Female Founders: Monica Garcia Duggal of WholeHealthPlan On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Taking care of yourself takes care of your business. Starting a business is exciting and a lot of work. Getting your sleep and maintaining your self-care and health is non-negotiable. When you take care of yourself, it’s easier to take care of your business. From establishing good budgets to drinking lots of water, these self-care practices impact how you feel, which affects your work.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Monica Garcia Duggal.
Monica Garcia Duggal is a serial entrepreneur, mom, wife, Ironman Triathlon superstar, migraine headache survivor, speaker, and co-founder of WholeHealthPlan.com. She holds an English and Rhetoric double major degree from UC Berkeley and an Executive Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Washington Foster School of Business. She has received Executive and business education from the NYU Stern School of Business, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the University of Berkeley Haas School of Business, and the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Monica is the founder of the Women’s Executive Leadership for Mentors and Mentees and Financing Women in Technology. Her strong background in Neuroscience for Leadership, Finance, and Self-Development has encouraged her to co-found www.WholeHealthPlan.com with her husband, revolutionizing how individuals think about their health and overall lifestyles.
Monica believes that if we choose to, we can control the thoughts we think, enabling us to create the life we want.
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?
From a very young age, I was interested in business and entrepreneurship. My mother was an especially big influence in my life, as she was an entrepreneur herself. She always talked about business, business ideas, business ventures, and how to help others build their businesses. This upbringing inspired me to live my best life and help others to see they can live their best lives too.
When reading stories of other successful women, I saw that one thing they all had in common was incorporating meditation into their lives. I knew from personal experience that meditation could help one gain clarity and tap into the fullness of this amazing thing called life. With this realization, I developed a plan and quickly realized that this “Whole Health Plan” could be helpful to others too.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
The most interesting experience I’ve had since leading my company has been watching my relationship with meditation evolve and impact my work. When I began leading the Whole Health Plan, I meditated every morning. The clarity that came from living the ideals of the Whole Health Plan was so quick and tangible. I knew I had to share this experience with others through a book I titled, The Power of Breath: The Gift of Self-Actualization Through Meditation. The Whole Health Plan exists to empower members of the community so they, too, can regularly experience the power of meditation and holistic health. You already have what you truly desire within you; all we do is help you find and actualize it.
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?
As business founders, we sometimes think we have to know everything. This is hilarious because no one can know everything. When it came to branding, my business partner and I went down a laughable rabbit hole. After countless hours of getting nowhere, we hired a wonderful marketing research company. They helped us sort through our work and land on something that resonated with both of us. The lesson we learned is that doing everything yourself isn’t always the answer, and using a third party can help you move past your blind spots.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful to who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Powerful women raised me. Truthfully I didn’t realize the impact of my mother’s influence until after I graduated from college and landed a corporate job in finance. My mom helped me see that as a woman, I have the power of choice and a voice. Because my mother was an entrepreneur herself, many of her female friends were also successful business owners. I saw “The Woman Business Owner” in action all my life. I guess I just thought that was what women did: they ran successful businesses. Most importantly, my mother instilled this mindset in me: we see what we look for, so look for your power and toss everything else aside.
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 women back from founding companies?
Having been raised in an environment where I saw powerful women in leadership, I can confirm that representation matters. Unfortunately, the predominant narrative in our society is that women are less capable in these leadership roles. During my EMBA at Fosters Business School at the University of Washington, I did a research project on women CEOs in Fortune 500 companies. My research revealed there is no difference between the men and women in these positions — none at all. Even though this is true, financial investors want to fund what everyone else is funding, and male founders seem like the safest bet. That being said, the narrative is changing, and more women are positioning themselves as successful founders of companies. As the narratives change, so will the financial backing and empowerment of female founders.
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?
As I share in my book, The Power of Breath: The Gift of Self Actualization Through Meditation, change begins with a conversation with ourselves. As individuals, we can breathe deeply to connect with our internal compass and hire coaches to help us tune out external distractions. As a society, we must stop pretending that the subtle messaging around gender inequality is not a problem because it is. Our society is as strong and healthy as its members, including the women who have historically proven to be excellent community builders who care for business. Lastly, the government can create communities that provide opportunities to all its members. When education and opportunity are available to all members of society, our society is healthier and happier.
