As an entrepreneur, we go through so many ups and downs. One of the most important things is our health so we can stay tip top shape to do what we do best. I have always had issues with my stomach and eating a yeast free, dairy free diet which causes so many problems in my work and my life as a whole. I was excited to sit down with Jamie Morea, the Gut Health Evangelist and Co-founder of Hyperbiotics.

StilettoGal: What motivated you to start your business/career path?

Jamie Morea: It sort of found me and was so clear that I didn’t have much choice in the matter. I was living what I thought was a great life and then became seriously ill from a parasitic infection. After 6 months in bed and a lot of answer-seeking, I began to understand the role our microbes play in keeping us healthy. As I regained my health, I slowly pieced together the fact that many of our modern lifestyle choices are waging war on our beneficial bacteria and making us think that it’s normal to be sick and tired, I realized that I had to do something to help others find and experience the true health I now had.

SG: What are three tips you can give to women who are deciding to start a business/career path?

JM: My best advice is to be patient and trust the process, staying curious and not ignoring or pushing down any thoughts or feelings that are within you. For me, it was in the depth of my darkest days, when I felt my life had crumbled completely, that my purpose became vividly clear and my professional path began to unfold.

SG: What challenges have you had and how did you overcome them?

JM: As a devoted mother of a toddler, balancing my passion for my work with my passion for my family is hands-down the greatest challenge I face. Luckily, our company culture is incredibly conducive to work-family balance and I am repeatedly soothed by the feeling that we are all in it together

SG: What are some unique things you have done to promote your business/yourself?

JM: We are big advocates that gut health begins and birth and since breastfeeding plays a critical role in the microbial inoculation of an infant, myself and two other of our lactating team members have decided to take a stand and share a variety photos we have nursing our babes in every day life. This oh-so-exposed campaign will go live on Instagram this May in an effort to help normalize breastfeeding in our selectively-prude culture.

SG: How do you define success?

JM: Success for me lies is the exhilaration of creation. I love pushing the envelope, challenging the status quo, building what didn’t exist before, expanding possibilities, and making a difference by making things better. All of the above is also my idea of a good time. So in my life, work is often synonymous with fun.

SG: What legacy would you like to leave?

JM: If you can dream it, you can have it, be it or do it.

SG: What kind of shoe are you and why?

JM: Someone once told me that my archetype could be summed up with the phrase “keep up or stop following me”. With that in mind, I’d say a tattered pair of sneakers is appropriate.

Jamie’s brand Hyperbiotics can be purchased in all target stores as of today.