An interview with Djuan Short (LCSW), CEO at Dahlia Rose Wellness Center.

What was your inspiration for starting your business, Dahlia Rose Wellness Center? 

I grew up in a family that cared about the community and wellbeing. My mom worked with individuals who had intellectual and developmental disabilities, and my grandmom fostered children and youth. That was my first introduction to social workers and understanding how they help to keep the family system together and/or to create new family systems for children. 

In my master of social work program, I worked with children and youth at a community mental health clinic, which also meant I had a lot of interactions with the parents, primarily the mothers. A lot of mothers would express their own challenges with parenting and managing their emotional and mental needs due to dealing with their own trauma, thus impacting their ability to parent in a way that truly nurtured their children. At the time, I identified those challenges as the effects of unprocessed trauma and as I have grown in my career and clinical expertise, I have expanded what I saw back then to include a concept called “Parts” which comes from a therapeutic modality called Internal Family Systems.  

Essentially, what became clear is that while these women may have had trauma in their history, they were also impacted by having either underdeveloped parts (aspects of themselves that were not nurtured or supported due to having a caregiver who may have been preoccupied with their own issues) or undeveloped parts (aspects of themselves that were never developed due to their primary caregiver not having the knowledge that this is something that was needed for their development because they never received it). In summary, a person cannot give you what they do not have, hence the importance of re-parenting oneself with the support of therapy and other healing modalities.   

At the time Dahlia Rose Wellness Center was being formed, I was actively and continue to participate in continuing education programming focused on trauma and healing which led to certifications such as Certified Grief and Loss Professional by NASW-NJ (2024), Certificate in Women’s Entrepreneurship by Cornell University (2022), Certified Yoga Therapist- (C-IAYT, E-RYT 500) by YogaLife Institute (2022), EMDR Certified Therapist by EMDR International Association (2022), and a Certified Trauma-Competent Professional by Lakeside Global Institute (2019). Each certification has been instrumental in providing services to clients while guiding business growth and development. 

Currently, Dahlia Rose Wellness focuses primarily on individuals who are navigating anxiety and trauma and how it impacts them in the workplace. We empower women to love themselves by engaging in behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that align with the highest version of themselves by practical yet therapeutic tools and strategies to create a happy, healthy, and healed life without guilt. When it comes to healing, these women need to be able to support others in their lives while not taking away from themselves. 

I’ve been in business now for five years and it’s been a beautiful experience. My work has been the culmination of every experience in my life. From being a kid and seeing foster children in our home to being someone who now supports women with how to take care of themselves first and then everyone else by teaching and sharing what they have learned.  

What drew you to WBEC-East? 

During the first few years, including the beginning of COVID-19, I connected with many online entrepreneurial and business development programs, which often focused on large gatherings as part of developing business opportunities. However, after a few years of being in online spaces, I shifted my focus to connecting with more local business development entities, including WBEC-East. 

I remember going on to WBEC-East’s website and immediately thinking, “Okay, this is another resource for me,” and “Oh, there’s training opportunities and networking events, places where I can go and meet like-minded people, etc.” I still wanted a community. And then I realized I could also find potential clients through these opportunities, too.  

It became another space for me to tap into, and it was different because other communities have been more everyone-focused and not necessarily women-focused. I knew this was a place where serious businesswomen go to connect and be supported by one another. 

What small business resources have supported you the most? 

When I found WBENC, I first registered for the WBENC National Conference and attended every prep session available. I learned the lingo and heard from long-time conference attendees. It gave me confidence to show up to the conference ready to make connections. 

While I was at the conference, every woman that I met was like, “You need to go over there and talk to her. You should go talk to her. You need to tell her about your business,” and I have never been in a space where I needed to go talk about my business so much! It was so inspiring to have people who supported me. I learned so much about how to market my business locally as well as globally. 

During the RPO meet up sessions I really connected with other women business owners from my area and learned everything WBEC-East had to offer. It was this experience that led me to register for the Kaufman FastTrac® program in Spring 2024. I graduated with my complete business plan and had the resources to take Dahlia Rose Wellness to the next level. 

How have your business needs shifted over time?  

Initially, when I started my business, a lot of what I was focusing on was how to replace my income. Then, when I decided to go full time in 2022, I was learning how to shift from being an employee, to being self-employed, to being a business owner, which are all three different mindsets. As a therapist, people can sometimes pull on your heartstrings, so creating boundaries and using policies and procedures to keep myself and the business safe is something I’ve been learning over time. 

I’ve participated in programs, including the B-Smart Entrepreneurial Program (which is a partnership between Drexel University, VestedIn, and West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative), FastTrack, and the Women Business Accelerator Program with the AACC. I completed my initial business plan refinement with B-Smart and did the next iteration with FastTrac. I have a business consultant and a marketing consultant through other SBDCs, and I still partner with all of them today.  

My motivation for joining these programs was my desire to maintain community with other entrepreneurs. I sought to develop my business acumen, expand my practice to employ others, and create a workplace that helps those we employ heal through their work, allowing them to help their clients heal on a deeper level. This aligns with the African proverb “each one, teach one.” The phrase is based on the idea that knowledge should be shared to improve the community. I can build a company that provides healing to all within my community and in return they help to heal those they are connected to. 

What advice do you have for somebody who is just starting their small business? 

Make sure that you are saving money if you are still working at your “9-to-5.” That’s where you pull from to invest in your business, especially if you have startup costs. Also, make sure that you are either working with a financial planner or working with someone you trust around your finances, so that way, when you do decide to leave your job and go into business full time, you can feel comfortable. 

The second thing I would say is, understand your “why.” You need a why that’s going to get you up every day. One that is going to move you forward when you’re tired, when you don’t feel like putting in effort, when you want to give up and just go get a job. Because, if you understand what your why is, you’re more likely to move in the direction of allowing your why to be your reality. Your why should be the thing that you’re always coming back to, your purpose. 

Finally, document your experience, because between building a business and living life, there’s a lot that’s going on. Much of our day-to-day lives greatly impacts how we do business: whether it’s the things you learn growing up, what you are experiencing right now, who you’re connected to, and even your friends. So, journal and document your experience so you can look back and say, “Wow! That was my proudest moment,” or, “Look at everything I’ve done!” 

How can people connect with you? 

If someone is looking for therapy, you can always go to our website dahliarosewellness.com and fill out a consultation form. You can also email us at admin@dahliarosewellness.com to schedule a consultation. Finally, follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

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