Dr. Liza Egbogah, Designer, Chiropractor & Entrepreneur
If you have watched The Social, City Line or ETalk, you likely have come across Dr. Liza. She is a regular media contributor as a body and posture expert, a designer who launched her own shoe, accessories and handbag label, a chiropractor, an entrepreneur with her own practice in the heart of downtown Toronto and is also known as the unofficial “celebrity fixer” during TIFF, The Oscars and the ESPY’s. She has been featured in numerous magazines including Elle, Fashion and Marie Claire and is someone we admire as a true self-made Jane of all Trades.
We were referred to Dr. Liza from a recent feature, Dr. Sheila Wijayasinghe, who describes Dr. Liza as incredibly innovative, inspiring and fearless. We did some digging and were beyond impressed with the reasons behind her ventures and how her success was driven from the need to help her clients.
Read on to find out more about why she started her own fashion label, how she got started as a media contributor and advice for any future (or existing) entrepreneurs.
(Pink Tank Group): We love how the concept for Dr. Liza shoes came out of a need to help your patients find fashionable but also functional high heel options. What has been the most surprising outcome of starting your own shoe label?
(Dr. Liza): The most surprising outcome of starting dr LIZA shoes has definitely been receiving the same positive feedback that I receive from patients - from shoe customers. Women have written letters detailing how the shoes have changed their lives, fixed their plantar fasciitis and provided the comfort in the body that they've been searching for. I expected women to be more comfortable and stylish in my shoes but I didn't anticipate that for some they would actual be a treatment device and help correct ailments just as I would with patients in my clinic.
(Pink Tank Group): Its amazing how you were able to take your chiropractic practice and market it for opportunities in the media being featured in so many publications and tv shows and also as the unofficial celebrity fixer of TIFF, the Oscars and ESPY's. How did this come about for you and what advice would you have for others interested in this route?
(Dr. Liza): As a shy introvert I never expected to be a media contributor. However early on in practice media would contact me for expert opinions on topics and it felt very natural and I found that I enjoyed sharing my expertise with a larger audience. My patients always had a lot of questions that I was happy to answer and I thought that if they have these questions - there must be many others out there who have the same questions and could benefit from the answers. This is essentially what started my relationship with media. A year before I launched my first shoes I hired a publicist for 3 months so that I could share topics and stories revolving around my expertise and then again for 3 months when I launched my line. My base of celebrity patients was built through word of mouth referrals as with most of my patients. Once year and actor mentioned how it would be nice to have a quick fix during festival season because between all the travel, press interviews, red carpet and parties - they could use a little fixing up. And that’s where the pop-up clinics for TIFF, the Oscars, ESPYS and more started.
Word of mouth speaks volumes so you really do have to be an expert in your field for celebrities to trust their bodies in your hands.
(Pink Tank Group): Covid-19 was hard on so many levels with entrepreneurs and patient facing businesses. How were you able to overcome that challenge?
(Dr. Liza): When Covid-19 hit we were in about to move in to a new office so with all the closures and lockdowns our clinic was closed for 7 months. And I wouldn't say we have overcome the challenge of working with patients in a pandemic. We are still in it and as a downtown clinic it hasn't been as busy since most people in the financial district are working from home. Fortunately we have built a good enough level of trust and expertise that patients working from home our not living in the area are still coming in. We've implemented a solid Covid-19 plan so that patients are confident in their safety when they are coming in for treatment.
(Pink Tank Group): How important is social media to the success of your business for both The Fix and also Dr. Liza Shoes?
(Dr. Liza): Social media is essential for the success of dr LIZA shoes as most of our marketing and advertising is done through social media. Facebook and Instagram ads have been quite helpful in growing the business. The Fix is less reliant on social media and most of our patients come from word of mouth or searching online. We haven't used social media to advertise The Fix but in the future it may be beneficial.
(Pink Tank Group): Becoming an entrepreneur is no easy feat! Can you share some advice for those looking to make that leap?
(Dr. Liza): Being an entrepreneur is extremely difficult and that being said my biggest piece of advice is to only do it if you are passionate about it. The only thing that keeps me going when things get difficult (which is daily) - is knowing that my product is positively impacting so many people. So a good question to ask is 'will your product improve lives?'. If so - thats something to be passionate about and a key to being an entrepreneur.
(Pink Tank Group): Is there anything that you would have done differently in your career, knowing what you know now?
(Dr. Liza): I wouldn't have done anything thing differently since all of my failures and mistakes were the biggest lessons in my career. I can't say i regret any decisions I've made because the lessons have been more valuable than you can imagine.
(Pink Tank Group): Is there anyone that has inspired you or is a mentor to you?
Dr. Liza: My parents will always be my main inspiration. They are both bold entrepreneurs who the world told no at every instant and yet they persevered to become successful and most importantly - to be happy and enjoy life to the fullest.
(Pink Tank Group): What do you think is one thing women can do more to support each other?
(Dr. Liza): One thing we can do to support each other to is to be conscious about the choices we make. For example - we can choose to support woman owned businesses who are making things for women.
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