Kasandra Sia Interview | Respect the Founder
This interview was curated by Abby Lee Rose
Kasandra Sia sat down with Stereotype to discuss her entrepreneurship journey.
What is the name of your business?
Kalinaw Wellness
Where are you from?
Staten Island, New York
What was your first business? How old were you?
I started this business in September of this year (2024) and I am 31 years old.
When did you know working for yourself was the way to go?
I was an office manager for so many years for other companies and I helped them to run their businesses and I just knew that I could do it for myself one day. Once I finished acupuncture school and started working on my license and spending so much money on everything, I said to myself "why should I make money for someone else when I could do it for myself?"
Can you talk us through your career to date and how you found your way to where you are now?
Originally, I was on the path to becoming a physical therapist but after getting denied by all the schools I applied for, I was guided by my boss at the time, who is a chiropractor and physical therapist, to look into acupuncture because he felt like I would be good at it. After doing more research on the medicine, I quickly began interested in everything it could do. I started acupuncture school in 2019 at the Pacific College of Health & Science and the more i learned at PCHS, the more I knew this was where I was supposed to be and what I was meant to do. One year into my schooling, right when I was about to start all my hands-on classes, Covid hit and that definitely set me back a bit but we pushed through and I finally graduated in August 2023, took all my exams and was officially a licensed acupuncturist in August 2024. I started Kalinaw Wellness, opened my first acu space in September and just opened up a second location in December.
What inspired you to start your business?
I fell in love with Chinese Medicine and I have such a passion for teaching it to others. There is nothing more satisfying than being able to heal others while also teaching them how and why this medicine is working for them!
What are some of the biggest challenges you see in your market?
I've noticed that people are interested in acupuncture but won't try it because they are afraid of needles but I am here to tell you that they are so small that in most areas, you won't even feel a thing.
Who was one of your biggest supporters early on?
My boyfriend was and will always be my biggest supporter. He would always let me practice my needling on him, even early on in the program when my needling wasn't the best yet.
What advice do you have for professionals looking to get started in your industry?
The best advice I could share is to keep going and know that everything will fall into place eventually.
What is some advice you would give to someone with a dream?
As the Cinderella song says, "A dream is a wish your heart makes" so my advice would be to always follow your heart and just go for it because nothing can come from anything if you don't start somewhere.
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/kalinawwellness
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