Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Joy McCarthy, Founder of Joyous Health Inc., located in Toronto, Canada. Joy is also a 3-time Best-Selling Cookbook Author.

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

Joyous Health started out as a nutrition and healthy lifestyle blog that I wrote from my teeny tiny kitchen 12 years ago. My rock-solid mission has been the same since day one: to help people discover that simple, healthy living is the key to a life lived with joy. At the time, Joyous Health was just me; I was a solo entrepreneur doing one-on-one nutrition coaching, corporate wellness lunch and learns, and sharing content to help others live joyously via my blog - recipes, healthy lifestyle tips, and DIY beauty. Joyous Health has grown from an itty bitty blog to a lifestyle brand that offers non-toxic, healthy lifestyle options for skincare, haircare, body care to wellness teas and my three best-selling cookbooks. Everything offered by joyous health is good for humans and safe for the planet. My community is made of mostly women but in all life stages - from single people looking for inspo to eat + live healthy on a budget to moms with families to feed and middle-aged women wanting to balance their hormones and feel their best.

Tell us about yourself

I had my own health challenges as a young adult. After spending far too much time on conventional medicine and only getting sicker, I realized that I needed to make a change. I felt hopeless for a long time, and it wasn’t until I discovered natural health that my life transformed. I knew that I needed to learn more, so that’s why I went back to school (this is my second career) to study nutrition so I could help others experience joyous health. What motivates me is making a contribution to helping others discover joyous health within themselves.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My three cookbooks: Joyous Health, Joyous Detox, and The Joyous Cookbook which all became best-sellers here in Canada. I hear from people all over the world via social media and email that my recipes and lifestyle habits they learned about in my books (and on my blog) have been life-changing for them. This makes everything I do worthwhile. I love when someone tells me they didn’t realize that healthy could taste so good!

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

Learning to say no. There was a time when I was trying to do it all and be it all. I was saying yes to every opportunity and trying to help everyone who needed me. It really burnt me out. Saying no and having boundaries can be very difficult because not everyone will be on the same page as you, but you must take care of yourself because no one else can do it better than you.

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

  1. Start now. Start somewhere - write that post, make that phone call, send that email. Stop procrastinating and start doing!
  2. Have a plan but be open to change. Being an entrepreneur, you need to be organized and detailed, but it’s essential to be open to change and be adaptable. Not everything will go according to a set plan.
  3. Learn to ride the wave. There are ups and downs in owning and growing your business. There will be days and weeks where things are going amazing, everything is falling into place, and you will be flying high -try not to get caught up on that. Then there will be weeks and maybe months where things aren’t going so well. So you’ve gotta learn to stay level-headed and know that nothing is permanent.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Many people reach out to me on social media about starting a career in holistic nutrition because they tell me that I make it look so fun. Making recipes, educating others on natural beauty, doing cooking classes - basically all the fun stuff. But what many don’t realize is that running a business is hard work. What you see on social media or on my YouTube is just the fun and polished stuff. There is sooooo much that goes on behind the scenes to make everything happen. I don’t want people to be discouraged, but I want people to know that growing a business from the ground up is as much exciting and rewarding as it is challenging. The challenges are what keep things interesting, though!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.joyoushealth.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyoushealth/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/joyoushealth1

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.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.