AUGUST ENTREPRENEUR MONTH – ALUMNI SHOWCASE WITH SILVIA BERNHARD
Forbes magazine said in 2016 that women are becoming more entrepreneurial. This is definitely correct with our alumni. Silvia Bernhard is our fourth entrepreneur for this month, and the third woman, and is the founder and owner of QiHealth.
Having been a sports enthusiast since a young age, Silvia was always looking how to contribute to the sports industry and help athletes as well as the general public to feel better and enhance their performance. Previous to her studies with AISTS Silvia had a degree from Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne and managed various health and spa resorts in China. In 2015 the opportunity to further develop her skills in the wellness industry arose and she completed a diploma in KORE therapy education in the UK. KORE therapy is a proven revolutionary therapy which can ease ailments and conditions, improve sporting ability and performance and make a huge difference to recovery time. With these skill acquired Silvia was eager to share the passion, skills and knowledge, with the aim to reduce the stress and pain in the world at least a bit. Having seen the positive effects through KORE therapy, enabling athletes who have been unable to compete due to pain and injuries to return to their sport, has been a driving motivational factor for the development of QiHealth.
So Silvia set out in 2016 as a Swiss hospitality graduate with the AISTS MAS degree in sport management and a KORE therapy diploma from the UK, and most importantly with a passion for transforming people into their best form. Working with sport associations such as the women’s football club in Geneva and the Beach Volleyball World Tour in Gstaad along with her regular clients, Silvia’s venture is growing daily .
“Not only do athletes benefits from being in their best form through manual therapy, but the general public do as well, resulting in more effective and efficient individuals.”
Silvia’s philosophy in running QiHealth is
“Follow your passion, love what you do and pay attention to details. Whatever you do, do it with your entire heart. It is not ‘work’, it is a ‘pleasure’ and a ‘choice’.”
However to grow a business you need partners and clients. One of the challenges for QiHealh is gaining clients. For Silvia continuously knocking on doors until one opens is an exhausting and yet an essential part of business development.
“You have to accept several rejections before you find a strong positive path and in the meantime you are required to stay strong and positive and keep on going.”
However, Silvia has a realistic outlook on her business and knows that mistakes happen everywhere and to everyone.
“Every mistake is an opportunity to learn and grow, the biggest mistake however is to ignore a mistake or make the same mistake twice.”
For Silvia, at the end of the day, the goal is to develop the idea and benefit of KORE therapy to help produce healthier and stronger individuals, but more importantly to personally reach a feeling of achievement, of independency and to do what she does out of pleasure and not out of duty. To find out more about QiHealth click here or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
