We asked some fantastic entrepreneurs and creatives to tell us about their first job in their field. Check out their stories below.

Rebecca Wineka

My first job in this field came from inquiring about this particular alternative healing modality. I had laid down my full time job as a psychotherapist to work a mindless job at a local catering company, driving around and delivering corporate lunches after making the tea and lemonade in the morning. A dear friend was in town and I wanted to take her to a local artisan craft fair and specifically wanted her to see the work of someone I had known in the past who worked with kudzu to make beautiful basketry. Upon introducing them, he shared something that would forever change my course. I had been looking for something else to do for 8 months, and nothing was coming in. I didn’t want to work with people in the ways I had been trained, licensed, and schooled. He shared that he had sent his child for this work, with great and positive results. He said, “you’ve got to learn about this work…I can’t even explain it, but I thought of you and all your training and background and I think you’ll resonate.” Read more>>

Natalie Kuhn

My first job in mindfulness and wellness was with The Class. It was 10 years ago this summer, and I was working at Lululemon in Soho. Taryn Toomey and I began chatting while she was shopping for leggings and she invited me to take this thing that she was teaching to her friends in the gym of her apartment building – it didn’t have a name or website; more than anything else, she explained that it was a tool for her own healing that she had begun to share with a few friends and acquaintances. Years later it would be known simply as The Class. Read more>>

Jean-Pierre LaPolice

I had worked in tanning salons most of my teenage years and that was what really opened my mind up to the concept of “skincare”. Working in that industry taught me about ingredients in lotions that were good for your skin etc. So in Spring 2022 I decided to go to Paul Mitchell for Esthetics and fell in love on the first day! After graduating I was offered a position for Esthetics at Harlow Salon + Spa in Johns Island, SC. I was nervous in the beginning being fresh out of school and jumping right into my career, but once everything was set into place I felt at home. Read more>>

Julia Stevens

I began my career in the exercise field, not nutrition. I was hired as a personal trainer at a local gym. I loved working with people inividually and in small groups and seeing them progress toward their goal. I loved that every day was different, but it was hard just talking to people about exercise. I wanted to fill in the gaps that would help them get to the finish line of their health goals. Just talking exercise was selling them short. So I went to grad school (while still working as a personal trainer) to become a registered dietitian. I was able to start working as a dietitian at the same gym once I finished 2 years later. Putting these two fields together really showed me how much a more whole person approach to health and wellness really mattered! Read more>>

Teal Flanigan

I got very lucky that my internship offered me a job before I even I finished my MSW. I was a bilingual clinician at a Community Mental Health Clinic (I speak Spanish as my second language). I had a wonderful supervisor when I was a student who gave me such a great foundation to start off my first position as a therapist. I changed teams during my time at this agency and was lucky to have another amazing therapist as my supervisor who built on the great foundation I was already given. Working in Community Mental Health is really hard. They are underfunded and staff are overworked and typically the client population is very high risk with a lot of complex trauma. I learned so much from my first few years out of grad school and it also propelled me to get further training in trauma informed modalities (like EMDR and Somatic Experiencing) so I could better support this population of folks. Read more>>

Brandi Wolf

The journey of finding myself has taken me down a winding road of laughter, pain, joy, sadness, excitement, stress, and anxiety…along with a myriad of other emotions…BIG and small. Consistently meditating has been one of the best gifts I have ever given myself. It helped me heal my heart after a handful of years that consisted of my father’s suicide, a heartbreaking divorce, the economy falling and loosing my business and filing bankruptcy, a miscarriage, and another suicide of someone close to my heart. Read more>>

Blooming Indigo

I got my first official sound healing gig after being discovered while I was playing at a brunch at a local bar. Drew Johnson, a sound healer and the owner of House of Yodi (a local holistic wellness business) offered me a spot at the Divine Healing Market she curated. That would be the first time I had people sit down in front of me to be led through a meditation session as I played for them. I was ELATED and I couldn’t wait to put my gifts “to the test”. I closed my eyes and as everyone laid before me, I spoke to them just as if I were speaking to myself and led them into a deep meditative state. The rest was history after that. Drew would go on to recommend me to businesses for events and to grab gigs she’d be unavailable for and it was THAT trust and vision she had for me that got me the exposure I needed. She will always play a monumental role in my journey! Read more>>

Sarah Louise Rector

I had just ended up moving to Los Angeles from London, which was all very unplanned. I had such a passion and enjoyment of going to group fitness classes and spent most of my early day’s in LA doing just that! I knew I loved a class environment as it felt like I was back in my dancer/performer days…. A good friend had mentioned that she had driven passed a new boutique fitness studio that was going to be opening. I researched the style of the workouts that the studio was based a round and I emailed the founder of the studio explaining my dance and fitness background and what I would bring to the classes. I knew it was exactly what I was looking for to start my fitness trainer career and I am so thrilled I took this step otherwise I wouldn’t be where I am today. Read more>>

Jennifer Gale

I created and built the job and brand that I have in the Natural health field. After I finished Traditional Naturopathic school in 2017, I found myself dazed, overwhelmed, and nervous but excited to get started helping people find their center. Like so many other people that go into a service field related to health, I encountered self doubt as I evaluated my next steps. For me, I KNEW helping people get better using natural means was the goal, but I was unclear what it would look like. Should I try to locate myself in a group setting with other types of natural practitioners? Or should I create a solo presence and build on that? We learned MANY different modalities in school but they didn’t all resonate with me. Which ones should I offer? Read more>>