1 – Q) Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
A) Liver Education Advocates is a 501(c) nonprofit organization that is based out of Pittsburgh, PA but has a national and even global reach. Our mission at Liver Education Advocates is to raise more awareness and provide education about liver health and liver disease, with a prioritized focus on fatty liver disease. Most people do not realize that you can develop cirrhosis of the liver even if you do not drink alcohol. Non-alcoholic cirrhosis and transplants due to non-alcoholic reasons are quickly surpassing those due to alcohol. The primary cause of fatty liver disease is due to diet, specifically too much processed food and added sugars. There are also genetic components as well. It is our mission and purpose to help people better understand the impact of diet on liver health and health overall, and to make liver disease as well-known as diabetes.
2 – Q) Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
A) My background is in marketing and communications. I am a graduate from Penn State University and spent much of my early career in the public relations and marketing agency world. The skills that I learned in such a fast-paced and energetic environment are skills that I have taken with me throughout my career. After leaving the agency world, I worked at PNC Bank for nearly 12 years climbing the corporate ladder. I’ve worked in Corporate Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, Customer Segmentation and Product Development. While at PNC I had the honor of being part of various leadership development programs and also help to launch a new Employee Business Resource Group which actually helped me gain entrepreneurial skills. I have also spent much of my career before running a nonprofit organization myself actually volunteering and serving on various nonprofit organizations in different capacities but mainly in event planning and marketing.
3 – Q) What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
A) Our organization was founded by my dad and mom. My dad is a liver transplant recipient and survivor and my mom is his caregiver. My dad believed that his life was saved so that he could help others prevent following in his footsteps. When my dad was told he had cirrhosis he thought they called the wrong patient since he never drank alcohol. Looking back on his journey after his transplant, he realized that with the right knowledge and education he could have likely reversed the liver damage before death or transplant were his only outcomes. With my background and understanding my dad’s dream, I felt a strong calling to leave Corporate America and leverage my own skillsets to help my dad grow this nonrprofit to help thousands and hopefully even millions of people.
4 – Q) What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
A) Give yourself grace and patience as you grow a new business, because it is not easy and takes a lot of perserverance and tough skin
Learn from others – ask questions, take all the advice you can get
Take care of yourself – prioritize your health, surround yourself with a good support system, recognize you can take a day off without even checking emails and you can still be successful
5 – Q) What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
A)
- Time management
- Effective communication
- Problem solving6 – Q) How many hours do you work a day on average?
A) 24 Hour Just joking but it does seem as though I am always on the clock. I try to not clock more than 8-10 hours a day but that is not always realistic.
7 – Q) To what do you most attribute your success?
A) A willingness to learn and an attitude of gratitude come top of mind. But I also credit a lot of my success to the various experiences I have had the opportunity to gain through many different roles throughout my career – both in jobs and in volunteer activities.
8 – Q) How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
A) Networking and word of mouth have been very successful. We have also made a concerted effort in social media and developing a comprehensive website to help further market the resources we have available and what our organization does to help others.
9 – Q) How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
A) Networking and word of mouth have been very successful. We have also made a concerted effort in social media and developing a comprehensive website to help further market the resources we have available and what our organization does to help others.
10 – Q) Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
A) Since we are a nonprofit organization, all of our funding comes from sponsorships, grants and donors. This is not an easy task but we operate under the Field of Dreams belief – “Build it and they will come,” and so far that has worked out for us as funders see the value that we bring to the liver health field, especially with patient advocacy and patient support.
11 – Q) What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
A) To stay focused on the organization’s mission and priorities and recognize that you cannot do everything. It is important to stay focused on where you can make the biggest impact. It is also critical to surround yourself with people with diverse skillsets.
12 – Q) Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
A) Liver Education Advocates will continue to grow and be a leader in the liver health and patient advocacy space. I especially see our organization being known as “the” source for Hispanic and Latino community, children with fatty liver and patients and caregivers looking for support
13 – Q) How important have good employees been to your success?
A) This is an often overlooked but extremely valuable component of success; employees are the lifeblood of an organization. although we are small we have been very thoughtful about who we have hired
14 – Q) What motivates you?
A) The patient community; those who need care; those who are at risk and dont’ know it
15 – Q) What are your ideals?
A) To ultimately reduce the need for liver transplants
16 – Q) How do you generate new ideas?
A) Whenever we see an unmet need we determine if we are equipped or can be suited to address that need; unmet needs are what helped our organization get started and continues to drive our new ideas
17 – Q) What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
A) The fact that every day is different and to just know we are helping others.
18 – Q) What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
A) Seeing the growth over time
19 – Q) What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
A) Having the ownership over outcomes is very satisfying.
20 – Q) What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
A) While we are a small organization, we are very close-knit and have a very open, transparent culture. We are focused on ensuring our employees are feeling empowered and that there is purpose behind the work they do every day
21 – Q) In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
A) Empowering
22 – Q) If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
A) Nothing. I believe that every job, experience, etc that I have been blessed to have led me to this point in my career which is undoubtedly my life purpose
23 – Q) How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
A) I have the flexibility now that I never had in corporate america. This also comes with the fact that I am almost always on the clock, but I can work on the go and mostly arrange my schedule to ensure I am always there for my kids
24 – Q) What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
A) Growing too fast and too quickly without having hte foundation and structure in place to support that growth
