How Valeria Hernandez built a conscious health coaching business while avoiding creative burnout |
Discover how wellness coach and Creator Fellowship Winner Valeria Hernandez is creating an online business that is successful and encouraging women to adopt plant-based foods that celebrate their traditions.
When Valeria Hernandez was confronted with challenges to her body, she discovered the value of intuitive eating and the benefits of plant-based diets. Determined to incorporate this wisdom to the traditional cooking methods, Valeria started crafting authentic Mexican dishes with vegan ingredients.
This morning, Valeria shares those discoveries via VegiVale the company that offers a plant-based health coach business. It assists clients to eat healthier veggies and fruits, relish food that they enjoy and lead a more energetic life.
However, Valeria's journey as a creator wasn't always smooth sailing.
In the process, Valeria faced a toxic hustle culture in the online space and felt pressured to conform to the flow of events even though her intuition led her in a distinct direction. Then, she learned to shift her perspective of an employee and become a decision-making business owner while balancing the growth of her company with her traditional 9-5 work schedule.
Through tackling these challenges that Valeria managed to create her dream company, design a sustainable work-life balance, and carve her own path.
Here's how Valeria is inspiring women to embrace the plant-based diet that honor their culture as well as establishing a coaching business grounded in authenticity along the way.
The first steps to get started in the wellness space
At the time she was living in a place where she didn't know anyone. Following her graduation from college and settling into full-time employment, Valeria was lonely. She was physically not feeling well either. Valeria has been on the vegan lifestyle for a couple of years, but was unable to find satisfying and satisfying meals.
"I just kind of winged into it when I started my vegan path. I resorted to eating french fries with salad in the dining hall at college, which often didn't allow me to get all my nutrition. It was not surprising that I wasn't feeling great."
Finding a way to deal with both issues simultaneously, Valeria found connections within the vegan community. The health coach she hired was who was a specialist in veganism and was able to identify the foods she needed to take in order to remain active, meet her nutritional requirements and feel better throughout the day. .
Utilizing the lessons that her coach instructed her led to a 180deg transformation. Motivated, Valeria become a health coach to help other individuals live their most fulfilling lives.
Valeria was a coach with a network marketing company However, she was not happy with how the program focused heavily on dieting and weight loss. The program was limiting for her due to the single-to-many approach to coaching and was stressed due to the constant pressure to amass additional clients.
Valeria wanted to create a personalized, hands-on experience for her clients that gave the client more flexibility. Then, 2020 happened.
Amidst worldwide turmoil, Valeria decided that she was finally ready to tackle things her own way.
The first clients we meet
Then Valeria realized she could turn to her existing connections to build experience and flesh out her business concept.
In the beginning, Valeria utilized contacts she'd established in networks marketing. The people she contacted already knew and appreciated Valeria's style of coaching and were keen on an intimate, personal experience.
Then, Valeria reached out to her circle of friends she had met through her school, community connections as well as family connections and mutual friends.
At first, it was a bit nerve-racking when she discussed her business idea in front of "real-life" acquaintances and beloved ones. However, these friends proved to be one of her greatest fans.
Since then, her business blossomed. "I started doing one-on-one coaching, and I really enjoyed it," she tells us.
"I've changed my mind a few different directions in my work however my primary desire is helping others eat more plants. My goal is not to make anyone go vegan. Most of my clients don't even consider themselves vegetarians However, my focus is on helping clients eat better plant-based foods and listening to their bodies."
The option of niche-seating
Once she had her first clients under her belt, Valeria had a better grasp of the way she wanted her company to look like. Her next step was to identify her audience. The thought of narrowing her audience -- and pool of prospective clients -- was intimidating at first.
"It's tempting to want to design something to please everyone to help as many people as you can."
Now, Valeria believes that serving an area of expertise is what is what makes her company stand out. She chose to specialize in servicing women of color as she noticed these clients often faced the same issues she'd experienced firsthand.
"I realized this could be an awesome subset of people that I serve, and being Latina I know what they're going through. I'm able to address specific things they would be struggling with that maybe other individuals would not."
Valeria created her own programs in order to aid women of color to integrate their cultural cuisines in their food choices.
"I assist people in reconnecting with their cultural foods because we're often taught that our cultural foods are not healthy however this isn't always accurate," Valeria elaborates. "That attitude stems from the diet culture and white supremacy. dismantling all of that by providing people with a healthy lifestyle is what I'm all about."
"There are seven billion people in the world. If you want to aid everyone, and reach out to everyone but you're actually speaking to everyone. This is a lot stronger in the event that you concentrate only a select number of people you've built a community around... because they understand that you're speaking directly to them."
Making use of a simplified, simplified business
After having a clear idea of her business plan and deciphering the target market, Valeria turned to to build her own virtual home base. Her current offerings include health coaching sessions as well as a cookbook online of plants-based Mexican dishes through her website.
Being a customer, Valeria knew making different accounts for different platforms in order to gain access to a creator's work was frustrating. Valeria didn't want to force clients through the exact process.
" simplifies the process both on the side of the entrepreneur and on the client's part. [Customers] only need one login and they can access everything they purchased from me."
