Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Caroline Ashurst, Founder of The Fertility Formula, located in Philadelphia, PA, USA.

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

I am passionate about helping women who are trying to conceive, get and stay pregnant faster without losing themselves in the process. I have been a licensed, practicing Acupuncturist and Women's Holistic Fertility Coach for over 11 years now. I tend to work with women who are in their mid- to late- 30s and early 40s, and oftentimes women who are high performers who want a deeper, more tuned-in approach to their fertility journey. They are often women who have not had success after sometimes years of trying—with or without assisted reproductive technologies (IVF, etc.). They are beautiful women who really just need some support navigating the terrain of their fertility journey and want to learn how to focus on loving themselves again through nutrition, supplementation, lifestyle choices, and self-love practices and rituals.

Tell us about yourself

I became devoted to women's hormonal health over 20 years ago in my early 20s when I was diagnosed with a hormonal imbalance. After my Ob/Gyn recommended I take the pill or Sarafem (a fancy name for Prozac), I knew there had to be a better way. I became obsessed with learning as much as I could about natural healing and went to school to become an Acupuncturist after I had a profound experience during my personal healing journey with it. It inspired me to continue using natural remedies for hormonal balance because of how powerful and connected to the earth they are.

When I began my Acupuncture practice, I specialized in Women's Health because of my own transformative experience with healing my hormonal health. When I decided to get pregnant later in life, I dove deeper into holistic hormonal health to prepare my body because I was deemed "Advanced Maternal Age" by Western medical work (such malarky!) I wanted to have a successful pregnancy and prepare myself using all of the tools I had learned. I wanted to share all that knowledge and power with women everywhere, and I started to see more and more fertility patients in my clinic.

After hearing what kinds of challenges they were going through and seeing the kinds of money they were paying for ART (assisted reproductive therapies), I went on a mission to give them the tools they needed to avoid having to get there in the first place. These experiences were really tearing these women's lives apart, and they weren't being given any other option before that point on how to eat, supplement, or use lifestyle approaches to help their bodies heal naturally first in order to reach their goals.

As a feminist, my goal is to empower women to heal themselves inside and out so they can get and stay pregnant faster without losing themselves in the process. As an activist, I see my work as reproductive activism and empowerment. I want women to have the tools they need to reach their goals without spending tens of thousands of dollars. Women deserve to know what tools are out there for them besides spending 20k on IVF... and they aren't being given them. I believe we need thousands of coaches to help women get there.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishments are always helping a woman (who also may have gone through so much trauma on her fertility journey) get pregnant naturally because of the healing she's doing in her body, mind, and spirit... and having a healthy baby! There is nothing more joy-bringing to me than a woman having her dream baby in her arms because I supported her getting there!

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

I think, in general, as a solopreneur, you have to be EVERY thing in your business, and there's simply not enough time in the day to do it all! Marketing my business has been the hardest part. So many women desperately need my help, and either don't know this kind of help is available to them, or they don't know where to find it.

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

  1. HIRE A COACH to help with marketing and sales. There is no way you could ever reverse engineer learning the tools you need to succeed with this and make money from -actually doing- the thing you offer in this lifetime! You want to focus all of your time on what you actually offer, not figuring out all of the backends. It's a time waster that you cannot even put a price on.
  2. Find your tribe! I don't mean your customers here—I mean your community of cheerleaders. I don't know what I would do without my sister friends, who are also running similar types of businesses. We skill share, learn from one another, coach one another, SUPPORT one another (most important), and give educated insight into our business that no one else could possibly offer. Sisterfriends are everything on this journey, and I couldn't do it without them.
  3. This was a piece of advice that helped me immensely, having heard it: Know that you're going to fail... a lot. A lot - a lot! And that the only difference between people who are successful and those who aren't is getting back on the horse after every failure. If you stay in the game, you WILL succeed.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: http://www.restorativeharmony.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolinegraceashurst
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restorativeharmony/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-grace-ashurst/

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.

Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.