Meet Suzan Nickelson | Founder and CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Suzan Nickelson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Suzan, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
My mom ,she was a herbalist a tradition that has been passed down through hundred of years by the women in our family, Our family originates from Ghana and were sold into slavery and ended up in Jamaica. Our ancestors fought for thier idependence and were called Maroons, ecspaed slaves that fled into the hills moutaineous region on the island outwitting their British captors. By working with the Indigeneous Taino Indians (Arawak) we developed our own farming commuinities.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I spent most of my life in service to others , a helper, someone who was alaways worried about the most vunerable in our society. I became a social worker and used my abilty to connect to help children and families. I went to work for the State of NJ where I worked for 24 1/2 years before pursuing cannabis. I used my ability to understand regulation and policy to write my own aplication. Along with the help of my significant other who worked in finanace helped me with all the projections and research. It was very difficult. I started my company as a single mother of (# kids), recently divorced on my Iphone (6) because i did not own a computer. Being a Black woman and trying to raise capital was an uphill struggle, filled with obstacles. Many VC or private investors were unwilling to lend money to minorities. Myself and initial partner had to self fund our company from 2018 to 2022. Holistic Solutions is a company of grit and determination that is assisting in tearing down the stigma of cannabis. It is a manifestation of blessings and intentions to lsee plant based medicine from a female carribbean perspective.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to Pallidinos for a great steak sanwhich. We would then go to Rack’s for a drink, a maragita with sugar on the rim. We would then take a ride over to Atco lake a beautiful scenicv water view to relax and catch up. We would then head over to Wilson’s resturant fro some dancing and amazing food. Wilson’s offers live music and DJ nightly.

We would visit Wade Salvage a great place with rare and vintage salvage finds , you can spend hours there lost in all the amazing traesure. We would absolutley hit up the dispensary daily for great plant based cannabis.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My mother is a huge reason on why I beleive so much in plant based medicine. My mother taaught me everything I know about cannabis. She taught us that the plant had dvine spirtual prpierties and could unlock wellness in a holistic manner,

Website: myholisticsolutions.com

Instagram: myholisticsolutions

Linkedin: Holistic Solutions Dispensary

Twitter: @HolisticSolDisp

Facebook: Holistic Solutions Dispensary

Yelp: Holistic Solutions Dispensary

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