Nurse Entrepreneur, Joan Ortiz

[00:00] Michelle: I am in awe of Joan Ortiz. She's a multifaceted woman. She's a registered nurse, an internationally board-certified Lactation Consultant, an inventor, and an accomplished businesswoman and Vice President of Limerick, Inc. She gives us practical advice on how to make the jump from the bedside to the business sector, and she makes it look easy. In the five-minute snippet, her love of baseball is contagious. Take me out to the ball game! Here is Joan Ortiz. You're listening to the conversing nurse podcast. I'm Michelle, your host, and this is where together we explore the nursing profession one conversation at a time. Well, welcome to the podcast, Joan.
[00:52] Joan: Thank you, Michelle. Thank you. I'm glad to be here.
[00:56] Michelle: I'm so glad you're here, too. I've really looked forward to talking with you because you just have so many interesting aspects to you. So I just want to jump right in there and I want you to tell our listeners about your invention.
[01:15] Joan: My invention? So we invented and patented our PJ's Comfort Breast Pump. And so we have two well, we have three pumps now that have come out of that PJs Comfort Breast pump. But the way that we became a pump manufacturer really came out of the request of the moms who are participating in our workplace lactation program. So we started out as a service company by providing workplace lactation programs to corporations. And what that meant is we would go in and provide prenatal education, and then we would follow the moms when they were on maternity leave, and then we would transition them back into the workplace and then follow them when they were in the workplace. And when they were transitioning back into the workplace, we provided them with a breast pump, and so we with another breast pump. And so we surveyed our moms just to see how our services were and if we were meeting their needs. And out of that came recommendations for features in a breast pump. And so we went and held focus groups so we could really refine and define those features that they wanted and why they wanted them. And we had that information in our accountant at the time who was a Rotarian in our Burbank Rotary Club. He told us not to share that information with the company that we were working with, that we should go and make our own breast pump. And so I'm in business with my mom. And it was we both sat there and looked at each other and said, how do we do that? And he just said, I'll help you. He had been involved, he said, in the dialysis machine, so he would help us along the way. And what was fortunate was in our Burbank Rotary club, Burbank was home to Lockheed, so we had a lot of retired engineers, and they really stepped up to the plate and helped us design this new product that we wanted to bring to the market. And the way that we were able to bring it to the market is, as we were building it, we had our moms try the pump and make sure that we were getting it right. And what they really wanted in that pump was a soft cup that felt more like the baby suckling, and they wanted something that was smaller and more portable and safe. And so when they finally said, you've got it right and we had gone through FDA approval, which my mom was very active in getting that approval, we brought it into our workplace clients and took out our other pumps and put in our pump. And that's how we came to be a pump manufacturing company.
[04:27] Michelle: That is a crazy ride. Wow. I mean, it's like motivation and ambition and innovation, they just all, and good luck, they just all collided. And I have to say to our audience that, well, you're an IBCLC and a registered nurse, and so I'm sure that impacted this whole collaboration, invention, all of that. But I've worked with your pump every day for ten years in the NICU as a Certified Lactation Counselor, and I got so much great feedback from the moms there. These are moms that are pumping for their very premature infant, and, you know, we're encouraging them. Any colostrum that you get, bring it. And the first day, they're getting nothing. On the second day, they're getting five MLS every time they pump. When they used your pump, they were sometimes on the first day of pumping, bringing 20 ML, which wow. Yeah, I mean, we just celebrated every milestone because I worked with other pumps, and with the PJ's Comfort pump, I saw such a reduction almost to zero in engorgement and cracked and traumatized nipples. And those are the reasons that a lot of women stop breastfeeding because they run into a barrier and they don't know how to get around it. So your company, gosh, your product is excellent, and you did all of this while being a nurse and a lactation specialist. And so tell me, because I don't think a lot of nurses would know, how do I start a business, how do I invent this that there's a need for? How do I work with people in my community? Like you were saying, you're very strong in Rotary. There's a lot of us that probably don't know what that is and what services they provide or how it can help us. But how did you start out in nursing? Yeah, we'll just start there.
