Are occupational therapy practitioners the perfect entrepreneurs? (Hint: Yes!) A conversation with Esther Bae
Esther Bae, OTD, OTR/L, CPACC
Occupational Therapist | Consultant | Accessibility Professional
Esther Bae is a Los Angeles-based occupational therapist, accessibility professional, makeup artist, consultant, and founder of Modified Independent, a consultancy committed to developing inclusive and accessible self-care products and experiences. She earned her Doctor of Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California and has over a decade of clinical experience in diverse settings.
Esther has founded Established Beauty, a purpose-driven beauty service business, and co-founded the Dwelle Collaborative (now Qualified), the first nonprofit organization to offer occupational therapy services to survivors of sex trafficking in support of their independence through meaningful employment.
She is now focused on consulting for beauty and other related companies interested in developing accessible and inclusive self-care and self-help products and services. Her collaboration with the actress and singer Selena Gomez’s company Rare Beauty has put the conversation around product packaging and accessibility at the forefront.
AOTA recently had a conversation with Esther about her journey from practitioner to consultant.
Why do you think occupational therapy skills transfer so well into the business world?
Esther: Occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) can be successful entrepreneurs because our lens helps us to look at a problem or a situation and think of creative solutions that are outside the box. Another person might not consider the solutions that we come up with, because we are looking at the whole person within the context of a scenario a little differently. That’s essentially what entrepreneurs do—they find a white space, or a problem and they offer a solution to meet that need, whether it’s services or physical or digital products. So, I think occupational therapy practitioners are well-equipped to apply their skills to launch a business. Personally, I'm seeing more of it as I connect with other OTPs who are doing non-traditional work. And I love talking with them because every industry has its own language. Listening to the way that our transferable skills are explained in another context with the language of say, technology or beauty is really interesting, and I've learned so much.
How did you start making the transition into entrepreneurship?
Esther: In my case, I just started putting out there that accessibility to beauty products is something that I'm passionate about. When I started out, I didn’t know if anyone was intentionally creating accessible solutions in the beauty space. But even without a clearly articulated vision people were so generous with their time and professional advice. I spoke with people who are in the industry—experts, founders, or whoever I could connect with. Now, I am also a makeup artist. I’ve been freelancing for 13 years. I knew there was a way to combine my two passions. I think that was key.
So, you combined two passions, using your connections?
Esther: Yes. At first, between my two passions of makeup and occupational therapy, I had never considered merging the two. I felt like, especially as a young clinician, I had to be in a traditional occupational therapy practice setting where I could be trained and learn foundational skills. I think that is important, but then I started to recognize that maybe I can do something where I can bring my whole self and all the things that I'm interested in. At my initial occupational therapy job, one of my first clients was a young woman who wanted to work on goals related to her makeup routine. So many of my clients after that wanted to work on activities of daily living (ADLs) that included makeup or beauty and self-care. But it wasn’t until many years later that I realized that my two passions could be channeled into entrepreneurial endeavors. I’ve always wanted to create adaptive beauty tools, but I wasn’t sure what that would look like. My next steps didn’t crystalize until I started talking with people and realizing there was a real need for the OT perspective in the beauty space.
Did you feel overwhelmed at all?
Esther: Well, as someone who's been an occupational therapist for all these years and not really knowing much about product development, there was a huge learning curve for me. I decided to start with consulting so that I could leverage my experience and occupational therapy knowledge while learning more about the product side. I was fortunate to meet people in the industry who connected me with other people, which led to conversations with Rare Beauty, Selena Gomez's brand. Because of her brand’s advocacy, they receive so much recognition from the community of people with disabilities saying that their products have been helpful for them or easier to use than others. So, there was alignment there and their “ears were open.”
Accessibility is finally making its way into a lot of business conversations, right?
Esther: I think so. The topic of accessibility is of interest within the beauty realm now, especially with the ongoing expansion of the inclusivity movement. I think going forward it’ll be a trend. Businesses are thinking about ways to make their products and packaging more accessible, but many brands don’t know where to start. I focused on talking to company founders. And for my personal development, I reached out to career coaches and consultants to crystallize my vision a little bit further and to communicate it in a way that was digestible in the beauty space. This helped me make more meaningful inroads explaining the value of occupational therapy.
Partnering with a major celebrity like Selena Gomez must be exciting!
Esther: Yes. It helped that members of her Rare Beauty team, like the Chief Product Officer Joyce Kim, know about occupational therapy from having friends that are occupational therapy practitioners. Our relationship evolved organically because it's at the forefront of their minds to be more accessible and inclusive. It was fortunate timing. I was honored to collaborate for their Find Comfort collection—a body care line designed to enhance self-comfort. Our emphasis was on creating wellbeing—promoting techniques that complement this stunning collection. I’m really inspired by this brand that truly sees and acknowledges its diverse community with thoughtfulness and integrity.
Any final advice to occupational therapy practitioners considering entrepreneurship?
Esther: If you get to a point in your occupational therapy career where you find yourself wanting to be more creative, I would like to say that you can grow beyond the practice setting. Across all practice settings, you're providing very specific services that can be transferable to a larger context. Also, it is so important to be able to apply how occupational therapy can help and play a role in other sectors and businesses. Each occupational therapy practitioner is unique—we have different backgrounds and interests, even hobbies that can potentially lead to a second career. If you’re feeling stalled in your career, you don’t have to quit and start a business, but maybe start by exploring how to merge your skills and passions.
What’s next for you?
Esther: We have an industry report coming out titled the State of Accessibility in Beauty, which I'm collaborating on with a company called Landing International. They're a business to business (B2B) technology company that provides web and mobile tools for beauty brands and retailers to help scale up their businesses. Their founder has a great vision that emphasizes and highly prioritizes diversity and inclusivity. So, it's been a great collaboration and partnership and I'm hoping to raise greater awareness about the need for accessibility in personal care products.
The average person uses 12 personal care products a day! I know occupational therapy practitioners are so creative with work arounds for people to engage in their ADLs, but I feel strongly that there must be more accessible solutions already integrated into the design of products, without the need for consumers to buy all these extra supplies to make them accessible. I hope that this report really helps highlight that there are solutions that are achievable without a brand having to redo their entire product line or get in the way of their brand identity. So, I’m super excited.