Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health & wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with May Schmitz, Owner of Revive Bodyworks MKE, located in Milwaukee, WI, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Revive Bodyworks MKE is a private Lymphatic Drainage clinic that is dedicated to helping those who struggle with fighting chronic inflammation. Whether it's from past injuries, surgeries, or autoimmune conditions, we improve wellness as a whole. Inflammation occurs when your immune system sends out cells to fight bacteria or heal an injury. However, if your body sends out these cells when you are not sick or injured, it is a symptom of chronic inflammation.

Chronic inflammation is involved in many disease processes, including Alzheimer's, asthma, cancer, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and ankylosing spondylitis. We offer expertise and services to help our clients get Inflammation under control, become self-sufficient in maintaining their lymphatic health, and, if necessary, take a look at other parts of their lives that help to improve their lymphatic function. Health is multifaceted, so it behooves our clients and us to also create positive habits and mindsets around nutrition, exercise, and stress mitigation.

We work with an array of clients some are well into their own wellness journey and want to stay happy and healthy. Some may be high risk or have a family history of breast cancer, diabetes, or autoimmune disorders, for example. Some with conditions of eczema, chronic fatigue, sinusitis, acne, constipation, lupus, or Lyme disease. All of our clients are people who are proactive and invested in their future health through preventative care.

Tell us about yourself

As long as I can remember, I struggled with my body image. I was always thicker and broader than the other girls in school, and no matter how healthy I ate or how hard I exercised, I would never be as thin and beautiful as them. I circled through countless diets keto, vegetarian, vegan, carnivore, the blood type diet. Eventually, I worked with a personal trainer and a nutritionist and became the fittest that I've ever been in my adult life. However, I was still constantly fatigued, acne-ridden, brain fog, hungry even if I'd eaten 2 hours before, drinking alcohol to mitigate the stress, and overworking myself seven days a week. For so long, I felt uncomfortable and that my body had failed me.

The answer to my question came to me amidst the Covid-19 pandemic while in massage school. In a short course, I learned about the lymphatic system. I was instantly hooked, and it became the impetus for my journey. Its involvement in improving immune function, regulating hormones, accelerating weight loss, injury, and illness recovery, achieving soft glowing skin, improving digestion, improving sleep, reducing anxiety and bloating, relieving menstrual cramps, and treating inflammation fascinated me. The answer was not just focusing on one or two facets of my healthy diet and exercise, like before, but an opportunity to also improve even more of what I'd been dealing with. By improving my lymphatic health, I finally fell from the vicious cycle, and everything fell into place.

I focus now on finding balance in my mental, emotional, physical, and social well-being, nutrition, and activity. Which I encourage my clients to do as well. I am more confident than I've ever been in my life, happier, and more fulfilled. I started this business to help others who have struggled, like me, to finally feel normal, content, and confident in their own body.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment is building a successful practice after mustering up the courage to run the business full-time, on my own, with no side hustles. It may sound rudimentary, but I believe it is the fear of failure that keeps anyone from achieving this dream. By being on my own, I am able to network with like-minded businesses and individuals.

As a growing business, in just under two years, it has allowed me to accelerate my growth. This year, I accomplished a huge goal: to connect and represent Revive Bodyworks MKE with Susan G Komen and the Lupus Foundation organizations.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

I think one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is knowing how and when to set proper boundaries, especially with time. This is a continuous battle for me as I gain new experiences. I always want the best for my clients and will go above and beyond if that's what they need. At the same time, I have to set firm boundaries to protect my four pillars of health, or else the business will start to run me.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Start 1% at a time. You can improve anything by 1% at a time. Something as simple as improving my treatment room decor. Each week, I focused on one thing at a time. First came the massage table, heating pads, then better linens, then a towel warmer, cabinets, paintings, and plants. The great thing is you can take this approach with anything, especially starting your business. Consistency wins the race.
  2. Surround yourself with people who inspire you to be better. These people may be other business owners or coaches that you respect and trust to be a positive voice when you need advice or self-doubt. Guidance from those who have achieved what you are also looking to achieve can have great benefits and is a huge time saver.
  3. Set boundaries. As a business owner, you learn to beco

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://revivebodyworksmke.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReviveBodyworksmke
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revivebodyworksmke/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/may-schmitz-111352205/


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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