Valeria insists that you do not need to employ the same instruments as the successful entrepreneurs with six or seven figures when you're first starting out. The cost of these programs does not ensure that you'll get the same results, and paying for the hefty costs can put you under excessive pressure.
" can really help streamline things. I'm all for simplicity, especially at this stage within my company."
Tips for other creators and entrepreneurs!
If asked for advice she has for aspiring entrepreneurs Valeria stated how crucial it is to listen to your intuition, find work-life balance, be decisive, and prioritize the health of your body and mind.
Pay attention to the voice in your head and go with what you feel is natural
Through her experience building the company VegiVale , Valeria learned that doing your own thing makes your business unique.
"Put your blinders in since it's tempting to take a look at what everybody else is doing. If you spot a hundred people doing this one thing it's likely that you'll want to do that too," she remarks. "It's absolutely natural to compare .... But the beautiful thing about being a creator is that you're one of a kind. Nobody else can accomplish what you do in the way you do it."
"The wonderful thing about being a creator is the fact that you're unique of an one of a kind. No one can do the same thing as you, and in the way that you execute it."
"Even though there are thousands of health professionals on the market, I'm sure what I am saying the message will be different than when someone else says similar things. The messages we share will resonate with different people. If you are trying to be part of the mainstream, you will lose your unique voice."
The reason for this, Valeria explains, is your unique sauce when you are a writer.
Valeria is also adamant that entrepreneurs take a leap of faith and do what makes them feel good even if it means taking a different approach than others within your industry. "Everyone's connected to TikTok right now," she points out, "There are so many health coaches there, and I thought I was missing out. After I joined the platform, I felt like I was missing out, and it was not my style."
For Valeria This format seemed more genuine and enjoyable.
"I can't say everything I want to say in 15 to 60 seconds. But newsletters have stood up to the test of time. I'd like something that is timeless if I'm going spend time and energy on it. If I were to follow the masses I'd do TikTok and ignore the fact that it's hard for me and I'm not a fan of the experience."
It's not that you should brush aside everychallenge that you face in your work, but if something makes you feel like you're dragging your feet, it's worth considering other options.
Establish a healthy work-life balance
Nevertheless, many entrepreneurs fall into the easy trap of overworking.
Sometimes, a toxic hustle culture is the culprit.
In the days of network marketing, Valeria always felt pressured to grind and get clients. She would work until dark every evening after her full-time job and lose quality time with family members.
The constant hustle didn't produce result, and Valeria's psychological condition deteriorated due to her absence from the people she loved and her family.
Sometimes, the creators work too much because they're passionate.
"Creators are at greater risk because we love our work. We often blur the line between passion and overworking as well as life and the creation of content. If you're truly passionate in what you do and your vision, it can be hard to turn off."
Valeria's solution: Take control of your work schedule and plan your business in order to provide you with the time and flexibility you need.
"I have seen numerous entrepreneurs and creatives leaving their nine to five only to replicate that structure within their businesses," Valeria says. "Why should you make that decision? Why would you only take two days off during the week during the week on Saturday and Sunday? Isn't that defeating the purpose?"
You're the boss, therefore you can:
Use your days off as needed.
Work fewer hours without feeling shameful.
Choose to work with fewer clients so you get more time to yourself.
Create attainable goals with a reasonable timeframe.
Don't follow the rules just because it's popular.
"Don't lose sight of what's important," Valeria reminds fellow creators. "You can live a full life beyond the web."
Be confident when you make big decisions
At the beginning of her venture, Valeria struggled to make important choices. Now, she knows that listening to her gut and committing is critical to moving forward.
"The manner you operate in a nine-to-five job differs from the way you work as an entrepreneur" she explains.
"In the traditional work environment you have deadlines, assignments as well as steps. But you have someone guiding you. When you're an entrepreneur, it's just you. The only person who can make decisions is you. making decisions, and you have to feel confident about those decisions."
This can be an enormous amount of stress for a new creator. If she's having trouble deciding, Valeria reminds herself that "not making a choice is inherently a deliberation." This can help her to make her mind and execute an action program.
Prioritize your physical and mental well-being
Then, Valeria emphasizes how important it is to take care of yourself. Through her entire journey, Valeria noticed that when she was not feeling well physically or mentally, her business suffered. When she felt great, her business thrived.
In order to keep health at the forefront, Valeria follows the same tips she provides her coaching clients. "How can I instruct my clients to stay asleep 8 hours every night, drink fluids, and consume their greens when I'm not?" she says.
"I always think, 'if I was my own customer What would I advise me to say in this circumstance What would I tell myself to do?"
What's coming up for the VegiVale?
Valeria has already assisted many women of color lead healthier lives through her VegiVale's contents programmes, workshops as well as her newsletter as well as through her newsletter, and we are sure this is just the beginning.
"With the help of my virtual assistant, we're currently developing an online course that will be launched at the end of this year. The course is in its early stage at present, however I wouldn't be able to develop it without the assistance of her," Valeria notes.
By leaning into her unique voice, keeping the balance of work and family, making tough decisions, as well as putting wellness first, Valeria built a freeing and enjoyable online business. By establishing a solid foundation, the sky's the limit. We can't wait to find out what the artist does in the future!