Wellbeing Resources For Impact-driven Individuals - Bedo

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health & wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Daillen Culver, Co-Founder of BeDo, located in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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

BeDo is an education initiative dedicated to the well-being of impact-driven professionals.

Tell us about yourself

Both my co-founder and I come from the humanitarian sector; I personally worked with a variety of nonprofits in Latin America and the United States before going back to do a Master's in International Development at the University of Edinburgh. Both of us experienced first-hand the mental health challenges associated with working in conflict and post-conflict zones with sensitive subject matter and at-risk populations. We found that there was a real lack of resources and awareness around the mental health challenges facing humanitarians, activists, nonprofit professionals, and academic researchers traversing these disciplines. So we started BeDo! To provide educational programs designed to help these impact-driven professionals Be well while they seek to Do good.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I feel so proud of the way that BeDo is continually creating safe spaces for folks to share their challenging experiences and find comfort in the community. There are so few opportunities to talk about the nuances of impact-driven work—from the maddening complexity of bureaucratic nonprofits and research institutions to the high rates of trauma and compassion fatigue that plague the industry. The courage and vulnerability of our workshop attendees never cease to inspire and remind me why we do this work.

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

To be frank, the administrative work of maintaining a small social enterprise can be incredibly draining. We're a team of three—myself, my co-founder, and our superstar intern—so we run a tight ship, and we all have to wear multiple hats and negotiate our other commitments alongside our work with BeDo. Of course, this also opens up ample opportunities for us to learn new skills and get creative!

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

1. Know your "why." Why do you care? Why do you want to devote a sizable amount of your life to this cause? Get super clear on what drives you to address this particular problem and how your solution is going to solve that problem.
2. Become a jack-of-all-trades. Sure, outsourcing is great if you can afford it. But learning to do the menial, seemingly irrelevant tasks that drive your day-to-day operations will give you an intimate understanding of your business and make you a better employer when it comes time to grow your team.
3. Embrace failure. Sounds cliché, but everything is an opportunity to learn and grow! No one (or very few) succeeds on the first try. Take risks, make mistakes, and be playful.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://gowithbedo.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gowithbedo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gowithbedo/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gowithbedo
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gowithbedo/

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.

Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.