Inspiring Conversations with Channary Houle of Wild Be Wellness, LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Channary Houle.

Hi Channary, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I came to America as a baby on a green card because my family (mom, dad, aunts, uncles and grandma) and I were war refugees. I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. I didn’t learn to speak English until I was in third grade. I was bullied a lot for being asian and poor.

My upbringing was very traumatic and in some ways abusive. My family all had some kind of war trauma, having lived through the Khmer Rouge regime. However, as a child, we made the best of the situation. We were poor so we played with whatever toys were donated to us. My dad left my mom when I was around 5 years old and my mom struggled a lot.

] did remember how happy she was to learn how to drive and buy her first car, a blue subraru. She ran that car into the ground and cried when it finally died.

My family and extended family all lived in this small cottage house that our sponsor set up for us. That house used to be a funeral home. We all have stories from that house. I didn’t believe it because I was so young. As an adult I asked my dad if it was true and he said yes.

The rent was cheap so my family stayed there for a few years but they always wanted to move. Eventually we moved to a one bedroom apartment. Most of my childhood memories are from that apartment on Barnes Avenue. There was a good community of Cambodians who all have similar lived experiences.

Those years, the landlord allowed us to plant a garden. Every neighbor had a section and we planted soo much vegetables. It was amazing to grow up with fresh veggies in the summer. I hated watering it though.

While living in the apartment, I would go to the store with my mom and buy the bulk candy bags and sell candy for 10 cents a piece and the bigger pieces, 25 cents. That was my first business. My brother and I sold other candies as well. We did that for a few years. We always made a profit, not much but a little. I always had this idea that I would be a business owner.

As I grew older, my traumas caught up to me. I eventually realized that I had to leave my family if I was to thrive. My stepdad was extremely controlling and abusive to all of us. When I turned 19 I got married to my high school sweetheart and moved to Virginia Beach. That marriage didn’t work out and I eventually moved to Atlanta.

While in Atlanta, I earned my massage therapy certificate in 2004 and my career began.

When not massaging, I spend a lot of time in nature hiking and traveling. It’s been a huge part of my healing process. Those trail self reflections allows me to serve the community better.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of my biggest obstacles was my very tumultuous relationship with my second husband. That relationship played a huge role in my life of drifting away from massage because my partner did not like my career choice. Every time I moved my shop I thought I could change something to make my life a little better (shorter commute, better noise control, anything else but leaving the relationship).

It was a huge lesson in learning that when you don’t have a supportive partner, life becomes so much harder. I wanted to build a business but eventually I couldn’t juggle the sole responsibilities of being a mother, wife, housekeeper, and business owner. I had to give something up. That’s when I began massaging part time, less than 2 hours a month (around 2009). I did a lot of odd jobs that were work from home. I was a search engine evaluator for 7 years.

All that time, I was deeply unhappy. My marriage wasn’t working for me. We had separated twice. With the second separation (2014), at that time I was truly a stay at home mother. I had no income of my own and when he left, I realized the predicament that I was in. I had given up years of working so he could build his career and I had nothing. We had assets together and I wasn’t going to just up and leave the things that I worked for as well. I made a promise to myself to never, ever be in that situation ever again.

In 2016, I found a massage job at a place called Village Health in Smyrna. They weren’t even hiring. I just sent my resume. They called me a few days later. During my interview they asked why did I want to work there and I told them, “this is where I’m suppose to be”. Somehow I knew, Village Health was the place to teach me the things that I needed to learn.

When Village closed is when Wild Be Wellness was born.

Wild Be Wellness has mostly been smooth. There was a lot of stress in the beginning when the idea of opening my own shop again became real. My car broke down, my adult child had legal trouble. I had to navigate all of that while trying to make sure the business was on solid foundation.

I share the space with my officemate (not sure if she wants to be named). I love having her close by because we bounce ideas off each other and we discuss ways to be successful and help each other out.

My biggest obstacle right now is taxes. I have learned a lot but I feel that there is so much more to learn.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Wild Be Wellness is a wellness company that focuses on using therapeutic massage to promote wellness, self care, and to provide the highest level of quality care and customer service.

I have been licensed for 22 years. I specialize in neck pain management and getting results. One of the things that I think sets me apart is that I am straight forward with my clients. If it has taken years for poor posture and lack of exercise to create all this pain, a one hour session is not going to fix it overnight. I also explain to my clients that true wellness comes from lifestyle change.

A healthy person prioritizes their wellness by making sure they are eating good foods to support their wellness goals, change how they manage stress, adjust their space to encourage good posture and most importantly sleep well and painfree.

I am most proud of how my brand has grown through referrals. I think that is the biggest compliment I can receive. Someone telling their friends and family that they trust me to take care of them.

Despite specializing in neck pain, I am very versatile. A good relaxing massage is a good way to manage stress.

My massage techniques involves Neuromuscular therapy (NMT), Deep tissue, fascia work, hot stones, and aromatherapy. I use a variety of modalities to treat whatever the client needs and wants.

I want clients to know that it’s ok to want some pain reduction and not a full workup and a relaxing massage as well.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Read all the books! I gained many of my skills over the years, by taking a lot of continuing ed classes and then self teaching a lot of marketing and business concepts.

Carve out time to take care of yourself as well. You can not help others if you’re operating from half a cup.

One of the biggest lessons I learned is that who you surround yourself with can determine your path. Be around people that you see as inspirational because as you reach success, you’ll outgrow old ways of thinking.

Pricing:

• 50 min massage $90
• 80 min massage $140
• 110 min massage $180
• 50 min Hot Stone $100
• 80 min Hot Stone $150

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wildbewellness.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildbewellness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildbewellness