Stephanie Lorsenson - March 2026 Entrepreneur of the Month
The NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center and North Iowa Area SBDC are proud to announce Stephanie Lorenson of North Iowa Wellness Clinic in Lake Mills, Iowa as the March 2026 Entrepreneur of the Month.
With more than 25 years of experience as a nurse practitioner, Stephanie Lorenson has seen firsthand what happens when healthcare focuses on quick fixes rather than root causes. Her answer to that frustration is North Iowa Wellness Clinic, a practice built around the belief that every patient deserves to be truly heard, thoroughly evaluated, and treated as a whole person.
North Iowa Wellness Clinic combines traditional and holistic healthcare, with a primary focus on hormone therapy, thyroid management, and weight loss. Rather than reaching for a prescription pad at the first sign of symptoms, Stephanie takes a different approach: she listens. “I want to get to the root cause of your symptoms,” she explains. “We do that through thorough assessment, lab work, and actually truly listening to the patient.” That means asking questions about sleep, diet, stress, and lifestyle — and then running what she calls “functional lab work,” looking beyond standard panels to examine hormone levels, vitamin D, ferritin, magnesium, and a comprehensive thyroid panel.
Stephanie’s journey to entrepreneurship was unconventional. She started her career as a nursing assistant, earned her nursing degree from the University of Cincinnati, and then joined the Navy, serving as a Navy nurse for five years. After using her GI Bill to earn her nurse practitioner degree from the University of South Alabama, she went on to practice across multiple states in settings ranging from family practice and internal medicine to urgent care. Throughout her career, Stephanie kept returning to complementary care on her own. “Every state I’ve lived in, I always went to an acupuncturist, naturopath, or a massage therapist,” she says. “I believe treating your entire body is so important.”
Stephanie’s passion for whole-body care is also deeply personal. Stephanie was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune condition affecting the thyroid. Standard treatment helped, but didn’t resolve everything. “I was still tired, still gaining weight, and still wasn’t feeling good,” she says. “So I started looking for different avenues.” The experience of navigating her own health, and eventually finding what worked, became the blueprint for the practice she would one day open. Her business slogan, “Your Health, Your Way,” captures Stephanie’s core philosophy: not everyone fits the same mold, and healthcare shouldn’t pretend otherwise. “Not everyone fits into a package. And that’s okay,” she says. “All patients should say, ‘This is my healthcare journey. I have the right to ask these questions and do things that I think are best for me.’”
Stephanie had considered the idea of opening her own practice for a while, but it took a nudge from a fellow Lake Mills entrepreneur — and the right program — to help her turn that vision into a plan. A local business owner suggested she reach out to the NIACC Pappajohn Center, and Stephanie enrolled in Venture School, the University of Iowa’s premier statewide entrepreneurship program offered through the Pappajohn Center. “That class was amazing,” she says. “It gave me stepping stones. I had the idea for years and then the Pappajohn Center helped me find my market. They helped me put it down on paper. They helped me create a road map of what I needed to do.” The Pappajohn Center and Venture School also connected her with a mentor in Arizona who helped her network with a compound pharmacist and another practitioner running a similar practice — connections that helped shape her clinical and business model. “They really help you network,” she says.
North Iowa Wellness Clinic has officially opened its doors in Lake Mills, and the community response has been encouraging. The clinic hosted a well-attended open house and has been seeing patients every Friday, with select appointments available throughout the week for those whose schedules don’t allow for Fridays. Stephanie hasn’t built this alone. She credits a strong support network along with local collaborators like a friend who is an acupuncturist, a neighbor who offers IV hydration services, and the group fitness community next door. “Make sure that you get those little connections and don’t be afraid to reach out,” she says. “Utilize your friends and family, and find out who can help you do what.” Stephanie’s vision for North Iowa Wellness Clinic extends well beyond Fridays. She hopes to expand her hours as the practice grows and eventually build out a full wellness center that brings multiple complementary care providers under one roof.
Stephanie’s advice for fellow fledgling entrepreneurs is straightforward: lean on your people, tap into your resources, and let your passion lead the way. “Find your passion and do it,” she says. “Having been someone who did not feel well for a long time and now trying to find out what worked for me — I want to help others feel that way.”