sign up for whatever program that I have, then you get a free retest for the mineral analysis, the HTMA, in four months.
I have clients that literally get their retest every four months because they’re hustling. They’re talking about me; they’re posting about me. They’re sharing cause they know that they want it for themselves, and they want that free benefit. It really depends on the person.
I think most of my clients, once they get their protocol, they get everything, they see everything from D.R.E.S.S. that they’re applying to their lives, they just start showing and posting on social media. I think for me, social media has been very big. I don’t have a crazy following, but I have an engaged following. That has been very helpful.
And just people that, once they start feeling better, that’s where the word of mouth goes through. There’s nothing better than a client seeing changes and feeling good after 45 days, 30 days, and talking to people about it. It’s that simple. I think that’s what’s really important about providing a really good client experience and support, because they will talk about it
[00:34:16] Detective Ev: I love what you said about a difference between an engaged audience versus just like a big following. You know what, it wouldn’t be true everywhere. If I was selling a $5 product, not only would I need an engaged audience, I would need a very large one to make a living.
FDN is Holistic and Detailed in the Health Space
Guys, the blessing of our work is it is high ticket. It takes a lot of time to work with this person, and there’s no shortage of clients. I mean this, quite literally, a hundred engaged
Facebook friends is more than enough to create a business with this on social media, especially if you’re willing to do the things that Victoria does. Actually, ask for a referral when you’re doing a good job, having a pleased customer, especially, that’s a really cool offering.
I won’t mention it on the podcast, obviously, but I know the pricing behind that and I’m thinking that is really not that bad for you, but it’s extremely valuable for them. That’s genius to kind of include that as the thing.
I want to talk about that too, because you clearly have this business side. You’ve done some really cool things that I want to talk about. I apologize if you did mention this because I would’ve forgotten, and I admit that. What was your job before this?
[00:35:11] Victoria Franca: I used to do spa consulting for the Ritz Carlton Group, Mandarin Oriental, just different hotel brands. Actually, worked for a company that was out of London, so out of the UK. Then I was overseeing the resorts, the spas specifically here in the US and Caribbean.
Definitely business background was my thing. I was also still in the wellness space because you’re in the spa industry. But of course, when moving over to FDN, it’s a whole different ball game when it comes to how holistic and how more detailed it is versus just the spa world.
FDN Victoria Bartered FDN Services for a News Segment
[00:35:43] Detective Ev: We’re pretty on the far end, right? That makes perfect sense.
The business background is very obvious and it’s just cool to see. Listen, you can have a business background, but if the system is crap, it only takes you so far. I think there’s proof in the pudding here where people universally, if they have a business background, FDNs, limitless potential for them, right? They just keep going up and up and up with this in many ways.
I had seen just even on your Instagram, and I believe in the bio as well, you’ve had some big-time features. You’ve been in a lot of things. I don’t know if this is really duplicatable for other people, maybe it is. But how have you pulled some of these things off? Have your moment, brag about it. Like where have you been featured? Where are some of these things you’ve done?
[00:36:21] Victoria Franca: I’ve been featured, NBC 6 Miami. That was a really great feature. They were doing a holistic wellness segment for Miami. They featured one of my programs, that was amazing.
That came to be because I got in contact with the anchor. I offered my services as a barter. I said, listen, I don’t want anything in return, but I would like for you to experience it. If you like it, we can talk about maybe doing a segment, an interview, or something like that.
And she loved it. She loved the test, she loved how she felt after. She said, it’s not going to be right now, but eventually I will have something that’s in the wellness space and I’ll keep you in mind.
FDN Victoria Used H/A/R/O
That’s literally how it was. Months later, she contacted me. She’s like, I found like a perfect moment. It’s going to be brief, but it’s on the news. That’s how that worked.
Then for the other features that I’ve had, a lot of it, I used H/A/R/O. It’s H A R O, which is “help a reporter out”. It’s a free database that you can log into. You can sign up. Take that note so you can sign up.
