A CPSM Graduate Spotlight with Brittany Hefetz

 

Brittany is a mom of two, a dedicated nurse practitioner specializing in pulmonary and sleep, and a certified pediatric sleep consultant through CPSM. Her interest in baby sleep took root six years ago with the birth of her son, but it wasn’t until her daughter arrived three years later that she fully immersed herself in understanding infant sleep. Both of Brittany’s children struggled with sleep early on, which led her to spend countless hours figuring out effective sleep strategies. Brittany’s talent for improving sleep became clear as friends began seeking her advice with their own babies. Often, she would think, “I should really find a way to make a business out of this.” Brittany Hefetz

In February 2024, Brittany decided to take her passion to the next level by enrolling in Center for Pediatric Sleep Management’s sleep consultant certification program. She officially launched her sleep consulting business in March 2024 and hasn’t looked back since.

 

 

Links:

Website: The GoodNight Nurse
Instagram: @brittany_sleepconsultant

 

If you would like to learn more about the Becoming a Sleep Consultant, please join our free Facebook Group or check out our CPSM Website.

Book a free discovery call to learn how you can become a Certified Sleep Consultant here.

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Transcript: 

Intro: Welcome to Becoming a Sleep Consultant! I’m your host Jayne Havens, a certified sleep consultant and founder of both Snooze Fest by Jayne Havens and Center for Pediatric Sleep Management.

On this podcast, I’ll be discussing the business side of sleep consulting. You’ll have an insider’s view on launching, growing, and even scaling a sleep consulting business. This is not a podcast about sleep training. This is a podcast about business building and entrepreneurship.

Brittany is a mom of two, a dedicated nurse practitioner specializing in pulmonary and sleep, and a certified pediatric sleep consultant through Center for Pediatric Sleep Management. Her interest in baby sleep took root six years ago with the birth of her son, but it wasn’t until her daughter arrived three years later that she fully immersed herself in understanding infant sleep. Both of Brittany’s children struggled with sleep early on, which led her to spend countless hours figuring out effective sleep strategies. Brittany’s talent for improving sleep became clear as friends began seeking her advice with their own babies. Often, she would think, “I should really just find a way to make a business out of this.”

In February of 2024, Brittany decided to take her passion to the next level by enrolling in Center for Pediatric Sleep Management’s sleep consultant certification program. She officially launched her sleep consulting business in March of 2024 and hasn’t looked back since.

Jayne Havens: Brittany, welcome to the Becoming a Sleep Consultant podcast. I am so excited to have this conversation with you today.

Brittany Hefetz: Yeah. Hi, Jayne. Thanks for having me. I’m really excited to be here.

Jayne Havens: So before we get started, tell everybody a little bit about you. If you’re willing, maybe tell us a bit about your life, both personally and professionally, and why you decided to get certified to work as a sleep consultant.

Brittany Hefetz: Sure. So I’m a mom of two. I have a six-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl who were both sleep trained. I’m also a nurse practitioner. I specialize in pulmonary and sleep medicine. I am obviously a pediatric sleep consultant. I started my business in March of 2024. So what really got me into this work was, when I had my son six years ago, he didn’t sleep at all. It was pretty terrible, and I really didn’t know that there was any other way. I just thought that this was life. This was parenthood. So my husband and I just kind of went through the motion thinking we would never sleep again.

Then I started looking into things more. After talking to the pediatrician, he told me it was okay for my baby to cry. I thought he was crazy. But then I started looking into things, and I realized that there is another way. So I implemented it with him, and it worked. I just continued getting better and better. Then I started helping my friends get their kids to sleep, and they would all come to me. I had my daughter three years later. I did the same thing again, but I did it even better. I started it earlier. And I was like, “I love this. This is amazing.”

I didn’t even really realize that sleep consulting was a thing until maybe like a few years ago. But for some reason, I guess it was imposter syndrome. I didn’t think that it would be me. Like, why would I be a sleep consultant? Who am I? But then I actually saw a friend. She was a sleep consultant. I’m like, “Wait a second.” I’m like, “If she can be a sleep consultant, I can be a sleep consultant.” Then I started looking into it. I found her course. And here I am.

Jayne Havens: You mentioned a little bit that you felt like you had some imposter syndrome. Was that the main barrier to you getting started at first? Were there other things that were getting in the way of you actually getting started and taking action with all of this?

