Every entity has its origin story…

Crunchy Allergist LLC is no different. 

The story of the name, Crunchy Allergist isn’t that exciting.. It came about after I gave my Allergy/Immunology fellowship department lecture in my final year of training. 

But the LLC part, aka building a business was a bit more serendipitous. 

Amidst fear and uncertainty, first from my diagnosis of Sjogren's and then the pandemic, I felt called to do more. I longed for connection and community. A creative outlet. A way to educate and advocate. And a financial back up plan. 

But the “how” and the “when” remained pretty obscure. I was a busy mom, adjusting to life with a chronic illness. I was just getting a better hang of all of it. 

On a whim in early March 2020, I signed up as a BeautyCounter consultant. I needed to restock my new favorite skin care products and did the math. If I spent more than $200 on products, I would make back my initial investment from my discount. As icing on the cake, I love an excuse to host a party and figured I would invite some friends over for a little brunch to earn the party perks.  

That would be that. 

10 days later… shut down. 

Our big allergy conference was cancelled. The brunch party turned virtual. Given everything going on, I switched gears to include a fundraising component and somehow I ended up with a $1200 paycheck*. 

When our clinic closed down and the hope I had for a spring bonus to pay down my 6 figure student loans evaporated, I figured I might as well see where this train was headed…

Heck, I needed something to take my mind off of the uncertainty and fear. 

I had never really ever considered a career in any type of business or sales. Ever. 

That said, I have always been a worker. Babysitting. Scorekeeping. Office work. Restaurant hostess. Barista. Tutor. I have always loved a little side gig and spending money. 

Although initially pretty awkward, flexing this entrepreneurial muscle started to feel pretty good. 

With a few small wins, I started to really consider how I might be able to serve my community.

Here are 3 things I have found most helpful early on in my journey:

1. Consider your genius zone!
   Ikagai is a Japanese concept really well- it is a reason you get up in the morning! That zone where what you love, are good at meets something the world needs and you can be paid for! 
2. Take action before you are ready.
   Why? The secret is you will NEVER feel fully ready. Each of us operationalizes this differently, I work well with to do lists and having some skin in the game. I aimed to push myself just that little bit outside my comfort zone and part of the push involved investing a little time and money in myself. The amount of investment is all up to you. 
3. Asking for help is a sign of courage and compassion.
   Turning to a mentor, coach, or enrolling in a course can be incredibly invigorating. You are leveling up your skills! 

If you are thinking about starting a business and maybe not quite sure where to start…

Social media is a great FREE tool to take advantage of! 

Leveling up your social media skills can go a long way in making a smart investment of your time rather than going down the doom scroll rabbit hole.