Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset with Mark Suh

Brian chats with Mark Suh, a serial entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Everwell, an Orange County, CA-based wellness clinic. On the episode, Mark shares how a series of health trials led to a wellness journey that transformed his life and sparked his passion for Everwell, his first mission-driven venture.

Mark also opens up about why mindset is the most challenging but essential aspect to develop as an entrepreneur. And he touts the importance of flexibility, a skill he used after opening the doors to Everwell just months into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Episode Highlights

Mission-driven entrepreneurs never work another day.

Although it's cliche, Mark believes that mission-driven entrepreneurs never have to work another day of their life. That's because their passion underlies everything they do for the business.

"I don't really feel like I'm coming to work," Mark said. "Mondays are exciting. Mondays are not a drag."

For Mark, that mission is to help people become the best version of themselves one client at a time. It's a mission that's personal to him because when he was in his 30s he went through a series of health challenges, including two back surgeries. He attributed the health trials to sacrificing his health to build prior businesses.

"In my 20s and 30s, I thought all you gotta do is sacrifice your body to make ends meet and make money and that's all that mattered. ... Then I found my passion," Mark said. "I love being able to help and being able to have the solutions and answers, especially since I've lived through it."

Mindset is the hardest part.

Mark believes that developing an entrepreneurial mindset is the hardest part of starting your own business and a key reason why more people don't make that entrepreneurial leap. Being an entrepreneur means having a belief in yourself that is stronger than fear of instability, risk, and uncertainty.

"That belief in yourself has to be strong enough so that you don't quit," Mark said. "Everything else you can figure out. … But the emotional part, it's hard to teach. It's very difficult."

Be able to pivot quickly.

Mark advises mission-driven business owners to be fluid and be able to pivot quickly depending on the situation. That's a skill he has employed after opening his clinic in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The business right now that we have is not the business that we set out to do," Mark said. "We've had to add different products; we had to push different things; we had to shift our branding a little bit."

It's also important to balance nimbleness with a long-term vision, Mark said. He's always projecting where he wants his business to be in a few years and has an exit strategy in mind.

"Climates change, and nothing lasts forever," Mark said. "During the financial crisis … when I saw humongous corporations go under that have been around for decades, I came to the realization that nothing lasts forever, so we've got to have an exit strategy."

Resources + Links

• Everwell's website
• Mark's Instagram
• Brian's Social Media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

About Brian and the Mission Driven Business Podcast

Brian Thompson, JD/CFP, is a tax attorney and certified financial planner who specializes in providing comprehensive financial planning to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs who run mission-driven businesses. The Mission Driven Business podcast was born out of his passion for helping social entrepreneurs create businesses with purpose and profit.

On the podcast, Brian talks with diverse entrepreneurs and the people who support them. Listeners hear stories of experiences, strength, and hope and get practical advice to help them build businesses that might just change the world, too.