Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sara Fracasso. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I’m an athletic trainer by trade. I have a bachelor’s degree in athletic training and a masters in sports administration and I’ve been working in the sports medicine world for 15+ years doing everything from working on the sidelines to research to managing doctors’ offices. Sports medicine is an incredibly rewarding field, but the hours are long and the pay isn’t great. I spent a lot of time being burnt out and unfulfilled, but I kept pushing myself to take on bigger challenges in order to pay the bills.
No matter where I went – whether it was academia, healthcare, or the corporate world, I felt like I was missing something. I was also becoming increasingly frustrated with having to structure my life around the needs/wants of bosses and entities who cared only about a bottom line. I went into healthcare to help people, and the further up the ladder I climbed, the further from that mission I felt. I’ve always dreamed of working for myself – being my own boss and living by the goals and values that were important to me. I always knew that’s the life I was meant to live, but I struggled to decide exactly how to achieve that.

As my career progressed, I found myself working in more business-related positions and found that I had a knack for it. I worked hard to learn as much as I could and started working on my business plan. As we all know, Covid took a MAJOR toll on the healthcare industry and healthcare workers. I was working in healthcare administration at that time and my burnout went from 10 to 100 quickly. I started searching for new opportunities that would teach me even more about the business world and while I found it exciting, the travel and global hours only compounded my burnout.

On top of that, I’d been removed from treating patients for over 2 years at that point. My job satisfaction plummeted. When I was a clinical athletic trainer, the hours were grueling but I loved the feeling of making people feel better and found purpose in helping. Working on the business side took that from me.

My mental and physical health were suffering and I barely recognized myself in the mirror. I felt like I was living outside of my body and I knew something had to change dramatically. I had set a goal to finish my business plan and save a certain amount within 2 years so that I could venture out on my own. In the meantime, I set out to start healing my nervous system and get back in alignment with myself. The constant grind that Covid had set me into was wearing on me quickly, and I knew it wasn’t sustainable.

I decided to invest in a yoga teacher training program. I had been practicing yoga for over a decade at that point and had always thought about taking the next step to deepen my practice. I made a commitment to myself to start pouring back into my own cup, and that process was deeply impactful. The spiritual piece broke me wide open and the physical side reconnected me with my own body, my love for how the human body functions, and helping people feel good. I explored my interests deeply for the first time in years and learned how to relax and have fun again. I realized that I wanted to support other women who were struggling with the same things I’d dealt with in the workforce and I gained the confidence to walk away from my corporate salary and bet on myself to succeed.

Work continued to degrade and I had successfully completed my 200 hour yoga training. I had been researching and networking and felt good about my business plan. Ultimately, I ended up stepping away from my job a full year sooner than I had planned. It was risky and terrifying, but I felt that the time was right. I had been saving and I had faith that I would be able to keep myself afloat long enough to get off the ground. I’m proud of myself for taking the leap, and I’ve never regretted it.

As expected, the first couple of years have had their ups and downs as I get my footing in the market and learn what works and what doesn’t. There is always something new to learn and I’m busier than ever. But, I care deeply about the work that I’m doing. I enjoy every day and no longer count the days til the weekend or my next day off. I’ve learned to “go with the flow” and trust my instincts and I’ve been profitable more months than not. I’ve now successfully launched two businesses that I’m passionate about.

In doing that, I’ve found a community of women business owners. These are some of the most generous, supportive people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. Women entrepreneurs, I’ve found, tend to lift you up and boost you up the ladder of success because when one woman wins, we all win. These women are my cheerleaders, my friends, and my clients! There is very little competition or jealousy and I feel like I’ve found “my people” through networking locally and online. This, in itself, has been so fulfilling.

The journey to entrepreneurship is deeply personal and it’s not for everyone. I’m privileged to have a strong education, the financial resources, and support system necessary to walk through this journey and I’m eternally grateful for those things. The process is sometimes scary, sometimes thrilling, and always freeing. The rewards far outweigh the risks and I would choose this path again and again. I feel like I’m walking in my power and in my purpose, and that’s priceless.

