Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kailen Krame, Co-Founder of Mindful Awareness Practices LLC., located in Ramsey, NJ, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Mindful Awareness Practices, LLC (MAPs) is a digital educational platform that brings wellness programming to specific populations, from individuals in various stages of life to professionals and organizations across diverse vocations. MAPs collaborates with the key subject matter and industry experts within the fields of Mindfulness, Positive Psychology, and Self-Compassion.
The MAPs courses are designed to reduce stress and burnout unique to specific populations and professions. Our programs teach transformative practices and skills to help individuals improve resilience, achieve meaning and fulfillment, and thrive.
Current offerings include online courses for professional subsets (including education, healthcare, mental health, and business) and various stages of life (such as teenagers, maternity, and active adults), as well as workshops and retreats.
Tell us about yourself
My journey into Mindfulness started young as I was surrounded by the topics of meditation and contemplative practices growing up in my household. During my sophomore year of high school, I experienced stress and anxiety, and my father recommended reading Practicing the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. This book dramatically impacted my life, helping me to change my perspective and begin the practice of “living in the NOW,” or Mindfulness.
This was so pivotal for me that I wanted to share what I had learned with my peers. I began researching the fields of Mindfulness and Positive Psychology, which ultimately led to writing a book at the age of 16 called “Put it in Perspective: A Teen’s Guide to Sanity,” published in 2014. My book “by a teen, for teens” offers Mindfulness and practical stress-management tools for teenagers and young adults.
My passion for Mindfulness continued to shape my academic path, and I went on to study Psychology at the University of Florida, where I graduated Cum Laude in less than three years. Upon graduating, I moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, and had the opportunity to assist with research in the laboratory of world-renowned Positive Psychologist Dr. Tal Ben Shahar while simultaneously working for a startup specializing in Organizational Wellbeing.
After this experience, I moved to New York City and completed my Masters in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Spirituality and Mind-Body practices at Columbia University, as well as an Advanced Certificate in Conflict Resolution from the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia. I wrote my Master’s thesis on The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Occupational Stress and Burnout Among K-12 Educators, which laid the groundwork for my company, Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs).
As President of Mindful Awareness Practices, I am passionate about spreading the transformative practice of Mindfulness within professional industries and beyond.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My greatest source of pride is seeing firsthand the positive impact that our programs have on our participants. Specifically, working with educators during the pandemic who were so stretched thin and in need of resources to support their mental and emotional wellbeing, and receiving feedback that the tools they learned in our programs helped them to reduce stress and take care of themselves, was so rewarding and motivated me to keep doing what I’m doing.
Being able to introduce people to transformative practices and skills that can change their lives and outlook for the better is by far my biggest accomplishment as a business owner.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the biggest challenges as a leader of a mission-driven organization is wanting to positively impact as many people as possible, as soon as possible, and trying to drive awareness across a broad audience.
However, as a start-up, meaningful growth takes time and requires a lot of trial and error (and practicing Mindfulness).
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Surround yourself with people who believe in your mission and are as passionate about growing the business as you are.
- Success is found in the journey, not in the end result. Be present and learn from every moment.
- Have fun and find moments of humor every day - you can still be a hard worker without taking yourself too seriously.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Learn more about our mission on our YouTube channel:
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.mindfulawarenesspractices.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindful-awareness-practices-llc/
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.
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