A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION CHAMPIONING OUR LOCAL WOMEN IN BUSINESS. PHOTOGRAPY BY JESSICA WHITLEY.

Macon Holistic Chamber of Commerce, President
DNA Precision Nutrition, Founding Member & Owner

770-281-1281
barb@barbwilliams.com
holisticchamberofcommerce.com/macon
barbwilliams.com

What is the mission of your business?

Macon Holistic Chamber of Commerce aims to bring together our community of holistic, sustainable, natural, and eco-friendly professionals, practitioners and businesses.
DNA Precision Nutrition fits perfectly into the MHCC mission. We believe in people and in the human potential to create the extraordinary. We also believe in maximizing the quality of our health and the span of our health, not just to get the most length out of our lives, but to live our best lives and contribute to the success of our families, our teams, our companies and our societies. We want to do that for everyone – by building personal relationships. DNA Precision Nutrition has the resources to give you detailed insight into your very own genetics and the products to take action against your own personal challenges.

How do you define success?

I would define success as being a “path-changer,” offering a solution or filling a need at just the right time to make a life-changing difference to someone. Then, seeing that person do the same for someone else. See one, do one, teach one. As you climb up the ladder of success, turn around and hold out your hand to lift up the person behind you.

How has your business shifted because of the COVID-19 pandemic?

The COVID-19 Pandemic has hit my business in two ways:
The Macon Chapter of the Holistic Chamber of Commerce started the exact month of the Georgia Pandemic “lock-down.” It was devastating, as we had to cancel our planned launch. We will plan our relaunch in the very near future. We are looking for interested members and officer candidates to help connect our community and expand our National Directory.
DNA Precision Nutrition: People have become more focused on what is important to them: family, finances and health. Many people lost their jobs and are looking to transition into a business in which they can control. As a result, many people are discovering the work-from-home market is a viable option with tremendous opportunities. As such, our company is growing beyond expectation. Only 9 percent of women in the U.S. earn over $100,000 per year. 82 percent of these women are in networking sales, part time! The Global DNA Sequencing market is anticipated to reach $38 billion by 2027! It seems a perfect time to reach for health and wealth.

Your advice for women wanting to start their own business in Macon?

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn is credited with saying, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” If you surround yourself with a group of like-minded people, you will have a great support group, however, you will not necessarily become successful. Search out people who have accomplished what you want to accomplish, pick their brain, learn everything you can from them. Never stop reading, leaders are readers. Success will not come to those who are not prepared to for it. Put in your due diligence, learn from mistakes. Know “why” you set out on the path in the first place. Let that “why” pull you in times of frustration and setbacks. Keep a positive mindset, “what you think about, you bring about.” Have a definite major purpose. Focus on serving others, and by doing so, you will serve yourself. Build real relationships, be your authentic self. Do not let anything stop you and never quit.

What are you most excited about right now in our community?

I am most excited right now about the fact that people are finally venturing out more in public. It is even more exciting to see the smiles and the faces behind the masks.

You might be surprised that: The Holistic Chamber of Commerce offers a world-wide directory of members who are properly vetted and verified for legitimacy. the directory can be searched by name, specialty, and location.

What is the most gratifying part of your job?

It fills my soul to help and serve others – for someone who is in need of something or wanting to solve a problem for which I have an answer, to trust me and then to thank me for that answer. Helping people improve their health, without another prescription or doctor bill, and helping them to take action against a hereditary illness before it manifests is the most gratifying.

What has been the most challenging part of being a woman in business?

The hardest part about being a woman in business is that many men still look down on us. They disregard what we have to offer even when we have proven ourselves. Another thing is that people are not willing to give women the benefit of the doubt. When a new product is introduced into the community, men would rather use the old standard which is outdated, costly and produces less favorable results.

I admire women who: Had their lives planned out at a young age, followed through and became the woman they envisioned by the time they were 40. I admire women who believe in themselves and have not been jaded by their missteps along the way. I admire kindness and transparency, but honesty, by far, is highest on my list. Women who are their authentic self is the most admirable quality.

What was the best business advice you ever received?

The best business advice I have ever received is to never stop learning. Readers are Leaders. Continue to grow yourself in every way. Without the qualities of a leader, no one will follow.

I hope more women will: Consider careers that allow them work from themselves. Women can do whatever they set their mind to do. Fear is a liar. Look at fear as excitement! Trust your instincts, intuition will serve you well.

How can women better support each other?

Women can better support each other by keeping an open mind, do not dismiss anyone or anything without investigating its merit. Disregard nationality, creed or color when choosing who to support. We all have things that make us stand out from each other – embrace the diversity. Form a mastermind of women to strengthen common goals. Always ask for help and if you are able, always lend a hand.

How can men better support women business owners/leaders?

By taking out the gender quotient. Let the actions and/or results speak for themselves. Have an open mind when they first hear a woman’s name or see a woman’s picture or voice. Most importantly, stand up for women when others have doubts and have not yet heard her roar.

Looking back, I wish I had known: about health and wellness alternatives. Although, until recently, the most impactful solutions were neither cost effective, nor available with the technologies of the past. Be careful with what you feed your mind, body and soul. So many of today’s diseases are preventable with the correct lifestyle and nutrition. Now, we know each body has a unique set of fingerprints and unique nutritional needs. I also wish I had the foresight and faith enough in myself to create my own business in my 20s. I worked for almost 30 years in the corporate world for the promise of a pension and security that will never come. Women need to take control of their future and create their own dreams, not work their whole lives to create someone else’s.