Dr. Ashley Margeson is third at bat for our "7 Questions With..." series! Not only is she a tireless community advocate and innovative healthcare practitioner, but she's also the creator of the 21 Day Teatox featured in our Challenges! Here's Dr. Ashley's take on what it means to be in business:
1. How did you get started in business?
I think if you had told me 5 years ago that I’d be focusing on a medical based business and a start-up tech company I would have looked at you like you were cross-eyed. Running a medical based business seemed like the most logical option as I started to really define what “making an impact” meant to me. With that, it was finding a way to merge my private medical practice with assisting companies and organizations in supporting their employee health needs - which ultimately has huge population based changes. Healthcare wasn’t just about treating someone after they were diagnosed, but rather it became focused on redefining what wellness looked like, what accessibility looked like and ultimately what preventive medicine entailed.
2. What is your morning routine?
I don’t particularly enjoy mornings. And I’m the first one to say that. My alarm goes off at 6:30am, but I don’t generally get out of bed until 7:20ish. I spend those first 50 minutes stretching, planning my day and writing my daily segment of “The Five Minute Journal”. Then I’m up, I make my morning coffee (coffee, protein powder, coconut oil all blended together), I usually always have leftovers from the night before for breakfast, and I’m at the office by 8:30am.
3. What's a goal you're working towards right now?
Integration. I don’t really believe in work-life balance, it feels like this lofty goal that will never actually be achieved because with balance you’re always trading one thing for another. So I’m working on integration - where the different aspects of my life blend together and support each other. It’s a work in progress and my sanity gets tested most days. I currently feel like I’m walking through a pile of mud, but I’m learning to live in the uncomfortable nature of it, and trying to stay grounded in it.
4. Where is your favourite place in Halifax for dinner?
Right now I’m a big fan of ChainYard, or more precisely Unchained Kitchen. I’m a big believer in food that warms you from the inside out. I love trying new restaurants, but when I want a restaurant that I can count on for great food EDNA, Rhubarb and enVie are always at the top of my list.
5. What's a quote you live by?
Eleanor Roosevelt was once quoted as saying “Well behaved women rarely make history”. It’s a well-used quote that has sat with me for years in the sense that I never wanted to be defined by other people’s opinions of me, and my work. It’s a nice little reminder at the back of your head for when you’re pushing through on the harder days.
6. When was the last time you failed spectacularly at something?
Yesterday? I embrace failure and mistakes with open arms. It’s something that medicine has taught me - everything is shades of grey, there is never a black and white. There is rarely a “right answer”, so I don’t look for it anymore. I can’t remember the last time I spectacularly failed at something, but little fails and mistakes every day - that’s a constant.
7. What makes you smile without fail?
Coffee, and fresh flowers. Guaranteed.
Dr. Ashley is a huge source of inspiration and encouragement to us here at Sauté. She is always striving to better the lives of the people around her and we are thrilled to be partnering with her and a handful of like-minded local businesses on an upcoming Instagram challenge that she put together. Head over to @drashleymargeson for details!
