Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in mental wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Snjezana Pruginic, creator of Circle Point Wellness, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am a wellness professional and community justice worker whose main business is the co-creation of individual and collective care. The more we have the capacity to care for ourselves and each other, the more we have the opportunity to create a world built on care. My business touches people on a very personal level, providing a wholistic, mindful, trauma-informed approach that meets them where they are and allows them to navigate the everyday stressors while also actively creating change.
Through my workshops and consulting, I support individuals, collective, communities, and organizations in transition to wellness. From trainings of participants to full-on comprehensive plans, I approach wellness as a practice, as a tool for success, and as a quality of life. My individual therapeutic practice supports those who care for others, such as mental health professionals, wellness professionals, community workers, activists, etc.
A deep value of my business is rooted in system-wide change that is focused on care-making. My business anchors within this approach by positively disrupting how care is provided within the social service sector and the justice sector.
Tell us about yourself
I have always had a big passion for justice. Over the years as a wellness professional, community worker, youth justice worker, and more, I have come to see that justice is when each person has sovereignty to define their own quality of life through defining their own care and well-being. The continued desire to live in a world in which we relate to each other from a deep and loving sense of humanity has me waking up every day looking for ways how to create these spaces with others. I honestly believe we are stronger in the community, and as such, I do so much of my work in partnerships and with others. I am originally from former Yugoslavia, and I think the war of the 90s and my emigration had a huge impact to want to do work which in the long turn teaches us all that love is always stronger than hate and which stops the intergenerational traumas of violence and otherness, which breed hatred.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
One of my biggest accomplishments has been the creation of my own mental health and peace-building program, which was founded in Canada with youth experiencing violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina with youth survivors of war and former child soldiers in Colombia. This program took a few years of creation and development and allowed me to work with so many wonderful people. Most recently, I would say, some interesting contracts that I am working on bringing body-based healing into the justice system and mental health program development with the City of Toronto.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things is often feeling like an island in some of the challenges you are having. I have a good circle of support and communities, but I feel that sometimes I need a business mastermind that I could connect with. Being a business, which focuses on social change, but is also a for-profit business comes with many challenges, and few business groups understand this. I wish there were a group for people like myself who want to make a big impact. This also means having big funds behind them to do it without becoming a non for profit or losing touch with the community.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Surround yourself with people who want to see you succeed. It is so crucial in times of stress and defeat to have those people around you. And make sure some of those people are from your industry and can help you debrief your specific issues, fully understanding the jargon in your head. I would also say know your why. If you don’t know why you are doing your business, it is easy to get distracted and pulled in many different directions. Your why does not have to be a big social issue; it can be something simple, but just make sure you feel it with your whole body. Lastly, I would say, don’t be afraid to step out of a box. Most people would expect a business like mine to be a non for profit, but I have never been a fan of doing that what people expect for me. So many more opportunities (and adventures) open up to you when you try things differently than they have usually be done.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://circlepointwellness.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snjezana_circlepointwellness/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/snjezana-pruginic/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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