Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Deb Gowen RN, CNM Integrative Health Practitioner, based in Arlington, MA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My business specializes in health balancing. I work with evaluation and treatment using hormones, nutrition, weight management, and mind-body modalities as needed. My customers are those who know they are not themselves or "their old selves" and have had no luck with finding solutions. They are also people who are feeling done with ineffective therapies to get rid of past events that still cause them reactions in life vs. responsiveness.
Tell us about yourself
I started in 1986 as a Nurse Midwife working in OB/GYN. I have attended over 3000 births, and that is what people think about when they hear I am a midwife. However, about 20 years ago, I began to hear women's stories and connect to their frustration at not being able to get to the root of their issues. Talk therapy and traditional symptom fixes were not working. I began to investigate and accumulate non-talk techniques that worked so much better. Then I began to respond to the literature and studies around stress and its physical effects on hormones, as well as what the environmental endocrine disruptors were doing, and gained experience in testing and treating them. I was rewarded with results.
In sleep, mood, and physical health, people have great results. When they added some mind-body work, lives changed. This inspired me to keep going, eventually concentrating solely on GYN, then broader until I was working with all ages and all gender identifications... I think the motivation each day is quite obvious. Having a working toolbox of useful options to share for health improvement.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I was one of the first, if not the first, in my state to become a solo practitioner, so that required interfaces with health and malpractice insurers. Many are unfamiliar with the legal status of nurse-midwives and require support in order for them to move forward. It was so tedious. My biggest accomplishment was slogging through it all with persistence and patience.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Paperwork and accounting is probably the hardest thing- so necessary and, for me, so tedious. Next would be media management. Luckily, my business grows via word of mouth quite nicely.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- If you have a vision or passion, don't get trapped by the "it's already been done." You are your own brand- always- and will find those that are looking for you.
- That said, Don't be afraid to fail. It really is ok to try several times or several things. In Iceland, it is practically the norm.
- Self Care is critical. We all tend to skip it in focus on our businesses. Go out with friends more, get a massage( yes, you can afford it- really. the value is high for the money), eat good food regularly, and sit down for it vs. grabbing on the run.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://debgowen.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OutOfRutsandOntoPaths/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pathstowellness/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deb-gowen-rn-cnm-7b828910/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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