"How many are you allowing the substandard treatment?" How Jessica Wilson teaches her audience to assert their rights |

Discover the strategies the self-advocacy expert Jessica Wilson uses to sell coaching, tell her story and encourage others to confidently advocate for themselves.

On the 17th of July, 2020 Jessica Wilson was diagnosed with stage 3 inflammation breast cancer. She was 32 years old and had no family history or breast cancer gene.

"I am in my oncologist's office for my first appointment, and I realize that he's not a person with the same enthusiasm for keeping me alive the way I do." Jessica remembers. "He showed up to my appointment 40 minutes late -- no explanation, no apology."

"Immediately my brain switches to self-preservation mode. If you don't seem to care about whether I live or die, or if my care is in your hands ... Then I need to make a change. I began speaking out immediately in front of all who'd listenthe doctor I was referring to, to the breast surgeon and to anyone else to say, 'This doesn't work for me.'"

The doctor was always pushing for a standard course of treatment. "Maybe my situation is not standard," Jessica thought. "Maybe I need to think outside of this space."

Then, Jessica switched doctors and hospital networks to find a medical team that listened to her. "I firmly believe, had I stayed there, I would not have been alive now. It's not a regret at all," she says.

The experience sparked a question for Jessica her: What other people are going through this?

"Having gone through that experience, it gave me an epiphany how many accept such low standards of treatment, whether because they're not aware of other way or because they're afraid or don't know what they should do?"

Jessica realized that there would have been other people facing similar situations, most of them might lack the courage or knowledge to speak up in the same way that she had.

She wanted to share lessons she learned from her own experience:

It is possible to remain firm when refusing a test or treatment that you do not want the doctor you consult with says there are no other options.

Talk to your doctor if you need extra time to discuss or think about things.

Be prepared to ask a lot of questions as you need to understand what your doctor is explaining to you.

"I was thinking that I've definitely been required to stand up for myself." Jessica explains. "When you look at the world in general, you pretty much have to be a voice for yourself in every situation."

She narrowed her idea down to three specific areas in which she sees self-advocacy having the greatest impact: Medical, employment, and personal relationships.

In the spirit of these goals, Jessica launched her coaching company, Advocacy Alley.

Presently, Jessica helps members of marginalized groups learn to build confidence and stand up on behalf of themselves in all aspects of their life. Also, she's known as Jess the IE as an "industrial engineer by profession and the guru of intuition by love".

"I work in finance for a major home improvement retailer but I also do it on my own. because one is something I enjoy and one is more of a passion. I am passionate about making process, individuals and technology more effective. Also, I'm passionate about folks getting the treatment they require."

Read on to find out about how Jessica used her passion for improving processes -- as well as her website to begin her coaching career, tell her experience, and encourage others to advocate on behalf of themselves.

21 Questions that Every Patient Should ask their Doctor

Jessica is an accomplished industrial engineer. She's an intuitive thinker and complex problem solver. She's a lover of improving processes and understands the power of creating an effective game plan.

With the assistance of a coach for business, precisely what she accomplished.

"I have all these things floating around. How can I tie them to form a neat bow that I can package? The effect that I'd like. What are the steps I need to take to get there?"

"How do you navigate this delicate space of 'I don't want to be inconsiderate, but I must be assertive'?" Jessica describes.

"This is me. This body. This is what I'm willing to accept. This is what I want an opinion from a different source. It started from there, then I've packaged this item -- how can I communicate it for the public to see?"

Giving away free tools is an an excellent way for new creators to start building their business.

To start reaching that audience, Jessica needed a place for the digital version of her download.

"This could fit my needs. It's something I could grow into."

"I loved the difference in price ... It was nice to know that I did not have to get through the very top of the line to make it meet my needs. I liked the flexibility of all the options, and] seemed very user-friendly. I went through the 14-day trial, and I thought, 'Ooh, this is a completely blank canvas. There are no limits to what you can do with it.'"

Initially, Jessica used to host her free downloads and details on her coaching services. While she was developing Advocacy Alley, she built her website on , too.

"Over time, the site has increased to the point where my entire website is ['ssales and landing pages." Jessica describes.

