Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read our interview with Shirley Billigmeier, owner and founder of Innergetics, located in Long Lake, MN, USA.

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

I am a coach. My customers are anyone who struggles with eating and weight issues; my program is a permanent solution because I guide and offer tools to my clients so they learn to resurface their original boundaries of eating: hunger and taste.

Tell us about yourself

I earned my undergraduate (Bachelor of Science) and graduate Master of Arts) degrees from the University of Minnesota then taught junior high for six years. I started my own home studio, “The Fitness Forum,” where I taught exercise. I soon saw a greater need for help with eating and weight issues because my clients worried so much about how much they ate/weighed. I began to grow my passion: to help others resolve their struggles around food and weight. Eating is meant to give energy, not drain it. So I worked with different researchers; some knew that paying attention to hunger was the answer, but no one had a process to guide individuals in resurfacing their original boundaries. As a teacher, this made no sense to me. So through the years, I have developed tools to lead individuals back to themselves.

In 1991, I published Inner Eating (forward written by Dr. Michael Jensen of the Mayo Clinic). In 1994, I founded my own business, Innergetics. I led seminars to introduce the concept but mostly worked one-on-one with clients. In 2017 I partnered with Grant Soosalu (Australia) of the mBraining community to teach his coaches the Innergetics Process, and I’m currently developing an online program to expand the process worldwide. I’m motivated by seeing the joy my clients experience as they learn to free themselves of all frustration with eating and weight, and spend their time living their lives, allowing eating to give them energy rather than using food to mask uncomfortable feelings.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I love watching my clients move forward without that dark cloud of eating and weight issues hanging over them. My tagline for my company is, “Recapturing the Forgotten Joy of Eating and Movement.” Clients finally truly enjoy the taste of their food, being in a body they love, while moving forward and living their lives.

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

The most difficult was delivering my process to the masses because it is so needed. I held back until I could find a company that allowed me to teach my process online. With all the technical tools available, I finally believe it is possible; I want not just one individual but clients worldwide to start the process and learn to believe that this issue can finally, permanently, be resolved. I love the one-on-one because I can feel what my clients need at the moment and help to move them forward. I am working with my technical advisors to ensure that we deliver accountability and personal connection with each individual. I hope that by the end of this year, the online process will be up and running.

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

  1. Persistence. In order to keep going, you need to believe in yourself.
  2. Passion. A love for what you are doing.
  3. Vision. Belief that as your business evolves, the universe will become a better place.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

As you can see, the social media world is not my area of expertise. Yet, I now understand that I don't need to know everything about it since others have gifts in this arena. I learned this when I was about to publish my first book; I had little knowledge about publishing or creating an online program. But I know what I know and know what I don't know. So I stay focused on what I know!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://innergetics.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirley-billigmeier-33a49b5/

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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