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 modern woman is the perfect candidate for becoming a business founder. Women are the biggest consumers and deserve to be at the head of what they consume, alongside their male counterparts. Additionally, my experience with women is that they make excellent leaders, have access to incredible strength and power, and are capable of building strong, sustainable businesses.
What “ myths “ would you like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
There are myths that, as a founder, you have to have everything figured out… yesterday! You’re expected to be ruthless and do whatever it takes to succeed, even if it means compromising your values. This myth can imply that a female founder cannot be simultaneously feminine and effective. These are myths because starting a successful company is based on time and effort, a flexible plan, and an unwavering belief in the vision. No matter who you are, male or female, you must build up your efficacy and focus and learn about your industry and its consumers. Being a successful founder has nothing to do with knowing everything or being cutthroat. It’s not an easy job, but it is completely worth it.
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?
If you want to be a founder, you are cut out to be one. Like everything else in this life, if you decide you want something and are willing to put the time and effort into it, no one can stop you. We all have intrinsic gifts that we can cultivate and share. Some people are not interested in becoming a founder because they have other things in their life that bring them much joy. Being an employee for someone else allows them to do the things that are more important to them than running their own business. Others, however, may feel a nudge in their heart to share their particular gifts by providing a service or product to others. If you feel that desire deep in your bones, you are founder material. Begin by researching what you are interested in and visualizing yourself and your business at your peak.
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. Meditation helps you make better business decisions. When you start a business, there are so many unknowns, so it is important to stay aligned and grounded. Meditation helps you ignore the outside noise and focus on your inner clarity.
2. Taking care of yourself takes care of your business. Starting a business is exciting and a lot of work. Getting your sleep and maintaining your self-care and health is non-negotiable. When you take care of yourself, it’s easier to take care of your business. From establishing good budgets to drinking lots of water, these self-care practices impact how you feel, which affects your work.
3. Create a team of people who support you. I wish someone had told me how important support is. I spent so much money on products and services that were not aligned with my business. When we are not clear on what we need, it’s easy to ignore our intuition. You know the feeling; something doesn’t feel right, but you go with it anyway. An outside supporter, like a coach, can help you navigate business situations. Something that might have taken me a year to figure out now takes me four weeks. This is worth a lot of money to any founder just starting out.
4. Never underestimate the power of a deep breath. When confronted with various challenges, it can be tempting to jump ship. Knowing when to take a deep breath, take a day off, or call a coach can make all the difference to your long-term success. Regrouping restores your clarity and allows you to confront challenges with greater ease.
5. Positivity is powerful. When you start a business, it is natural to be anxious and to second guess everything. Allow yourself to have these feelings, but remember, every founder has been in your shoes. When business inevitably gets rocky, it’s easier to deal with it if you’ve been filling your mind with positive news and success stories. You’ll never be able to know completely if your next step will work out. You must trust the process, take the next step and then wait and see. No matter the result, keep moving forward, and most importantly, keep believing in your business.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
I like to inspire others by helping them access their clarity and natural gifts. I love showing them that they can be extremely successful and make this world a better place. As women, we are often told not to be successful, to be martyrs, and to save the world. This is my message: Women, you can be courageous, powerful, extremely financially successful, and make the world a better place as a result. We have the power to choose how we want to show up and live in this world. Happiness breeds happiness, and happy people help others to live a wonderful life. I believe this is essential to the human experience.
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 would love to see women own 51% of the wealth in this world. It is time for women to allow themselves to be truly successful and experience themselves as the powerful and amazing beings that they are. Women are strong and courageous, and it is time for both women and men to enjoy this power. By presenting new ideas and petitioning for change, we enact change. Overall, women should remain confident in their power and pursue financial strength. After all, this has a positive impact on society as a whole.
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.
I would love the honor of enjoying a private breakfast with Michelle Obama. As a Harvard Law School Graduate, she used her stellar work ethic and commitment to herself to earn high grades and opportunities. She found success despite all the external noise, always knowing how to navigate to where she wanted to go. I would love the opportunity to combine our powers and create more success and good in this world.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Female Founders: Monica Garcia Duggal of WholeHealthPlan 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.