Women In Wellness: Erin Stokes of MegaFood on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support…

Women In Wellness: Erin Stokes of MegaFood on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Consider a daily multivitamin. I believe in “food first” when it comes to nutrition. Food should always be your first source for vitamins and minerals. That being said, nobody eats perfectly, and it can be challenging to get all of the vitamins and minerals you need from your diet alone. A high-quality daily multivitamin can fill in the inevitable gaps that exist in our diet.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Erin Stokes, ND.

Dr. Erin Stokes is a Naturopathic Doctor, passionate educator, and mom living with her family in Boulder, Colorado, where she also acts as the Medical Director for MegaFood. Erin received her Naturopathic Doctor degree from Bastyr University in 2001 and launched her career in private practice before becoming an instructor at Southwest Acupuncture College. For over 10 years, Erin has spearheaded the health and wellness education movement at MegaFood through social media, webinars, and podcasts to empower people to change their lives and help grow healthy communities.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

Growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, I didn’t even know Naturopathic Medicine existed until after I graduated from college in Vermont. I have generations of family who have worked in the medical field, but Naturopathic Medicine was a new frontier that I wanted to explore. I was interested in health from a young age and simultaneously drawn towards nature and the healing power of plants. Ultimately, naturopathic medicine represents the perfect blend of science and nature in my life.

I’ve now been a Naturopathic Doctor (ND) for over 20 years, and choosing this career path was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’m passionate about seeing how people can transform their lives when they have access to the education they need and are inspired to change.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

My career as a Naturopathic Doctor in private practice began on October 1, 2001, less than a month after September 11th. I joined an experienced ND, who previously had a long waitlist of patients, many of whom we hoped would be able to work with me. After September 11th, everything changed. Specifically in this practice I had just joined, the waitlist disappeared, and my practice was much slower than anticipated for the first couple years. It was through this difficult time, that I found the resilience to expand my career path beyond what I had previously imagined. I became an instructor at Southwest Acupuncture College, and later, began consultations at an integrative pharmacy, both while continuing to see patients. When things don’t work out as we had envisioned, either in our professional or personal lives, there are often other potential opportunities to pursue if we are open to them.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

At the start of my career, I had a very specific plan for what I would, and should, do as a Naturopathic Doctor. I was attached to the vision of me solely being in private practice, which is why I stayed for so long. I realized over time that I have a strong passion for educating people about health and wellness on a much larger scale than what my private practice allowed for at the time. At first, I was too stubborn to admit that this was my purpose, but once I started to teach, I couldn’t stop. Certain circumstances in my life pushed me to pursue this route more, taking me in a totally different direction than where I initially thought my career would go. My advice is to not get attached to what “success” should look like. There are many different versions of success and even more paths you can take to get there. The more we open ourselves up new possibilities, the more opportunities will come our way.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

My passion is empowering people by equipping them with the inspiration and tools to make big changes in their lives. It’s incredible to see the metamorphosis that happens when people start making thoughtful health choices for their body and mind.

Education is a primary tool for change, and that’s why 10 years ago, I joined MegaFood where I’m the Medical Director and leader of our ongoing education movement. The more that we can scale and leverage education on various platforms, the more people we will continue to reach. We have many avenues to communicate, whether it’s through a retailer webinar, an educational blog on our website, or engaging on social media with the thousands of people who use our supplements every day.

Over the decade at MegaFood, I have seen a noticeable shift — now more than ever, people are more proactive in their everyday lives about putting their health first. They’re more willing than to invest in better lifestyle changes, nutritious food and supplements to reach their health and wellness goals.

Speaking of which, a current MegaFood initiative that’s having a bigger impact is “What Matters,” a social media series that reframes the conversation around health and wellness. In this series, I interview inspiring thought leaders and have conversations about how we value and prioritize both our personal health and the health of the planet. These discussions are engaging, impactful and packed with powerful insights. Our incredible “What Matters” guests include Ally Love, CEO & Founder of Love Squad, Peloton Instructor, and Host of the Brooklyn Nets, Kanchan Koya, PhD, founder of Spice Spice Baby, Kathryn Kellogg, sustainability and zero-waste advocate, and Ann-Marie Hourigan, Quality Standards Principal Advisor at Whole Foods Market. My colleague and friend, Bethany Davis, Director of Social Impact at MegaFood, participates in the “What Matters” episode on regenerative agriculture and sustainable living. You can follow @MegaFood on Instagram to watch the conversations!

“What Matters” is also helping raise awareness for the Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA), a global organization that catalyzes women-led, grassroots solutions to protect our environment, support farmers and strengthen communities, all to ensure the long-term health of our planet. Recognizing the importance of these efforts to our collective well-being, MegaFood has donated $30,000 to support WEA’s work with women leaders.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

  • Get outside. It’s so important to get outside and enjoy nature for at least some part of each day, both for your mood and your energy levels. Some days, it may be a long run or hike, but other days, it could just be a short walk around the block. Research has shown that as little as 5 minutes spent outdoors each day has a positive impact on mood.
  • Prioritize sleep. There is nothing like a good night’s sleep, and I do everything I can to get 7–8 hours of quality sleep every night. My nightly routine includes getting off screens as early as possible, taking a shower and using lavender essential oils, and making sure I go to bed by 10pm.
  • Drink a green smoothie. My husband and I take turns making green smoothies for each other. We’re even able to get our 15-year-old son to drink them daily. Don’t be afraid to be creative! A recent creation of mine included kale, lemon, lime, avocado, apple and frozen banana.
  • Hydrate. Hydrating may not be the most exciting tip, but it’s vitally important for overall wellness. In particular, our immune system and our musculoskeletal system function much better when we drink water throughout the day. I have a water bottle with me pretty much everywhere I go, whether at home, in my bag or in my car!
  • Consider a daily multivitamin. I believe in “food first” when it comes to nutrition. Food should always be your first source for vitamins and minerals. That being said, nobody eats perfectly, and it can be challenging to get all of the vitamins and minerals you need from your diet alone. A high-quality daily multivitamin can fill in the inevitable gaps that exist in our diet.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I would start a movement of deeper connections, where people first and foremost connect more closely with themselves and their individual health and wellness needs. From there, fostering more connections within families, neighborhoods, and communities is vital for us all to thrive and grow. Humans are built to be connected.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

Your career trajectory does not have to be linear. You don’t have to do just “one thing.” Most people have a range of gifts and talents, but there is a lot of pressure from society to find your career early and stick to it. I have been most inspired lately by peers who have developed new skills and embarked on new careers in mid-life.

Candor is key. In my earlier years at MegaFood, I was more careful about what I shared. Now, I strive to be known for candor with compassion. This shift to being more candid has been a career game changer, and it’s liberating! I’m much more effective at my job because I’m willing and eager to share my input candidly.

When in doubt, always reach out. With all of the digital communication these days (texts, emails, etc.), there’s plenty of room for misunderstandings and it’s important to clear those up as soon as possible. I’ve been working remotely with MegaFood for over 10 years, and this has been critical to thriving in an offsite role. Never hesitate to pick up the phone and make a call or jump on a Zoom meeting. I’ve created so many strong connections and cleared up misunderstandings by following my instinct to reach out, without delay.

Stop and celebrate wins — both personally and professionally. Time goes by fast, and it’s important to overcome the hard-wired “negativity bias” that exists in all humans. It’s essential to genuinely celebrate wins, especially at work, where it can be easy to just push forward to the next thing.

Failure is essential for growth, too. I like the expression “fail forward” and, ultimately, I think that failure needs to be redefined. I’ve learned some of my best life lessons from things that didn’t go as planned.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

All of these causes are important. The topic that is most important to me at this moment is regenerative agriculture and its potential to improve the future health of the planet. I am very excited about the work that we are doing at MegaFood with our network of farm partners. We have developed a Healthy Farm Standard, which is essentially a Regenerative Agriculture scorecard that focuses on soil health, conserving resources and supporting thriving livelihoods.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

I would love to stay in touch. You can follow me on Instagram at @erinstokesnd and on LinkedIn — Erin Stokes, ND. You can also access a lot of the educational content that I’ve written for MegaFood’s blog.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Erin Stokes of MegaFood on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Liz Yam of Keithcity Group On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your…

Female Disruptors: Liz Yam of Keithcity Group On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

There’s a chapter in Michael Bierut’s 79 Short Essays on Design where he retells a story of Massimo Vignelli when he had a client that kept rejecting a design because the typeface “wasn’t French enough.” At their next meeting, Vignelli presented the same type choice, but said the name of the font with a French accent. After that, the client loved it. This anecdote has always stuck with me, reminding me that design is subjective. Oftentimes, it’s more about intuition or presentation than a design at face value.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Liz Yam.

Liz began her career art directing for clients from several industries, including fashion, music, and SaaS companies. Before joining Keithcity Group, she spent several years at Peter Arnell Agency as the Head of Digital Products. Currently, as Head of Strategy at Keithcity Group, Liz focuses on strategic ideation, content development, copywriting, project management, and art direction. She holds a BFA in Communication Design from Pratt Institute.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I’ve always been creative and artistic. When I was younger, I wanted to be a fashion designer because I enjoyed the idea of being able to transcend someone’s mood with apparel. During high school I would travel to NYC to attend FIT’s Saturday Live and Summer programs where I took classes in fashion sketching, draping, pattern making, etc for a few years. But being surrounded by the elitist culture of fashion turned me off from the field. Around the same time, I had a moment of clarity where I realized what graphic design was. It was something I never knew the term for — I think because, growing up, I didn’t have exposure to things like museums or other cultural touchstones. That is largely due to my parents being immigrants, constantly working to give us a better life. “Graphic design” as a term, let alone as a potential profession, was simply not a part of my vocabulary. But then, when I realized it was something that surrounded me my entire life, I wanted to be a part of creating it. I love that it is simply a visual exercise in problem solving. To me, good graphic design is effortless; it’s just there.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Over the past several years, when I attended board meetings, I was often the youngest person in the room, the only female, and the only person of color. My presence alone disrupted the norm.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Not funny, but more so embarrassing: I cried during my first job offer because I was told by my boss that my salary would be a certain amount, but when I met with HR, my offer letter was for far less. I took it as a personal jab to my livelihood. The HR person told me it was an honest mistake and soon fixed it. I learned that in some environments, there are A LOT of politics involved.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