Brittany Hefetz: That was definitely one of the things. I just didn’t even realize that it was something that I can consider doing, and then I slowly realized I could. But the other thing was, I was a nurse when my son was born. I was getting my master’s to become a nurse practitioner. Then I started my nurse practitioner job when he was about a year and a half. Then I got pregnant with my daughter. So timing wise, it just wasn’t even something that I was able to stomach. I believe in the expression, like, “You make time for things that you want to make time for.” I just couldn’t. I needed to focus on motherhood, getting through school, and then figuring it out after.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, that makes perfect sense. But you’re also still a really busy person right now, so I’m wondering if you could share what it looked like for you to go through the training while also being a busy mom who was working full time.

Brittany Hefetz: Yes, so it was hard. When I approached my husband about doing this, he looked at me like I was insane. He was like, “How are you going to do that? You work full time. You have two kids.” I also wanted to have my life, right? But as I just said it before, I truly believe and this process has made me realize that whatever you want to make time for, you will.

It’s just like, this was the perfect example. I’m off on Wednesdays, so I went through the course on Wednesdays. Once my kids went to sleep — because I’m a sleep consultant, so they sleep — I was able to work on everything. Then the weekends, I had my husband take them to his parents one day. I was just able to get it done and figure it out. I made the time. I just did.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, I love that. I love that. And so tell me what it looks like for you to support families now juggling your full-time job and your family. And I’m sure you have a social life and hobbies and other things going on day to day. I’m curious what it looks like communication-wise. Because I think a lot of people who are interested in becoming sleep consultants, they’re medical professionals — they’re nurses, they’re PAs, or maybe they are teachers, and they work in a classroom all day long. I think you have a similar lifestyle where you can’t necessarily be glued to your cell phone.

So how are you supporting families? What does communication look like? I’m also wondering, are you managing expectations on the front end so that your clients know what to expect from you, so there are no surprises if you aren’t able to respond right away?

Brittany Hefetz: So I give myself, and I tell them this — it’s in my contract and in my proposal — after our discovery call that I need 15 minutes to respond. It’s also in my sleep plan that are laid out. Because I want to give myself that buffer even if I’m driving somewhere, right?

Jayne Havens: 15 minutes sounds like nothing to me. I mean, that’s fast.

Brittany Hefetz: It is. I was actually thinking of extending it a little bit. But right now, I’ve been doing 15 minutes. The way my job works is I have patient appointments, like in my nurse practitioner job. So they’re usually about 15 minutes, give or take. So if I walk into the room and I’m talking with my patient and I get a text, I have that 15 minute buffer. I also had to sort of calm myself down over that too. Because it’s not an emergency. No one is going to get hurt from it. It’s okay if they have to wait a couple minutes.

The other thing too is, as I’m getting more clients, I’m realizing the types of clients that I’m going to take on, right? So a lot of my clients now are in daycare during the day, like during the week. So I don’t really have to worry about it. If the parents are texting me, it’s not about naps. It’s just a question about bedtime, which I make it clear that if it’s a question about bedtime and you’re texting me at 9 AM, it might take me a little bit to respond. So I’ve done that too. Or if it’s a toddler client, it’s very unusual that the parent would be texting me about nap. So it’s worked out.

Jayne Havens: I actually have done the same thing in my business. Of course, I will support a stay-at-home mom. And if that work comes my way, I’ll support them. But it is actually my preference as well to support families that have babies that are on a schedule in school. Because from our perspective, it makes our day-to-day easier. I also think it helps them to accept that the day is what the day is. Of course, we can give advice, and we can share with the daycare best practices. But it’s okay if every day looks a little bit different. I think that that’s true for babies whether they’re at home or at school. But it’s nice when it’s sort of forced that way a little bit.

Brittany Hefetz: 100%. That’s really what’s worked for me.

Jayne Havens: Where are you connecting with families that become your clients? How are you building your business?

Brittany Hefetz: This is one of my huge anxieties, going into all of this. What I did was I made an Instagram. I’m not tech savvy at all. The fact that I even made an Instagram is like, five years ago, I would have been like, “Who are you?” But I made an Instagram with my business name. Then on Facebook groups, I joined every mom Facebook group I could find, and I comment on people’s posts.

There’s sleep training groups that I’ve commented in. I’ve done Q&As on sleep training groups. I have a lot of friends in my community who I’ve helped and who are just my friends, and they’ve referred me to people. So that’s really how I’ve been building it up, and then through word of mouth. When I’ve helped someone, they recommended me and so on and so forth.

