As a young person, I had a perception that there simply was not enough love in the world. In my twenties, I was given the nickname, Love Warrior, because I stood for LOVE in everything I did. Since then, my personal motto has been, “Fighting for love and healing the world, one person at a time.”
As I grew older, I watched my father struggle with Metabolic Syndrome, which led to Heart Disease, Type II Diabetes, and Kidney Failure, as well as a host of other illnesses that plagued him until he died from a major heart attack at age 73.
In my thirties, I experienced my own Health Crisis that shook me to my core. At 265 pounds, I was heading down the same path that killed my Dad. This made me realize it was time for a major lifestyle change. Rather than looking to Western medicine, since Dad was never successfully cured by Allopathic doctors, I scoured all the public resources for answers. I went to the library and read every self-help and nutrition book I could get my hands on.
I completed an associate’s degree in Holistic Health Studies & Natural Science. During that time, I educated myself on Holistic (whole-person) healing, plant-based nutrition, superfoods, mindfulness techniques, and so much more. While attending classes at Ventura College, I was making a plan to educate the community on all the things about holistic health that I’d learned, both in school and from my own self-education. During this time, I started writing a book, The Art of Balance (in a World of Chaos), which I hope to publish in 2024.
After graduation, I received several nudges from the universe to start teaching the people what I had learned. At that point, I had so much documented knowledge in my book that I felt it was a MORAL IMPERATIVE to share what I knew. I could’ve screamed it from the rooftops at that point.
My self-healing journey and all my research guided the creation of the wellness education programs and services that I began to offer in 2012 through Stephanie Bucklin Consulting. I dreamed of a Wellness Center where the community could come together and learn how to heal. This is where my dream business idea was born.
Pursuing My Dream
In 2014, thanks to all the relationships I formed in college and the community, I found several mentors in Ventura County, created a Steering Committee and found an investor who believed in my business idea. With a small investment, I started the Holistic Wellness Community Center of Ventura. Despite my plan to offer all these amazing programs, our primary offerings were an education program called the Optimal Wellness Program and annual events called Holistic Healing Fairs that HWCC brought to the community.
Here are some of the plans for the Holistic Wellness Community Center, from a presentation I created for potential investors and business partners:
Many relationships were built with other business owners during my time as Executive Director of the Holistic Wellness Community Center. My support system at the time included the monthly Steering Committee, business mentors, business partnerships, interns, volunteers, and community members who believed in the mission and vision. But in reality, even with all that support, I still had to do a majority of the work to build and maintain the business on my own.
This has always been a labor of LOVE. The Holistic Wellness Community Center of Ventura was my first attempt at creating this dream business. From this experience, I learned what it was like to start and run a business, do my own accounting, create events and seminars, manage an inventory, and to create, promote and run big Health Fairs. I also learned that without a strong team, a company is only as stable as the entrepreneur whose running it. When my personal life became conflicted with my business, the permanently closed it’s doors in 2016. I knew that I wasn’t done – that I would revisit my dream at a later date. I set down the business plan and followed my self-healing journey into deeper understanding.
Moving Towards Bigger & Better Opportunities
In 2018, I transferred to Arizona State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Science, to increase my professional credentials and understanding about optimal health. I’ve learned so much about myself along this journey, through my professional work experience and my own personal challenges. I’ve learned several new business skills and have greater hindsight for where I went wrong with my first attempt at creating a thriving wellness center.
I believe that the past 20 years of my professional work and entrepreneurial experience, along with my dedication and perseverance, will be the primary drivers of this new wellness center venture. And I’m much more humble now – I realize how important building a team will be in order to bring this business into fruition.
On another universal nudge, I moved to Arizona in 2019. This change of scenery and the opportunities offered by Arizona State University have inspired me to re-engage my dream business plan. I’m working on rebuilding my network of support. I am developing a new Advisory Board to assist in the research and development of the new Integrative Wellness Collective – a Cooperative, from Phase Zero (business partnerships/advisory board planning) to Phase One (membership organization/directory).
Integrative Wellness Cooperative was accepted into the ASU Venture Devils program in 2020 to help us develop the business. The Venture Devils program has given me a mentor, Marcy Maslov of Empowerment Unlimited Coaching. Being involved in the Venture Devils program has challenged me to create an updated Executive Summary for the Love Warrior Wellness Cooperative, and a Pitch Deck, featured below on YouTube. I hope to compete in the Fall 2022 & Spring 2023 Pitch Playoffs Competitions, which may lead to an investment from a local organization who believes in my vision.
This is a very exciting time!
The Integrative Wellness Collective is all about building community!
In August 2021, I got a nudge from the universe to start producing conscious wellness events again. Please check out our menu above by the same name for details about these monthly and seasonal events.
In June 2022, the Integrative Wellness Collective hosted a Founding Members Launch. During the launch, we created a new website and set new goals for the development of the cooperative. Since that time, through hosting monthly conscious wellness events and networking mixers, we have found many individuals in the local wellness industry who believe in this company’s vision.
We are hosting the founding members launch until June 2024!
Become a member today!
Learn more at IntegrativeWellnessCollective.org
Please contact Stephanie Bucklin if you would like more information about partnering with the Integrative Wellness Collective. We are looking for Investors, Co-Founders, Mentors, Interns, and Supporters for this beautiful organization.
If you believe in this vision, please become a member today!
IntegrativeWellnessCollective.org
Are you inspired to support Stephanie’s dream?
Lightworkers are really starting to come together to show the world how to heal. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Partner with Stephanie and show your support for this woman’s dream business by joining the collective as a member:
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
