Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Eugenia Araiza, Founder of Healthy Diabetes, located in Fort Worth, TX, USA.

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

I'm a bilingual nutritionist, DCES, and board-certified health coach. I've been living with type 1 diabetes since 1995. One of my goals is to empower people with diabetes to not only achieve their goals in glucose management but to live the best of their lives by accompanying them through nutrition counseling and diabetes education. Additionally, I attend international conferences and create articles in a comprehensive way. I collaborated in the translation from English to Spanish of the book "Think Like a Pancreas" and contranslated the children's book "Rufus comes home for JDRF's Bag of Hope in Spanish. I create materials, books, courses, and nutrition-education workshops that are culturally appropriate for the Spanish-speaking community. I'm a voice for the Spanish-speaking community living with diabetes.

Tell us about yourself

I was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes at the age of 16 while on an international academic exchange in the state of Florida. It was 1995, and the scenario for someone living with type 1 Diabetes was not the best. Not only the technologies for diabetes did not exist as they do now, but there also was not the variety of insulins that are currently on the market; we only had two types of insulin. Information on diabetes was limited, the language used was too technical for patients, and there was no updated information in my native language, Spanish.

At the time of diagnosis, my glucose was 1150mg/dl glucose (glucose levels for someone not living with diabetes are 80-100mg/dl), and I was in a coma for a few days. When I woke up and recovered, the doctors told me it was practically a miracle to be alive. It was then that I decided not only to take charge of this condition that would be with me all my life but to acquire the necessary tools to be able to support those who, like me, live with diabetes. I began to study nutrition and diabetes education and to learn and update myself in everything related to diabetes in order to share it with the diabetes community, translating not only into Spanish but also into a more human and comprehensive language.

Learning and educating myself about diabetes changed the way I saw my life, empowered me, and made me live with diabetes in a different way. That is what motivates me every day to continue my work supporting the diabetes community, especially the Spanish-speaking community.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Being able to see my patients empowered in the face of diabetes. To see them manage their diabetes in a unique way. To be the ones making the decision about where their life is going, not diabetes. That's one of my greatest accomplishments.

Also, two of my books have been selected to be part of the "Bag of Hope," and the "JDRF No Limits Teen care kit" in Spanish and will be distributed to all those children and adolescents of Hispanic origin who are diagnosed with diabetes. That means a lot to me because it is something I would have liked to have when I was diagnosed with diabetes here in the USA, and now I'm part of it.

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

To balance my personal life, my passion, and my work. When your work is what you are most passionate about, you can lose track of time and miss out on moments of life, personal as well as family.

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

  1. Work means nothing if it has no impact on others; we come into this world to make a difference, to make it better.
  2. See what you need or what you would like to find. Maybe that's where you'll find a business idea.
  3. What you do automatically can imply a whole for the one who receives it. Treat others as you would have liked to be treated when you needed what you are offering now.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

For anyone reading this that lives with diabetes. No, diabetes does not have to be as we know it; it does not have to mean loss or pain. It can be an opportunity to grow, demonstrate self-love, and live a very healthy life. It may not be easy, but it is possible to live with diabetes in a different way.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.healthydiabetes.mx/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/healthydiabetesmx
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthydiabetes.mx/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eugeniaaraiza
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugenia-araiza-marín-4111841b1/

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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