We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful JoJo Williams. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with JoJo below.
Hi JoJo, thanks for joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?
If I could go back in time I absolutely would say I wish I had started my business sooner. I started my business during the most difficult time in our lives, the pandemic! I had worked for many spas over the last few years. The spa I spent the last 5 years at unfortunately had to close its doors due to the pandemic. This was the first time in my life I was unemployed. Under such scary and unknown times, I did some deep soul work and discovered a vision of the possibilities of having my own business. I began by working as a birth and postpartum doula as this was the only work allowed at the time of pandemic. As restrictions were lifted I then rented a space part time and offered mobile massage to return to my massage work while continuing to work as a doula. By about 3 months I discovered that I now needed a full time space as I could not meet the amount of requests that were coming through. I then made the move to a full time space and continue to grow my business. What I have learned in now having my own business for almost 3 years is that I doubted my ability to have a successful business. I often thought being a business owner would be too hard and take me away from the work I love. For many years my clients had asked me why I did not have my own business. I honestly never thought I could or would be able to handle all that comes with having your own business. The freedom and growth that I have gained in being willing to step up and take a risk has been beyond what I imagined. Through all the ups and downs, I have taken each moment as an opportunity to learn more about business ownership. In doing that my business has continued to grow at a rate I could not even keep up with so I have recently added consultants to help support my business growth. I get to wake up every day knowing I have built a business I am proud of and have the flexibility to serve my clients in the best way possible. Being able to provide the services I am trained in under the direction of just me has been beyond what I expected. There is much to be grateful for in being able to wake up every day knowing I only have to answer to me and that I have the flexibility to be creative within my business. This experience has allowed me to see that I underestimated my ability to stand on my own and be successful without a typical employee role. Totally wish I would have done this sooner in my career! Its been an amazing 3 years and I look forward to more growth over the next year. I am so very grateful to all my clients and the community that has supported my vision for maternity & massage therapy.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am JoJo Williams certified massage therapist and maternity support provider. I specialize in fertility to postnatal care as well as Lymphatic Drainage & Craniosacral Fascial Therapy. I am passionate about providing safe space to allow my clients the opportunity to let go, unwind and enjoy a little sacred time for self-care. I am well versed in multiple modalities including energy healing, infant bodywork, mastectomy recovery and post-surgery treatments. I also provide massage therapy for men and those with chronic conditions. Prior to entering the field of holistic health I was in social services for over 25 years supporting adults with disabilities. I have always longed to be in a career that allowed me to serve families holistically through their conception journey. I was the kind of person who just stayed in the career that others told me I would be great at. After 25 years it became clear to me that my heart was not in the career I was in. This occurred as I became a parent to my son with Autism in 2000. This changed my entire world. I found myself having to help support families that had children with disabilities while taking care of my son which became incredibly challenging to do. It became clear to me that I could no longer be the kind of parent my son needed while serving families just like mine. I then enrolled myself back in school to become a certified massage therapist, health educator & Doula. I have now been a certified massage therapist, health educator and maternity support provider for the last 15 years. I have dedicated the last 3 years to curating my business brand and growing my business to support the families in my community. Best thing I ever did for my career was start my own business. This has allowed me to creatively offer services that are customized and curated by me. In the past when I worked for spas, it was difficult as there was no room to be creative or customize any of the work I did as I had to follow the guidelines of employer. Having my own business has also allowed me to continue to be the best parent I can be to my son.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
What I feel has helped me to build my reputation within the field and market I serve is consistency, education and connecting with each client on a personable level. Being consistent in all aspects of service delivery has allowed the market I serve to trust in the services I provide. Being transparent, listing my education & qualifications has also allowed my reputation to grow as the market I serve seeks highly qualified providers that can be verified.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
3 years ago I decided to start my own business despite the intense challenges of the pandemic. It was risky to consider starting a business with nothing much and no idea of an outcome during such a difficult time in our country. Even though I had very little capital & clientele to get started, I was determined to start where I could and hold the vision I had. I started by utilizing the supplies I already had available and designed my own branding & website myself. I researched rental space and started with a part time rental. I continued to work hard and set aside the finances to then relocate to a full time space with upgraded equipment & supplies. I have been able to do just that and more by starting small with what I had and continuing to grow, develop and work hard.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.massageandbirthingbyjojo.com
- Instagram: @massageandbirthingbyjojo
Image Credits
queen skittles photography