Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in mental wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mackenzie Krewiak, Founder of Kula Holistic Services, located in Calgary, AB, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Kula Holistic Services is a collective of therapists that offers support for mental health and well-being. We work with individuals of all ages, couples, and families through both traditional and creative counselling approaches, including expressive arts therapy. We work with people where they are in their journeys of healing and self-discovery to unravel and explore some of the messy parts of life. Our clients are those that choose the practitioners of Kula to walk beside them as they navigate the adventure of being a human.
Tell us about yourself
I hold a Bachelor of Fine art from the Alberta University of the Arts and undergraduate and graduate degrees in social work. Throughout my career, I have been engaged with the stories and resiliencies of people from a wide variety of life paths. I often struggled with the medicalized that often comes with therapy and wanted to offer something different. When you walk into Kula, you are walking into an old home built in 1914. This space is welcoming, warm, and cozy. Feeling comfortable and safe is important to any healing or therapeutic work. I believe that the environment plays a big role in this. We encourage our clients to come early or stay after appointments to read, journal, or just be as they enter or unwind from their interaction in the therapeutic space. The word Kula is derived from Sanskrit. The interpretation we've taken is a community or clan built on a felt sense of belonging. Each and every person that walks through the doors belongs and has value simply for existing and being who they are.
My motivation for this work comes from personal experiences within the therapeutic art process. I have accessed so much information about myself, relationships, and environments by engaging myself in creative processes. I use my skills in expressive arts and clinical social work to lean into the experiences of others and support them in finding their own answers. Watching someone grow towards their goals or deeper into themselves is an incredibly rewarding and humbling experience.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
One of my greatest accomplishments as a business owner has been finding an incredible team of therapists to work alongside me. As a collective, each therapist within Kula Holistic Services runs their own practice; however, we exist from a place of shared values. The kind-hearted, dedicated, and brilliant people that work out of this space inspire me daily to challenge myself, my thinking, and the way I practice. I am incredibly grateful for the space they hold for myself and those they enter into therapeutic connections. This practice wouldn't exude the same amount of love without them.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Trained as an artist and social worker, starting a business with limited business knowledge has been an interesting ride. I continue to research, learn and ask questions to best support the way Kula Holistic Services is run.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
If you are looking to start a business, I think the most important thing to do is follow your heart. You know yourself best, and what you put into the world should reflect the things you believe to be important and meaningful. Surround yourself with cheerleaders and those that know more than you. But most importantly, have fun. Owning a business doesn't have to be a strain and should be something you enjoy doing.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.kulaholisticservices.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kula.holisticservices/
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3Dwx3EG
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.