[07:02] Joan: How I started in nursing, I was a pediatric nurse. I worked at Children's Hospital Los Angeles for about 18 years. In that time, I took a little bit of I had another job over at Children's Hospital in Denver for a year and then came back and ended up being at LA for 18 years. And I worked on the adolescent floor for a couple of years, and then I transitioned over to the GI department and ran the GI lab there. And the funny story is that Children's Hospital in LA is in Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard. And the doctors that I worked for in the GI lab were Danny Thomas and Frank Sinatra. And they were wonderful doctors. They were amazing doctors, and they taught me so much, but yeah, so that was always fun.
[07:55] Michelle: I was hoping you would tell that story, because I loved it when you told me the first time.
[08:00] Joan: Yeah, and I told that when I had a concussion and nobody believed me that I worked with Danny Thomas.
[08:09] Michelle: They're like, she has an altered level of consciousness. That's great.
[08:17] Joan: That's how I started and I ran the GI lab there for about ten years, and then I became pregnant and delivered my first daughter Kristina, and we went to see a lactation consultant, and my mom at the time was in private practice as a registered dietitian, and so the lactation consultant was an RN. Also, she was trying to recruit my mom to go into business with her. And on the way home, my mom's in the car and says, why would I go into business with her when you're an RN and we could do this together? And so three days postpartum, and you don't want to argue with your mom, I said, okay, sure. So that's how our business evolved, or that's where I guess it started, was in that car ride home with Kristina.
[09:07] Michelle: Yeah. I mean, you just hear about, you know, you hear about the Rolling Stones, and they just were in a restaurant, and they wrote down the lyrics on the back of a napkin to a huge song that nobody ever forgets. And I think a lot of those things happen just in the quiet, and I don't know. That's just a great story. I love it. And I've met your mom, and she's just an awesome person.
[09:38] Joan: She is. She's dynamite.
[09:41] Michelle: Yeah. And I really like that. Your business is a certified women-owned business, but can you tell me, like, why that certification is important to you?
[09:52] Joan: So it's important for a couple of reasons. One, I think we're really proud that we're a woman-owned business. There's not a lot of, it's not easy to start a business and have it be successful, and being a woman is kind of unique in that situation, so we're proud of it for that reason. But also, I think for our business, it's really important when we go to bid on contracts or with some of the clients we have. Being a certified woman-owned business gives us a little bit of an edge. Sometimes you get a couple of extra points because you're a certified woman-owned business, and that could tip the decision-making in your favor because of that. That's why being a certified woman-owned business is important to us.
[10:45] Michelle: Well, that's a great tip out there for any female nurses that are thinking about starting a business, get that certification. It's important and it can have benefits. So that's a good message.
[11:01] Joan: Yes.
[11:03] Michelle: I look at a lot of things, of course, from my own perspective, and I think about leaving the nursing profession, and all these fears start popping in of, well, what if you have to buy your own health insurance and you don't do very well? And just all those doubts. So what were your fears about stepping away from the bedside and becoming an entrepreneur and a business owner? And did any of them come true?
[11:36] Joan: Fortunately, my fears didn't come true. So that was good, very good. But I think what you say is, am I going to be successful out there? And you have a huge support system in the hospital setting, and Children's was a teaching hospital, and it was exciting. You're always learning, and you have resources available to you at your fingertips, and when you go in your own business, for me, it was a big transition because I am a people person, and so not having as many people around me in that first year or so was challenging. It was an adjustment. But what I realized was the difference I was making in the moms' lives, that we were providing our workplace program, too. I think as far as fear, you worry about and like you say, am I going to be able to pay the bills? Am I going to be able to afford health insurance? And what happens if it isn't successful? And I was young enough at that time that it was the right time for me to take a risk. So if I didn't succeed, I did have other alternatives to fall back on, like going back to Children's or bedside nursing. And so I felt confident in that it wasn't going to I wasn't backed into a corner. I guess I had other options if it wasn't successful, so that was another comfort, too. And like I said, being young and having time on my side, I think, made it a little bit less fearful, and I didn't make that jump into the business full-time right away. So we started out. My mom was full-time in the business, and I worked part-time, but I work both jobs. I work Children's and at Limerick.
[13:50] Michelle: Wow.