Sara, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I launched Strolling Sage in October of 2022. Strolling Sage is dedicated to supporting women in business by strategizing and executing all the brilliant ideas we have floating around. I am a consultant and online business manager/virtual assistant who specializes in supporting women entrepreneurs in building and scaling their businesses with efficiency, organization, and a deep understanding of their unique needs and goals. I also work with women who have ADHD or who simply exhibit the signs and symptoms of being overwhelmed. As women in business, we wear many, many hats. There is a lot of pressure to constantly produce and sometimes that can cause executive dysfunction or task paralysis.

Have you ever thought, “I have SO much to do. I think I’ll take a nap?” It happens to the best of us and it often leads to a cycle of shame, disappointment, and greater overwhelm. I’ve learned that many of my clients benefit from being able to have a cathartic “brain dump” of all those thoughts swirling around in their brains. From there, we strategically assign data to those ideas and tasks to help create a sense of priority and organization. I have ADHD that wasn’t diagnosed until my 30s. As a result, I’ve amassed a huge catalog of tools, strategies, and tricks to combat executive dysfunction and keep myself on the right path. I’m grateful to have that diagnosis now because it’s taught me to work WITH my brain instead of fighting against. it. I love being able to offer a compassionate ear to other folks who struggle the same way and provide customized solutions that make sense.

In February 2024, my colleague, Sara Hall, and I launched Women Inspiring Networking and Growth in Sports Medicine (WINGS). We are both athletic trainers who have taken very different paths that ultimately led to starting our own businesses. We wanted to find a way to support other women in athletic training through whatever phase of their career they find themselves in. Athletic training is a difficult, noble profession, and it can be isolating. Sara and I wanted to recreate the supportive environment that we found as entrepreneurs and create a space for mentorship, networking, and friendship. This project is in its early stages, but we are SO excited to see it take off and build momentum day by day. We know this has the potential to help so many women grow and thrive!

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2014 I was in graduate school working on a PhD in rehabilitation science. I had worked my entire career to get to this point and I was at an excellent institution conducting research and teaching sports medicine. One unlucky evening, I was involved in a nasty motor-vehicle accident that left me with a bunch of broken bones and a brain injury that lasted over a year.

Graduate work was too much for me, as I could barely read a text message without severe pain and other physical symptoms. I had to drop out of school and my five-year plan came to a screeching halt. I had no source of income, and I couldn’t work. I had no choice but to live on a little bit of leftover student loan money while I did rehab and recovered. About four months before I was to be cleared to go back to work (with restrictions), my landlord let me know that he would be selling the house I lived in. I was forced to re-enter the workforce earlier than was medically recommended.

Luckily, my angel of a next-door neighbor helped me find a low-stress job filing papers at an insurance agency. My boss was extremely flexible with me and allowed me to work in a dark room to keep my symptoms at a minimum. I was able to show proof of income, rent a new place, and continue to seek treatment with the specialists and therapists in my area with minimal disruption.

That lucky break evolved into becoming a licensed insurance producer. I specialized in Medicare supplements and advantage plans and went into people’s homes to help them find an insurance product that would serve them best. My medical background was a huge help in understanding my customers’ needs and finding something that truly made their lives easier. I wasn’t the best agent because I couldn’t bring myself to “upsell” or change someone’s plan just for the sake of making money, but my clients appreciated my integrity and referrals came quickly. That was my first taste of working for myself and making my own schedule. I absolutely loved it and I think that really fanned the spark of entrepreneurship living inside me.

I only lasted as an insurance agent for about a year before I went looking for work in the medical field. The experience I gained working in insurance helped me land a job at an orthopedic office explaining insurance benefits to patients. That job catapulted me into larger and larger roles where I continued to learn the financial side of healthcare and sharpened my business acumen.

During that year that I was recovering from my wreck, I couldn’t understand why I was forced to deal with such a horrible situation. I held onto faith that there was some kind of cosmic reason for this to happen to me when it did. A decade later, I understand that I was being redirected. The universe wasn’t gentle with that lesson.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Referrals! I go to a lot of networking events and do the requisite social media marketing, but almost every single client I’ve had has led to a referral. I’ve found that word of mouth really is the best form of advertising. Take excellent care of your clients and they’ll take care of you.

Contact Info:

• Website: strollingsage.com
• Instagram: @StrollingSage and @WingsSportsMed
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Strolling.Sage/ and https://www.facebook.com/WINGSSportsMed/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/strolling-sage/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/wings-women-in-at

Image Credits
Betty Jeune and Chanel Nicole.