Every single day you’re going to get three emails with tons of different reporters are going to post the topics that they need you to respond and basically pitch yourself to get featured. It is a little frustrating. The emails are so long, you have to kind of go through them and get to that fitness and health section. But every day there’s something else.
I just shot my shot. I saw a couple of them that I was like, I can answer this one and I can provide my feedback. It’s very simple. You just basically get the editor’s email, and you respond with the H/A/R/O ticket number that they assign. That’s it.
The best tip of it all is you have to do it very quickly. As soon as that email comes out, which is at 9:00 AM, 12, and 5 PM Eastern time, go through the email and if you see something that you want to pitch yourself to as a response, then go in it and write it right away. That has been how I got featured on Thrive, on Observer also.
It’s just keep trying. To me it’s like the more I can just shoot my shot, I know I’m going to land somewhere nice.
Anyone Can Do This
[00:38:28] Detective Ev: I love this. I don’t actually even know if I can make this decision, but it’d be cool to have you do some type of business training with FDN, because this is the stuff that I love.
You know what? There’s nothing special about this in terms of the fact that it’s not like only Victoria can do this. Anyone can do this. It’s just doing the work, having some confidence to put oneself out there. Give me an excuse. I mean, if you have the ability to listen to this podcast, you have the same technology necessary to do what you have just stated you have been doing.
To me, it seems like a no brainer, and I feel like people self-limit themselves when they don’t go and do these things. I digress. I just feel bad when people are struggling and all. To me, it’s just doing some work that people don’t want to do typically. It’s very true.
[00:39:09] Victoria Franca: I graduated; I started my business literally February of 2020. If there was a worse time, it was then. COVID had just started. In a way, worse time, best time situation.
For me, mindset was huge because when that happened, I immediately thought to myself, this is a waste. No one’s going to invest in their health when they are getting furloughed, let go. Everything is happening with the economy. We are in a very unfamiliar situation. That’s what I noticed; mindset was so big.
I immediately told myself, I’m not going to get clients. So, for the first month, I got nothing. I literally just watched things happen. I was like, here, I said it. I’m not going to get any business.
Mindset: Turning a Bad Situation into an Opportunity
Then I caught myself. I said, wait, what if I look at this opportunity and actually see it for the opposite, think actually I can really make something great, and actually maybe create a lower ticket offer. Everyone needs this right now. This is the time that everyone’s talking about health and wellness.
So, that’s what I did. I saw that situation and I turned it around. I created a lower ticket offering and went on from there. That’s when I started getting the clients, getting the referrals, and really started the business. But if I had stayed in that mindset of scarcity and fear, I wouldn’t be where I am today because I would always see that as a limitation.
I think maybe an exercise for everyone is sit with yourself and try to find out what is a limiting belief that I have about my business and about myself right now. Turn it around and see what’s the opportunity around that. There’s so much opportunity, we just have to be smarter than what our mind’s telling us because our mind will always play these little tricks.
[00:40:47] Detective Ev: Nice. I love this kinda stuff, anyone that knows me in real life. I actually have a few friends and family members that listen to this. I love the motivational side and the mindset side. You just reminded me of this thing by Jim Rohn. For those who don’t know, he was a motivational speaker. He’s since passed.
A Lot of This is a Mindset Game
He talked about two salespeople, the door-to-door salespeople. The day starts raining and he was showing the difference in mindset. The one guy says, oh my God, it’s pouring out here. They can’t expect you to make sales like this. It’s a terrible job. All this kind of stuff, right?
And the other salesperson says, well, this is brilliant. All the other sales guys are going to be at home and everyone else is going to be at home since it’s so miserable. This is a great day to make sales. You know, I get to some people that it can maybe sound a little cheesy, but there’s a lot of truth in that.
All they have to do too is look up. Look up how many of the Fortune 500 companies started during recessions. You’d be amazed by how many of the biggest companies in the world started at some of the worst times. Because guess what? It does shut everyone down a little bit.
I fully admit in the beginning, that’s probably the least motivated I had been in the last eight, nine years since I’d really gotten my life together and on track. It was defeating. I’m talking about myself right now.
There’s opportunity to be had when some of the people that are normally hustling the most are on the pity potty feeling sorry for themselves or doing whatever. So go out there, get it, make it happen. It shows a lot of this stuff is a mindset game.
Client Testimonials
Now Victoria, before we head off, we have several minutes left. You’ve obivously worked with quite a few clients at this point. I’d love to just hear any client testimonials that stick out. I always think these are so special. Is there any client in particular that sticks out where they came to you, maybe they weren’t in a great place, they didn’t even know what to expect, and it’s really just like a heartwarming story now?
[00:42:22] Victoria Franca: Yeah. There are a few. I think the ones that really just make me super emotional are the ones that have been trying to conceive for so long. And it’s after implementing everything, really focusing on their bodies, tuning into their bodies, understanding their bodies, that they come back with that news of, I’m pregnant. I just love that.
I have probably, I think around 10 clients now that have gone through that experience, which is beautiful. That just makes me so, so happy.
I think I have one other client that really sticks out also. She was young. Her mom came to me. Her sister came to me first, then her mom, and then her. She was about 16 and it was during COVID. She had a lot of depression. She was severely depressed with everything that was going on.
But also overall, her test results were completely off the charts. She had copper toxicity, which was something really, really high in her results. That’s something that I saw through the HTMA test, the mineral test for anyone that doesn’t know.
After implementing the protocols, the depression went away. She’s fine. She didn’t need to go on medication. She’s happy and she’s thriving. She’s now an 18-year-old. I think that’s just beautiful to see.
Stopping Some Pretty Powerful Things
You know, a family member talked about their experience, it was the sister. Then shared it with the mom, and said, Mom, she doesn’t have to go on medication. She can do this naturally. We just need to see what’s happening.
Having that support and then seeing that transformation and seeing that she was able to understand the depression is being caused by different elements that are out of balance and toxicity that’s in the body. That’s really one that definitely stands out to me, especially for being so young.
[00:43:49] Detective Ev: I love actually both of those categories. Of the conception ones, I mean, I’ve never tried to do that, but I can imagine that’s an extremely emotionally taxing thing for people, especially the older that they get. You know, they might start thinking, oh, is this going to be impossible for me to do this? And that’s quite literally life changing.
Then for the younger people, as someone who suffered with mental health issues at a young age, it’s amazing to me when we get to help a young person and we are avoiding things that we can’t even predict, right? You don’t know if that person was going to engage in substance abuse eventually, or self-harm. To be able to stop those things is pretty powerful.
That’s so cool that in such a short time you have like these high-level testimonials, that is an asset to FDN. This is great to have you.
A Funny Client Testimonial
[00:44:26] Victoria Franca: I was thinking there was one story that was actually funny. She was older, she was 42. Not that that’s old, but she did not want a baby. That was not in the plans at all, at that age especially.
I remember she reached out to me after about six, seven months of doing her protocol, and all she said was, I guess your program works, period.
I said, what does that mean? She said, I’m pregnant. I was like, what? I didn’t know you were even trying. She goes, I wasn’t, and I didn’t want a kid. I’m pregnant. I was like, oh my gosh. It was definitely a shocker for her, for my myself also. But it was funny.
Now we look back and laugh about it. She was just like, it’s crazy how you were able to balance my body to be able to conceive at that age that of course is seen as high risk.
Now she has her baby girl, and she’s beautiful and happy. They’re both thriving. It’s a very cute story. Every time I see her posting her baby girl, I’m like, oh my gosh.
[00:45:33] Detective Ev: Thank you for sharing that. That’s pretty powerful.
