From Passion to Practice: The Journey of a Naturopath Entrepreneur

Every so often someone finds you and they become your client, but this is not a simple endeavor; you don’t just get clients. A lot of intention goes into building and maintaining a business. It’s essential to be proactive about meeting goals and to closely tend the daily details while also balancing the big picture. I am proud to say that I have momentum, but I am humbly still in the business building process. This side of things is often out of sight from my work with clients, but I know so many of us juggle lives with work and and family, and we are out there advocating for our professional success all the time. 

When I first started out, and I talk about this a lot, I was primarily offering primary care which was aligned with my vision for myself in becoming a naturopath. The business side of that practice, however, was not sustainable for me. I chose to make a change that would support a more independence as a single mom. At the end of the day, I maintain good quality healthcare services to clients, but the business side of things was a necessary aspect that I needed to commit to and learn about.

A juicy challenge for me in running a business is that I don’t like being in the limelight, but maintaining one’s practice often requires that. I like to focus on the services and my clients, but it’s also necessary to share my self and story to form more meaningful and lasting relationships with clients and the folks that help to keep the business running. I love to trade, and I am in trade agreements with people in my community who help me with my website, support my writing practice, photography, and various art trades. 

Running your own business can sometimes feel like quite a singular and sometimes lonely endeavor. To connect with other women professionals, I joined the networking group W Source in 2022. Relationships take years to build, and my continual returning to this group has enriched my community with other women who are invested in their businesses and understand the unique challenges of our experiences.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There is a lot of community and resources out there for business building, networking, marketing, and building awareness around services offered. 

As much as I love my job and find the true beauty in my work, the business side of things is something I am always reflecting on, as it is a behind-the-scenes necessity. It is truly a practice, to lend the regular tending and care of maintaining all the moving parts. I also notice that a lot of my identity and values are rooted in the pride I hold around the work that I do. It has been important to me to make my family, a long line of hard workers, proud.

Thanks for reading.

xo
h.