[13:51] Joan: And then when the business grew a lot due to my mom's perseverance and good sales techniques, she got us, we were able to get some nice clients, and that allowed the business to afford me to come over full time. So it wasn't as big of a risk because I already was making the money to come in that I knew was going to pay for us. So that helped, too.
[14:22] Michelle: Well, your mom is tenacious, for sure. She's a spitfire.
[14:28] Joan: She is. She's amazing. And she doesn't take no for an answer.
[14:34] Michelle: No. Along those lines about fears in the business or starting a business, were there any unexpected surprises or blessings that you encountered along the way that you hadn't anticipated?
[14:54] Joan: I think being in the business and outside of the hospital setting really opens your eyes to a lot of different opportunities out there. I think our biggest blessing was the friendships that we developed at the Burbank Rotary Club and their support of us and the development of our breast pump. It was huge. It made a huge difference. They encouraged us when we were just starting out and they were our biggest cheerleading section, I guess you could say, and that really helped move us along. I remember when I first joined Burbank Rotary, they have you do craft talks and when my mom joined, she did her craft talk on being a registered dietitian and counseling for dietary needs. When I went in, we were providing workplace lactation programs and at the time the Rotarians were mostly men. We had maybe four or five women in the club and they were older men. And so I had to go in and talk about our workplace lactation program, and why it was important.
[16:12] Michelle: Wow.
[16:15] Joan: But it was great. They were very supportive and I talked about it why a company would want to do this and how it is important, you know, what the health benefits were. And they were just really accepting and encouraging and it was great. They were a great support system for us. So I think that was a huge blessing for us.
[16:39] Michelle: That's really very cool. They probably learned a lot that day and who knows, you know, maybe they went home to their wives and their daughters and said, this is what I learned today. I mean, that's really neat. So let's dive into that a little bit deeper because I've been wanting to know a little bit more about Rotary and what they do. Is that something that could help nurses just in general in their day-to-day lives? Is that something that you would advocate for, being a member of the Rotary?
[17:16] Joan: I think as a business owner and you're starting out and you want to get to know your community, Rotary as a service organization and so they have businesses in the community that join. It's really a business networking type of service club and they do a lot of amazing things. I mean, we did a project with Rotary where we were able to donate pumps to NICU in Canada for moms there, even though they had extended leaves for maternity leave, you had to work a certain number of hours. So for your first kiddo, you may have enough time to take that extended paid leave, but for your second kiddo, you may not. And if you had a baby in the NICU, then they needed the pump so that they could obviously provide milk to the baby. And then if they were working, that gave them the opportunity to continue pumping. But Rotary supported that project and they've done a lot with breastfeeding projects internationally. So for that, they're a really supportive organization in a lot of different ways, but they want to make a difference in the community.
[18:34] Michelle: Well, I think they'd be a wonderful resource for anybody thinking about starting a business, has a business, just needing those skills, I think that's a great resource. So thank you for sharing that.
[18:49] Joan: Sure.
[18:50] Michelle: One of the things I know about you, but I did read your bio and all that you were involved in, you authored or co-authored four research studies, and I think that's amazing. I've read hundreds of research studies, and I just think research is fascinating. But what was that process like for you to just go through? The process of how you would start a research study and how you disseminate the information?
[19:29] Joan: The one I'll talk about is the research that I think I'm proud of all of our research, but the one that probably had the most impact was the research that we did about the airports. And they're breastfeeding-friendly. And how that came to be was our moms and our program were traveling and wanting to pump when they were at the airport because they were separated from their baby. And so they would call us and ask us, where are the pump rooms? And so we decided to survey the top 100 airports in the US. And ask them, where do you pump if you're a nursing mom, and where do you tell them to go? And so we found that there were only eight airports in the US. That had a separate room other than a bathroom who wanted to go and pump. And so there was a physician that I worked with over at Children's, Dr. Michael Hate, and I told him about the project, and he said, well, you need to publish that. And so there was a journal, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine journal, and I need a physician to sponsor the research. So he helped me get that sponsorship, and you have to get IRB approval. So he helped with that by going through the hospital that he worked with to get the IRB approval. And then we submitted it to the journal, and they accepted it, which was amazing and wonderful. And then there's a back and forth with asking questions and just editing and stuff. And then they finally accepted it for publication. And what came out of that publication was that there was a Senator Tammy Duckworth, who is a disabled vet and was a breastfeeding mom and traveling and having issues with finding a place to pump in the airports. And so she created legislation, and our research became the supporting document for that legislation. So now there's lactation rooms. And so with her, definitely with her expertise and help and connections in the Senate, she was able to pass that legislation. And now it's required that all airports have lactation rooms other than a bathroom that have a chair and I think a sink. I'm not sure if the legislation requires a sink. I think it does. In an electrical outlet in the room for nursing moms, and they have to be past the security checkpoint.
