Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Shannon Smith, Owner of SNS Wellness, located in Alexandria, USA.

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

My business is SNS Wellness, a health and wellness company with a mission to educate, empower, and elevate individuals in their health, healing, and life journeys. Ultimately, I’m in the alignment business, and I help my clients understand what is possible in their lives and get in alignment with that, so they can achieve their goals and live fuller lives.

This is done in a variety of ways: individual and group coaching, speaking engagements, individual energy healing sessions, hypnosis, wellness workshops, and a natural product line, Your Wellness Sanctuary. My clients deal with a range of challenges, which can include anything from managing stress and overwhelm to understanding their health and bodies, unwinding a diagnosis, connecting to their intuition, and improving relationships with themselves and others. I help my clients with whole-body alignment, which helps them feel a "deeper" connection to their body and intuition so they can navigate life’s challenges with confidence, clarity, and calmness.

Tell us about yourself

I am a speaker, author, coach, and healer. My personal mission is to eradicate autoimmune diagnoses and help others live their possibilities. I am a health coach and personal trainer and hold several other certifications, including Reiki Master Teacher, Access Bars® facilitator, Natural Medicine/Herbalism, and Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT) practitioner. I’ve always been into health and wellness, but originally it was from a sports medicine perspective. I’m a lifelong lover of the human body, so there’s never been a question about whether I’d be working with people and their bodies.

I received a B.S. in Kinesiology and worked in athletic training and physical therapy, but I had the opportunity to live and work in South Africa, which changed my course. I took a 16-year detour working in management consulting, obtaining an MBA and Master's in International Management in the process. While all of this was happening, I was also getting health-related certifications "just in case." Around 2010 my body started experiencing some changes, and in 2012 I received an autoimmune diagnosis. I was on medication for six years, but I secretly despised it and yearned for answers. In 2016, I was introduced to energy healing and started to not only ask questions and receive some answers but, most importantly, experience positive results. Shortly after this, my business was born. As I learned more about myself, the world, energy healing, applying science, and experimentation, I also started seeing how I could help others.

In 2020, I took my last pill and really started to understand and experience the magic I had been learning and teaching. I started helping others on the side until it was time to go full-time last year. What motivates me is hearing how my clients' lives improve after working together. When someone tells me they're now sober, have spoken up to someone for the first time, have improved a relationship with a family member, now trust themselves when making decisions, or have a sense of calm that wasn't there before, I know I'm on the right track.

These are the things that help me when I have a hard day or start to question this path. I am also motivated by the opportunity to learn and grow. I love a good puzzle, and the human body is the ultimate puzzle. I learn something new each time I work with someone, so it’s a mutual benefit.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I recently became an international best-selling author. This is a big accomplishment for me, personally and professionally, because I’ve always been a writer, but on a much smaller scale. I’ve also known I’d write books eventually, so it’s been exciting to see something like this happen because you know it’s something you were meant to do. And it’s only going to grow.

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

The emotional rollercoaster There are so many things to keep track of and expectations to manage. It can be difficult when you invest time, energy, and money into plans and they fall through, or your ideas, services, or products aren’t received as warmly as you’d like. It can be discouraging and damaging to your ego or confidence. You have to remember that the reaction doesn’t have to do with you personally; rather, there is something that may need to be tweaked, or the timing could be off. But being flexible and not taking things personally has been a big lesson for me.

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

  1. Be specific about your goals and how you want to feel in your life or business. Having a clear vision of your business and what you want it to accomplish is important, but so is knowing how you want to be/feel in your business. There are going to be times when you question everything, but remembering the vision will help in those times. It will also help when opportunities come up, and you need to make decisions. Knowing how you want to feel will also help when planning activities and determining how to spend your time.
  2. Don’t be fixated on how you get to your vision. Trust that you can achieve everything that you want to and more, but don’t be so fixated on a plan or a certain way for it to happen that you miss opportunities that could be better or faster for you. There are lots of opinions on how things could/should be done, so be open, flexible, and trusting.
  3. Have a support system. Whether it’s a full community of people or a few trusted friends, the journey will have several twists and turns. Some people expected, and most did not. Having people to vent to, brainstorm with, and uplift you when you need it is extremely valuable.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.shannonnsmith.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/snswellnesscoaching
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannon_nicole_wellness/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-n-smith-8b6b5b3/

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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