NIACC Pappajohn中心和SBDC表彰Still Waters Day &头皮水疗中心的梅根·丹尼斯为2025年12月的月度企业家

NIACC约翰·帕帕约翰创业中心和北爱荷华地区SBDC自豪地宣布，来自伊利诺伊州清澈湖的静水日和头皮水疗中心的梅根·丹尼斯成为2025年12月的月度企业家。

梅根从专业经验，个人好奇心和明确的目的感的混合建立了静水日和头皮水疗中心。 梅根开始了她的护理生涯，在进入牧师和传教工作之前，她在这个领域工作了几年。 虽然她发现她的时间是值得的，但她意识到她想念护理，并希望有一种方法再次使用这些专业技能。 “Founding Still Waters was a way to get back into that,” Megan said. “It’s been a good marriage of my professional skills with the business side of things. I’ve always felt that entrepreneur spirit of wanting to create and try new things.” Still Waters专注于护理美容服务，专注于头皮和面部护理，并提供额外的全身护理。 Megan’s guiding goal is to help her clients find a moment of rest and relaxation in an increasingly busy world.

Megan’s go-getter attitude led her to the idea of opening her own business, but the concept of a day spa caught her attention when she saw it featured on social media. “I was on social media one day and saw these luxurious hair and scalp treatments come across my screen and I was like, oh, that looks really relaxing,” Megan said. 然而，当她寻找当地的选择时，她发现最近的提供这种服务的水疗中心在芝加哥。 梅根意识到了市场的空白，并开始探索将这项服务引入爱荷华州所需的资质。 回到学校学习美学后，她准备把自己的梦想变成现实。

Megan’s next step was to join the NIACC Pappajohn中心 cohort of the University of Iowa’s Venture School, an eight-week entrepreneurial training program. 她在制定商业计划的早期就进入了风险学院，她认为广泛的客户发现过程塑造了Still Waters的未来。 “Venture School talked a lot about pivoting, and there was a point where I made a big pivot in finding out if this concept would work in our area. There was a huge interest in this specialized service,” she said, recalling how she shifted from massage-based ideas to the specialized scalp and facial model after interviewing potential customers. 风险学院强调深入的客户发现和现实世界的商业模式实验，这对梅根来说变成了与她的目标客户建立早期关系。 “After connecting with people in customer discovery, I could go back to them and say Still Waters is opening, come check it out, and just through word of mouth, it spread like wildfire,” she said.

梅根还与NIACC帕帕约翰中心和北爱荷华州SBDC的导师密切合作，从预算到寻找地点，她学习了创业的商业方面。 “I relied heavily on mentors,” she said. “Candi Karsjens and Ashley Page helped me so much. I didn’t have any business training or background but they helped me with how to move from idea to Venture School to actually opening my business.”

开业后，静水很快就找到了它的核心受众：那些很少给自己留时间的人。 “Most of the people who come in for the first time, it’s because it’s been gifted to them,” Megan said. “The best compliment is hearing them say ‘I can’t believe how much I needed that.’” For Megan, those are the moments that matter most and guide every part of the service experience at Still Waters. “This is the fuel that keeps me going, hearing that they’re getting exactly what I’d hoped – rest and refuge and relaxation,” she said.

回顾她的创业历程，梅根认为她的家人是她最坚定的支持者。 “They’re the people that stick with you through the whole process and cheer you on throughout,” she said. 作为一个独立的企业主，他们的鼓励在每个阶段都很重要。 梅根还鼓励所有想自己创业的人。 Her advice for others just starting out is simple: “Focus on your clients, their heart and their needs, and make sure that you’re actually meeting the thing that they’re looking for. When you figure out a way to do that that’s true to who you are and your skills, it builds a special relationship with your client. And that’s really what it’s all about.”

NIACC John Pappajohn创业中心是农村商业创新和成功方面的专家。 In partnership with North Iowa’s Small Business Development Center, together we provide tools, support, and resources to Iowa’s entrepreneurs. 我们为新的和现有的当地企业提供咨询，从主要街道到行业领导者。 We’re growing Iowa’s entrepreneurial culture through grade school initiatives, college and community programs, and business training and development. 请致电641-422-4111或[email protected]与NIACC Pappajohn中心联系。 Visit the NIACC Pappajohn中心 online at www.pappajohncenter.com.

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