An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Never give up. I saw an image one day and I think of it often to keep me on track. There’s a man who gave up digging looking for wealth. In this case it’s a diamond mine. He’s seen walking away because he’s given up and if he had taken one more crack at it, he would have found a mountain of diamonds. It says “Never give up on your dreams.” Then there’s another guy digging away even though he’s not even close to the diamonds. It says “You never know how close you are.”
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Mills.
Jennifer Mills is the President, Director and Corporate Secretary of Med-X, Inc, a leading innovator of all-natural green scene solutions addressing the pest control, health and wellness markets. Jennifer has worked for multiple companies in her career as a high-level accounting liaison, as well as in Human Resources and project management. Jennifer oversees the development of Med-X’s line of green, non-toxic brands that provide families with safer, natural alternatives — including Nature-Cide, Thermal-Aid and Malibu Brands.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I was adopted from Korea at the age of 7 and had to learn English fairly quickly. The tutors and teachers made such a positive impact on me that I wanted to be a teacher to give back to children what I was given. Although I may have gone down a different career path, my desire to help others has always been a part of me. So, when my husband, Matthew Mills, and I decided to go into business for ourselves, we created a natural heating and cooling product that we thought could make a big difference in the lives of others. This product became our first natural pain management product in the health and wellness industry known as Thermal-Aid and the Thermal-Aid Zoo for children.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
In a world that has pushed the idea that chemicals and pills are your best sources for pest control and pain management, our products are now breaking down that barrier by offering natural alternatives that are just as effective, if not better.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? What lessons did you learn from that?
It took me a while to be more assertive when it came to the design of our products, especially when it came to the design of our first box for our Thermal-Aid product. I have to admit that while I understood why my husband Matthew wanted to design our first product box the way we did, it was not good. We limited ourselves to just the medical field and it was not appealing to retail customers. One of the toughest lessons to learn is to hand off tasks that you don’t have experience in. I have ideas of what I like and want to see, but need to speak up and hire others to make that vision come to life.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
There isn’t just a single individual who made an impact on me during this journey but rather a large group of people. I saw individuals grow their businesses and brands to make a positive impact on consumers and non-profit organizations to help animals and individuals in need. Also, seeing commercials from The Honest Company or St. Jude’s always made me want to make a difference in someone’s life.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Share some examples of what you mean.
Our focus of being a disrupter falls on the health and wellness sector, with an emphasis on pointing out the issues with continued regular use of chemicals and pharmaceuticals being dangerous to one’s health and the environment. Med-X is truly making a difference to consumers and professionals alike with our product divisions. In my opinion, a negative example of disrupting an industry falls on the food industry, when a food manufacturer creates a plant-based product that is unhealthy and more fattening than what they are trying to replace. One product that comes to mind is the cooking oil substitute called Olestra which is still very controversial to this day.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
To say “Thank You” for the good and the bad that comes your way. I always write “Thank you for the money” on my bills when I receive them. It reminds me to be grateful that I have money to pay the bill and to focus on what I want instead of what I don’t have. It takes a lot of practice to do this but it just makes sense. In a world of duality, up/down, hot/cold, wet/dry, etc. If you focus on the negative things in your life, you’re going to continue to attract negative things. It goes without saying that if you focus on the positive things then you’ll attract more positive things.
Never give up. I saw an image one day and I think of it often to keep me on track. There’s a man who gave up digging looking for wealth. In this case it’s a diamond mine. He’s seen walking away because he’s given up and if he had taken one more crack at it, he would have found a mountain of diamonds. It says “Never give up on your dreams.” Then there’s another guy digging away even though he’s not even close to the diamonds. It says “You never know how close you are.”
How are you going to shake things up next?
Med-X has a major focus on product development with a variety of new products in the pipeline. Our distribution relations are quite sizable and there is plenty of demand for more health, wellness and environmentally friendly products. Our plan as a company is to not only continue to develop these types of products, but search high and low to help other companies who may have unique products that fit into these categories and collaborate and position these types of products alongside ours within our distribution arms.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
I feel like there aren’t enough women who feel comfortable enough to put themselves in a position to stir things up. There’s a level of fear of not being taken seriously or being accepted. As much as things have changed for the positive, there still are barriers that exist to keep women out of those positions.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
There are two books that I read every year. The first is The Secret and the second is Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. Both books have helped me change my perspective on money and understand the different aspects of my life. I gave a copy of The Secret to my oldest daughter and once she read it and started to utilize the lessons into her life, she would randomly call me and tell me how it worked.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
The main thing I like to practice daily is to be kind. It’s so simple yet I don’t think people do it enough. It’s one thing to say it versus actually doing it. Our society is moving at a fast pace and people tend to not practice small acts of kindness. The common practice of opening a door for a mother with a stroller or for an elderly individual, or even just saying hello to someone in an elevator seems to be something of the past, or at least from what I’ve seen and experienced lately. If I’m able to put a smile on someone’s face even for a moment, I’m glad to have been part of it. It would be amazing to see kindness spread and grow in today’s society.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? How has that been relevant to you in your life?
Thoughts = Feelings = Actions = Results. This life lesson has helped me realize that if I’m not getting the results I want, I have to change something — and that starts with my thoughts. I’ve used this both in business and in my personal life.
How can our readers follow you online?
You can find me on LinkedIn. I’m also active on Twitter @JenniferMills21.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Female Disruptors: Jennifer Mills of Med-X On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.