Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jaclyn Shedden. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jaclyn , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My parents met at a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Kearny, NJ. My mom was in the US from Canada working as a nanny and my Dad had spent most of his childhood in Kearny after immigrating from Glasgow, Scotland. By chance their paths crossed on March 16th, 1975 and have been together ever since. My parents have always been risk takers and never shy away from an adventure. When my Dad was offered a job in Venezuela while living in Houston with my Mom, he asked if she was allowed to come with him. When he found out it only wives could go, he went home and proposed to her.
They got married in a super small ceremony a week later and then took off for Venezuela. They spent three years there, learned to speak Spanish and my mom gave birth to my brother in 1978. After my brother was born they knew they needed more stability and moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. My sister and I were both born there and then 11 years later we immigrated to the US, to Kearny, NJ where they first met.
We moved further south to a small beach town called Brick six months later. We spent 12 years there and enjoyed all that the Jersey Shore had to offer. The grind of the North East was taking it’s toll, so we decided as a family to move to Tampa, FL in 2004. The sunshine and beautiful surroundings offered everything we needed to call it home permanently. My parents never settled and listened to the callings of their hearts to build the best life possible for our family. I learned that it’s ok to not play it safe, take chances and follow my own heart.
I realized quickly into my career that I wanted to work for myself, I had no idea what that would look like, but in 2018 when my daughter was only 4 months old, I opened Blue Skye Health & Wellness. It was the best professional decision I have ever made. It offered me the opportunity to serve my community and the women in it who are struggling with hormone, thyroid, gut issues and fatigue. I was able to give back and live my dream. I know the courage it took to start a business would not have been there, had I not learned to follow my heart and my dreams just like my parents. My parents are still inspiring me today! After my Dad retired in 2023, they bought a farm and started a non-profit called Healing Hearts Farm. They provide mini horse therapy and meditation free of charge to men and women in recovery, veterans and children in need on their beautiful 4-acre farm in Hernando, FL.. Still to this day they are my inspiration to continue to let my soul purpose lead me and to not let anything stop my from fulfilling my dreams.
Jaclyn , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Blue Skye was started out of the necessity for women to have a place in Tampa Bay for healing. Our mission is to help women understand what their symptoms are trying to tell them, that what they are struggling with IS NOT all in their heads and that they deserve to feel better. Whether you are struggling with hormonal changes after giving birth or when approaching menopause, thyroid and fatigue issues, difficulty losing weight, bloating, anxiety or stress, there are natural solutions that can help you feel like yourself again..
After Jaclyn gave birth to her daughter Skye in July 2018. She was not prepared or expecting her hormones and thyroid to shift so drastically after giving birth. Luckily, she was able to test all her hormones and perform a complete thyroid panel among other tests. She discovered that her thyroid was now under-active, her hormones were close to zero and this was the reason she was feeling so emotional and struggling to get through each day. She couldn’t sleep (despite Skye starting to sleep through the night) and could not lose weight, even with a great diet and exercising 3-4 days a week. She had the worst anxiety she had ever experienced. She decided to do for herself, what she had been doing for other women for years. She started thyroid medication that had both T3 and T4 and monitored my levels closely. She was got her thyroid function normally and was able to come off medications, heal her Hashimoto’s, and support her thyroid with supplements. She started hormone testosterone pellets, a multivitamin. vitamin D and a probiotic. Within a few weeks she started to feel her energy improve drastically, was sleeping better than ever and her anxiety was gone. She even had a sex drive again, which was better then it was before becoming a mom.
Women go through a lot of changes over their life and can loose that passion for life and just don’t feel like themselves. Jaclyn understands this on a deeply personal level. She has treated thousands of patients and knows what works! Her integrative approach focuses on nutrition and gut health, optimizing immune system function, bio-identical hormone replacement, thyroid stabilization, and vitamin and mineral supplementation.
Most importantly she has a desire to teach her patients to think differently about their health and wellbeing.
HOW WE THINK = HOW WE FEEL!!
Can you open up about how you managed the initial funding?
When I decided I wanted to open up my own medical practice I made the decision that I would not take out any loans. I had money in my 401K and wanted to use that to get started. I had to pay the tax penalty, but I was in control and was not indebted to any bank or corporation. I took out 25K and my heart did drop when it was transferred to my account. There was no going back! My strategy was to start small and keep overhead low. I was not going to invest in a build out or get expensive equipment or furnishings. After a long time of looking, I found a shared space I could rent out one day a week that was already furnished. A year later I moved to a bigger space and was able to decorate the way I wanted. Two years after that I moved to a 1,500 sq ft office all to myself with seven treatment rooms, a beautiful lobby and only 1 mile from my previous office. I never had to go into debt since I started my business and was able to pay myself back my original investment form my 401K the first year.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Word of mouth is the most effective way to grow a medical practice. We are a cash-based practice and do not take insurance. Our patients spend their hard earned money at our office and put their trust in us to help them feel better. There is nothing better then a current patient telling their family member, friend or co-worker about Blue Skye. We care deeply about our patients and understand that the current medical system is not set up to help people heal. We believe in prevention and supporting our patients through education. We help empower them to understand the root cause of why they are not feeling well. Our patients get results and then share their story with others. We focus on building trust and comfort with our patients and are honored to care for them and everyone they refer to the practice.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.blueskyehealth.com
- Instagram: BlueSkyeHealth
- Facebook: Blue Skye Health
- Linkedin: Jaclyn Shedden
- Yelp: Blue Skye Health