Rose Ann Wade knows that the third time is truly the charm when it comes to careers – and she’s having a great time in the process.
This serial entrepreneur started as a registered nurse – an accomplishment she reached in her 40s. She then owned Detroit Store Fixture, a business she loved, but had to close when she and her partner split ways.
Now, at nearly 70 years old, Wade has opened an IV nutrient infusion business in Grosse Pointe Park. This new business, The Wellness Edge, combines the things she loves best: health, nutrition, wellness and personal growth, something she sees when people take care of themselves and pay attention to what their bodies need.
“We live fast-paced lives today,” Wade said, adding that she works at The Wellness Edge to help people find that balance between working hard and everyday health.
So far, Wade says she is having a ball learning about the industry, getting to know her new clients and becoming a part of the growing business district on the East side. She chose Grosse Pointe Park because it blends the best of both worlds: She is close to residents, businesses and more in Grosse Pointe as well as Detroit.
“People asked me if I was ready to retire, and I decided it wasn’t that time yet,” Wade said.
Third career
As a Registered Nurse, Wade cared for patients at Detroit Medical Center, Mt. Clemens General Hospital, American Surgical Center, and St. John’s Hospital. Before she became a nurse, Rose Ann worked in a doctor’s office and as a phlebotomist, and then sold real estate and fine jewelry.
In 2014, Wade became a business owner in the wholesale and retail market in Detroit for four years. She sold her interest in the company in 2018 and set out to create The Wellness Edge.
A 2018 graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses entrepreneurial intensive, Wade said she created The Wellness Edge to fulfill her lifelong devotion to alternative health.
Booming industry
Infusion clinics are fairly new businesses. The first ones started in big cities and tourism areas, such as Las Vegas and Miami. The idea is simple – doctors and nurses, trained in starting and administrating IVs to boost fluids or give medicine, started offering these services to athletes, people recovering from illness such as flu or people who needed help with hangovers.
Today, there are huge clinics such as IV Me in Chicago as well as smaller stores in cities including Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Royal Oak and Birmingham. As part of her research, Wade said she visited a variety of clinics in states such as New York and Florida. With that knowledge, she brought what she felt were the best services to her shop in Grosse Pointe Park.
Wade’s services range from IV therapy to injections to other services. The therapies have informational yet fun names such as Get Up and Go, Relax Formula as well as Recovery and Performance. One she calls Clench, which helps people who are recovering from major athletic activities, such as running marathons.
As the business grows, she hopes to add other services, such as home visits. It’s something she would have wanted, especially when she wasn’t feeling well.
“If you’ve got the flu, we will be able to come and administer fluids,” Wade said. “Last time I had the flu, I would have given anything if someone had come to my house (and done this treatment).”
An average visit starts with a consultation and the treatment. Infusions cost about $140 to $250 and injections range from $25 to $50. Special packages are available as well. The Wellness Edge is located within Aesthetic Theory Detroit Med Spa at 15300 Kercheval Ave. in Grosse Pointe Park.
