Growing up on a small family farm in North Dakota taught me invaluable life lessons. Family was a top priority and worth ethic (I was milking cows with my dad as soon as I could walk!), sound character, core values and the value of community were instilled in my childhood experience. But, growing up in a small town also led to many limiting belief systems. Don’t dream too big. Avoid conflict and make sure to please everyone. Don’t speak your authentic truth, unless it is accepted by others. Motherhood and marterhood weren’t celebrated and being audacious, ambitious and courageous in entrepreneurship as a woman was unheard of. Money was scarce and people that had a lot of it were greedy or must have sacrificed their family life for their career.
I was not a naturally talented athlete in high school and was even lapped by the first pace runner in my first race in 8th grade. Because of my dads influence, instead of feeling defeated, I choose to commit to consistency and improve a little bit every say. We practiced the power of self-discipline, goal setting, vision, patient persistence and gained feedback with every forward failure. He taught me what it felt like to put 100 % effort into everything I chose to do with integrity and service to others first. My mom taught me the importance of compassion, empathy, enjoying family experiences, volunteerism and giving back, as we visited nursing homes and were active in our community church and 4-H. Graduating as valedictorian, prom queen, state speech and flute champion and numerous achievements in bb, xc and track, I found myself validating my worth and value as a person through achievement driven success.
I was in my third year of undergrad at NDSU in Fargo, ND with an athletic and academic scholarship, competing in track and xc when I was accepted to Chiropractic school at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, MN. A close family friend, who was a chiropractor inspired me with his education around nutrition and holistic wellbeing. 2 months after being accepted into my doctorate program, I found myself facing the reality of an unplanned pregnancy. I was 20 years old, uncertain of the future and locked in guilt and shame, being raised in a catholic family and community.
Making the decision to follow through with graduate school was one of the most challenging of my life. I was moving to the big city of Minneapolis, with no help from family and a 4 year commitment to an intense doctorate curriculum. I doubted my ability, was surviving on WIC groceries and had moments of feeling like quitting the first month of schools. But, the lessons I had learned from the farm and athletics allowed me to change my mindset and stay focused on my future goal.
I made a decision to immerse myself in learning from the most successful chiropractors. I reached out and asked how I could learn from their mindset, marketing and business skills. I would work events on the weekends and started to master the art of communication and learned to enjoy the daily process of progress.
After graduating, I worked in an office focusing on marketing, patient education and experiences and a weight loss and detox program that became my passion. I started to feel the weight of student loan debt and the time intensity of work that led to feelings of guilt as a mom for missing many moments. I was embracing a new vision of starting an online business that would allow more time flexibility to balance motherhood and my career.
Moving my passion online was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I was driven to “become successful” as an entrepreneur, creating weight loss and cleansing program with nutrition products called, Dr. DelRaes Detox. I quickly learned the weight loss and nutraceutical industry lacked the integrity I desired and the perpetuation of diet culture in marketing left me feeling empty, frustrated and lonely. I was a solopreneur who lacked purpose and was experiencing burnout mentally and physically.
6 years ago, I hit my breaking point. I was now a new mother again, after welcoming another little girl into the world and was in another personal and professional transition. I was depressed, isolated, experienced debilitating anxiety and was more financially insecure than I had ever been. I felt my life had very little value and worth and my self confidence and self esteem was at an all time low. I was physically and emotionally exhausted and was praying for someone or something to come into my life.
One phone call changed the course and direction of my life. A woman, who gave me the space to discover if a new opportunity was a fit for me or not, allowed me to start dreaming big again. At the time, she breathed the belief into me that I needed, when I had none of my own.
I had been approached by many people about many different opportunities, so I was skeptical but open, as the pain points in my life at that time allowed me to at least be curious enough to take a look. I had been watching highly successful entrepreneurs align with this health and wellness company called Isagenix. Their stories intrigued me, because my priority was to create work/life integration, where I would no longer have to choose between my family and career. I desired impact, was driven by teamwork and craved an opportunity to step into more purpose through organizational leadership. Because I am an all in or all out kind of woman, I needed to shake hands with the co-founders of this visionary company and when I met Kathy and Jim Coover, who came out of retirement to start Isagenix and aligned with my core values of integrity and philanthropy, I was IN.
