A childhood shaped by tragedy that in turn, shaped a lifelong career for Gaby Van Houten is the story I get to share with you today.
Gaby grew up in London when her sister, Suzanne, was involved in a horrific car accident. A traveller was driving on the wrong side of the road and hit the car head-on. 97 stitches to just her face later, Suzanne had a long road of recovery ahead.
Gaby watched her sister get weekly facials that improved her quality of life and sped up her recovery. She did not have plastic surgery and credits the therapeutic massage oils and massage techniques for the remarkable healing.
That is how Gaby found a passion for skin care.
Gaby found VonLee School of Esthetics that taught the classic European technique that mirrored the approach Gaby’s sister was treated with. She was able to do state boards and get fully certified in Nebraska as a Licensed Esthetician.
Gaby & her mother then founded, Van Houten Beauty Therapy Center.
Gaby loved the traditional facial industry but she grew tired of the time boxed appointments and product driven approach.
She wanted to continue to grow and find new ways to impact her clients lives. She then discovered, Ayurveda, pronounced eye-your-veda.
Okay, wait….HUH? I have never heard this word in my entire life. I’m talking to Gaby like, “Wait – can you spell that?”
So, obviously, we are gonna deep dive a minute into what this is. I am fascinated!
Ayurveda is a sister science of yoga, and encompasses a mind body approach to healing!
A common saying is that Yoga is what you do on the mat while Ayurveda is more about what you do off the mat. Practiced together there is greater potential for a more harmonious life.
The overall goal of the Ayurvedic approach is to help patients see their self-care strategies and habits outside of their workout routine influence their overall health and well-being more than standard American fitness & spa’s like to advertise.
Ayurvedic medicine encourages the patient to trust more in their own intuition. A perfect patient is anyone. But, especially someone that is tired of not feeling 100% but can’t really identify why. Many times, Gaby receives patient referrals from mental health practitioners. Therapists that also take a full mind & full body approach to care work closely with Gaby to help their patients revolutionize their lives!
She helps patients with many more modern diseases that could be born out of stress like IBS. Ayurvedic medicine believes that all diseases begin in the digestive system so a great deal of attention is focused on how the patient is digesting food and emotions. The approach is more mindfulness. More trust. More full body.
Celebrities like Deepak Chopra and Oprah have been practicing Ayurveda for years. Gaby is now bringing this luxury self-care to the masses in Omaha, NE.
Let’s Talk Entrepreneurship
Covid has definitely brought challenges to Gaby’s practice as it is very much based on an in-person connection and approach. She is offering a free Zoom session to help potential patients understand more about the approach.
If you are curious about Ayurveda, check out Gaby’s website here: http://gabyvanhouten.com
Biggest Challenges of Entrepreneurship
Gaby shared that one of her biggest challenges has been the need to be so public. She would prefer to stay in her comfort zone and keep a private profile. In entrepreneurship, this is impossible. We have to be out there, sharing our stories!
Additionally, she loves the healing. The humans. The helping. Now, the accounting, marketing, and social media….not so much her favorite. Being a solo entrepreneur will challenge your brain like nothing before. Learning all the things, can be quite an undertaking.
She also encourages anyone to be prepared for the amount of work that it takes to truly build a business. “Be ready for the hard work.”
Try to find role models in your industry – find out what worked for them, emulate them. Keep up to date.
Have you tried Ayurveda? Let me know in the comments below!
Ayurveda is something I have been interested in for quite some time. I started a business at the end of 2019 and have overworked myself trying to build a solid foundation. I love that Gaby’s suggestions includes methods of stress relief and consistent self care.
This is a neat article. I’m like you, I had no idea what that word was! Thanks for the informative post.
Amazing story of someone who turned her tragedy into triumph. I applaud her.