The Art of Bleeding and Bling

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Stasha Washburn, Founder of The Period Coach LLC, located in Tijeras, NM, USA.

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

I'm Stasha, The Period Coach. My school certifies people to become Period and Menstrual Cycle Coaches.

Tell us about yourself

I have endometriosis. It's one of the top most painful conditions in the world. I spent 20 years searching for relief. Looking for answers to why a period could be so destructive. I discovered so much, then 10 years ago, I began coaching others. Seeing how little anyone, myself included, had been taught about menstrual cycles, their impact, and how we impact our hormonal balance all day, every day, inspired me to start my school. Now I live for hearing my students make those realizations and connections; hearing their client success stories makes me so happy!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I could say speaking internationally, publishing my books, and creating the world's first-period oracle card deck, but really the moment that's going to stick with me forever is seeing my first class of students graduate. The culmination of 30 years of learning, creating, and teaching. Mailing them their certificates was one of my best days ever!

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

Having faith in yourself. Imposter syndrome is a big one, especially for women in business. 'Who am I to...' comes into my mind all the time. The trick is to reply back, 'Who am I NOT to?!' Every day I think: If what I do today helps even one person, it's a successful day.

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

Ignore the hustle, push, and culture gurus. You don't need to burn yourself out to have a successful business. In fact, most of those people are straight white dudes; if you're not a straight white dude, it will not likely work for you anyway.
Find community. You need people you can talk to, people who believe in you. Sometimes our friends and family just don't get it; even if they mean well, they can make you feel bad. You need people with whom you can share your goals, ideas, wins, losses, questions, anxieties, and excitement.
Just start. You're not going to start your business where it ends. In fact, it never really ends! You're always going to be improving, updating, and incorporating better systems and software over the years. You're going to upgrade your website several times. You're going to need to upgrade your email system multiple times. So rather than try to put a business together that's 'perfect,' just get started. Use the free website templates. Use the free email system. Just get started!
BONUS - If you're starting a business and you have a menstrual cycle, don't try to do the same thing every day. Your brain changes, making different parts of your cycle better suited for different tasks. In general, do more strategic, tech, and copy work in the first half of your cycle. In the second half, do more creative, visual, and graphics tasks.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://theperiodcoach.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StashaWashburn/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stashawashburn/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stasha.theperiodcoach
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stashawashburn/

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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