My biggest designer mentor was one of my professors at Pratt, Frank DeRose. He was known to be a super tough professor — either you’d crack under pressure in his class or you’d let that drive you. He pushed me to approach problems differently and that really opened up my creative mind. I ended up interning with him at his graphic design studio, Zut Alors!, for a bit.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

I think even well-established brands can benefit from shaking up their repertoire. I remember vividly when Louis Vuitton launched a collab with Stephen Sprouse. An iconic fashion house had adorned neon graffiti on its handbags at a time when streetart wasn’t widespread. The collection was disruptive to Louis Vuitton’s style and within the industry as a whole. It was bought by people who likely never had an affinity for graffiti, which helped normalize street art in addition to paving the way for more artistic LV collabs (like Rei Kawakubo’s “Bag with Holes”). This is a great example of a disruption done well that maintained the brand’s classic identity while offering a well-received fresh perspective.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

There’s a chapter in Michael Bierut’s 79 Short Essays on Design where he retells a story of Massimo Vignelli when he had a client that kept rejecting a design because the typeface “wasn’t French enough.” At their next meeting, Vignelli presented the same type choice, but said the name of the font with a French accent. After that, the client loved it. This anecdote has always stuck with me, reminding me that design is subjective. Oftentimes, it’s more about intuition or presentation than a design at face value.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I don’t see a limit to the mediums to which I can apply my skills. I hope to work within tech, interior design, film, and fashion to some capacity in the future.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

It’s great to have so many opportunities for self-expression but it feels like choices in appearance are often looked at under a microscope. For example, your nail color, shape, and length can be scrutinized: If you’re due for a manicure, your neatness is questioned. If you’re too bold, your professionalism is questioned. If you’re freshly polished, your work ethic is questioned. Breaking through perceptions like these is the first hurdle before you’re even on a level playing field with your male counterparts.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

Tibor Kalman’s Perverse Optimist opened my eyes to a new way of thinking, while Stefan Sagmeister’s Made You Look opened my eyes to a new way of seeing.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

As an agency leader, I find it important to create a comfortable and positive workplace culture where people can work autonomously, but understand when working as a team to utilize other people’s complementary skill sets is needed. Maintaining my team’s wellbeing means that sometimes, if I notice that somebody is a little “off,” I try to ask questions to understand or help. If workplaces operate with more empathy, it makes for a happier team, which, in turn, produces better projects.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My mom always reminded me, “Hard work pays off.” And it has.

How can our readers follow you online?

@liz_yam

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!


Female Disruptors: Liz Yam of Keithcity Group On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Heidi Kristoffer of CrossFlowX On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help…

Women In Wellness: Heidi Kristoffer of CrossFlowX On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

It’s not how you fall, it’s how you heal- Despite our best intentions, we ALL fall, make mistakes, or fail. It may feel embarrassing, heart-breaking, or even gut-wrenching at the time, but everything happens for a reason (Remember, no mistakes!). How we recover and accept these learning moments with grace is what truly defines who we are.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Heidi Kristoffer.

Heidi Kristoffer is: mom to three tiny humans, her CrossFlow yoga app, and CrossFlowX™, co-host of new hit “Off The Gram” podcast, Dr. Oz collaborator, creator and producer of Microsoft Bing Fitness Yoga & MSN Yoga, and wellness expert for, and contributor to, multiple publications and platforms. Her goal is to make yoga, inversions, health, strength, and whole, happy living accessible to everyone. Rated one of the: Hottest Trainers in America by Shape Magazine, most inspiring yoga teachers in the world by DoYouYoga, and most popular instructors in NYC by RateYourBurn and ClassPass, Heidi can often be seen featured as an expert on television and in magazines worldwide.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut and attended Cornell University, then the British American Drama Academy (BADA) in London. When I graduated, I came to New York where I worked steadily as an actor for a decade. In 2007, after a moving to an area where there weren’t gyms nearby, I decided to go to a yoga studio and halfway through this class, I’m sweating, I’m exhausted, and I’m exuberantly happy. I wanted more. Yoga taught me that we are enough exactly the way we are, the universe created us perfectly, and our job is to remember that — my whole world changed. This ultimately inspired me to reevaluate what I wanted to do career-wise and pivot to teaching yoga. Yoga saved me on every level — physically, emotionally, and mentally. It truly changed my life forever. So, my goal is to share that magic with as many humans as I can.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

Before becoming a mom, I couldn’t wrap my brain around short yoga videos. If my practice was only 90 minutes a day, I felt deprived. Cut to me giving birth to my twins and Googling “7 minute yoga videos” because that was generally all the time I had. Despite my pre-baby misconceptions about needing hours a day to move, I ALWAYS felt better moving a little, rather than not at all. I created the CrossFlow Yoga program with others in mind, but especially busy moms like myself. I aim to deliver time efficient yoga, intro to yoga, and my signature HIIT Yoga class — CrossFlowX™ — for endorphin junkies, along with various styles, intensities, and lengths for yogis and non-yogis; regardless of a person’s skill level or needs, there is something for everyone. The learnings are: any movement is better than no movement and let go of the all or nothing mentality — it’s neither healthy, nor is it balanced. I understand that everyone operates differently so I like to make sure to include everyone, be open to revisions, and mind shift.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

There are no “mistakes,” only learning moments. When I graduated college, I was really passionate about acting, but realized over time it wasn’t for me. Everything I learned in each phase of my life has prepared me to do whatever the next thing has been. We learn, we grow and we evolve. One of my recurring lessons is that I have to be unapologetically ME. I have to speak, move, and BE me. I wasn’t successful in acting when I was being told to be anything other than me. It wasn’t until I owned exactly who I am that I started booking work left and right. The exact same thing became true for teaching yoga — I learned the lesson much quicker the second time, thankfully.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

I hope to inspire others, motivating them to lean into their wellness routines and connect INWARD. I found my CrossFlow Yoga program to share different yoga-based workouts and flows, as well as tutorials, healing modalities, breathing exercises, and guided meditations. For those who are expecting, prenatal yoga classes are also available. My vision is for my app to be inclusive and ensure everyone feels like there is a form of yoga that works for them. When we learn to connect INWARD through yoga, rather than focusing on the external distractions, we are innately happier. When we learn the true meaning of self-love and self-care, we can love and care for others. Imagine a world where we all choose LOVE!

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

It’s important to remember that wellness isn’t a “one-size fits all” situation and should never feel like a chore; it is about self-love and self-care. You can start small and build slowly, refining as you go. Most importantly, find movement practices and foods you LOVE, I promise it exists. Here are some tips to consider should you need some inspiration:

Make the minutes count. It’s important to dedicate time for daily movement and healthy eating. Between a packed work schedule and taking care of the whole family, simply taking ten minutes to stretch, walk, or snack on a handful of almonds during a break improves your mood instantly and elevates your energy levels to tackle the rest of your day. Blocking out time in your calendar for yourself to stay energized is one of my most important wellness habits.

Be flexible. Having a flexible mindset is key for a healthy lifestyle. Our lives are constantly being adjusted so being nimble and ready to pivot when needed is crucial. Give yourself permission to let go of control and learn how to adapt when curveballs are thrown your way. PLUS — as a mom to three kids, flexibility involves food too. When my schedule is extra busy and I don’t have time for full meal, I keep almonds on-hand; they’re the perfect on-the-go snack for me and my kiddos.

Believe you can and you will. You must believe you can before you will, and only you have the power to get where YOU want to be. No journey will ever be perfect but when you are clear about goals, you will know how to get there! It’s easy to get bogged down in the everyday minutiae, but staying clear and focused about where / what your destination is will ensure you will not get lost. Remind yourself (journaling is a great way!) that you are more capable than you think.

It’s all about BALANCE. Wellness and health come down to being balanced. Some days you have time to make super healthy intricate recipes, and sometimes you don’t. Be OK with simple meals and snacks on the go when you can’t sit down for a multi-course meal made from scratch. I keep my almond tin with me at all times for just that reason. While almonds are beautiful in my humble opinion, not every meal and snack has to be Insta-worthy. B A L A N C E!

Self-care isn’t selfish. In order to take care of others, we first must take care of ourselves. Never compromise your own mental or physical well-being for another’s. If you have a breakdown, or break a part of you, how are you going to help the people that you so dearly want to help? Self-care isn’t selfish; self-care actually helps you help more people (while helping yourself and reminding yourself that you too are worthy of your own love and affection). The airplane announcement got it right: put your oxygen mask on first.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Great question! There is no one-size fits all roadmap to wellness. The reality is that everyone needs to find a routine that works for them. But guess what? It can be as easy as starting with choosing the right foods. A healthy diet is an important part of a holistic self-care routine that helps you FEEL the best you can — from the inside out. I personally enjoy snacking on almonds daily. Plant-based snacks like almonds enhance my daily routine and give me purposeful, natural energy to fuel my best self. I think finding foods that are both nourishing and tasty is a big win, and when coupled with daily movement, you’ll feel phenomenal. My yoga practice made me want to fuel my body with all of the right things to feel strong on my mat, so that I could feel strong in my life.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

If a door is too hard to open, perhaps it’s not your door. If you are staying stagnant because it’s what you think you SHOULD do, but something else has your heart, it’s not the right thing. My friend, Tara Stiles, pointed out to me that I complained an awful lot when I was on set acting, but “this yoga thing” seemed to come easily to me. Yoga brought me unlimited joy, strength, and every other positive attribute I could ever want. At first it was hard to swallow since I felt like I spent my entire life working towards the career I had. But she was right — the yoga path was effortless and joyful for me. I’m grateful for my acting career experience as I utilized every bit of knowledge I gained in the industry to reach more people through yoga. You don’t have to stay stuck! Everything will work out as it’s meant to.

Your hard work WILL pay off — I’ve always been a hard worker, but even I occasionally doubted myself. It’s important to remember that those are flukes. The true secret to success is to DO THE WORK. If you put in the time, work, and your intentions are pure, it WILL pay off.

It’s not how you fall, it’s how you heal- Despite our best intentions, we ALL fall, make mistakes, or fail. It may feel embarrassing, heart-breaking, or even gut-wrenching at the time, but everything happens for a reason (Remember, no mistakes!). How we recover and accept these learning moments with grace is what truly defines who we are.