Jayne Havens: So it sounds like a lot of hustle, but also now maybe you’re starting to see the fruits of your labors, right? I think you said you’re supporting, what? Like two to five families a month. Is that accurate?

Brittany Hefetz: Yeah, it’s about two to five depending on the month.

Jayne Havens: What do you want that to look like down the road? Do you want it to grow? Look. You have a full-time job. You have young kids. Are you wanting your business to expand, or do you feel like you’re in a good place?

Brittany Hefetz: I ask myself this question every day. Because I’m one of those people, when I have two, I want three or four. That’s just my personality. But realistically, I don’t think I would ever quit my nurse practitioner job because I really like it for the most part, and I worked really hard to get it. I already cut my hours a little bit. Just by like four hours a week, I was able to do that with because of, you know, my business. So that’s been really nice work-life balance wise.

To answer your question, right now, I’m good. I think down the road, maybe I’d want to be supporting closer to like four and eight a month. L`ike getting one to two clients a week would be beneficial. But right now, I think I’m good. I want to continue doing everything the way that I am because I don’t want anything to falter. I don’t want myself to be distracted at my nurse practitioner job. I don’t want to not give my clients the support that they deserve, and I don’t want my family life to not feel balanced. So right now, I’m okay.

Jayne Havens: I think that that’s fair. Speaking of your nurse practitioner work, I’m wondering what your clients know about you professionally. Do they know that you’re a medical professional? Do you leverage that in your business? If so, do you find that that helps families to feel more comfortable working with you?

Brittany Hefetz: It’s definitely something I’ve leveraged. Because I feel like in this role, you sort of have to pick something about yourself that makes you stand out, right? We all have something special to offer. And this was kind of my thing, right? I specialize in sleep. I’m a nurse practitioner. I specialize in sleep. So yeah, I’ve definitely leveraged it.

A lot of my clients have been medical professionals. I’ve worked with nurses. I’ve worked with doctors, dentists. So I’ve been kind of getting that client. Even a vet, I had a discovery call with today. So I think it’s probably because we have that healthcare worker bond.

Jayne Havens: I wanted to talk to you about something that I hope you’ll be honest and transparent. Because I think it’s really important to have these very real conversations about the work that we do. I want to talk about burnout.

When you are working with a family — I know you’ve been there because we’ve spoken about it, and I’ve been there too. When you’re working with a family that just really is, for lack of a better way of explaining it, just sort of draining the life out of you, how do you first of all maintain composure during the process? How do you take care of yourself during the process? How do you bounce back afterwards? What does that look like for you?

Brittany Hefetz: So I’ve had a rough week with that. I’ve had two clients this week that I’m just like, ugh. So what I’ve done was, I looked back on the clients I was struggling with. And I was like, “Could I have done anything differently here?” Like checking myself, “Was there something I could have done?” Then when the answer was really no for both of these, I had to remind myself that this was — I hate to say it like this. But it was their problem, and it was their problem with the process being consistent.

I’m realizing that when I’m upfront from the very beginning about what they’re going to expect or what they should expect to happen, that’s it. This is what it is. Like, yeah, your baby might cry. Your toddler will likely throw a tantrum because you’ve been co-sleeping in the middle of the night, and now we’re making a change. So this is going to take some time and practice and consistency. And I say it over and over again.

So if that’s something that they’re not comfortable with down the road, then that’s really on them. It’s hard to stomach that. Because as somebody who I just want everybody all the time to love me and I’m a people pleaser, so it’s really hard to hear that someone is not happy with me. But I have to remind myself of that. As long as I do what I’m supposed to do and I care and they know I care, then that has to be it.

Then the other thing I want to say about that is I’m starting to realize, as I’m gaining more experience, the red flags that you get on discovery calls. Every red flag person I had a discovery call with has been a problem, like what I’ve been experiencing. So I’ve been mentally taking note of those patterns and being like, “You know what? I really need to listen to my gut.” And if I don’t think that this is a good idea, it’s okay not to take that client. It’s probably better for everybody in the long run. And I think, moving forward, I’m going to be listening to my gut more.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, I think that that’s really good advice. That’s something that I’ve noticed too. I am much better several years into this line of work at not even necessarily flagging situations but just being choosy about the families that are the best fit for me. Those families who really do struggle to hold the boundaries, it’s not that they don’t deserve help. Sometimes it just boils down to like, do they want to make a change? And if we can see on the first call that they’re really not necessarily ready to make a change, it’s okay for them to stay in their current state of stuck. That’s okay, you know.