"The blog is mainly to keep track of my journey through breast cancer, because I'm not sure whether there is a place for folks like me, with a diagnosis around the age of 30or just having just started your own family." Jessica shares. "What thoughts are going through our minds?"

Jessica utilizes its course builder tool to create her blog and to share her latest posts. "The course feature is robust enough to provide me with the features I require. I'd like post my posts and then have opportunities for people to comment," she says.

Each blog post is designed to be a learning opportunity . The readers can browse through Jessica's blog posts directly on her website through a preview of each lesson. Visitors you can join to post comments and receive regular updates.

The flexibility and versatility of the 'all-in-one' platform means that Jessica can create all of the features on her website she needs.

"There may not be something on paper that will be what I'm seeking However, I've been able alter the system to make it work and satisfy my requirements for all things," Jessica shares.

See how can work for your creator business. Join us for a free 14-day trial , or check out our latest demonstration.

"I wanted to get courses out there because I wanted to influence the greatest number of people possible."

This class is designed to help those who've recently been diagnosed and need to identify the next stepsand without falling down the Google tunnel of the worst-case scenarios.

"I was aware that I wanted to develop a plan for folks to anchor themselves in order to not start wandering, regardless of what the diagnosis can be," Jessica explains. "Sometimes there's nothing that you can anchor yourself to, which can help you navigate your way so that you don't just slide."

Although she intends to keep giving one-on-one sessions to clients, an online class will help Jessica expand her influence and help more people.

"I was aware that I needed to get courses out there in order to reach as many people as possible. I am able to only handle so many people one-on-one and only manage multiple things.

Through the course, it's something that an infinite amount of individuals can participate in at any point in time no matter if I'm ready to do one-on-1 work or not. And in reality, get the same type of effect."

Hospitals may sponsor courses to a set number of patients or hire Jessica as a consultant, and collaborate closely with her. "That means I will be the most effective."

Establishing an audience "If you're not uncomfortable then you're not growing."

"While you're trying to build your email list You can't simply email people," she says. "I should also be present and visible via social media."

The initial process of putting herself in the public eye on social media was not something that came naturally.

"Being a creator has forced me to be on camera, to be at the center of attention. At first it can be a bit scary and uncomfortable. But if you're not uncomfortable it's not a sign that you're developing.

So I forced myself to be live without anyone watching, with the one person who was watching the stream. It didn't matter. It was more of an exercise for myself. If I'm able to do it once, then I could do it over and over. So it was pretty much pushing myself to become comfortable being uncomfortable."

She says how coming up with something to say is easy -- but creating and posting consistently with an already packed schedule is difficult.

"There are a myriad of things that I want to share. I don't think I've had difficulties creating material to offer to the public," she shares.

"If you're looking to establish an audience, they need frequently visit your site. So to get around the issue, I tried to come up with ways to batch the content ... Instead of being a long, rambling post, let's break [a post] up into three posts. Then I have three out of the five posts I have for the entire week."

"You can do your images, you could do [Instagram] Reels and be funny and be serious. You could also make Reels and also be professional ... just anything to try to diversify how users can possibly discover you," she recommends.

Jessica's suggestion for young creators: "Follow your passion, and the money will come."

"Mindset is essential. If you believe that you'll never become success, you'll never succeed. There will be wonderful days when you're all excited, but there will be days where you're just feeling like, "I really don't have the desire to.' And they're both acceptable."

"Take the day off and completely unrelated to your work and observe whether you feel more refreshed afterward," she recommends.

If you're a creative only beginning to get started , Jessica encourages you to start small and take it in small steps.

"Don't be concerned about getting an entire beautiful website set up at first. Just worry about those separate pages per product. Make sure that these pages are] built out first. Then, as the product line expands, as you grow, as your company grows and expands, you are able to build additional pages."

Today, Jessica offers one-on-one coaching and free materials, as well as an online course for individuals and healthcare providers, and three active social media channels -- and she's only starting to build her presence.

Keep in mind that the journey of creation is a race, not a sprint.

"You do not have to be millionaire in a matter of hours. Follow your passion, and money will follow."