Know your worth — As a mom, it’s important to me that my children feel like they can stand on their own two feet, hold themselves up, AND know their worth. Once you realize how strong you are and that you need no one but yourself, your mindset will change, allowing you to never to settle for less than your worth. I struggled for the vast majority of my life with impostor syndrome, but when I finally embraced who I am, what I know, and what I am worth, every aspect of my life changed for the better.

Live in the present — With children, the days are long, but the years are short. Soak in every moment. With or without children, dwelling on the past won’t change it, and worrying about the future can cause anxiety. Be right here, right now — it’s the only place to be.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

These are all so important to me as a mom, vegan, and yogi, but the one I can probably speak to the best is mental health. Connecting breath to movement, as yoga encourages, brings us into the here and now. Yoga allows us to feel more present. If you are in the present, you cannot have regrets about the past or worries about the future. There are a multitude of studies supporting that a yoga and / or mediation practice can reduce depressive symptoms, as well as anxiety. Yoga heals, and it doesn’t have to cost a penny. We all need all the help we can get right now.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Follow my journey on Instagram and Facebook @heidikristoffer, visit my website heidiyoga.com, or practice with me (with over 175 yoga videos) on CrossFlow Yoga! You can also listen in to conversations on all of these topics and more on Off the Gram Podcast.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Heidi Kristoffer of CrossFlowX On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Whitney Bansin of The Wild Collective On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and…

Female Founders: Whitney Bansin of The Wild Collective On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Never take no for an answer- if the door is closed, go through the window. As a female trying to disrupt the sports apparel industry, many people told me “no” or that they didn’t think my idea was good enough, but I listened to my gut. I focused on the fashion-forward designs that the industry was lacking and knew I could deliver one-of-a-kind apparel that stylish sports fans would love.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Whitney Bansin.

Meet Whitney Bansin, CEO, Founder and Lead Designer of The Wild Collective. She knows her city. She’s a Las Vegas resident of over 25 years and graduated with a business degree from UNLV.

Before she was 20 years old, she launched One Luv Agency, a fashion, hair, makeup and styling agency focused on styling celebrities and working with top clients from around the world. Most notably, she ran and oversaw all beauty creative direction for Zappos retail for 7 years.

Her fashion and styling background provided the foundation for her knowhow with apparel. Since 2014 Whitney has been designing unique fashion pieces and accessories, working with major resorts like MGM Resorts and Caesar’s on the Las Vegas Strip. When the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights came to the city in 2017, she was tapped to create fashion-forward apparel that complimented the fan merchandise. She quickly saw the opportunity: fan sports apparel was expected, limited and lacked fashion appeal. This insight led her to launch The Wild Collective. The passion and success of her early collections catapulted her into major league and collegiate sports. The Wild Collective is now officially licensed across the NBA, WNBA, MLB, MLS and multiple college teams including The Ohio State University and The University of Alabama in addition to its exclusive deals with the Las Vegas Golden Knights and The Raiders.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

My background in fashion and styling provided the foundation for my know-how with apparel.

Before I turned 20 years old, I launched One Luv Agency, a fashion, hair & makeup and styling agency focused on styling celebrities and working with top clients from around the world. Most notably, I ran and oversaw all beauty creative direction for Zappos retail for 7 years.

Since 2014, I’ve been designing unique fashion pieces and accessories, working with major resorts like MGM Resorts and Caesar’s on the Las Vegas Strip. When the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights came to the city in 2017, I was tapped to create fashion-forward apparel that complimented the fan merchandise. I quickly saw the opportunity: fan sports apparel was expected, limited and lacked fashion appeal. This insight led me to launch The Wild Collective designing fashion-forward, licensed sports apparel.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

We take a fresh eye to the sports apparel market, pulling the right fashion trends through and weaving them together with premium and sustainable fabrics. All of our styles are created with the wearer in mind and the desire to go beyond the conventional and expected, to unleash the individual. We create apparel for the Plus-1 fan, the one who wants to head to the game and look the part without sacrificing style when their local or favorite team goes on a win streak.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

In the beginning, I was flying by the seat of my pants. I had no clue what the process of production was. One time, I had this large accessory bag order for a retailer and I was told I needed to UPC code all of the bags before I could ship them. The boxes came in from China and we had to go through every single bag and individually add the tags. It took us days and I had to hire five people to come and help me just so I could get this order out. Little did I know that the factory in China would UPC tag them for free. Lesson learned here- if you don’t know, ask.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I’m not a person who has ever followed in another’s footsteps, I have always set my own path. There are many people in my life that have always believed in me and my intentions. I believe the most important help you can get along the journey is from someone close to you whether it be your significant other, friend or family. In my case, my rock has always been my husband Lui. Over the course of our 17 years together, I have come to him with some pretty crazy ideas and not once has he ever said he wouldn’t support the idea. He knows that my entrepreneurial brain works differently than his and that business is my passion. So if the term happy wife happy life fits in here — his way is to support me in my business endeavors so that I can thrive. Having his support along the way has allowed me to keep my head down and just keep pushing, knowing that he has my back on the back-end if anything collapses. Whether it’s picking up the kids so I can get through 10 more emails or letting me take the dogs for a walk so I can get some fresh air and clear my mind. It can be the little things that can make a huge impact on a person’s health and well-being when it comes to building a business.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Disruption is a good thing when it brings about a positive change. What I mean is that disruption should push an industry or trend out of a stale status quo. However, I agree disruption needs to be meaningful and considered. As an entrepreneur, I like to find the “gaps” in the market and identify the areas that are operating but could be enhanced in some way. I like to fix and finesse those areas to create something unique and desirable to customers and since I started my career in styling and makeup so I tend to have an eye for finding little ways of making changes to make a big impact over time.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

Hustle — When building a business, you have to be willing to dig in the trenches to reach your goals. It’s important to surround yourself with people who support you through the process so you can remain focused and relentless on what it is you’re trying to build.

Belief/ believing in yourself and your vision — You will hear negative feedback and feel some self-doubt when disrupting an industry like sports apparel. However, I’ve had to constantly remind myself to believe in myself and what I’m creating. Deep down, I know that what I’m doing will make a significant difference across the industry, in terms of providing more fashionable, unisex options and sustainability.

Never take no for an answer- if the door is closed, go through the window. As a female trying to disrupt the sports apparel industry, many people told me “no” or that they didn’t think my idea was good enough, but I listened to my gut. I focused on the fashion-forward designs that the industry was lacking and knew I could deliver one-of-a-kind apparel that stylish sports fans would love.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I’m constantly thinking of ways to shake things up and create “new” in the industry. Whether that’s unisex options, better and more consistent sustainable options, custom and personalized options (like custom denim options where you can create and design your own denim jacket), I’m always looking ahead. I want to lead and not follow and the industry is always moving. Looking forward, I’m excited to have new collections launching for Major League Soccer where we’ll have unique cuts and apparel options in a league that has a unique customer base who wants to incorporate more fashion into their wear.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

When I started out, I got “no” a lot. And I was generally dismissed for bringing fashion into the sports realm. “Who is this girl thinking she knows this sports retail industry?” I might not have known the ins and outs of the industry, but I know the consumer — and I knew that they were being underserved. That insight kept me down the path of making it better. And after getting no after no but continuing ahead and showing what I could do, I got a lot of yeses that turned into bigger and bigger conversations.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

I’m a huge fan of Gary Vaynerchuk. When I was looking to rebrand, a friend of mine recommended his advertising company VaynerMedia. Little did I know before hiring them that my husband was already a huge fan of his. He is a scorpio like me. He also tells it like it is and is very blunt with his advice which is something I can relate to. As an entrepreneur, he is especially inspiring. He has his hands in all sorts of different businesses and I love watching what he gets into and why.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

The use of sustainable methods in clothing to be the norm, not the exception. The Wild Collective looks to be a leader in this space and challenge the current sports market to do better. The Wild Collective uses materials that are created and sourced ethically, a 360 circular economy: where we source and reuse materials and use cutting-edge production methods. As a brand, we are committed to keeping up with the best and most up-to-date sustainability practices so we can continue to lead in this space.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Staying consistent and staying true to yourself. I strongly believe in listening to yourself and what your gut tells you. I’ve had to make some tough calls regarding whether or not to place an order or how much inventory we should have on hand for the websites. Right now, shipping is a huge situation across the world. Everyone’s dealing with this massive supply chain issue so being able to navigate that and knowing when it’s smart for you as a business to take a hit, and when it’s smart for you to be able to take an opportunity and seize it is crucial. So I think that listening to my gut and looking at the facts during these unprecedented times has really defined my leadership with The Wild Collective and continuing to build on that. I also think that the relationships I carry are relationships that people believe in not only us, but I do believe that they believe in me as an owner and leader, and that they believe in the vision.

How can our readers follow you online?

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this


Female Founders: Whitney Bansin of The Wild Collective On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Kelly McDaniel On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s…

Women In Wellness: Kelly McDaniel On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Practice being honest ~ When I’m having a lot of feelings, I find a moment to share some of them with my husband so that when I behave poorly, he doesn’t take it personally. I do this with close friends too. It’s messy. And it’s not easy. But it helps create deeper bonds with those I care about. Checking in with myself first (journaling, sitting still) helps me be honest. Also, helps keep me brief ~ no one want to hear a lengthy monologue. That’s what my therapist is for.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kelly McDaniel.

Kelly McDaniel, LPC, NCC, CSAT is a licensed professional counselor and author who specializes in treating women who experience addictive relational patterns. A pioneer in her field, McDaniel is the first clinician to name Mother Hunger as an attachment injury and explore the repercussions of bonding to an emotionally compromised mother. Kelly teaches workshops and speaks to audiences nationwide about Mother Hunger. She is a frequent podcast guest and her groundbreaking work is being used at several treatment centers around the country.

Learn more at: KellyMcDanielTherapy.com

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

When I was nine years old, I knew that I wanted to be a therapist. But when I was choosing a college, my parents talked me out of this career idea, so instead, I pursued a degree in English Literature. That wasn’t their first choice for me either, but I really wasn’t good at anything else.

