Beyond Hustle: Cultivating Mental Wellness in Entrepreneurship

Welcome to the PublicHealthPreneur™ Blog! In honor of Mental Health Day on Oct 10, tune in to this special series on mental health & entrepreneurship.

[Want more updates and expert advice? Subscribe to our mailing list 📬and never miss a post!]

October was a powerful month.

In honor of Mental Health Day on October 10th, I launched a podcast series focusing on Mental Health and Entrepreneurship.

This series brings together remarkable women entrepreneurs who open up about the lesser-seen challenges of balancing mental health with career ambitions. Each conversation is filled with honest insights and real-life strategies for sustaining well-being while growing a business.

Join us as we explore each episode and connect with their inspiring journeys.

Episode 1: Quisha Umemba, The PublicHealthPreneur™

I share it all on juggling life’s responsibilities, letting go, and how mental health struggles somehow bring us together.

Quisha: Give yourself permission to cut ties, give yourself permission to cut relationships, give yourself permission to step down, give yourself permission to remove yourself from situations that no longer serve you and serve your mental health and find out who you are and your identity.

Cutting ties might seem too much, but sometimes it's essential for your mental well-being. Catch the full episode here:

Episode 2: Teresa Sanderson, Nurses Feed Their Young

Teresa opens up about her journey through depression and how embracing intentional living changed her life.

Quisha: It was the depression that helped you get out of that.

Teresa: Oh, my gosh. Yeah. My journey through recovery was the path to intentional living and when you live with intention, the intention is very different. It's not living Monday to Friday, paycheck to paycheck, or that kind of thing anymore. It's about, "Where's the quality in my days? Where's the joy? Where's the meaning?", and the memories i wanna take with me.

This conversation was incredibly insightful, and I’m excited to share it with you. Don’t miss this impactful episode—tune in here:

Episode 3: Paulette Rumph, Infinite Healthcare

Paulette shares the struggle of recognizing when to ask for help and how the power of support has been pivotal in her journey forward.

Quisha: What specific moments in your journey—and I'm talking about entrepreneurial journey in the last three years that you started your business—what have been some really pivotal kind of turning point for you?

Paulette: Asking for help. Anyone that knows me know that I don't like to do that. Pretty much I had to allow people to do what they want to do as far as helping me and it's okay.

Quisha: Why was it hard for you to ask for help?

Paulette: Because I was the one always giving and doing, you know? So they're like, "How you look like asking for help?", when someone is always coming to you?

Recognizing the need for help takes courage, especially when we’re used to being the ones others lean on. Discover more of Paulette's valuable insights by tuning into the full episode:

Episode 4: Princess Jennings, Community Tracking Services

I deeply admire Princess for her courage in challenging the stigma around therapy and emphasizing its importance for everyone. She opens up about her personal journey of overcoming anxiety and shifting away from a scarcity mindset.

Princess: I really knew I had a problem back in 2014. My dogs bring me peace, and one day the sound of my dog's nails hitting the hardwood floor caused me to break down.

Quisha: Oh, wow.

Princess: Like literally down walking in the house and their toenails hitting the hardwood floor just caused me to break down. I knew that I needed help because my dogs bring me peace—and just them walking in the house and their toenails hitting the floor caused me to have a breakdown. That was the first time I saw therapy—when my dogs, when my peace—was just too much for me to deal.

Quisha: Was it a result of burnout or was it like a lot going on in your life?

Princess: It was just a lot going on in my life, and that was just the straw the broke the camel's back.

Has something small ever pushed you to your breaking point? Was there a moment when you recognized you needed help? Tune in to the full episode here:

Episode 5: Nerissa Malloy, JNM Healthcare Solutions

Nerissa emphasizes the importance of honoring your emotions through the journey of grief and building resilience.

Quisha: What's been your biggest lesson from your mental health journey as an entrepreneur?

Nerissa: Oh, wow. That's a good question. My biggest lesson is to honor your feelings. People look at me like I'm strong—my sisters say I'm the strong one, I'm the soul dealing with the whole process and learning how to navigate. I've really had to learn that it's okay to feel what you feel when you feel it. Who cares where you are or what's going on? You can't suppress it, because it's what gets you sick. I mean, I would cry anywhere—at the nail salon, they would play the song that me and my dad would dance to. I'm sitting there, getting my nails done, and I was just like, "I don't care", and it was okay. I didn't feel crazy. I hear his favorite song and break down— understanding that grief and learning that it will come, it will go, one day it will hit you. If you just have to stop and just pause to do that. Honor your body.

Recognizing and accepting your feelings can have a profound impact on your mental and emotional well-being. Hear Nerissa’s full story here:

Episode 6: Alisa Howard, The Accidental Public Health Advocate

What does it mean to truly find peace? Alisa discusses how being authentic and embracing change allowed her to find peace, despite social fatigue and personal challenges.

Quisha: To protect your sanity, I'm like, "There's no price on my peace".

Alisa: My grandmother used to say all the time, "I just want my peace!" And I was a kid, I was a little kid, and I used to be like, "What is grandma talking about?" Now, I think back to her all the time, because I'm like, "My grandmother used to always talk about peace." I did not know what peace was until the last couple of years.

Quisha: I'm telling you—you get to 40, and everything clicks!

Alisa: I'm not putting up with anything that disturbs my peace. It could be work, it could be people in your life, it could be situations that you were used to dealing with and now you just don't want to deal with them anymore, it could be parts of your business that you don't like anymore. It is okay to pivot. It is okay to change your mind. It is okay to be authentically yourself.

Was it hard for you to protect your peace? This conversation is one we can all relate to. Tune in here:

Throughout this series, each episode provided a fresh, insightful take on the intersection of mental health and entrepreneurship. These touching conversations highlight the crucial role that mental resilience and authenticity play in thriving as a business owner. They emphasize that mental well-being is a foundation of success, not something to be sidelined.

Stay connected with these incredible leaders and their impactful work:

Teresa Sanderson, Nurses Feed Their Young

Paulette Rumph, Infinite Healthcare

Princess Jennings, Community Tracking Services

Nerissa Malloy MSN, RN, JNM Healthcare Solutions

Alisa H., The Accidental Public Health Advocate

Did you like this special series? Catch all of the episodes of the PublicHealthPreneur™ Podcast here.

Don't forget to check out my book Public Health Entrepreneurship: Navigating the Intersection of Purpose and Profit for more insights on public health entrepreneurship!

Share this blog with others, and join our community of public health consultants today!