We were lucky to catch up with Danielle Desroche recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Danielle, appreciate you sitting with us today. Maybe we can start with a topic that we care deeply about because it’s something we’ve found really sets folks apart and can make all the difference in whether someone reaches their goals. Self discipline seems to have an outsized impact on how someone’s life plays out and so we’d love to hear about how you developed yours?
My self-discipline was developed at an early age through my ballet training. Unlike most athletes who decide they want to try to go pro in high school, ballet dancers typically have to start training at such a level much earlier in life. I was 9 when I decided I wanted to pursue a career in ballet. While other kids were going to summer camp or hanging around with their home town friends, I was traveling to a new city to train in ballet 7 days a week. When it was time to go to lunch or recess I would stay in my classroom to finish my homework knowing I have 5 hours of training that night. While most middle school and high school kids looked forward to school dances, I was missing them for rehearsals and performances.
This discipline was carried with me when I left the ballet world and pursued my second career in medicine. It allowed me to commit to long nights of studying, nine years of academics, and eventually led to building a successful virtual medical practice.
Although looking back on my life I missed out on a lot of the typical kid things, I know the discipline I developed in ballet got me to where I am today.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a naturopathic doctor, which is unlike most doctors you’ve worked with before. I specialize in PCOS, fertility, and women’s hormones.
I have my Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from the National University of Natural Medicine and my Bachelors of Science in Nutrition from the University of Vermont. As a naturopathic doctor I was trained in both conventional therapies, including pharmaceuticals, and natural therapies including nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle medicine.
Unlike conventional medicine which often prescribes a pill for every problem, naturopathic medicine focuses on addressing the root cause of symptom and looks at the body as a whole. Meaning your low energy, hair loss, painful periods, and irregular digestion are all related.
After completing my residency in primary care I opened my virtual medical practice where I primarily help women heal the root cause of their PCOS so they can have regular periods and get pregnant naturally. Many women with PCOS are told they can never have kids or will need IVF and this simply isn’t true. I’ve worked with hundreds of women, many of whom tried to conceive for 5+ years, yet were able to get pregnant within just a few months of working together.
Along with 1:1 consultations, I offer a 6-week program, The PCOS Pregnancy Protocol, that takes women through my proven framework for getting pregnant with PCOS. I am also passionate about educating women about their bodies and do this weekly on my podcast titled Heal Your Hormones with Dr. Danielle.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The first is bravery, which may sound odd, but in naturopathic medical school there is a lot of fear instilled in us. We were made to think we had to work for a clinic the was already established and accept insurance or we’d never be able to pay our bills. However, not all states allow naturopathic doctors to bill insurance, and as a result those states have very few naturopathic clinics. When I moved to Georgia to be closer to my niece and nephew in 2020, I knew I would be forced to start my own cash-based practice if I wanted to live here. I had no other options. The easy choice would have been to stay in a state like Oregon or Vermont, two states I had previously lived where naturopathic medicine was covered by insurance, however I knew I had to take the chance and try to make it on my own.
The second if not being afraid of failure. In the past 3 years of my business there have been many trial and errors. I’ve had to adapt with changes in social media, which was initially how I connected with most of my new clients. As a recovering perfectionist it could have been easy to never start because I never felt ready, but if I never started I wouldn’t have reached as many women as I have today.
Third is my ability to create connection. Moving to a new city and starting my business simultaneously forced me to reach out to anyone and everyone who would speak to me. Physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, you name it. I sent over 100 emails to health care providers asking if they’d be willing to meet with me to learn more about what I do and how I could potentially help their patients/clients. Now three years later, some of those people have because my closest friends in Atlanta.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
My father was a huge inspiration for owning my own practice. A business owner himself, I saw first hand the work ethic it took to build something successful. After completing my residency, I was interviewing at various clinics while simultaneously trying to decide if in fact I did want to work for myself. He told me “You bet on yourself”, and I’m so glad I did. Although the drive, organization, and discipline that is required for owning your own business can be exhausting, knowing that I can support my clients in a way that feels authentic to me makes my job my passion. Owning my own practice has also given me a quality of life I never thought possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.drdanielledesroche.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdanielle.nd/
- Other: Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/drdanielle.nd/
PCOS Pregnancy Protocol: https://www.drdanielledesroche.com/pcos-ppp-final-launch-sales-page-1