Fortunately, I gained life changing insight in Women’s Studies courses. I decided to pursue graduate school in English because I wasn’t ready to leave the cocoon of the college campus.

I worked for the University as a Resident Director under the guidance of a trained therapist who taught us about eating disorders, suicide prevention, and substance abuse. Magically, I had stumbled into the foundation for the career I really wanted.

After graduation, I spent a brief time in corporate Human Resources and teaching literature at a local junior college. Teaching was rewarding as I could bring multicultural literature into the classroom, and HR allowed me to support diverse people. I liked the students and the employees, sensing where each person carried deeper issues.

In 1993, I gave birth to a baby boy and found new purpose as a mother. A few years after this life changing event, however, his father and I divorced. The loss of a marriage spurred me to into psychotherapy (ultimately, the best training for becoming a therapist) and a few years later, when my son went to kindergarten, I returned to school to pursue a Masters in Counseling.

School was easy because I was studying what I wanted to. I sailed through the program and the exams, and did my internship in a college counseling center. Soon after, the opportunity to join a professional development group came my way. Twelve clinicians met quarterly to learn from our mentor and inspire each other. From that group, the inspiration and collaboration came to write my first book Ready to Heal (2008).

That book launched my dream private practice. And led me to write my new book Mother Hunger; How Adult Daughters Can Understand and Heal from Lost Nurturance, Protection, and Guidance (July 2021, Hay House.)

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

When I was teaching others to write, leaning heavily on Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, it didn’t occur to me that I was also learning to write. Writing skills came in handy when I started a private practice. I wrote a short article for a local, wholistic publication about women, relationships, and addictive love. To my surprise, that little article filled my practice within 2 weeks. I tell this story because it still amazes me (this was before blogs, Instagram, or even Facebook). The essay turned into my first book Ready to Heal: Breaking Free of Addictive Relationships.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The biggest mistake I made in my career didn’t come when I first started. Regular psychotherapy and being a mother kept my priorities clear, so life was mostly in balance. Trouble came years later when my son left for college. My first book was a success, my practice was doing well, and I had happily remarried. But I felt unmoored. I didn’t know what to do with all the freedom. Buried trauma symptoms emerged and I came off the rails a bit, moving my practice and upending some very dear souls who counted on me.

In hindsight, I’m not sure how to have avoided this season in my personal and professional life. It took me to a deeper place of healing, but also hurt some lovely clients who weren’t ready for me to go. I made appropriate referrals, but I learned an important lesson; a therapist who specializes in the type of work that I do requires a significant commitment to each person, and if I’m not able to make that commitment, I can’t take new clients.

In time, I reorganized my practice to offer Intensives instead of weekly sessions. The Intensives gave me the flexibility to provide deeper, long-lasting psychotherapy and also travel with my husband and write a new book. With the onset of a global pandemic, work is changing again, but this time, I’m a bit more ready for how the change affects me and my practice.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

When we don’t have a name for what hurts, we can’t heal it or treat it. By naming “Mother Hunger”, I’m helping thousands of women emerge from chronic shame and frozen grief.

Mother Hunger is an attachment injury that until now has had no name so the invisible heartbreak masquerades as anxiety, depression, and various mood disorders.

With a name, clinicians can better support clients. With a name, women can better understand themselves. With a name, the three essential maternal elements (nurturance, protection and guidance) that were missing in formative years can be replaced in adulthood. With a name, we can shift our collective awareness toward the critical nature of mothering and better support families.

Growing awareness of ACE’s (Adverse Childhood Experiences) is a promising development in psychology and medicine. ACE’s threaten secure attachment. Secure attachment is the primary need for all of us as children. Securely attached children grow up to adults who can manage relationships and life without undue distress.

Mother Hunger is another name for insecure attachment. Mother Hunger, or insecure attachment, exists on a spectrum and emerges from inadequate nurturing, protection, and guidance in childhood. For this reason, I consider Mother Hunger an ACE and work to educate about it.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

Practice being quiet ~ one of the most profound experiences in my life was taking a silent retreat. I was only 21 the first time. In silence, there is nowhere to hide from internal emotions that we can dismiss by staying busy. For six days without sound or stimulation from the outside world, I met my deepest fears. I take a similar retreat every 10 years, and each time, something new about the preciousness of life and the inevitability of death helps keep my priorities in focus.

Practice being playful ~ for many of us who grew up too fast, we didn’t learn to play. Like many of the women I work with, my childhood was stressful. Play was seen as a waste of time. As an adult, I find healthy ways to play to steer clear of addictive habits. Sometimes, playtime is as simple as knitting. Or cooking. Sometimes it’s more elaborate like a trip with friends or family.

Practice being present ~ By journaling or sitting quietly, I check in with myself. What kind of energy am I’m bringing to the day, to my home, to my partnerships, friendships, and clients? It’s not always easy to identify what I’m feeling, especially when I’m overwhelmed. When life is too much, I remind myself that this is a “practice” not a destination.

Practice being honest ~ When I’m having a lot of feelings, I find a moment to share some of them with my husband so that when I behave poorly, he doesn’t take it personally. I do this with close friends too. It’s messy. And it’s not easy. But it helps create deeper bonds with those I care about. Checking in with myself first (journaling, sitting still) helps me be honest. Also, helps keep me brief ~ no one want to hear a lengthy monologue. That’s what my therapist is for.

Have a therapist ~ Psychotherapy helps me be the mother I want to be, the clinician I want to be, the wife I want to be, the friend I want to be, and the woman I want to be.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

A Mother Hunger movement!

What are your “Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

At the start of my second career, I had wonderful guidance. A wise supervisor said to me, “don’t schedule clients on a Monday…everything is awful on Mondays. Take that day for your own self-care” I followed her advice ( and share it with younger clinicians) and have always been grateful to have Mondays for myself after a work week and a weekend with family.

A mentor encouraged me to avoid insurance companies. Staying away from adjusters who determine treatment practices has been priceless advice and saved me many headaches.

A mentor encouraged me to stay in therapy and supervision, pursue the best trainings, and know my worth. Her clear guidance helped me find the path to provide excellent clinical treatment, integrate theoretical models, and write meaningful books.

I think it’s tempting when starting a practice to take on any client who calls for help.

In trainings, I learned the importance of knowing who I work well with and who I don’t.

I experimented with this during Internship and early in my practice. The flow of working one on one with adult women was much easier for me than running groups, providing family therapy, or working with men. These lessons helped me avoid burnout by say “no” to clients that I didn’t feel qualified to support.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental Health is dear to me because my whole life is dedicated to managing my own and helping others. Nutrition, specifically a plant-based diet, is part of my mental health. Now that I’m finished writing the Mother Hunger book, I’m spending free time learning more about the climate crisis and making new efforts to be part of a solution.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Please subscribe to my newsletter at KellyMcDanielTherapy.com and follow me @kellymcdanieltherapy on Instagram

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Kelly McDaniel On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Asli Samanci of BEE & YOU On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

I think that it’s much harder to have a professional career when you’re also a mother. Finding the balance between family and work was particularly challenging because if you don’t support your colleagues at work, then your business won’t grow. At the same time, taking care and watching my children grow is immensely important to me.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Asli Samanci.

Dr. Asli Samanci is the CEO & Founder of BEE & YOU, an innovative provider of natural BEE products. Dr. Asli is a renowned, award-winning food scientist committed to creating natural and healthy products for the educated consumer, and a pioneering advocate for combining science and nature to create safe, effective natural bee products. She has created a business model that contracts beekeepers to prevent bees from becoming extinct, that has allowed her to create Propolis in its healthiest, most natural and safe form, thanks to her innovative, patented extraction process.

As a food scientist, bee enthusiast, and entrepreneur, Dr. Asli’s mission is to make Propolis available to the world and to introduce the world, the natural healing powers of Anatolian Propolis, the highest grade of Propolis that can be harvested by bees because of the 12,500 plants of Anatolia, 3500 of which are endemic.

With Dr. Asli’s mission in mind, she founded BEE & YOU, a now leading, innovative provider of natural bee products, (Propolis, Royal Jelly, Pollen, Pure Raw Honey) that are antiviral, antibacterial, natural immune boosters. BEE & YOU’s powerful, science-backed products are effective in naturally fighting allergy symptoms and support the immune system. All products are 100% natural, gluten free, non-GMO, pesticide free; and free from additives, colorants or preservatives. BEE & YOU products are safe for both children and adults and have creative taste options for kids and adults. In addition to BEE & YOU’s direct website, its products are sold at 3,000 CVS stores nationally, Trader Joe’s, and via Amazon.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

My background is in food science, and I have worked with companies in the bee industry for over 15 years. But it wasn’t until I had my first child that I became more involved in exploring natural products’ healing qualities.

My son, who was 5 at the time, was experiencing serious health problems. He was having a recurrent infection problem that was highly resistant to antibiotics. He was prescribed antibiotics to cure his condition, but then he started having adverse reactions to them. An autoimmune disease occurred called Henoch-Schöenlein Vasculitis, described as an acute immunoglobulin A (IgA)–mediated disorder characterized by a generalized vasculitis involving the small vessels of the skin, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the kidneys, the joints, and, rarely, the lungs and the central nervous system (CNS). The doctors were clueless, and his condition was becoming critical. While struggling to find a solution, I reached a medical doctor who was an expert on autoimmune diseases; he recommended trying bee propolis as an alternative treatment. So, I decided to give it a try and supplied raw propolis through one of the beekeepers I knew. But it is not edible in its raw form and has to be extracted before consumption. So I first extracted raw propolis in my lab for my son and started giving him this superfood in drop form. Miraculously, it cured my son’s condition within 6 months by increasing the number of immune cells in his body and he eventually came to a full recovery. This was when I decided to bring this natural superfood to others who need it; the rest is history… This experience motivated me to challenge myself to produce propolis as a natural immune enhancer for all the children and mothers with similar conditions.

Later, I founded my company with the help of my husband, Mr. Taylan Samanci, an agricultural engineer, and my academic advisor, Prof. Dr. Dilek Boyacioglu. We decided to produce propolis and that’s how my entrepreneurship story started. But, since raw propolis is not suitable for human consumption, we developed an extraction method to make propolis suitable for human consumption while at the same time creating innovative, healthy products. Propolis extracted according to our method has at least three times higher biological activity than that of similar products.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

First of all, I pay utmost attention to the purity and sourcing of our products. Every batch is rigorously tested for impurities, and only those with the highest quality pass these tests.

