She Answers To No One, She’s An Entrepreneur

This month we are excited to be sharing about our lives as entrepreneurs.

Sara Ward

If you’ve ever met me and said that you’re an entrepreneur, you know I can’t help myself. I want to collaborate with you, even if it’s as simple as promoting you and your business on our community board, doing tradesies, going on a coffee date or a walk in the park, and, of course, following you on all the socials. The big takeaway here is I’ve got your back. 

Maybe you’re not in business for yourself, and you’re imagining how freeing it must be to not be shackled by those beautiful golden handcuffs. Like, hey, look at Sara, she gets to take time off whenever she wants. She sets her own schedule. She answers to no one! While it has its upsides, being an entrepreneur in the health and wellness field has its challenges too.  

For example, there’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears — oh so many tears! — plus second guessing yourself, imposter syndrome, working 24/7, and a  whole cacophony of little voices shouting between your ears, telling you 10 million things all at once. 

But when I strip it all back, what’s left is the powerful essence of you and me, and how our combined energies mobilize your inner healer and bring about CHANGE. 

It’s all of YOU — my patients and fellow entrepreneurs — who inspire me to keep on staring down that barrel of entrepreneurship so I can support you in your dreams and walk with you on your healing journey. 

Lisa Matsuzaki

Yes, acupuncture is a business, which makes me a business owner, operating my acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine practice under the umbrella of The Village (thanks Sara!!). Running my own business comes with many positives (flexibility, autonomy, no boss!), but it also means I am an entrepreneur responsible for making my practice thrive. 

I need to put myself out there and sell myself along with the healing, which is a concept I struggle with. My bottom line is important, but more important to me is when patients return and tell me they have less pain, sleep better, got a positive test, feel less overwhelmed or their period was better. I love hearing their stories and making a difference in their lives. For me, success stories and word of mouth are my best marketing tools because my goals as a practitioner are to work together to facilitate change and help as many people as I can. 

The first priority of my acupuncture and herbal practice is my patients. I am grateful to each and every one of you for trusting and working with me!