[22:22] Michelle: Well, Joan, I mean, what a great collaboration between the legislative process and the physician who was helping. And, I mean, that has to be novel research. I don't know if anything else has been done on that. That's really amazing.
[22:44] Joan: What I would say to that is that it doesn't have to be. A lot of the research is very scientific, but this one was really more practical, and it became something that really helped make a difference, I think. And so I think that's why we were so proud of it, is because it's played a very small piece, but it helped support something that is making a difference in a lot of working, traveling parents' lives, breastfeeding parents' lives.
[23:19] Michelle: So I interviewed my brother, Dr. Chris Patty, and he's a nurse researcher, and he's been involved also in a lot of research. And I just think it's great that what you said about it doesn't always have to be so scientific. It can just be a practical research study. And sometimes the findings of those are even more profound because the beginnings were kind of so humble. Just a question that nobody asked before and found this embarrassing statistic of only eight airports out of 100 having any facilities for pumping moms. I love it. That's great. That's something that you definitely should be proud of.
[24:09] Joan: Thank you. Thank you.
[24:11] Michelle: Yeah. So I'm a bedside nurse, and I want to do something different than bedside nursing. I have an idea. I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to start a business. What am I going to do? What are the first steps for me to make that happen?
[24:34] Joan: One is doing your research to make sure that there's the need out there, and testing the waters out there is important. And then there's the practical side of getting a business license, registering your name, and doing all of that side of the work. The other thing is you don't have to start huge. We started very small and humbly and still are, but you don't need a big team to get going. It's good to have a team. I think the fact that my mom and I were able to start the business together just was nice to have that extra support system. So I think having that, making sure that you can financially afford for yourself. So you may want to start out small, keep your day job, and do this in the evening, build it up, and then make that transition over when you see that it's starting to grow and be successful. So you may not want to jump right into it. You may want to start out slowly and see what the responses are out there. But it does take a lot of persistence and time, and networking is huge. And just getting yourself known out there is going to help you succeed in your business.
[26:11] Michelle: Well, I think that's great advice for anyone, in particular nurses. You definitely know what you're talking about, being a nurse and a business owner. So thank you for that. What hopes do you have for your business in the future? What plans are out there for you?
[26:36] Joan: Well, there's a lot of hope right now. We have really invested a lot in our marketing. I think that was something that was something that we were a little slow to do and is important as marketing because that's how you get your name out there. And so we actually just redid our website so that would be something to look at, which we're really proud of. But the marketing, I think, is going to really bring awareness to both our services and our product line. And that's what I'm really excited about, is to get the word out there and make a difference in new moms' lives and helping them hopefully reach their breastfeeding goals with a comfortable and effective product. And then on the other side, we've expanded our services to include a new parent program, which includes new parent coaching and perinatal mood and anxiety disorder assessment, and then our workplace lactation program and milk shipping. And so we're getting the word out with that. And I'm just really excited to see that grow, too. I'm excited about the services that we're offering and helping new working parents be able to be successful in building a happy family and a successful career at the same time. So we have a lot to look forward to. And the other part that's exciting is my oldest daughter, who was the inspiration for our business. Kristina has now joined our business and she brings a lot to the business and the fact that she was a new mom and so she really appreciates the services and the products that we sell. So I think we're excited to have her on board. And it's just nice to have this come full circle with my mom and my daughter and me and the business.
[28:44] Michelle: Well, I bet that is it sounds like your business just growing and there's so many different avenues. The parent program. Oh, my gosh, I wish I would have had that when I was a new parent at 22, you know, because you just go through so much, and to have something like that, I think that's going to be so valuable to the parents that you serve. And I love that Kristina is involved in the family business. I don't know if I could work every day with my family, so I give you props for that. But some of my family I could, but yeah, that's another story. But that's exciting. Oh, my gosh, you have so much going on. That's really exciting.