We had a doctor come on one time and she wasn’t suggesting people try this, but she was saying that the research she had done suggested that there were tribes documented, still having births at 60 years old. Like the women were giving birth at 60 years old.
I mean, tribes that are not interacting with Western society at all. I can’t prove that that’s true, but what I can prove is that anything that we’re doing is clearly not as good as what nature intended at its best right.
Where to Find Victoria Franca
Now there’s many accidents that could have happened to that woman before she got to the age of 60 that we prevent with Western. So, Fair enough.
But assuming that the person lived and was healthy, if our standard’s 40, I mean, we know it’s at least 50 in the wild then.
I don’t think sixty’s actually that far out. It’s hard to comprehend. It challenges a major narrative, but yeah.
[00:46:17] Victoria Franca: No, that’s very true. I’m Brazil, so there’s a Brazilian actress that just announced that she’s pregnant at 55. That has been really interesting too. Really interesting to see. I’m excited to kind of follow along her pregnancy and maybe hear what she’s done and things like that. But yeah, that was definitely a shocker for the whole country.
[00:46:36] Detective Ev: Yeah, absolutely.
Okay. So, Victoria, where can people find you if they would like to work with you?
[00:46:41] Victoria Franca: You can find me at victoria.wellness on Instagram. You can also find me on my website, which is www.omnewellness.com.
The Health Detective Podcast Signature Question
[00:46:55] Detective Ev: Awesome. We have the signature question on the Health Detective Podcast, which we’re going to finish up with today. And that signature question is, if I could give you, Victoria, in this case, a magic wand and you could wave it and get every single person in this world to do one thing for their health, whether that’s actually get them to do something or get them to stop doing something, what’s the one thing you’d get them to do?
[00:47:17] Victoria Franca: That would be sleep earlier. Sleep around 9:30, 10:00 PM. That would be my wish for the world.
[00:47:23] Detective Ev: All right guys. That’ll do it for today’s episode with Victoria Franca.
Remember, if you are either already graduated from FDN and you’re listening to this, or if you’re going through the course right now and planning to graduate soon, there just might be an advanced training in our professional group with Victoria where she is going to share some pretty solid business insights, tips, and tricks from someone who’s actually done it, right? Not just theory, not read it in a book, not help someone else do it, but actually has done it herself.
We are very fortunate in our FDN community to have a lot of people that have extraordinarily successful businesses out there. It’s because a lot of them were businesspeople before they were health people.
Now that’s not a bad thing either way. It’s not bad to be a health person first and a businessperson second. As you guys probably know, this probably applies to most of you listening, you might have been a health person first and a businessperson second. Totally normal to be that way.
Conclusion
But the problem is, we figure out all this health stuff, we’re super excited about it. Then we go and realize, now I gotta go sell, market, and I gotta handle all the business sides of things. That can be tricky. It can be intimidating.
That’s why we share these people who actually have the business side first and then the health side second, so that you can learn and use their knowledge, more or less, and accelerate the learning curve there. We do not want to spend five, 10 years learning all the business stuff.
Most of it, well at least, the amount that needs to be learned to do something like FDN successfully and full time, I mean, we’re talking about a couple of months tops. You could learn the information that you need. I genuinely believe that, possibly even less depending on what field you are coming from and the level of confidence you already have in yourself. So, look forward to that.
If you guys are considering becoming FDNs yourself, you know where to go. I mention it all the time on the show, fdntraining.com/tryfdn. We’ll let you try the course completely for free. You can find that in the show notes too. That is fdntraining.com/tryfdn to try the course completely for free. No credit card is required.
But that’ll do it for today’s episode. I am looking forward to talking to you guys again soon. But until then, take care.
If you’re interested in natural healing and or functional medicine, FDN is the right place. You can always visit us at functionaldiagnosticnutrition.com.
To hire a coach, go to fdnthrive.com.
For a FREE Health Review, go to fdnthrive.com/match/.
