Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Siam Gomes, owner of Remede, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am a Registered Massage Therapist in Vancouver and opened up Remede last year. I wanted to provide a safe space in healthcare that was welcoming and warm while still providing effective clinical care. Because my focus is mainly on women's health, my main demographic of patients are women ranging from mid 20s to 70s.

Tell us about yourself

I graduated from the RMT program at Langara College in 2018. I was at a clinic for about two years before moving into my own space. Around my second year in practice, I really shifted my interest in working into women's health and the nervous system and wanted to create a space that could represent how I treat.

The music, the style, lighting, and scents all matter in my space because I want to provide an experience upon entering my space. I wanted someone to come in and leave everything at the door and spend an hour for themselves to receive the care they deserve. Last year, I came back to Langara to teach in the RMT program mainly as a clinic instructor and help prep students for their licensing examinations.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment is that I just went for it. I had this strong vision and trusted myself that it would work out, even though I had no idea if it would! I think it takes a lot of guts to decide to open up your own business, no matter how big or small. I only had two years of practice and a non-compete for six months where I couldn't practice in the space I ended up getting. I was worried that my patients wouldn't follow me or that I would have to rebuild my entire practice again.

There will always be people that try to question if you have the ability to start your own business. I was told that word of mouth referrals would be a dead-end for me and that I didn't have a marketing degree which would hinder the success of my business. In the end, it went better than I ever expected. I only marketed myself briefly through Instagram, spending my budget on branding versus marketing, and rebuilt my entire practice on word of mouth referrals. I now only accept new patients through referrals.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

I think the hardest part for me was setting up my business to be financially sound. I was definitely learning on the go, made many bookkeeping mistakes, and didn't know how to budget well or forecast. I asked for help and restructured how I run my business daily, which has been a huge relief for me.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Trust yourself. If you have something you believe in, that you think is of value to others and yourself, go for it.
  2. Start small. I think one of the best decisions I made was to start small and then have the ability to grow organically. There is an appeal to going big, but starting small allowed me to learn from my mistakes and build a foundation for becoming a business owner. I think it will be easier to scale my business up.
  3. Learn how to manage your money - personally and in your business. It can be one of the biggest burdens if you don't understand how to budget, save and grow your money. Having excellent money management skills will significantly decrease your stress as a business owner. I think this plays an even more important role now since going through the pandemic.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I am rebranding myself to Studio Remedē and branching into building mentorship programs for RMTs in their first five years of practice. My focus for healthcare practitioners is on informed consent, building therapeutic relationships, practical advice, financial literacy for self-employed RMTs, and continual support in clinical practice. I hope to connect all forms of healthcare practitioners together with the ultimate goal of better patient-centered care and producing excellent healthcare practitioners.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.remedevancouver.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studioremede/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.