[29:37] Joan: It is. I'm really looking forward to it and working with family. Yes, there's definitely been growth periods for us, but it's all been good. And I think as long as there's that mutual respect for everybody and what's great is everybody brings different ideas. And, you know, my mom, she's just a go-getter, but there's been times where we don't always agree on the approach. But I think what makes it so fun and successful is that we're able to talk through and find that happy, that common ground, and then move forward. So we bring different perspectives and respect each other and find a solution that works for both of us. And I think that's what's really helped make our business successful too.
[30:29] Michelle: Yeah, the common ground and the respect, those are just two pillars that you need in any relationship, especially a family relationship, a business relationship. I can see a lot in the nurse relationship with her colleagues, his or her colleagues, and physicians. That's just central to everything, right?
[30:55] Joan: And trust would be the other one. So that's good. I mean, that's the one thing with family, you hope you can trust them. And I know I can't and I know I can. So that's a good thing.
[31:08] Michelle: Absolutely. What do you think is the future of nursing? What are we doing right in nursing?
[31:16] Joan: Well, I think having opportunities to become entrepreneurs is really great, so that nursing is not that I loved bedside nursing, so bedside nursing is amazing, but having all these other avenues that as a nurse you can explore, I think is great. But I think for the bedside nurse, I'm hoping that the pandemic has really brought light to how valuable that bedside nurse is and what they go through and that they'll start to get better pay. Maybe hospitals will be looking at more benefits to offer nurses to recruit them. They're the eyes, they're the patient advocate, and they're the ones that communicate your needs to the physician. And so they're a huge piece of the recovery and success of your treatment in the hospital as a bedside nurse, their assessment skills, their evaluation skills, communication skills, assertiveness, they need all of that there, and the hospitals need them. And hopefully, they start to value them by paying them what they're worth.
[32:45] Michelle: Amen. The pandemic, it did change so much about nursing, health care, all of those systems. We're pretty burnt out as a profession and we have a lot of work to do in terms of recruiting. And I just interviewed a nurse educator. She's teaching all of our new generation of nurses and it's just so important to treat them with respect and all those other things right from the start and make them want to stay in nursing, what they wanted to do in the first place. They love it and let's help them stay here and love it.
[33:37] Joan: Right? Well, I think it's almost kind of what we say to the moms. You need to replenish yourself so you can give back, and we need to replenish the nurses and give them the time off or the mental health days that they may need so that they can come back and better serve the patients. And I think that's a part of those benefits that need to be offered to them.
[34:04] Michelle: Yeah. It goes back to you can't pour from an empty cup, right? No, you have to take care of yourself first. You won't have anything to give. So those are some really good points for our audience. Well, anything else that you wanted to touch on? Anything that you wanted to say?
[34:27] Joan: No, I think I'm good. I really, thanks, Michelle, for taking the time to interview me.
[34:34] Michelle: Glad we finally got to are you ready for the five-minute snippet?
[34:39] Joan: Okay.
[34:42] Michelle: Yes. So I picked some categories for you. True crime. Beatles. Fitness. So we'll just get into some of those. Okay. It's going to be fun. What is one of the most mind-blowing cases you came across in terms of, like, true crime?
[35:05] Joan: Mind-blowing?
[35:06] Michelle: Yeah. That just shocked you or blew you out of the water?
[35:13] Joan: I don't know. I think it's always surprising when you have those. They always seem to be about the ones that we watch are always about the relationships and the men and the murders of the husband or the wife, and it's just, you know, why not just say, I want a divorce? Why murder me?
[35:39] Michelle: Oh, my gosh. Thank you.
[35:40] Joan: Yeah. So that always surprises me that they don't see another way out besides murder.
[35:47] Michelle: Exactly. Who is one serial killer that you would be terrified to come into contact with?
[35:55] Joan: The Hillside Strangler.
[35:57] Michelle: Hillside Strangler.
[35:58] Joan: I think just because I grew up and that was in my neighborhood scary. It was very scary. I can't even open my windows at night because of him.
[36:12] Michelle: Oh, no.
[36:14] Joan: And the Nightstalker.
