Today we’d like to introduce you to Eliza Bacot.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I always felt a deep love for the human body and all its intricacy. I knew that studying it would lead me into a healthcare position and I pursued the beautiful role of nurse practitioner. I graduated from Emory University in 2007 with a masters in critical care and set out to continue to care for the acutely ill to the best of my ability. I loved my job in healthcare for a long time but really felt sad and depressed over the fact that people never really got well. It just felt like all of this preventable illness over and over and we mitigated it but never really changed things for patients in the long run. I started studying health and nutrition in 2008 and really wanted to be able to understand how to not end up in the ICU myself. I had a great friend from California, Erin Hanauer, who opened my eyes to the toxins and chemicals in our food.
I then further began to understand all the toxins in our environment. It was really this self-education journey…I just would research for hours on end and teach myself about alternative healthcare, nutrition, and toxin avoidance. I became known as that healthy chick but really didn’t consider that I would create a business out of it. My friend and Emory instructor introduced me to the world of essential oils and they solved so many problems for us it was the final step for me in understanding how to help others go down the wellness path. It came to a point where people would reach out to me constantly..how do I make bone broth, what oil do I use for this, how I do heal my IBS naturally…I could go on. I was doing so much of that on the side helping friends my husband finally said, “Eliza you are so passionate about this now why don’t you create a business teaching people how to stay well?” The thought seemed so appealing because it really had become my passion but legitimately I had no clue how to start a business. My entire background was in the medical field. I had zero understanding of business plans, creating streams or revenue or how to make myself profitable.
But at the end of the day, my passion for wellness overcame my fear of the unknown of entrepreneurship. Watching people die for 15 years in the ICU can be a really compelling reason to shift gears and help people be well. So in January of 2017, I left my part-time position as a nurse practitioner in a local hospital and really poured my heart into launching the organic south and educating others on the power of essential oils for wellness. I literally had no idea or expectations that it would be successful. I just knew I wanted to help people avoid disease and be healthy. I wanted to make it my mission to keep people out of the ICU and live a life full of health and wellness. I can honestly say it wasn’t the easiest or the most comfortable decision but it was the best because it aligned my passion and purpose with my work. The beauty of that part is that work doesn’t seem like work. It really just feels like an extension of who I am and what I am up to in this world.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not. But nothing that is worth anything is ever smooth going. Some of the struggles were really based around teaching myself how to have a business…before social media really didn’t matter to me…now its a necessity to educating others and bringing awareness to The Organic South. Before I never had to consider that word profitability…I went to work and got a paycheck. Now I have to consider things like what is my time worth and how do I scale to help more people at the same time. It was basically like sending myself to school to be an entrepreneur. I had to really challenge myself as a leader as well. What did I need to work on so other people would follow me in the industry and consider what I was telling others to do to be relevant. How would I convince people that wellness even matters in your 20s? So many questions. But ultimately I just knew this desire to help people be well was significant and I had to learn how to best serve the world in this way. I also had to learn to let go of my identity as only a nurse practitioner. I had to recognize that was a stepping stone to where I am now and I couldn’t understand everything I do about wellness without that background.
All the bumps really taught me to pivot well. Just because you went to school, for one thing, doesn’t mean you can’t pivot when your passion changes. And it doesn’t mean you can’t serve both worlds with the knowledge that has been gained. And wow the final struggle…trying to balance being a mom and wife and an entrepreneur with a deep passion. It’s so easy to feel guilty if you are working too much or working too little, spending too little time with your kids. I have always had to check myself to make sure I am actually creating balance and living the wellness lifestyle I encourage others to live. Finding that balance ultimately helped me encourage other entrepreneurs to make sure and find wellness within that intense space. Especially as women because we wear so many hats, it can be challenging to juggle it all. But I found that struggle helped me encourage other entrepreneurs and so finding the beauty of each struggle has been incredible. My challenges really have served so many purposes along the way.
The Organic South – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Organic South is a dynamic ever-changing entity to meet the wellness demands of the individual. As the essential oils world took off and became very popular, we found the doTERRA side of our business just taking off like a rocket ship. We built a team quickly and started teaching others to empower people with essential oils and find natural replacements for common ailments and how to replace toxic products in our home. Our wellness coaching services are growing and we are learning what it means to serve people well in this arena and work with people that are highly motivated to improve their wellness. We are launching and expanding our in-home detox consultations to help people create a more natural environment in their home and detoxify their personal care products, cleaning products and fragrances.
We are really well known right now for helping educate others on how to use essential oils properly. These became such easy solutions for me and I did mounds of research on their effectiveness. We have created specialize protocols for individuals for a variety of issues and we have seen such incredible success. I am really most proud of that as a company. Just solving problems for people and encouraging them on the next part of their wellness journey. My pride really stems back to hoping and knowing that in some way I can help them extend their longevity and avoid the pain of debilitating diseases. What really sets us apart is my background and healthcare and making that transition over into wellness. Typically people pick one side or the other and they are not often merged. So people usually say that’s why they come to us because I have a background in healthcare but I understand and know how to promote natural healing in the body with natural solutions.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Wow! I am actually hoping I haven’t had it yet…we have so much worldwide we want to accomplish. The proudest moments of my career are really when people come to me and tell me, “Eliza because of what I have learned from you I know that the trajectory of my life related to health has really changed.” It’s literally the thing that brings a tear to my eye every time. I just didn’t want to watch people suffer and die anymore and when I know now that I have help someone get on a different path towards wellness….well it’s everything to me.
Pricing:
- Wellness Coaching 200.00 per 50min
- In Home Detox Consultation 1000.00
- Essential Oil Consultation FREE with purchase of oils!
- Speaker Fee 500.00 (depending time and travel)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theorganicsouth.com
- Email: eliza@theorganicsouth.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theorganicsouth/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theorganicsouth/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theorganicsouth/
Image Credit:
Libby Photo
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