Secondly, our beekeepers are all located in one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. Thus, the harvest from this region is exceptional in terms of nutrition and health benefits.

Thirdly, I work with our beekeepers through a unique business model called “Contracted Beekeeping”. Every beekeeper willing to partner with us has to agree to follow strict standards such as never using sugar or derivatives as a feeding method and placing their hives at a specific distance from industrial sites. In return, we promise to purchase their entire harvest at a fair rate.

By enforcing these rules, we ensure that our honeybees are healthy, treated without cruelty, and away from harmful toxins and chemicals. It also gives us full traceability and transparency over our raw materials and products, so we know where they came from, who harvested them, and in what conditions they were produced. Besides we give back to our community of beekeepers additional financial support from every Bee&You product sold on the market as a premium in the form of new hives and beekeeping equipment. We aiming to support them to improve their business so that they can look after more bees. As we all know, bees are crucial to keep the world green and for sustainable agricultural production, by pollinating 80% of all the plants in the world.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I am an expert on bee products and beekeeping and understanding bees is a different expertise. I realized that when we were visiting our beekeepers on the site for the first time, I saw a bee about to die in the entrance of a bee hive and I really felt very sorry, thinking that bees are getting extinct and I asked my husband Taylan, the reason of this. He said that this is normal. I was so surprised to hear that and was really in a funny situation when I learnt that, female bees sting male bees and throw them away from the hive so that they don’t finish the food in the hive. And was in real shock when I learnt that the only role of male bees are to fertilize the queen bee in the hive. And after they complete their task, they are thrown away from the hive. Once again in my life, I realized that not it may not be what it seems and I have a lot more to learn about nature. This was the time when I decided to start my doctoral studies in biology.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

At the beginning of this journey, I was somewhat discouraged. Many people said that trade is a different and challenging game and that I may not have the qualifications to succeed. Others criticized my decision to live a risky entrepreneurial life and move away from the security of a fixed salary.

But I continued to advance my career following my dream. Inevitably, being an entrepreneur creates some financial and moral dilemmas, but they never scared me, and I never gave up even when I faced multiple challenges. I believe that knowledge and hard work are essential when growing your business. I overcame most of the problems with the help of my network and by utilizing my expertise in the beekeeping field.

I’ve convinced my husband and my academic advisor to start a company and be my business partners. Our success is based on teamwork. We have already worked on many projects creating bee products; it was very important to me to have them on this journey.

My biggest mentor was my father, who taught me that I should never give up on my life goals and always work hard. He was a surgeon and I never forgot his word “There is no healing with drugs, they only hide the symptoms. Healing is in your brain and heart.”.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

We began our journey as a start-up company in the technology development area of Istanbul Technical University. We appreciated many of the privileges provided to start-ups, such as business training, allocation of space, and eligibility for project funds from the state resources for a specific period. However, the biggest challenge came with producing propolis. At the time, beekeepers did not harvest propolis from their hives as there was no market for this local product in the country. Therefore, we had to develop a business model to attract their attention to produce this valuable product for us. It was the first time that anyone in our region offered contract-based agreements to the beekeepers with a purchasing warranty of their products at a fixed annual price. Because of this unusual request, it was very challenging to convince beekeepers that this model would work. In the beginning, we organized many seminars and briefings for beekeepers in various locations; eventually, we started working with ten beekeepers who would provide us with good quality propolis. Our business model allows the production agreements to be signed directly by the beekeepers without middlemen or distributors. Today, we are so proud that we have contracts with more than 5,000 beekeepers overseeing 500,00 beehives in Anatolia, Turkey, who are very happy doing business with our company. I believe this is an excellent example of the positive influence of disruptive business, like our company’s BEE & YOU.

However, it’s important to note that customers were only aware of certain bee products such as honey and pollen. Thus, it was a great challenge to introduce propolis, royal jelly and bee bread to people because many of them hadn’t heard of it before. To address this challenge, we focused on using digital communication channels, gave presentations at many national and international conferences, and created interview opportunities on many TV channels. We aimed to provide scientific information about the health benefits of propolis and other valuable bee products. Another significant challenge was to introduce raw honey without the application of any fine-filtering and heat treatment. Because all major honey packaging companies preferred to apply a pasteurization process to honey to stop its natural crystallization, but also harming its natural enzymes and vitamins. We needed to tell customers why raw honey is superior to those products. For example, we explained that pasteurized honey loses its pollens and nutritional compounds and therefore, that decreases its health benefits. Yet at the beginning of our journey, raw honey remained a new concept in the beekeeping sector in our region. So, mass production of heated and filtered honey could be an example of negative disruptive industry.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

The best piece of advice I have ever received was from my father, who taught me that I should never give up on my life goals and always work hard.

Another vital piece of advice that I’ve received was that despite having the technical knowledge to set up my own company, I was told by my mentor and partner, Prof Dilek, to acquire knowledge in management, sales & marketing, so I pursued an MBA at the same time I was setting up my company.

Taylan, my husband and partner, advised me to go on my academic career as well and encouraged me a lot. And that is how I started to develop natural skincare creams and serums during my doctoral studies. Now I am also an expert about skincare and developing new innovative products for skin health from natural bee products.

Lastly, I am always very much inspired by the word of Hippocrates, who is referred to as the father of Medical Science “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”. I definitely believe that we are what we eat and there is a natural medicine in natura for every health problem. The only thing we need is awareness and discovery. We have to be curious enough to look deeper in nature.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

We are working on a project to improve the economic conditions of women, particularly those living in the rural areas of Anatolia. Our aim is to support female beekeepers using our “Contract-based Beekeeping Business Model” by providing training on beekeeping practices. That is how we expect to develop small beekeeping entrepreneurs and improve the social and economic status of women in Anatolia.

We also focus on R&D studies and continue to develop new, natural and innovative bee products, such as food supplements and cosmetics. We aim to reach more customers in the US and other countries by showing them the health benefits of propolis and other valuable bee products. We strongly believe that we can grow our brand by increasing costumer awareness for 100% natural and environmentally friendly bee products to improve their health. Our goal is to have a positive environmental impact by supporting bees’ pollination process, helping beekeepers through our contract-based business model and providing healthy and nutritious bee products to our customers.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

I am so grateful to my family who supported me with my vision & entrepreneurial endeavors. Of course, when you work at a fast pace, the help you receive from your family becomes even more critical. My husband, Taylan, Beekeeping Expert, Agricultural Engineer, is also my business partner. He’s always been my biggest supporter, helping me overcome any discrimination against woman entrepreneurship. Looking back on what I’ve lived in the last seven years, I accept that it was very challenging for me as a mother of two. But I am so happy to give the miracle of Anatolian propolis to people and help them leave healthier.

I think that it’s much harder to have a professional career when you’re also a mother. Finding the balance between family and work was particularly challenging because if you don’t support your colleagues at work, then your business won’t grow. At the same time, taking care and watching my children grow is immensely important to me.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

One the best books that I love and inspired from is “The End of Illness” from David B. Agus. After the serious health problem of my son and saving him with propolis, I focused my studies on health effects of bee products and other natural remedies. This booked changed my opinion about illness and how to overcome health problems.

Another inspiring book that I love is from Suzanne Doyle-Morris “Beyond The Boys’ Club: Achieving Career Success As A Woman Working In A Male-Dominated Field”. As a woman entrepreneur I am very much inspired by the stories of other woman entrepreneurs. Like most other fields, our sector is also dominated by males. During my journey I learn’t their way of thinking and how to compete and overcome unfair competition.

“Buyology” from Martin Lindstrom is also another very inspiring book for all entrepreneurs, that will change their way of thinking on how to sell their products and services to their target audience.

I am always very impressed by the talk of Steve Jobs at Stanford University “How to Live Before You Die”. I think everybody has to listen and feel his journey in life. There is a reason for everybody to be on earth. I believe that I am helping to spread the word of bees to the world. How important they are for the future of humanity. I own a life to them and now it is time to payback. There is nothing for no reason. The important is how fast you find and understand your own reason. Then you definitely go after it.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

The most important movement I wish to inspire is to help the number of bees increase in the world. This will also contribute to sustainable agricultural production and more natural food for everyone. Besides the world will go more green and more clean. Increasing quantity of bee products will also enhance the health of many people struggling with severe diseases. Bees play a critical role in pollination as they provide about 80% of the pollination of all the plants. It’s simple; if bees will extinct, the humanity will be extinct as well. So helping the bees means, helping our planet.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favorite life lesson quote is “Don’t give up your dreams”. At the beginning of my journey, even small obstacles seemed like big problems. Later, I realized that they were common challenges in the journey of entrepreneurship. Of course, at times I became tired and even exhausted from dealing with those problems. I would have been more comfortable and confident if I knew how to handle everything from the beginning. However, I learned to find ways to deal with my weaknesses and improve my abilities. I believe that knowledge is power. Never start a business without gaining all the necessary information first. Your knowledge is what will make you rise to the top.

How can our readers follow you online?

They can follow me on social media @propolisexpert and @beeandyounatural. Also, I want to thank you for your interest and support for women entrepreneurship, Anatolian propolis, and beekeeping. You can find our products at www.beeandyou.com.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!


Female Disruptors: Asli Samanci of BEE & YOU On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Julia Faller of Benedetta On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a…

Female Founders: Julia Faller of Benedetta On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Having conviction and vision for what you are about to accomplish is really key. I can only speak for myself and the drive I felt in creating something of benefit. I had 3 small children and virtually no money. The need to accomplish what I set out to do was overwhelming. I ran into many obstacles in creating a new paradigm in an industry set in its ways. I ran into obstacle after obstacle and was laughed at and told it could not be done. I persisted. If you are a visionary and have the determination to see it through, nothing will stop your momentum. Ask for support, and seek, and find the tribe that will let you have wings. We truly are the company we keep.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Julia Faller.