[36:16] Michelle: The Nightstalker, I remember that, and that terrified me, definitely. Do you think Ted Bundy killed more or fewer victims than he claimed?
[36:27] Joan: I don't know. Maybe his ego was so big that he kind of told a fish story. I don't know where it was bigger, but I would say I would hope less, but who knows, right?
[36:44] Michelle: Exactly. Okay, so we're going to go to the Beatles. Do you own any Beatles records?
[36:53] Joan: I do. I have my Let It Be album.
[36:56] Michelle: Actual vinyl, right?
[36:58] Joan: Yeah.
[36:59] Michelle: Wow. How much money would you accept to never hear a Beatles song again?
[37:07] Joan: How much money?
[37:09] Michelle: Yeah. Do you have a, like, what's your worst Beatles song, and how much would they pay you so you could never hear it again?
[37:19] Joan: What's the worst Beatles song? I would say I'm not a big fan. When they went into what is the Captain.
[37:30] Michelle: Yellow Submarine is my yeah, that.
[37:33] Joan: That would probably be it. Yeah, I would take $20 million. That would be good.
[37:42] Michelle: Oh, that sounds good. Oh, my gosh. Million. Okay, well, we're moving on to baseball because I know that you love baseball. And it's a sport that I know nothing about. Who is the most underrated baseball player of all time?
[38:02] Joan: All time? Well, I know that I feel Ron Say was a third baseman for the Dodgers, and he should have won a Golden Globe and never did. So I think I would say him because he was my favorite player. He was the Penguin, but he was always up against Steve Garvey, I think, and that whole Dodger infield was amazing. But I think that he should have definitely gotten the Golden Globe.
[38:26] Michelle: Okay.
[38:27] Joan: Golden Glove.
[38:28] Michelle: Glove.
[38:29] Joan: Glove.
[38:31] Michelle: That's okay. That's a thing, right? Which I guess they do sometimes. This comes back to what I said about I know nothing about baseball. So what are some ways you would attract someone to baseball? Convince me why it's so great.
[38:50] Joan: Well, I think the song that you sing, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, I've taught my granddaughter that song, and so we sing it together all the time. I think it's just fun to be outside, it's just being outside, eating popcorn, eating hot dogs I'm in.
[39:18] Michelle: You said popcorn, ice cream, and socialization.
[39:23] Joan: And watching a fun game, and it's just I don't know. I love it. I love it. I love being that, and it just brings back memories. I mean, there's a lot of good memories of going to Dodger Stadium with my family and taking my girls and hopefully now my granddaughter. It's a common ground that we all come together with and enjoy.
[39:46] Michelle: Wow, that's so awesome. So it's family building and camaraderie and all those food and eating all those good things. Have you ever caught a foul ball?
[40:00] Joan: Once, yes, I did catch a call, and then I can tell you since, unfortunately, Vince Scully recently passed away. There was a game I was at when I was in high school. And there was another, I brought one of my other friends, my girlfriend. And she was a couple of inches taller than me. And we both had our mitts. And it was late in the innings. Like the 8th or 9th inning. And somebody hit a foul ball. And we both put our mitts up. And she caught the foul ball. And Vince Scully announced it. And the reason we knew that was her brothers told us when we got home, they asked us, did you guys catch a foul ball? And sure enough, we did. And they said, well, Vince Scully announced that.
[40:45] Michelle: Oh, my God. That's cool. Well, I'm going to take the advice of my guests because you guys never let me go wrong. So I'm going to watch some baseball, watch the Dodgers. Okay. Watch the Dodgers and then get back to you about my experience.
[41:12] Joan: Yes, definitely.
[41:14] Michelle: Awesome. Well, our five minutes is up. Okay. This has been so much fun and so informative and inspiring for nurses out there that you can do this. There's a need, and you can fill it and be creative and ambitious. You've had all of those things. And I just thank you for bringing your message today. And I thank you for your product. It's just the top. It's the best. There's nothing better.
[41:50] Joan: Thank you, Michelle.
[41:52] Michelle: My pleasure.
[41:53] Joan: Joan, thank you. Thank you.
[41:56] Michelle: Take care and I'll talk to you soon.
[41:58] Joan: Okay, bye.