Female Founders: Erika Schlick of The Trail to Health On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
“You have to spend money to make money” — This one may be counterintuitive, especially before your company is making money, but I have found that investing into your company initially, and getting systems in place to make you productive, pays off in the end. Also, invest in networking events and conferences where you can meet like-minded people in your industry. At the end of the day, it’s all about connections.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Erika Schlick.
Erika Schlick is a health coach, blogger and the author of Wandering Palate, a collection of 28 days of travel inspired healthy Paleo meals that help keep her in remission from Lyme disease and multiple autoimmune conditions. The book is a collection of recipes that helped her heal and now she is joining us from her home in Los Angeles to show us how we should be cooking to stay safe and healthy at home.
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 had two career paths that somehow came together to support each other. In 2009, I started my own design agency with my partner focusing on UX design and Marketing, and in 2014, I started The Trail To Health, which has turned into my passion project. I went to Yosemite in 2012 for the third camping trip of my life and was unknowingly bit by a tick. It took two years to be properly diagnosed with Lyme Disease and co-Infections, followed by three years of numerous treatments to get into remission. This dark journey sparked my passion project and blog. At first, it started as a way to track my recovery and what treatments I was doing, but as I healed, it shifted more to healthy living and recipes. Later, I would write my first cookbook in 2018!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
If you told me in 2012 that I would heal from an incurable disease, start a food and health blog, and write a cookbook, I would tell you that was impossible. Life-changing experiences change us to our core. I never used to cook, and while I always valued health, I never knew real health as in-depth as I do today. Starting my company has actually made me healthier in my everyday life as I am always learning and striving to be an industry leader in the health field.
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 would say some of the funniest mistakes I made in my business were when I was getting started with recording cooking videos. I worked with a media coach to train for being on camera and it helped a lot. Once I started recording my own videos, I found myself saying really funny and dumb things that I started using as outtake bloopers on my TikTok channel.
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 would definitely say my fiance and business partner. Having our background in marketing and media really helped me get a good grasp of how to successfully build a new brand. He has helped me so much with ideas and creating content and also by being my biggest supporter along the way.
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?
That is a great question and I wish more women would get out there and start their own companies. I have started and owned 3 since my twenties. For me, leading comes very naturally — as I am an ENTJ — so I think that helps make it a bit easier for me to dive in. I think finding a good support group and surrounding yourself with other women entrepreneurs is a great first step. This creates motivation, support, and new friendships.
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?
I think, as individuals, you always want to be bettering yourself through self care and awareness in life, but also by staying up to date on trends and industry leaders in your field. You want to be relevant and know what is trending to market yourself and succeed in your business.
As a society, I think it’s important to support fellow small businesses as much as you can. I always love meeting local business owners and supporting their business.
As far as the government is concerned, I don’t think we have too much control over this, but it would be really great to see if they had more programs and resources available to small businesses or women-owned businesses.
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?
The question is more why there aren’t more women becoming founders. If you have a passion about something and want to use your ideas and energy to change the world, you should absolutely become a founder and put your energy into it.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
I think one myth is that you are bossy or commanding. In order to be a strong leader, you do need to delegate and assign tasks and get things done. Sometimes, this can be misread as bossy. Being a founder isn’t easy, but when you hold an overall vision and large goals, it takes a village to get it done.
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?
Every person on this planet has strengths and weaknesses. Some are meant to be natural leaders, while others are stronger at collaborating or working on teams or focusing on the details to get things done. We should all find our own strengths and work within what we do best.
That being said, I do not think everyone is cut out to be a founder. Being a founder requires you to be persistent, assertive, able to lead, and able to take responsibility for good and bad outcomes. You have to have thick skin and keep your eye on the prize while keeping your team focused. It’s a lot of things to juggle, so you have to be good at multitasking.
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.)
The first few years of starting a company are the hardest.
The first years are when you are laying the foundation of your business and establishing your values. It is a lot of work to think about what your brand represents, but the more clear you get on this, the stronger your brand and foundation. I also find that in all my companies, the first few years cost the most money to get set up and get going but are also the least profitable. You must persist to see success.
1. “You have to spend money to make money” — This one may be counterintuitive, especially before your company is making money, but I have found that investing into your company initially, and getting systems in place to make you productive, pays off in the end. Also, invest in networking events and conferences where you can meet like-minded people in your industry. At the end of the day, it’s all about connections.
2. “Just because one person says no, that doesn’t mean your project dies. Rework it and pitch it again” — This is a hard one to push through, especially in the early stages of your company. You have an idea you are passionate about, but maybe someone rips it apart or doesn’t support it. Don’t let one person’s opinion ruin your vision or goals. It might give you a lens to pivot your vision, but stick with what you want to achieve.
3. “Don’t offer anything you couldn’t do yourself” — This is a big one I have always stood by, especially in our design agency. While it is great to have a reliable team of people to work on your team, never take on something you can’t do on your own as this can jeopardize your client relationships. If something happens to a team member and there is a deadline, you need to be able to jump in and get it done.
4. “Be ready to put in the hard work” — Starting your own business is a full commitment from yourself to give it your all. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, so when you start a business, be ready to put that in.
5. “How have you used your success to make the world a better place?” — My blog and business are all about empowering people to heal from chronic illness and be healthy. In addition to my blog, I also do one-on-one health coaching and work closely with two Lyme Disease charities for events and fundraising. I also do as much as I can to spread Lyme Disease awareness and hope that I am making an impact, even if it helps only one person out there.
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 want to expand my efforts with my brand and blog to raise awareness for Lyme Disease and work with amazing organizations like Global Lyme Alliance to find a cure. It’s a huge part of my drive. Lyme is the fastest growing vector-borne illness and many people get sick with it every year. Testing is awful and very inaccurate, and there is no standard treatment to help people. This is definitely my passion project: to help many others get their lives back.
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.
This is a hard one — there are so many good choices! I think I would want to connect with someone that is in the Lyme community, perhaps Avril Lavigne. I would also love to meet with and be on the Dr. Oz show or Today Show sometime.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Female Founders: (insertname) On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.