Your Name: Mira Dessy
Business Name: Grains&More, a nutrition consulting company
Type of Business: Health & Beauty
Business Location: Willis, Texas, United States
Website http://grainsandmore.com
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/MiraDessy
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/grainsandmore
Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/MiraDessy
Reason for starting
In my early 40s, after years of misdiagnosis, I became very ill with a host of autoimmune issues. I was so sick that I could barely get up off the sofa to care for my three children and certainly was not able to live my life fully. At a certain point I began to change my diet, eliminating chemicals from my food, eating more whole foods, learning to eat for my bio-individual body. Amazingly I began to feel better and be able to function better. Eventually I healed myself to the point of no longer needing to see the 7 different doctors and taking the many many different medications I was on. The more I learned the more I wanted to know. And those around me wanted to know too, I had a a number of people ask me to help them with their diets and their health. I eventually went back to school and became a Certified Nutrition Educator and started my own business helping people learn how to eat well so they could be well.
How do you define success?
For me success is helping people realize that they can and should be an active participant in their own health care. To encourage them to see that we are a holistic entity and need to support all aspects of our being. And contrary to common thought, supporting them through the process of understanding that food really does matter. That it is an extremely important part of our life and our health. It’s not just what you eat, it’s what’s in what you eat. As the author of ‘The Pantry Principle: how to read the label and understand what’s really in your food’ I created a powerful resource that provides the foundation for people to gain the information they need to make informed and educated choices about their diet. Each time a client sees positive results from food-based choices and becomes committed to that change I am overjoyed. I’ve helped them become successful in meeting their health goals.
Biggest Success
There’s no one biggest success only because each story is so unique and powerful. There’s the woman who had no energy and felt terrible who eventually lost weight, started sleeping better, eventually normalized her cycle and became pregnant. There’s the client who had terrible migraines and was on the verge of losing her job due to all the sick days she was claiming who eventually had very few migraines and received a job promotion. Or the gentleman who was able to meet his health goals and support his high blood pressure and arthritis through dietary changes. Each story is the bigest success in the lives of my clients and that makes it such a powerful thing. It’s impossible to choose just one so I suppose I’d have to say that my biggest success is changing my own career (from one in computers) and my own health while finding my passion to help and support others.
What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it?
My biggest challenge is learning to let go of the desire to do it all. I’m so thrilled by what I am doing that often I catch myself wearing all the hats. I’m learning that in order to be more focused it’s important to let go of some aspects of my business and instead to hire professionals to do the things that do not directly contribute to those things I love to do and am best at. Hiring web professionals and a bookkeeper and a graphic artist, etc may cost money, but in the long term it is part of a successful business growth plan. Those people are expert in what they do and by utilizing their talents I allow myself to continue to grow in what I’m good at as well as presenting the best possible business image. I’m learning that a business isn’t one person, it’s an effective and collective team effort.
Who is your most important role model?
I am fortunate enough to have several strong women in my family such as my mom, a wonderful collection of aunts and two amazing grandmothers who all modeled phenomenal aspects of character, determination, and fortitude. I would not be who I am without their presence in my life. Professionally I am inspired by Dr. Liz Lipski, the author of Digestive Wellness and the Academic Director of Nutrition and Integrative Health at Maryland University of Integrative Health who is an inspiration to others in our field as well as a shining example of what is possible. I am also inspired by Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and author of The Antianxiety Food Solution with her drive to empower women by demonstrating the power of food and the connection to overall health. Both of these women are so motivating and their commitment to their work is compelling.