Angela Belcher is a student in the AAS in Complementary Alternative Medicine program at ACHS and is already diving into creating her own business.
Discovering Holistic Health
A combination of factors in the last 10 years led Angela to holistic health, starting with her husband getting sick with bronchitis. “He got really sick and we didn’t have any kind of health insurance. We could not afford anything and so I started researching online for anything that I could do to help ease that and keep him healthy,” she says.
During this online research, Angela first learned about herbs and essential oils. She says that at the time, holistic health wasn’t even in her vocabulary yet. “I just wanted to learn the herbs and oils so that I could correct the problems as they came up,” she says. After this, she continued to research essential oils and herbs on her own time.
“I believe that all the stuff I’ve learned and all the bad stuff I’ve gone through in my life has prepared me for what I’m doing now,” Angela says.
Choosing ACHS
Up until recently, Angela had worked in her father’s cabinet shop. Because of an injury from her time serving in the Army, she knew that her body couldn’t handle such a physical job forever. “I decided I needed to learn something where I could make money with my brain instead of my hands,” she says.
Then, Angela decided to start saving to go back to school. “I found out that the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) has a program that will retrain Veterans who can’t do their jobs anymore,” she says. After saving money, Angela found out that she actually got a full ride from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“The fact that everything was available online is the bottom line of why I chose this school,” she says. “I definitely wanted something with distance learning.”
After 10 years of researching essential oils and herbs on her own, Angela says that she is amazed by how much more she is learning in the classroom. “I’m starting to learn all those things that I thought I knew but really didn’t. I really thought that I knew enough to help people. But self-study is not as guided and focused on the big picture,” she says.
Angela is excited about her studies at ACHS. “I have found what I’m meant to do for the rest of my life. I’ve always known that I want to help people. I believe whenever you focus on others and take the focus off of yourself, you feel better,” she says.
Starting a Business
Angela says that she and her husband had been talking about starting a business. “I wanted to make videos, blogs, and stuff like that to keep track of all the things that I’m learning,” she says.
The first step for her was coming up with a brand name, but Angela was having trouble finding a good name that wasn’t taken. Then, the perfect idea came to her, inspired by the new crafting and wellness room that she had recently put together. “I was taking a shower and thought gosh I love my room, I’m so happy in there studying wellness. I honestly don’t think I finished washing the soap off because I was like ‘Oh, that’s it!’,” she says.
After this spark of inspiration, Angela secured the domain name for The Happy Wellness Room that same day. By the time her husband got home from work, she had a domain, website, and logo to show him.
“My plan right now is to share what I’m learning in college in the form of blogs and videos. What I’m doing is building up a database of information. That way, my name is already out there, my brand is already out there so that whenever I graduate I can hit the ground running taking paying clients who want help,” Angela explains.
Inside The Happy Wellness Room
“My room is a dream come true,” Angela says. “I believe that crafting is a huge part of stress relief. I want to incorporate crafting into holistic wellness as a stress reliever.”
“There’s a quote: ‘Find three things you love: One to make you money, one to keep you fit, and one to be creative.’ That’s probably the single biggest quote that drove it home for me to start incorporating crafting into stress relief and holistic health,” Angela says.
Once her youngest daughter moved out, Angela started making plans to use her room as a craft room. “I’m really big on reusing, repurposing, and recycling,” she says. “I hate throwing away things that still have value.” For example, Angela got the cabinets for her craft room when she was replacing cabinets on the job working at her father’s cabinet shop.
Angela’s advice for starting a business: Get a brand first. You can’t do anything without a brand. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There’s always going to be someone out there with more experience who can give you advice.
You can keep up with Angela’s journey by checking out her website here and following her Facebook Page here.
By Gillian Turner, Social Media & PR Specialist
Disclosure of Material Connection: I am the social media & PR specialist for the American College of Healthcare Sciences, the Institution that publishes this blog. However, all opinions are my own. This blog may contain affiliate links. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. This article has not been reviewed by the FDA. Always consult with your primary care physician or naturopathic doctor before making any significant changes to your health and wellness routine.
About American College of Healthcare Sciences
American College founded in 1978, is a fully online accredited institute of higher education specializing in holistic health. Based in Portland, OR; our goal is to make research-driven and science-based holistic health education taught by industry-leading experts accessible to anyone anywhere while still giving students a hands-on experiential learning experience like a traditional college and a strong sense of community, school pride and student bond.This commitment to our students and graduates reflects in our current survey results that reflect 98% of our students would recommend ACHS to a friend or family member.We believe education is the most powerful tool for changing an individual and the world around us.
When a person enrolls as ACHS, it is vitally important that they graduate with tools they need to forge their own holistic and sustainable missions, build up their communities confidently and changing the face of healthcare with knowledge.
