Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Stephen Beacham, CTO of A Mind For All Seasons, located in Boise, ID, USA.

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

No matter your age, if you have a brain, there are some new developments in the realm of brain science that directly impact you that you'd probably like to know about:

  1. Our brains are not invincible inside our skulls. Work by Doctor Mark Hyman and others has shown that even a non-concussive blast, or whiplash, can compress the brain on itself sufficient to damage or alter the pituitary gland in the brain. For those who don't know, the pituitary gland of the brain is responsible for hormone signaling. This is why emotional or personality changes often follow a concussion. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can correct the hormone deficiencies in the body, and Redlight Therapy can help the fragile pituitary gland heal.
  2. Dr. Dale Bredesen recently has successfully slowed & reversed Alzheimer's using proper diet and supplementation based on the genetics, specific vitamins, and other markers in our body. He is one of the first scientists to perform a multi-modal approach to healing neuro-degenerative diseases and the first with substantial success doing so!
  3. Finally, At A Mind For All Seasons, we have combined the work of these two renowned doctors along with others to produce a holistic approach to functional medicine that addresses the underlying root causes behind the symptoms people face, and we've successfully been able to help thousands of people ages 8-105 to improve the quality of their lives in subtle and sometimes dramatic ways.

The beautiful thing about optimizing brain health is that the brain is the most hungry organ in your entire body! It consumes almost 1/3rd of the calories you eat every day and requires more vitamins and hormones than other organs in your body. What's beautiful about this is that: When you focus on optimizing brain health and function, there are unexpected positive side effects. Some clients have reported their vision problems resolving. Others have reported their mild stage kidney failure reversing. These were not planned outcomes, just coincidental ones which occurred alongside their increased cognitive performance.

Tell us about yourself

When I was ten years old, I suffered a serious concussion from a car accident. When I met Eric (the CEO), he was the first person who could make sense of the experiences I had had in my life since that car accident. In my life, I have dealt with a myriad of side effects that I never knew were side effects. Things like depression, anxiety, ADHD, or PTSD. These "mental" side-effects have underlying neurological factors. Factors which A Mind For All Season measures. After three months on the program, I was better than I'd ever been in my entire life and came to the CEO, Eric, and said, "What do you need? Whatever you need, I will do it because people need to know about this company and what you do here." Two weeks ago, we had a mother of a nine, now 10-year-old who had joined our protocol (The Enhance Protocol) tell our remote partners and us about her experience. Her daughter had been in a cycling accident and suffered a serious concussion. After a month or so, her physical symptoms resolved. But after three months, the daughter's personality started to change; she became argumentative, stopped helping, her grades declined, and it was clear she was "not okay." The mother then shared how, after months of going to doctors with no answers, she found our team and, after about two months on our protocol, her daughter began to help again, and her grades began to rise steadily back up to where they had been, and she was happy and healthy again.

This hit home for me because once upon a time, I was a ten-year-old little boy, and no one knew enough about the science of concussions and brain health to help, and as a result, I suffered for decades (and yes, the effects can last that long!). But this little girl, she's back on track, and it's stories like hers that keep me coming to work every day to do the work I do.

Meeting Eric & A Mind For All Seasons has changed the trajectory of my life permanently, and what motivates me to come to work every day is the people, our clients, whose lives we change every day because of the work we do here.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Since starting here, I've rebuilt the entire website, launched an initiative that has cut costs, have people who now report to me, and set up a whole other department that is cash flow positive and is helping us connect with our customers better than ever before.

But if you want me to share my biggest accomplishment, I'd have to say this: Connection.

I don't work in the studio with clients. I'm behind the scenes, getting systems set up to ensure we continue to serve our clients in remarkable ways. But in the chaos of my work day, there is an occasional moment when I can leave my desk, my meetings, my work, and my responsibilities and just go and be with our clients in the studio. Some of our clients are at the beginning of their life. Some are in their prime. Some are dealing with a serious problem. Some can't remember your name! Whoever I meet on those days, I can get away from my desk; I try to find a way to give them hope. When someone hopes their situation can improve, it's incredible what they accomplish. Those moments of genuine connection with people where I've been able to give them just a little bit of hope... the result of that is immeasurable. I consider that my greatest accomplishment.

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

Experience. You can study, prepare, and plan. But gaining the experience of starting and owning a business can only be gained one way: By doing it.

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

  1. Redefine failure. We often think of failure as the outcome. But in truth and business, failure is a stepping stone to success. When you enter the business world, you must learn to redefine failure because it is inevitable.
  2. Get comfortable with not knowing "how" to do something. This goes hand-in-hand with the last tip. When you are an employee, unless you are a C-level executive, your work is typically pre-defined for you. Someone has already told you what to do and how to do it. When you start a business, you are at the forefront of knowledge and innovation, and those you hire and employ will be looking to you to tell them how to do "x." But for you and your role, you will have to decide what it is you want to do, what it makes sense to do, and then be okay with not having a clue how to accomplish that and trust yourself to figure it out.
  3. Build an inspiring Future. Creating a business that previously did not exist and organizing the business processes, finances, and customer experience so that it is inspiring to all involved is nothing if not pure magic! No salesperson knows the next client they will sell to before that client has entered into the sales funnel at some point. Yet still, those in sales set goals and quotas, and push forward into the unknown, to make their goals a reality. Building a business is very much the same. You are creating and organizing your resources, investor resources, and client purchases, all into a new thing. Something which previously did not exist.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Don't give up! Whether you're inventing a new way to help optimize people's brain health or a new car battery, the creation process can be challenging, uninspiring, and downright painful at times. But don't give up. Don't react to the negative forces pressing on your world. Instead, choose to channel your creative energy into a future for you, your employees, your customers, and your company that is inspiring to all.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://amindforallseasons.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amindforallseasons
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scbeacham/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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