As a stressed and exhausted Mom, whose work and life was getting the best of me and girls were getting the leftovers, I needed a way to simplify the complexity of nutrition, nourish my body on the go and manage my overwhelming stress levels. Because of
my experience in the formulation of nutrition products, I was impressed with the company’s no comprise policy for ingredients to ensure the highest quality sourcing and third party testing that validates the products were free of heavy metals, bio toxins, herbicides and pesticides and were gluten and soy free with no artificial ingredients of any kind. As a health care professional and mom, who always valued high integrity ingredients and sustainability, I could rest my head on my pillow at night – finally – with a company that truly understood the importance of the value we place on an experience with nutrition a customer could trust.
I stumbled upon the business opportunity with Isagenix, after receiving my first weekly payment of nearly $600. I was a small business owner, whose mindset was wrapped around the traditional business model of high risk and overhead with sometimes years of not paying oneself. I was used to struggling in silence, alone and lonely and craving community. I was in business models with financial ceilings based on trading time for money and knew the power of residual income, but until I found Isagenix, was closed the industry of NWM, because I despised the hype, over promising and under delivering tactics, sales quotas, inventory and I thought I had to be a social media and online marketing master in order to have any success. Instead of accepting this limiting story, I learned the difference in not only our collaborative compensation plan, but also the one of a kind growth culture and community that is jim Coover’s proudest achievement in our nearly 20 years of existence as a company. Kathy taught me the power of resilience and her WHY of her desire to become a company that finally got it right in our industry- one you and your family can trust and build a future with more freedom of choice with the ability to pass our legacy business on to a future generation. She has a vision of creating the most amount of 6 and 7 figure income earners, who represent her and Jim’s character of leadership, driven by contribution and service to others.
I wanted a business blueprint and business strategy that would allow authenticity led marketing and heart led leadership that would build a team of visionary leaders, who had the same desire to make an impact. I took the 6 figures in 6 months plan and got to work. At the beginning, I knew as much as anyone else starting a new business in this new space – nothing. Because I lacked belief and self confidence, I would drown my doubts and fears in podcasts, free training videos and events and the mentorship I received in just a few months far exceeded the worth of hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans. I entered the evolved economy of low risk start up with an overhead I eat and the laptop lifestyle of working when and where I wanted with the ability to design my days around my alarm clock and priorities. Because my little girl was around 1 years old, I had to master my time. I was a hot mess express train, disorganized and overwhelmed, until I learned and mastered time blocking and leverage. I had a vision of creating a team of leader, who had the same common vision of helping more people create healthy, joyful and abundant lives, but were uniquely different and valued in their leadership styles. We had fun, enjoyed learning through new experiences and embraced the daily process of progress and growth over achievement. Nothing great has ever been done alone and my desire to build a team that felt like family and leadership interwoven with the thread of trust and unity, allowed me to create a 7 figure income in three years with Isagenix. Because this result is not typical, but POSSIBLE, I am always reminding you,
when I share my story, that the skills developed in the previous 10 years of my business experience and the grit mindset necessary to persist, there is no such thing as overnight success. Most families I work with have a goal of simply an extra $300/$500 per month to create financial breathing room, during these overwhelming and uncertain times. We have residual bills, why not have residual income? I always knew residual income was important and could buy more TIME – the most precious commodity we have, but I didn’t know the impact it would have until last year, when I lost both of my grandparents and supported a close family member through an incurable cancer diagnosis and treatments. I was able to say YES to family, when my time and financial restrictions previously would have made me say NO. I had a desire to retire my mom, give my family experiences I didn’t have as a child because of the commitment small family farmers must make with their time, and a way to magnify my character as a philanthropist who wants to make a positive impact with abundance.
6 years into my journey, the achievements and success of this business pale in comparison to who I’ve become as a mom, leader and life partner. What I have learned and how I’ve grown has impacted every area of my life to create the most meaningful and purposeful relationships. I have evolved my passions for health and wellbeing to become an advocate for mental health and relief/volunteer work to tell the story of how the science of service can be the cure to an achievement driven society and culture norm of sacrificing what is most important in our lives to get ahead.
The WellSpoken Lifestyle was born out of necessity. When I had an overwhelming response and inbox full of messages from during this challenging time, asking for community, support, encouragement, empowerment and real, raw and honest conversations about the hardships in our lives that allow us to transcend pain and embrace our humanity, I had to do something about it.
When we learn how to embrace radical forgiveness and self-love to release guilt and shame, we can embrace our authenticity, confidence, and find our voice.
I learned to trade limiting stories for empowering ones and found lasting fulfillment and joy through purpose driven work, service, and contribution.
Our community cultivates connection where you are valued, seen, and heard, empowers you through challenge and celebrates you as a COLLECTIVE.
We are better TOGETHER.
In gratitude and service,
DelRae