Dr. Agnieszka Matusik and Dr. Jolene Kennett graduated from school together as Naturopathic Physicians and were great friends. They shared the same vision of creating an integrative health centre that focused on health promotion and disease prevention.

Encouraged by the common goal, they started CareMed, a multi-disciplinary health centre in North Vancouver, BC.

CareMed provides natural and integrative health care solutions including the services of naturopathic physicians, registered massage therapists, a chiropractor and an acupuncturist. The health centre also provides laboratory services and a natural health product dispensary for patients.

Loan Client Q&A

Q. What inspired you to take the leap and start your own business?

Agnieszka: I love having a vision and working to fulfill it. I enjoy the variety of “hats” that I get to wear when running a business. Being a business owner is never boring!

Jolene: The sky is the limit if I am in control! I enjoy the freedom of being my own boss. Like Agnieszka, I also thrive on the numerous hats that I wear while running the business.

Q. What’s the biggest lesson you learned when starting your business?

Agnieszka: We have realized that everything takes time and we need to keep on top of tasks so that they don’t pile up or get lost. I firmly believe in “Don’t put off doing something to tomorrow, if you can do it today”.

Q. What are your goals for the business?

Jolene: Our goal is to expand to various locations. I also see our medical centre as a place where patients can come for any type of health concern and be confident that their health problems will be addressed in a professional, efficient and medically safe manner.

Q. What is your greatest strength as an entrepreneur?

Agnieszka: My greatest strength is the ability to seek out opportunities and connect with others to promote business and a willingness to learn new skills such as social media.

Jolene: I enjoy connecting with people! This helps me in creating trusting relationships with others. I am also very good with numbers and it helps me keep track of our business finances.

Q. What personal lessons have you learned as an entrepreneur?

Jolene: We have learned not to trust everybody where business commitments are concerned. For example, on numerous occasions, especially during clinic construction, I was naive in thinking that we were getting a “good” deal because the tradesman told me so. I was wrong. We have learned to separate business from our personal lives. This helps us make informed business decisions.