I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur, but had a bad first job experience working for someone that inadvertently pushed me into it. My specialty in Muscle Activation Techniques isn’t something you can find on Indeed, so I felt like the only option I had was to start my own practice which is now Minnesota Muscle Activation. This, mixed with further training in gait analysis, over the last 5 years has opened my eyes to the importance of the foot and how weakness/dysfunction there negatively affects the rest of the body. 

Why am I talking about feet in my bio? Because this is what lead me to starting my newest venture, Minnemals. In 2022 I started the process of designing and bringing to life a barefoot shoe. This is something I NEVER saw coming, but what gets me fired up more than anything is the person that comes in with this “I’ve always been told XYZ” (in my case, always been told to wear shoes with ‘good arch support’) without ever being told the secondary effect this over-cushioned and constrictive shoe has on the foot’s function.  

With selling Minnemals barefoot shoes, I am fighting an uphill battle because that’s just it…people have always been told to look for a shoe that’s the complete opposite that I’m selling, making education crucial. With this new venture brings somewhat of a pivot to my career. My weeks are split about 50/50 seeing clients for MAT and working to grow Minnemals which I launched in November of 2023. 

MN MAT pays my bills currently and I still love seeing people 1-on-1, but I love the freedom that Minnemals offers of being on this planet and have a sale come through on my phone. A downfall to going into healthcare is you only make money WHILE seeing clients, and that’s something I wouldn’t have thought of when I originally went into it. 

My husband and I currently have 1 rental property, and are working towards having more passive income (a common theme in this group…that’s how you know you’re surrounded with the right people!)

I am a part of this group because everything in my career has been solo thus far. As someone that has always been extremely externally motivated, you can imagine having the freedom of being self-employed is a constant daily struggle for me. In college, I would crush the small weekly assignments. The anatomy class that only had an exam at the end of the semester to make up the entirety of my grade? My downfall. I need more structure, and am constantly trying to find a system that clicks for my productivity.

Being that I’ve been essentially self-employed right out of college, I’ve never known what a steady paycheck feels like. This, mixed with some personality traits, makes me extremely comfortable in an uncomfortable/frightening situation. I love to help people figure out how to make something they’re after one small step at a time. I’m very good at shutting up that voice of doubt that sometimes screams inside your head, and chipping away at a problem day by day. If someone else has done it, why not you? 

I am looking for accountability out of this group, and having people to run ideas by, especially people that are in a completely different field than me. I leave every Rising Tide meeting wishing I had blocked off the rest of the day so I can utilize all the motivation and inspiration it brings…in fact, I think I might just start doing that :). Just being around other people that are at a similar phase in their careers as me is so motivating.