Julia Faller is the Founder and President of Benedetta, the first and only skincare line formulated with 100% botanical, Certified Organic & Biodynamic ingredients. As a licensed esthetician and clinician in the 80’s and 90’s, Julia found herself questioning the cosmetic and skincare industries ethical approach in caring for the skin. The acceptance of a botanical here and there in a preponderance of chemical and plastic laden ingredients still considered ‘all natural’, was illogical and unhealthy.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I created Benedetta with a clear intention to serve a need that hadn’t yet been met in the skin care industry, one riddled with petrochemicals and false, harmful ingredients.

My insistence on Farm-Sourced® ingredients, with attention to synergistic formulas, is key to delivering function and purpose through our system of use. It took time and persistence to acquire raw materials that were not only clean and free from toxins, but Certified Organic and eventually Biodynamic, this has become the cornerstone of excellence that would grow. Finding solutions for my formulas to allow for 98–100% botanical efficacy without conventional binders, additives and so on, was challenging and took years. I had virtually no support in my thinking and it required great presence of mind to persevere.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I think it’s interesting when anyone changes the mind of another through conviction and honesty that’s mutually beneficial. We get so much marketing and inauthentic information from those with self-interests, whether it be advertising a product that may not work, or digital media companies selling you an invisible marketing approach.

Almost 20 years ago, I was invited to go into a store within the San Francisco Ferry Building’s new Marketplace. It was comprised of food vendors with a focus on local and sustainable agriculture with a farm-to table concept. I saw a perfect fit for Benedetta, but the founders did not, referring to me as cosmetic. I love the building and saw the beauty of it draw the community and tourists coming into our city. I kept hearing, “We are a food marketplace and you are not food.”

I am not a pushy sales representative and really cannot stand that approach, in fact we do not sell our line like that ever. We care for people and assess what they are looking for and what their needs are before introducing the line.

After some emails, I was able to have a meeting with one of the founders, which would turn out to be essentially a 5 minute elevator speech on what makes me a good fit in a sustainable farm to food marketplace. In a nutshell my answer was, “I produce farm sourced, 100% botanical, Organic & Biodynamic products that are produced locally. Furthermore, they are food for skin and work in the same way clean alive nutrients work for your body, much like the food we ingest.”

We talked for several more years before having a Benedetta location in the building. That was 18 years ago.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I don’t think it was funny at the time, but looking back, I have laugh at it now.

Just before launching the Benedetta line in February 1996, I had intended to create a blemish preparation that I wasn’t going to launch until later for various reasons. However, weeks before the launch I decided to include it. In a rush to add it in to a full day of production, I mixed the wrong phases together and did not emulsify a raw material correctly, resulting in tiny specks in the product that did not dissolve. It was the end of our production and this was the last one, exhausted to think we would have to start over, others tried to encourage me not to worry, that it would be ok. I ran over to the sink and threw the whole thing in, much to the screams of, “don’t throw it away, it still works”.

In that moment, it set the tone to always micro-batch and focus on quality control, and above all — be conscious, and aware. To this day, we do not produce more than one product a day, and all preparations are done in silence and reverence for the intended user. Zen in the art of formulation if you will.

The end user is my biggest concern and the reason I do what I do.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

There are two people that come to mind but there are really so many.

1.My mentor and inspiration is Marcel Lavabre, founder of the Aroma Vera company and Author of the Aromatherapy Workbook. If not for Marcel, I would not have continued to formulate more. He encouraged the production and distribution of my first product the Crystal Radiance Hydrating Elixirs Neroli and Ylang Ylang– distributed by the Aroma Vera company from 1987–1991. In addition to, his certification courses in medical aromatherapy, aromatherapy conferences, and medical courses with noted speakers and teachers in the field of essential oil efficacy and sciences.

2.The lead up to founding Benedetta, I had 3 small children at home and a husband that worked construction from 6am to 5pm. We had relocated when I was 6 months pregnant with twins and a 6 year old. On our own, with no support.

To acquire the first packaging and afford raw materials, I delivered Chinese food at night and weekends and worked in our local health food store as a nutritional consultant. My husband was in charge of taking care of the kids so I could work, as dead-tired as he was from pouring concrete all day.

He has been my support for almost 40 years and is an integral part of Benedetta as our production manager, among other things.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

I think some women are torn between being a parent and creating their passion.

I have been running Benedetta for more than 3 decades. This was an era where we spoke about women “having it all”, meaning- motherhood and career.

If you have a vision and talent to create something that is of service or need, do not let self-limiting beliefs stand in your way. If you are truly doing something that serves the greater good you will find the support to follow through. It takes drive, ambition, courage, incentive and above all, honesty.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

Having conviction and vision for what you are about to accomplish is really key. I can only speak for myself and the drive I felt in creating something of benefit. I had 3 small children and virtually no money. The need to accomplish what I set out to do was overwhelming. I ran into many obstacles in creating a new paradigm in an industry set in its ways. I ran into obstacle after obstacle and was laughed at and told it could not be done. I persisted. If you are a visionary and have the determination to see it through, nothing will stop your momentum. Ask for support, and seek, and find the tribe that will let you have wings. We truly are the company we keep.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Generally speaking, women lead with their hearts. We feel and intuit culturally at a broader level than our male counterparts. That heart intelligence is one that can be creative and motivate from a place of empathy. We need more love and sense of community in business and government. Kindness and sharing in a selfless way will enhance who we are as a species. This speaks to greater need not just for women but for all of us.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

That we are all the same. That creating something that is brought to the market is easy. I never received funding and truly have worked harder each year than the previous to get Benedetta product into the hands of the consumer. It is not easy, but it is life-changing. I believe I will leave the world a little better for those lives I have enhanced with Benedetta products. I am very proud and grateful to have been of service in this capacity.

But not every founder is a creator of something, but one that can lead another company’s growth. That takes talent and drive too, something I now welcome into to my company as I get older and need to pass the torch.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

No, not everyone is cut out to be a “founder”.

Since you are asking me, I can only speak to what I know. I designed and created something on my own without help. First came the formulas, some taking years to make. The process for me took incredible determination and conviction in the botanical world and science behind it.

To me, the best founders actually have an original and authentic idea, and put it into action. It takes courage.

All this being said, those that follow are as important as those that lead. There is no shame in that and complete the company’s ethos and mission. The unity of the company culture is key and necessary.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

  1. That marketing is what makes a company successful, not the products. I launched Benedetta in 1996 and really knew nothing about business. I have watched dozens of companies succeed by first focusing on marketing and distribution, not product, and sell for millions. They have a marketing and exist strategy before they even know what the product would look like, or more importantly, how it would perform for the consumer. They see success and money first. I never followed trends, but focused on what the consumer actually needed, there is a difference. I would not have changed the product first, but I would have put much more time and effort into marketing.
  2. That direct to consumer is key. I spent 15 years on shelves in retailers collecting dust. The amount of time and energy to get the staff to support our SKU’s over the hundreds of others is time wasted.Direct to consumer in retail is the way for our customers to be cared for.
  3. To hire wisely. A business is only as good as the company it keeps and those that support it. Business comes first and those that you hire must enhance the company culture and be supportive and above all, kind. Pay well and honor of course, but I have spent years learning this lesson. Bad hiring can delay and actually halter company growth, when the opposite is needed. This has never been more evident since the pandemic.
  4. Have financial meetings regularly. The number one reason businesses go under is irregular finances, by not having a budget and ignoring the bottom line. In order to have financial goals, a company needs to see where they are at and where they are going. I think all the principles in the company should understand this and be aware of monthly and quarterly growth or decline in revenue.
  5. Not all business is honest and reputable. When dealing with a vast supply chain, you are dependent on others. When trust erodes, stress follows. As a manufacturer, I deal with many different characters, from raw materials to packaging, equipment and more.
    For example, taking almost a year to locate a producer of a particular algae for my Seaweed Mask, finally it arrived from France and it only half the order arrived and was soaked. It took months to get the shipper to make good, but moreover the company I worked with would take no responsibility at all. Business will be a chase and there are those that will do everything to not be accountable, even when you can prove a mistake. It isn’t easy, and takes fortitude and support. In spite of those that will run a business unscrupulously, it is important to run yours honestly. You either become the same as them to get ahead, or, you develop empathy and always lead (in our case) with quality and effectiveness for our customers.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Working to enhance peoples’ self-image through product creation has been extremely rewarding. But I think the community of certified organic and biodynamic farmers and suppliers I support has extended my global impact to be a counted voice for sustainability on our planet. Especially in a time of climate crisis.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I have dedicated myself to health and wellness on how it relates to your skin. I would love to start a movement that speaks to our energetic consciousness and how that coincides to our overall wellbeing, health, beauty, and longevity. I have come to understand that a healthy lifestyle enhances equitable energy and allows for our greatest peace of mind. The future of medicine is beyond pharmaceuticals and even recognizable plant nutrients, but, in the way we are able to bring our body and spirit into a cohesive balance. Creating a place and a movement that is truly inclusive and stimulates all aspects of energetic medicine, food, and lifestyle with no judgement. This would generate the peace and well-being we all strive to attain.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

There are so many visionaries and people that selflessly make the world a better place through their work, for people and planet. Since this is about women founders, I would like to be consistent.

I want to give mention to a woman that is no longer with us but blazed a trail and had the courage to stand up to giants in the chemical industry and change the way we looked at better living through chemistry.

Rachel Carson wrote the now-famous Silent Spring, an expose on the misinformation spread by the chemical industry and the use of synthetic pesticides, specifically DDT. This book spurred the environmental revolution. The overall theme of the book is the commanding- and overwhelmingly negative- effect that humans have on the natural world. Carson’s lasting legacy led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States under the Nixon administration and started the conversation regarding the human impact on the environment.

For one that I can sit down and have a conversation with, Dr. Holly Lucille. I have been practicing functional medicine and alternative approaches to health and wellness my entire adult life for myself and my family. Although I have many in my life that have made an impact on thousands, Dr. Lucille has been able to get her message of health and wellness across to millions with her media appearances, podcast and books.

Dr. Holly Lucille, ND, RN, is a nationally recognized and licensed naturopathic doctor, educator, natural product consultant, and television and radio host. She is also the author of several books including Creating and Maintaining Balance: A Women’s Guide to Safe, Natural, Hormone Health and The Healing Power of Trauma Comfrey. An acclaimed expert in the field of integrative medicine, Dr. Lucille lectures throughout the nation on a variety of natural health topics. Her appearances include national media programs and networks such as ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Dr. Oz, The Doctors, Lifetime and the Discovery Health Channel.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.


