We recently connected with Emily Kirkwold and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Emily thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

In 2019, 6 years after graduating pharmacy school, I was feeling like I wanted to do something different with my career. I had always worked in an inpatient hospital setting, so I hired a pharmacy career coach to help me make a transition to a different pharmacy setting. My coach asked me about my interests and I explained how I was passionate about helping women learn natural family planning, but “there are no pharmacist jobs for that.” My coach asked, “what if you create your own job?” I literally had never considered that option before. I had always thought of my career in terms of finding a posted job. But that question ignited a spark in me to take charge of my career path. From there, I started my own business, NFP Pharmacist, to teach women to track their menstrual cycles and use that information to achieve their family planning and/or health goals.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I empowers women to care for and love the bodies God gave them. I am a pharmacist by background, but uses my knowledge and passion to teach women to track their menstrual cycles and use that information for avoiding pregnancy, achieving pregnancy, or for health monitoring. I am the founder and CEO of NFP Pharmacist and the co-creator of the Unlock Your Cycle online course. I’m married to my husband Ben and we live in Osseo, MN with our three children, Henry, Amelia, and Clara. You can stay up to date with me personal and professional activities by listening to my weekly podcast, called “Wholly a Woman,” available on major podcast players or on my website, nfppharmacist.com. I’m also active on Instagram at @nfppharmacist

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In October 2020, 5 weeks after her initial diagnosis, my mother-in-law passed away from stage 4 lung cancer. It was a wake-up call for me to live up to my fullest potential. At that point I had been working as a natural family planning instructor for one year, but I was doing it on the side while working full-time as a pharmacist. My mother-in-law had always been supportive of me. She also made it clear that she never loved her job. I wanted to honor her by putting more intention and focus into the work I loved, which was natural family planning instruction. I decreased my pharmacist working hours so I could increase my hours working in my business.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I love learning and growing and I am obsessed with reading and/or listening to audiobooks. Some of the books that have significantly impacted my entreprenurial mindset include: “The One Thing” by Gary Keller & Jay Papasan, “Girl, Stop Apologizing” by Rachel Hollis, “Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz, and “Everything is Figureoutable” by Marie Forleo. “The One Thing” helped me see the importance of prioritization and focus. “Girl, Stop Apologizing” helped me take pride in the unique value I bring to the world and quiet the voices inside my head that tell me to apologize for who I am. After two years of having my business, I had never paid myself. “Profit First” changed that. It transformed my mindset from fearing finances to celebrating it. And I constantly repeat the mantra “Everything is Figureoutable” after reading Marie Forleo’s book.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nfppharmacist.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/nfppharmacist