About Dr. Rachel Dew
My name is Rachel Eva Dew, DNM, PhD. I am a Doctor of Natural Medicine, entrepreneur, and author. My entire career has focused on creation. Creating what I see that people need in the spaces of healthcare and whole-body wellness, and often building from the ground up. The journey has taken me from my first start-up venture over twenty-five years ago, and has continued through creating ModiHealth, a virtual platform that seamlessly meld health and wellbeing support needs with an accessible digital experience. With a Doctorate in Natural Medicine and Ph.D. in Integrative Medicine, I have been passionate about pioneering a new way to deliver holistic, integrative medicine and wellness to people worldwide. Whole-person health and wellness care is my passion. But I realized early on the power of technology to reach more people, and since then, my career has been a marriage of tech and business and healthcare.
You can find me online at:
Websites: Modiht.com | Drracheldew.com
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | ModiHealth – Instagram |
Why did you become an entrepreneur?
I became an entrepreneur because I am committed to creating positive change. When I did not see appropriate or accessible solutions, I began building them myself. When I launched my first business, I had not completed college, I was a single mother both struggling and juggling with the demands of parenting as well as the passion that I had for career. During those early years I learned a lot through trial and error. I eventually went back to school, achieved my PhD, and then had a private practice in the integrative health and wellness space for years before launching my next business.
How do you deal with fear?
Fear is a normal emotion. When fear is present, I acknowledge it, process it, and release it. Part of the way that I deal with things that are unknown or potentially overwhelming is to do a lot of research and show up prepared. I never allow fear to limit my ability to continue to move forward. It is okay to move forward and still have some feelings of fear or discomfort. Not all uncomfortable feelings are bad. Often, they lead to growth and new levels of success.
How do you deal with rejection?
I learned a powerful lesson about rejection early on by reading the book, “The Four Agreements’ by Don Miguel Ruiz… in it one of the agreements is ‘never take anything personally’. That is a gem that I took to heart and have carried with me. Rejection is not about you. There are many reasons deals fall through, clients go another way or investors are not interested in moving forward but at the end of the day, never ever take these things personally. Take them not as rejection but as important feedback to learn and grow from.
What’s the name of your company? What exactly does your company do, how do you help people?
ModiHealth seeks to create a healthier world, helping users transform their health and wellbeing by using technology to make whole person health easily accessible, understandable, and actionable to all. By aggregating lifestyle, wellness, mental health, and medical care under one virtual roof, ModiHealth’s vision will change the dynamic of how people receive the care and resources they need to get and stay healthy. ModiHealth’s technology platform is an integrative whole person care approach that will change how doctors and practitioners practice medicine and wellness care. Through live virtual care sessions with both MDs and wellness practitioners, hundreds of hours of proprietary on-demand streaming service content, concierge health memberships, customizable fitness & nutrition plans and health data tracking through the ModiHealth health app’s gamified machine learning AI, we will provide a true pathway to transforming users health and wellbeing with education, motivation, support and introduction to holistic lifestyle techniques to change the mindset of people from one of reactive health care to proactive well care. With the combination of resources, virtual care, and the use of machine learning AI for health data tracking and analytics that are accessible, sharable, and most importantly, actionable, users can get and stay healthy.
Name one of the biggest challenges you have faced and how did you overcome it?
I have learned the most from things that either did not work or led to negative outcomes in business. In one company that I founded back in early 2000’s; we tied our entire marketing to another company. This made us reliant on the other company for success and was a dangerous and disempowering position to be in. O learned that lesson when the other company ceased to perform, and we experienced a 90% drop in revenue overnight! That was an incredible learning experience, one that has led me to build much stronger self-sustaining companies. The goal is not to ever have a misstep, that is how we learn and grow as entrepreneurs. The goal should be to learn from what does not work, fine tune, and improve our game plan to achieve even bigger levels of success. That is why I do not believe in ‘mistakes or ‘failure’… they are all part of the growth process and should be expected.
What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your career?
It takes time and also that if changing the world was easy, everyone would be doing it. Be disciplined and committed to the long-term vision. Find the resources and support needed, including mentorship to help you and your business thrive.
Who are your biggest influences and people you admire and why?
My biggest influences are the many, many women who work hard to achieve great things while also creating powerfully positive social impact. They are my heroes!
Name a person who helped you along the way?
Over the years I have had numerous mentors. Each one has been critical to my growth, especially my uncle Joel who has mentored me in business for years. I believe that mentorship is a hugely important thing for every entrepreneur to have, and for every human being to have for that matter.
What do you see as your greatest success in life, so far?
Out of all my accomplishments, my greatest success is my contribution to the human being my daughter grew into. In business, I am most proud of trusting myself and standing firm in the belief and execution of creating a successful company without sacrificing positive social impact. As entrepreneurs we can be world-changers and create a better world all while also thriving in business. It starts by using what is already in your hands and asking yourself, ‘how else could this resource or tool help others’. For example, at ModiHealth, we have over 140 healthcare and wellness practitioners. When we are interviewing them, we always ask if they would be willing to donate 1-hour per month in service. This is a way that we can also begin to offer free virtual health services to those in need as we grow.
What book would you recommend and why?
My last two books of course! Healing The Total Self and Transform (both available on Amazon and drracheldew.com)! Another book I love is ‘Start with Why’ by Simon Sinek. It is very helpful for entrepreneurs to get clear about the core or root of their ideas and values.
What’s a personal self-talk, mantra, affirmation, or self-belief that contributes to your success?
There are two big ones, ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’ and ‘what else can you do with what is already in your hands’. The second one is a question I often ask myself which leads to creative and innovation solutions and expansion.