Female Founders: Julia Faller of Benedetta On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Dani Dunckley on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s…

Women In Wellness: Dani Dunckley on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Don’t give up: When you start your business from scratch, not everyone will support your decision and understand you. Be prepared to work extra hard to keep your personal life and business going. Do not let anyone turn you away from your dreams — including yourself! If this is what you really want, don’t give up!

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dani Dunckley.

Dani Dunckley, MA, RYT, is a True Fulfillment Self Care Coach. She helps women in service based professions who put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own commitment to their self care so that they can make a significant and sustainable difference in the world without sacrificing themselves and while living a life they love.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I realized the importance of self-care when I was twelve, and my dad died in a horse racing accident. Losing him made it painfully clear how precious life is, and that none of us knows how long we have. Before he died, I watched my parents work long hours, six days a week, and saw the toll this took on them, from exhaustion to burnout to depression. I experienced similar exhaustion and burnout when I was in graduate school, studying and teaching.

That’s when I discovered yoga and quickly fell in love.

It wasn’t long until I decided to become a yoga teacher (one of the best decisions of my life) and finally felt connected and whole again. I loved teaching yoga. and I loved my students. Meanwhile, I witnessed my students, from medical doctors to social workers to teachers and therapists, struggle with exhaustion and burnout. These students came to me over and over again after class to share how much my teaching helped them and that my classes kept them from depression; relieved their anxiety; kept them focused, calm, and centered; helped them sleep, and even improved their performance at work.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

It would have to be me moving from Seattle to New York and taking my in person business of teaching yoga to an online business of not only teaching yoga but also teaching self-care. When I moved to NY, the only way I knew to continue teaching my Seattle students was online. And when I asked them about their biggest challenge, or what they needed help with the most, almost unanimously the answer that came in was self-care.

I learned that the main reason my students practiced with me had almost nothing to do with the asana, or postures, but with the way I invited them to slow down and be kind to themselves, to listen to and honor their bodies, to practice with compassion and levity, and to be present to their experience with love. Essentially, I was teaching them self-care through yoga.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Being in too much of a hurry and acting out of a scarcity mindset was my biggest mistake. I was too focused on making an income and building an audience right away. But both take time, intention, and integrity, and neither can manifest from a place of fear or lack.

I learned to trust the process; to be true to myself, rather than trying to fit myself in someone else’s mold who tells me this is what I need to do to sell; and to have a plan that’s rooted in a mindset of abundance of compassion. So the focus isn’t how much money can I make or how many followers or students can I get. It’s how can I serve. And that is with integrity, intention, and trust.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My partner and I met in a yoga class that we were both taking with one of my favorite yoga teachers, and it was clear really early on, even before our first date (although that certainly confirmed it), that there was something very special between us. He has supported me 100%, and in every way, financially, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and even as a fellow professional — he’s a therapist. Our approach as well as what we do with clients is very similar.

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

I’d like to begin by sharing a statistic with you. A study on health and self-care by the Samueli Foundation states that “more than 9 in 10 physicians (96%) believe self-care should be considered an essential part of overall health, and 88 percent of patients agree.” So my work as a self-care coach is definitely helping make a bigger impact in the world! Also, it is only when we show up for and take care of ourselves that we are able to make a significant and sustainable impact in the world. This is especially true for the majority of my clients who are service providers, like therapists, social workers, and teachers.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Morning rituals — How you start your day provides the foundation for the rest of your day, so beginning the day with rituals like meditation, drinking a glass of water, and movement set you up for a productive, joyful, and fulfilling day. It really doesn’t take much! Many of my clients have commented on how much just drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning has shifted the way they feel.

2. Midday pause & reset — During the day, it is so important to take time to pause and reset, otherwise we get overwhelmed and stressed out. Just a simple five-minute breathing break in between tasks provides you with more energy and ease.

3. Evening routine — At the end of the day most of us are tired, but often still wound up by the activities of the day, and the to-do lists for the next day. So, it is essential to take time to relax and unwind with an evening routine like journaling, going for a walk, or reading a book. If we don’t take time to unwind from the day, it’ll be more challenging for us to fall asleep and have a restful sleep, which is essential to our well-being.

4. Sleep! — Recent studies have made it very clear how essential sleep is. In fact, the World Health Organization has now declared a sleep loss epidemic throughout industrialized nations. The most important piece of advice I can give you when it comes to sleep is to stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. And set an alarm for bedtime. Often we set an alarm for when it’s time to wake up, but don’t think to do so for when it’s time to go to sleep.

5. Self-compassion — When most of us make mistakes, our first impulse is to criticize ourselves. Self-criticism is okay if it’s constructive, but most of the time it’s not and turns into self-defeating behavior where we get lost in rumination and blame. Whereas, research on self-compassion shows that people who are more self-compassionate tend to be happier, more hopeful, and optimistic. They’re less anxious, depressed, stressed, and fearful. They’re wiser and more emotionally intelligent and can regulate negative emotions more effectively.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Be Where You Are. In almost twenty years of teaching yoga and in the past 4 years of working as a self-care coach, the number one cause of suffering I see in my students and clients (and in myself) is fighting ourselves. And the most powerful practice to peace and freedom is allowing ourselves to be where we are. Meeting the moment just as it is. The paradox about this that I absolutely love is that as soon as you stop fighting with yourself or trying to make things different is when the transformation happens. You create space for the shift from anxious to calm to occur when you stop fighting the anxiety. It’s incredible.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Embrace discomfort: To become a successful entrepreneur, you need to become someone you’ve never been before. I spent most of my life from when I was young through my adult years not having much money or living paycheck to paycheck. No one taught me how to start a successful business. I had to learn everything on my own. The main takeaway is: DON’T be afraid to leave your comfort zone. With every new milestone in your business, you are going to face new struggles. It never ends. I know I make the right decision for my business when I stretch myself and leave my comfort zone. Your success is outside your comfort zone!

2. Personal development is non-negotiable: Your education never ends. The moment you stop listening to inspirational stories and reading educational books, your success begins to fall. You won’t see it overnight, but when you figure out why your income drops and your clients walk away, it will be too late. I learned that lesson the hard way. Be a lifelong learner!

3. Don’t give up: When you start your business from scratch, not everyone will support your decision and understand you. Be prepared to work extra hard to keep your personal life and business going. Do not let anyone turn you away from your dreams — including yourself! If this is what you really want, don’t give up!

4. Focus on what matters and let go of the rest: When I first started my business, I spent way too much time on creating a website and making a logo and getting my online image right. I was playing business instead of doing business. I was creatively avoiding out of fear. I was worrying about the facade instead of the foundation. None of the surface stuff really matters. And it’s all going to change. Focus on getting paid clients and everything else will fall into place.

5. Have fun: So many coaches and entrepreneurs make the leap because they want the freedom of running their own business and instead, their business ends up running them. And sometimes they don’t realize this until it’s too late. They wake up one day tired, unfulfilled, and trapped in a constant state of anxiety. And they don’t have the energy to do anything about it. As a coach, you’re supposed to be helping people live a good life. And it’s hard to do that if you don’t have much of a life yourself. Build your business around the life that you want to be living from the very beginning. Make time for you!

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Sustainability because the principle of sustainability pertains to all forms of well-being, including environmental and personal.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

They can find & follow me on Instagram @selfcarebydani.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Dani Dunckley on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Jessica Chang of WeeCare: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Just because everyone is doing one thing, doesn’t mean you can’t do another — Starting a new part of our business during a global pandemic runs counter to what most observers think is possible, however we have been successful and proven the naysayers wrong.

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing….Jessica Chang, Co-Founder and CEO of WeeCare.

Jessica Chang is the co-founder and CEO of WeeCare, the largest childcare network in the United States. Jessica is also a mother and a preschool owner. She has always been passionate about childcare. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a dual degree in Psychology, with a focus on Early Childhood Development, and Economics. When Jessica was pregnant with her first child, she began touring daycares only to discover that all spots were full with long waitlists and exorbitant costs. Unable to comprehend why there were so few spots available and so many parents searching for childcare, she decided to dive into the childcare space and become an investor and owner of a preschool. From her work as the COO of Affinity China, as a principal investor at Macquarie Capital, and VP of Marketplace at Radpad, Jessica applied her background in finance and business to streamline the school’s operations and grew it to full capacity within months of ownership. Jessica co-founded WeeCare in 2017 to empower educators and daycare directors to start, fill to capacity, and efficiently operate a licensed home daycare business. WeeCare eliminates parents’ stress of finding a quality daycare by matching them with the best small home daycare environment for their children. In addition, Jessica is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the Early Childcare Planning Committee of LA County and the Santa Monica Early Childhood Task Force. Jessica lives in Los Angeles with her husband Witt and two children, Maddy and Teddy.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?

I’ve always been interested in childcare and early childhood education. After applying my economics studies in various finance and business roles, I saw an opportunity to tackle the challenges of the childcare landscape and improve the outcomes for parents, providers, and of course, children.

After starting WeeCare in 2017 with my co-founders Jesse Forrest and Matt Reilly, we focused on our big vision which involved creating a marketplace for parents and childcare providers so families could easily find high-quality, affordable care that meets their needs while caregivers and educators would have the support to grow their small businesses and solve the childcare crisis in the process! Our team and WeeCare’s reach have grown considerably since then as we scaled up operations and hit many new milestones. In 2020, we became the largest childcare network in the United States! Today, we are partnering with employers across the country to offer childcare benefits to their employees, which is so crucial for working families.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes, our work expanding childcare benefits is a very exciting project as it helps both employers and their employees. Employers face serious challenges when trying to implement childcare benefits for their employees, from costs and set up time to limited childcare availability and inflexible options for their working families. WeeCare’s Childcare Benefits program is solving these issues. We have created the only childcare benefits program built to enable employers of all sizes to cost-effectively offer employees and team members the most options and support for their childcare needs.

