From insurance career to alternative health entrepreneur

Richards, a native of Sarnia, Ontario, who graduated in 1991 with an honors degree in actuarial science, had spent more than a decade working and living in Bermuda honing his skills in the field of catastrophe reinsurance where his job was to calculate potential losses for his company and their clients in the event of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane. By the late1990s, Richards was vice president of underwriting for RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., one of the largest property catastrophe reinsurers in the world.

“It was a high stress environment," recalled Richards during a phone interview. “I was working a lot of hours, traveling all over the world and it didn't feel like I was giving back to the community."

By 2001, Richards returned to Ontario and after a brief attempt at teaching, he was lured back into his area of expertise having accepted a position as head of property reinsurance for RBC Insurance of Mississauga. Within a few years, the same old feeling that something was missing in his life inspired him to take part in a week-long retreat where participants embark on a soul-searching mission to better understand what they want out of life.

 “It really helps identify what your core beliefs are," said Richards. “It solidified my need to move into the field of healing."

It took Richards several more years to give up his career in the insurance industry during which time the idea for creating a unique environment that provided a sort of one-stop shopping for natural healing therapies began to take shape. After finding a location that had previously housed an art gallery, Richards was now in charge of gutting and rehabbing 2,800 square feet of space to create his vision.

Unlike a clinic with a sterile environment, Richards' goal was to create an establishment where clients are immersed in an atmosphere of relaxation and indulgence that puts them at ease before receiving their treatment. With that in mind, when clients enter his establishment, they are met with seven feet tall water fountains, aromatic candles and soothing sounds in the reception area. While waiting for their service, they can relax in the “serenity room" while drinking tea or cucumber water.

Using the bulk of his savings, Satori Urban Wellness, located in Yorkville in Toronto opened in March 2007. It offers nine treatment rooms each named after the type of treatment performed such as the “spirit" room for shiatsu and acupuncture or “freedom" room designated for therapy and counseling sessions. The combined experience not only offers clients a sense of escape but the opportunity to heal as Richards says, “their mind, body and soul."  It is the reason Richards named his centre Satori which loosely translates into enlightenment which he says many clients gain when they experience alternative or natural treatment remedies.

With a team of registered and licensed practitioners, Richards' wellness centre focuses on providing a variety of holistic healing treatments housed under one roof that includes acupuncture, osteopathy, shiatsu, massage therapy, nutritional counseling and life coaching. This way, Richards says, clients who come in for one service can easily be directed to other treatment remedies to address specific health issues be it back pain, diabetes or quitting smoking.

While Richards doesn't expect to make a profit for a few more years yet, he believes he's on the “cutting edge" of providing an alternative approach to healthcare where clients are more in control and better informed to make decisions about their health. With the ongoing doctors' shortage, Richards believes he's tapped into a market that has only the potential to increase in years to come.

“There is no doubt in my mind that this is the future of healthcare in Ontario," said Richards. “People are looking for different ways to take care of themselves instead of going to a doctor and getting a pill."