Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and nutrition but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Biljana Sofronijoska, Owner of Project of Health LLC., located in Las Vegas, NV, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Project of Health is a Virtual Functional Medicine Nutrition Platform that specializes in personalized therapeutic nutrition and lifestyle plans to address factors that underline chronic disease by using food and lifestyle as medicine.
By evaluating and organizing patients' clinical imbalances, deep dive into their past medical history, recognizing triggering events and contributors to their symptoms, by utilizing modifiable personal lifestyle factors that include sleep and relaxation, physical activity and movement, nutrition, stress and relationship factors that we are able, myself and my patient to craft a plan that should lead the needed changes patients initially come to see me.
So, my process is not a 15–30-minute consult with printed diet education materials but rather a comprehensive, more personalized, wholesome intervention that looks at my patients as a whole, rather than just a diagnosis.
Tell us about yourself
During my work as a clinical dietitian in acute care and long-term acute care setting, what I have come to realize is that I was in the business of maintenance rather than healing, with no to minimal impact on patients' health and well-being. The time to meet them was too short. I was drenched in charting and seeking information with very little time to get to know the patients, listen to their stories, find an intervention that works for them, and even motivate them to want to make a change.
Functional Medicine introduced me to strategies to seek answers to figuring out the root cause of disease and simple practices that helped me figure out many answers to the everlasting question of " why." In addition to my clinical nutrition experience as a registered dietitian, it has allowed me to utilize the best of the two worlds, so to speak, and work with each of my patients in a much more personalized way, all the while aware of what hospitalization means to so many of us, craft each intervention specific to each patient needs for none of us are the same.
I realized personalized medicine, personalized nutrition, and taking the time to meet and listen to your patient are the future of medicine, well-being, and health in general. It is the route to change, a route to a better, stronger, and more powerful version of ourselves.
The empowerment I witness with my patients, that sole realization when they realize and accept that there is a chance for a better, healthier version of themselves when they are empowered enough to want to continue down their road of healing, is what drives me to want to be part and guide them to their journey of well-being.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
As a business owner, I feel my biggest accomplishment is time. Time to be part of my family`s daily life and routines, time to spend with myself and allow me some self-care, time to grow and learn for the world of nutrition is never ending, time to concentrate on my professional career, and time to spend with friends, simply time.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
I find one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is the flexibility of the daily need to switch roles. For example, until one is ready to relay and employ other team members, one must learn how to do marketing, social media content creation, social media presence, billing, EMR use, etc.
So, allowing yourself to learn, the time to read and understand, and the realization that it is absolutely human to err. I have found it to be a crucial and challenging part of my journey, and I must humbly admit it still is.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Trust in yourself. If the process makes your stomach uneasy, is challenging, and it feels as if it will not happen, and the whole world is against you and or you are taking the walk all on your own, it is then when you know it is worth your time and effort. Perseverance, patience, and believing in yourself are the keys.
- Ask questions: accepting that reaching out to people, and asking for guidance is part of the process and not a sign of your incompetence may be really helpful.
- Read/Read/Read. Empower yourself with the knowledge and experiences of others and try to implement and modify it based on your vision.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://projectofhealth.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectofhealth
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/project.of.health/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProjectofHealt1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/biljana-sofronijoska-rece-52b654118/
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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