WeeCare has developed flexible childcare benefits options that employees actually use and are seeking from their current and prospective employers. WeeCare’s innovative technology platform matches families with the right providers able to offer care tailored to a family’s specific needs, increasing the value of the benefit to both employer and employee. Childcare benefits are key for decreasing employee absenteeism, increasing team satisfaction, and reducing employee turnover. And as we’ve seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, childcare is more essential than ever with so many parents and working families struggling to simply get by, let alone thrive in the face of serious challenges.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

What makes WeeCare stand out from the crowd is that our nationwide network of childcare providers offers affordable, flexible options for employers looking to provide their employees with childcare support. We have the largest breadth of coverage across the nation, covering urban, suburban, and rural areas, so WeeCare’s network can provide access to care wherever employees live and work. Our primary childcare supports full-time, part-time, back-up, drop-in, weekend, and overnight schedules.

The other big differentiator is that through WeeCare’s Childcare Benefits program, organizations can test the waters to see what works best for their workforce. Our Childcare Benefits program provides flexibility for employers and is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?

Even with WeeCare being successful and established at the time, many people thought it was impossible to add a whole new offering during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we did it anyway and have seen positive impacts through our Childcare Benefits program. Employers are seeking these benefits that help increase retention and recruitment, boost productivity, reduce absenteeism and presenteeism, and improve wellness. Working families need care for their children and WeeCare’s Childcare Benefits are making a difference in families’ lives across the country.

When we began building our Childcare Benefits initiative in the summer of 2020, naysayers deemed it a bad time because so many companies, organizations, and entire industries were still shut down. There was uncertainty everywhere you looked. Our team at WeeCare overcame this by buckling down, analyzing data and trends, determining the most useful options for employers, and realizing that working families were going to need childcare more than ever — it was up to us to make it work so that we could support those families.

In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂

In the end, we were able to prove all the naysayers wrong with the success of our Childcare Benefits program, as it continues to grow and make an impact for employers and their employees. Additionally, the WeeCare Marketplace has continued to thrive, keeping childcare providers open and in business during the pandemic. Our family childcare model, with smaller class sizes and stringent health checks, not only survived but grew over the course of the pandemic. WeeCare’s Marketplace works in tandem with our Childcare Benefits team to help employer clients and their workforces solve the childcare puzzle in real time and create tangible results.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I have to shout out my husband, Witt, here 🙂 He has always been incredibly supportive and understanding throughout my career, but especially during COVID he has really stepped up and been even more helpful. He has been incredibly patient, regularly taking time out of his busy schedule to tend to the kids, care for them if they’re sick, pick them up from school, and generally shoulder a larger burden of the child-rearing so that I can continue to focus on my work and be as productive as I need to be.

It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?

Earlier in my career, I used to work in investment banking. There is an extreme where you can push yourself and in this field, that extreme was tested for me. I remember one time vividly when I worked for four days straight without going home, despite living very close to the office. That was pretty extreme, but I think it helped me build resiliency that I can lean on now when new challenges are presented as our team at WeeCare works together on solving the childcare crisis.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)

  1. Telling yourself that you can — Raising capital while being pregnant is no easy task, nor is starting a company when your first child is under 6 months old. Yet telling yourself that you can do it and reinforcing this tenacious belief can lead to incredible results.
  2. Just because everyone is doing one thing, doesn’t mean you can’t do another — Starting a new part of our business during a global pandemic runs counter to what most observers think is possible, however we have been successful and proven the naysayers wrong.
  3. Being okay with not being safe — Leaving a cushy job and becoming a founder, for example, exemplifies this strategy. There are inherent risks and you should make peace with leaving behind the reliable in exchange for the uncertain.
  4. Making time for yourself — This can mean mandatory dinner dates, with just yourself (or maybe your partner). Use these times to reset from the hectic day and mentally prepare to tackle the impossible again tomorrow.
  5. It’s okay to ask for help — This is true all the time, but especially during COVID we’ve seen how critical asking for help can be for mental health. You can’t take on everyone else’s mental health responsibilities and not take care of your own.

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

The quote, “Nothing will work unless you do” from Maya Angelou speaks to this concept. Let’s take action and get things done — resiliency will be built through our actions.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I think it’s the movement to solve childcare that would have the biggest impact on the greatest number of people — working families, getting women back in the workplace, supporting children so that they can develop and reach their full potential, and backing care providers that do one of the hardest jobs in the world every single day. This idea of solving the childcare crisis is going to do vast amounts of good and change the lives for countless people around the country.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Absolutely, readers can follow me and our work at: https://twitter.com/weecareco, https://www.linkedin.com/company/weecare-inc/, https://twitter.com/jessicajchang and https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-chang-1010402/.

Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!


Jessica Chang of WeeCare: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Abiola Abrams of Womanifesting On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help…

Women In Wellness: Abiola Abrams of Womanifesting On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Declutter, declutter, declutter. Even minimalists may have a lot of clutter in their lives. Physical clutter is only one kind of clutter. There is digital clutter, relationship clutter and even emotional clutter. Allow yourself to be free of what no longer serves you.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Abiola Abrams.

Abiola Abrams is an award-winning author of African Goddess Initiation: Sacred Rituals for Self-Love, Prosperity and Joy, intuitive coach, oracle deck creator — including the African Goddess Rising Oracle deck — transformational speaker, and international retreat leader. Abiola is the first-generation American daughter of multi-generational healers, seers, and farmers in Guyana, South America, who are descended from several West African nations. The founder of the Womanifesting self-love empowerment platform, podcast, and Goddess Temple Circle, Abiola studied sociology at Sarah Lawrence College.

Learn more about Abiola on her website: Womanifesting.com

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I am a New Yorker, born and raised, and the first person in my family born in the United States. My family is from Guyana, South America. I grew up, like many immigrant kids, as a bit of an outsider. I had very low self-esteem growing up. But I feel like everything I experienced gave me the foundation for my work today.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

A couple of years ago I did an underwear commercial for the Gap as a self-love ambassador. This was such an empowering experience, as a dark skinned Black woman in my 40s, with kinky hair and African features. Each and every one of us is our own kind of beautiful. I am living proof that you may be shy, introverted or maybe even a bit anxious and can still put your voice in the world. Your voice matters.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Thank you so much for this question. I don’t really believe in mistakes because our missteps are often our greatest teachers. I believe in failing forward. And my biggest error starting out was being afraid to be genuinely myself and put myself out there. I thought I had to fit into a box and please other people. What I have learned since then is that you are the niche. And your relationship with your soulmate clients or customers is a sacred one. It is all divine, it is all spiritual.

So for example, I was taught that it is not spiritual, feminine or creative to be in business, so sell your work. And it is the exact opposite. You have a sacred duty to put your magic in the world. Your voice matters. If you have medicine that could change someone’s life, you are honor-bound to share it. The way we share it in our culture includes making sales and putting your voice into the arena. We need you! I created several courses for Spiritpreneurs ® because approaching your business from this point of view is life changing for you and for those you serve.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

My current work focuses on our spiritual evolution and self-love rooted in the divine feminine gifts of global African culture. I am so thrilled to be finally able to do this work. Mother Africa has many rich, transformational gifts to help us to develop good character, raise our consciousness and tap into our inner power, but African culture has been demonized. It is my honor to be able to do this work. The subtitle for my book, African Goddess Initiation is “Sacred Rituals for Self-Love, Prosperity and Joy.” For each self-love, manifesting and self-care ritual I share that you can do in your home, I share an ancient ritual. When we, African people, were trafficked into the so-called new world, we hid our spiritual practices, rituals and deities in stories, tall tales, saints, and other practices.

There is no one African spiritual practice. Africa is the 54 plus countries on the continent plus all of us throughout the African diaspora in South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the United States. There truly is no other book like this and I am so proud to share the gifts of our cultures. We deserve to have the tools of our ancestors for personal evolution and healing.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

This is a great question, because change can be made with incremental shifts.

  1. Journaling is a tool that has been transformational throughout my life. A simple practice to incorporate is morning pages. I first learned about this practice in the book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.
  2. Meditation will change everything for everyone. The great thing is that there are many kinds of meditation from transcendental to walking meditations. I have several guided meditation albums because guided meditation and visualization is my favorite approach. My newest meditation album, Enter Your Goddess Temple, is set to binaural beats to help listeners go deeper and shift their consciousness.
  3. Card practice. I love inspirational decks, and although it seems obvious that I might say that as the creator of four decks, I was a card lover for many years before creating my own. An easy daily practice that I invite people to do with my newest deck African Goddess Rising Oracle Cards or the deck of your choice is just pull a daily card for guidance. You can journal on the intuitive message you receive, the card’s mantra from the guidebook, or even pair it with the related positive goddess self-love ritual from the book, African Goddess Initiation. This practice will also strengthen your intuition.
  4. Declutter, declutter, declutter. Even minimalists may have a lot of clutter in their lives. Physical clutter is only one kind of clutter. There is digital clutter, relationship clutter and even emotional clutter. Allow yourself to be free of what no longer serves you.
  5. Eating Habits. Every meal is an opportunity for us to practice mindfulness. Instead of watching TV or listening to a podcast while you eat, practice eating in silence. See how it feels to engage all of your senses and be in full gratitude for your meal. Allow each meal to become a prayer.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I did — and for me it is a movement of revolutionary self-love, your beautiful life, your beautiful way. We were all told to love ourselves but no one told us how. Self-love begins with complete and radical self-acceptance. And self-acceptance begins with looking at the shadow, unloved parts of yourself. There is a self-love solution for every problem.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

Oooh. I love this question. The 5 things I wish someone told me before I started are:

  1. It is safe for you to choose your own path.
  2. You are not in competition with anyone else in life. You get to run your own race.
  3. You have nothing to prove.
  4. You deserve to be happy.
  5. Have FUN!

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health is incredibly important to me. I am a part of several communities where mental health wellness is not addressed as well as it could be. This year, a family member of mine took their own life. So I would like to say, if you you are having mental health challenges, it is wonderful to have spiritual and/ or religious support. However it is critical that you get support from a licensed expert in mental health. You don’t have to figure it out alone.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. My website, Womanifesting.com, which has everything from how to work with me one-on-one, come with me on an empowerment retreat, find tons of free videos, podcasts and blogs, or find my book, African Goddess Initiation or my card deck, African Goddess Rising Oracle Cards. Your readers can find me throughout social media @abiolaTV, where the TV stands for transformation and victory.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Abiola Abrams of Womanifesting On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.