As the founder and medical director of 3:16 Healthcare in rural Georgia, Dr. Allison Key wears many hats—family physician, aesthetic medicine expert, business owner, wife, mother and now, a finalist for NAWBO’s 2025 Woman Business Owner of the Year Award.
“I come from a family of hardworking, blue-collar people,” says Allison. “The only person in my life with a college degree was my stepdad, who was a teacher. But I was always drawn to medicine. I can’t tell you why—it just always interested me.”
That calling led her to college at University of West Georgia for her undergrad and then to Mercer University and Floyd Medical Center for her medical degree. After her residency, she returned to her hometown to practice family medicine, caring for patients of all ages. But after nearly a decade, she faced burnout.
“I loved taking care of people, but how we were practicing had become very numbers based,” she says. “At its heart, medicine is about relationships.” Allison also had two young children and was going through a personal health scare at the time. It just wasn’t sustainable.
With her husband’s full support, she left the practice with her physician’s assistant and struck out on her own. Just half a mile down the road from her previous practice, she opened 3:16 Healthcare with a 4,000-square-foot space housing a family medicine clinic on one end and a medical spa on the other.
“The spa part was very important to me,” Allison shares. “As women, we are designed to want to feel good in our own skin. When a woman is confident, it changes the way she interacts with her husband, children, work and the world. I want to know what bothers her and I can tell her the tools I have in the toolkit.”
What started with eight employees has grown into 12 locations and nearly 160 team members in just over seven years. Her practice remains deeply rooted in community care—making house calls, offering chronic care support and staying on the leading edge of medicine. “We meet people where they are,” she explains.
Her drive to create a workplace that supports working moms also stems from personal experience. “My health scare taught me I had to build an environment where providers and staff—especially women—could thrive professionally and personally,” she says. “I believe balance is possible with collaboration.”
But medicine isn’t her only entrepreneurial venture. Together with her husband David—a civil engineer and cattle farmer—Allison co-founded Key Farms Meats & Mercantile. After inheriting his family’s farm and starting with just eight cows, the couple now operates on 450 acres with 300 head of grass-fed cattle and two storefronts selling locally raised, USDA-processed beef and regional goods.
“When COVID hit, it became clear how important food sources are,” she says. “Food is medicine, too, and we’re trying to help our community shift toward healthier, more sustainable eating because we know that people are healthiest when they eat food grown closer to home.”
Allison credits her growth and success to a powerful support system: “You never do this alone. Our families, our friends, our coworkers—everyone pitches in. My mom also picks up the kids from school several times a week. This award isn’t just for me. It represents all the hard work we’ve all put into doing something bigger than ourselves.”
That desire for connection is what led her to NAWBO a few years ago. “I’m a doctor, not a businessperson,” she laughs. “When I was trying to figure things out, I found NAWBO. The support and education were on another level. It’s hard being a boss and woman business owner—it’s like having another child you’re caring for. NAWBO helped me feel less alone.”
Her decision to apply for the Woman Business Owner of the Year award came from both confidence and conviction. Allison’s fourth-grade teacher told the class during mock elections—of course, the president votes for himself when he walks into the ballot box. “Of course, you should self-nominate for opportunities if you believe you’re the best person for the job,” she encourages.
As she reflects on the honor, Allison says it’s deeply affirming. So many women struggle with imposter syndrome—and she’s no different. “It reminds me that I’m doing good work, making a positive impact and what I’m doing matters. Being among other women business owners who are changing things for the better is so impressive and such a humbling honor.
And her message to other women thinking about launching something bold? “If you have that seed planted in your heart, it’s for a reason. Go for it, take the leap and trust that God has given you wings—you just haven’t found them yet, but you will.”