I always tell. I say to parents all the time, “I am not the bed-sharing police.” I love telling them that, like, I am not the bed-sharing police. If you want to sleep with your child and that is what’s working for you, carry on. And if you’re ready to make a change, then I’m there to support you and to motivate you and inspire you and hold you accountable through the process.

For me, sometimes it involves taking a step back. I think it’s really great advice that you shared that you’re looking sort of within yourself to see if there’s anything that you could do better. I think that that’s really humble of you. But also, realizing that when you feel overwhelmed and the work isn’t bringing you the joy that it normally does, it’s okay to just take a 20-minute breather.

By 20 minutes, I mean like a week or two, you know. I definitely have had times in my business where I just have taken a week or two off. If families reach out to me and they ask, they want to get started right away, I let them know. I’m taking a two-week break. I’m happy to refer them to a colleague, or they can wait until I’m refreshed and replenished and ready to go again. I don’t know. That’s what’s worked for me. Then also things like, I’ll play tennis, or I’ll get a massage. I’m wondering if you do anything like that to just release tension and energy when you’re feeling stressed.

Brittany Hefetz: Definitely. I work out. That’s like my thing. I actually have created this whole morning routine for myself. So I get up early before anyone is awake. I listen to an audiobook for 10 minutes that is just kind of like sort of I don’t know. You know Jen Cicero? Jennifer Sincero? She does You Are a Badass books. Do you know? I don’t know.

Anyway, I’ve been listening to her. I find her to be really inspirational. So I’ll do something like that for 10 minutes, and then I do my workout. Then I’m kind of ready to start my day. Even if I had a bad day the day before, it just kind of centers me again. Sometimes, if like something happens in the middle of the day, I’ll go for a walk or I’ll put my phone away, like just take a break. That’s been really helpful too.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, so we spent a few minutes talking about all the hard stuff. What about the great stuff about the work that we do? What would you say about this work brings you the most joy and the most satisfaction?

Brittany Hefetz: First, it’s really easy to forget the good stuff when you’re going through it. But I’ve helped so many families at this point, and they have been so grateful for the changes that were made. It’s been amazing. I have a couple clients that really stick out to me that I feel like I’ve really just changed their lives, and they’ve expressed that. That’s been my favorite, favorite part.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, it never gets old, right? When you get those text messages at 6:45, 7:00 in the morning that the three-and-a-half-year-old slept all night for the first time in his entire life, to me, that just literally never gets old.

Brittany Hefetz: It’s the best. It’s actually the best. Their lives are just transformed, and they thank me. I’m like, wow. That’s amazing. But it’s also them too. They’re the ones putting in the work. I just love seeing the transformation and the process and then them developing the confidence in their child too. Because so many of these parents have no hope for their kids. They just completely lose the hope that their child can do it. And just watching that transformation has been really, really fun and rewarding.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, well, it’s been fun for me to watch you grow your business. Because you’ve really only been at this for, I think it’s what, like seven or eight months now. So in my mind, you’re still a newbie, but you are really making a name for yourself. You’re building a reputation. You’ve had so many success stories, which just makes me so proud.

I know you said you’re happy with where things are right now, but my guess is that for you, without really trying much harder than what you’re already doing, your business is naturally going to snowball to that four to eight families a month rather than the two to five that you’re seeing right now. I think that’s going to happen for you within the next year without much effort, if I had to guess, or without much increased effort. I think if you continue to do the same things that you’re already doing, you’re just going to see natural growth. And I’m excited about that for you.

Before we wrap up, do you want to share your website, social media, anything that our listeners might want to check out about you?

Brittany Hefetz: Sure. So my Instagram is @brittany_sleepconsultant and then my website is goodnightnursebh.com.

Jayne Havens: Perfect. Brittany, it was so great chatting with you today. Congrats on your early success. I can’t wait to see what your business looks like down the road.

Brittany Hefetz: Thank you so much for having me. It was great.

Outro: Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Becoming a Sleep Consultant Podcast. If you enjoyed today’s episode, it would mean so much to me if you would rate, review, and subscribe. When you rate, review, and subscribe, this helps the podcast reach a greater audience. I am so grateful for your support.

If you would like to learn more about how you can become a certified sleep consultant, head over to my Facebook Group, Becoming a Sleep Consultant or to my website thecpsm.com. Thanks so much, and I hope you will tune in for the next episode.