May 15, 2025 • 44 mins
Send Naihomy encouraging words!💕
Naihomy reflects on her unexpected five-year entrepreneurial journey, tracing how her personal health transformation led to a successful coaching business despite her initial resistance to entrepreneurship. She shares intimate stories about her childhood perceptions of business ownership and how overcoming her own limiting beliefs allowed her to help countless women achieve sustainable health results.
• Growing up with a negative view of entrepreneurship, seeing it as "something poor people did" when they couldn't make enough money
• Transforming her health after having children, losing 50 pounds and maintaining results without restrictive dieting
• Starting to help other women informally, writing her phone number on a barbecue napkin at a baby shower
• Launching her business officially in May 2020 after encouragement from a career coach
• Learning to ask for help and overcoming her pride in hyper-independence
• Discovering that what often blocks women from making "simple" health changes often stems from childhood experiences
• Finding purpose in helping women heal their relationship with food and their bodies
• Grateful for the flexibility entrepreneurship provides for family responsibilities
If you're interested in this kind of support and work, I invite you to reach out or book a free consultation call. If you've felt like nothing has worked for you, if you have health concerns, or if you want to lead a lifestyle rooted in wellness but feel scared or blocked, I invite you to join me on this journey.
Thank you so much for listening!
- Book a Free Consultation Call for Food & Hormone Health Coaching
- Follow me on Instagram
- Visit my website & sign up for my newsletter
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello friends, welcome back to Wealthy
Generation Podcast.
That's W-E-L-L-T-H-Y Wealthy.
So this week I am celebratingfive years of being an
entrepreneur, five years oflaunching my business, and it is
(00:22):
actually not something that Ideliberately set out to do, and
today I just want to share alittle bit about how I ended up
being an entrepreneur and aletter I wrote to my business
the day before the five-yearmark.
I got extremely emotional and Ifelt it brewing inside of me
(00:51):
and it was not an emotion oflike, it was not celebratory
energy, it was not happy energy,it was actually like
disappointment and sadness.
To be honest with you, and Ithink that out here in the
interwebs there is a lot of like.
There's this I don't knowpicture of what entrepreneurship
(01:14):
is, or like outline or what itlooks like, and sometimes it
looks very glamorous and thatpeople are making a lot of money
and it's so easy and you'llhave control over your time and
you could just be rich and andit might be true for some and it
also is a hard ass journey andsometimes I feel like
(01:41):
entrepreneurs maybe are not askind of open about that or what
really is going on behind thescenes or what really it looks
like to just keep deciding andchoosing to be an entrepreneur
and I'm not like trying to talkshit about anybody, it's just
and and everybody has the rightto share as much or as little as
(02:07):
they would like to, um, but Ithink that there also should be
a level of transparency, and I'mincluding myself, right, I'm.
I'm, first of all, I'm not I'ma health coach.
Um, I'm a hormone health coach,food coach, right, holistic
coach.
So talking about the backend ofmy business is just not
(02:32):
something that I feel like isnecessary to do all the time,
but in this anniversary, I amjust going to talk a little bit
about the business aspect of itfor myself and how it ties into
I don't know my journey as anentrepreneur and how I help my
(02:54):
clients and all that, because Ithink it's important to talk
about and, to be honest, Ididn't even think I was going to
be here at the five year mark.
I didn't even think I was goingto be here at the five-year
mark.
I think that that's part of theemotional toll that it's taken
on me, just like the fact thatit's been five years.
I come from a digital marketingbackground where I worked in a
(03:17):
lot of publishing companies andto be five years at a company.
It was like being old, like youwere just grandfathered in, you
have been there forever.
Usually those were highturnover positions or roles in
(03:38):
because the industry wasevolving so fast.
So it wasn't uncommon or lookedat as weird if you would spend
two years, three years at acompany and then you moved on.
Either you got promoted fromthe inside or you moved on to
another company to continue tolevel up on your career.
Now I have some of my dearcolleagues and peers who have
(04:02):
been at their companies nowactually where I used to work
for about 10 years.
So we were like these firstfive years together and then
they continued on and now I'mlike five years into
entrepreneurship and they're 10years into their careers at
these companies, which is agreat accomplishment.
And I think it's happened forthem because the company on its
(04:24):
own has evolved so much and hasgrown so much company.
They kind of did start workingfor new companies.
Every time that they acquired anew business or that things
(04:49):
shifted, they opened updifferent lines of business
within the same company.
So just the environment gavethem the opportunity to evolve,
whereas if a company's kind ofstaying the same, then it would
be the trend that people wouldmove every two to three years.
So that's a long, very longwinded way of saying like to be
(05:14):
an entrepreneur for five yearsis kind of a big deal coming
from the background that I camefrom, because it wasn't like
these kinds of companies whereyou had a pension and or like
you had to stay there for solong to get some sort of benefit
, right, like people have tostay there for 20 years and then
(05:35):
they would have a pension orhave some sort of other benefit.
It was just that was just notthe kind of industry that I was
in.
It was you had to move.
That was just not the kind ofindustry that I was in.
It was you had to move.
So to be here at five years, Ithink it's kind of a big deal
from the background that I comefrom.
Now I want to talk to you alittle bit about how I came to
(06:01):
be an entrepreneur and then theletter that I wrote to my
business, that I sent out to mynewsletter, I posted on
Instagram and LinkedIn.
So if you want to go ahead andread it, those are places where
you can find it and read it Atthe same time.
If you're not on my newsletter,I invite you to join.
You can join with the link inthe show notes or you can go to
(06:24):
my website, naomijarezcom, whereI send social media between
LinkedIn, instagram and allthese places.
(06:47):
Their algorithms change, youknow.
Things just get lost a lot oftimes.
So I try and also be veryactive and involved in my
newsletter and that's somethingthat is, you know, mine, and, of
course, this podcast as well.
That's kind of like off tosocial media.
(07:09):
So anyway, um, let's start fromthe beginning, and by the
beginning I mean when I was akid.
Trust me, it's not, it's notgoing to be.
I'm really not going to makethis long winded, but I remember
when I was a kid, um, the firsttime I heard the word
entrepreneur was at church.
My mom used to take us tochurch every Sunday and they had
(07:35):
a young, young like youngadults group or young like
preteen teams group.
It wasn't young adults, I wasdefinitely not an adult and they
were teaching entrepreneurshipand I was like, what is this
long word?
I've never heard about it.
And they gave us theseworkbooks and I can't even tell
you what was in there because itwas boring AF.
I had zero interest, I did notsee the purpose of it.
(07:56):
So I just I didn't think it wasimportant.
And you know, my mom was anentrepreneur, right, she was
selling pastelitos at my danceclasses to make money to buy me
my costumes and she was sewingcostumes for all the dance girls
(08:18):
to make money to pay for mystuff.
Pay for my stuff she would sell.
I remember pantyhose and shewould bring a bag of pantyhose
with her to sell at familyfunctions or we went over to
friends' house and things likethat.
She opened up her own daycarebusiness.
So she has been doing this fora while but I didn't know what
(08:42):
it was.
I didn't know it was anentrepreneurship.
Actually, I've discussed this alot in therapy and I was.
I saw entrepreneurship as a badthing because I saw it as
something that poor people did.
I know, I know I'm going to trynot to cry on this podcast
episode, but it's reallyvulnerable and from you know the
(09:03):
heart and like insights and thethings that I've never really
shared publicly, aside from withmy coaches or with therapists.
But in healing, inentrepreneurship and this money
journey, I had a lot ofresistance to being an
entrepreneur because I literallysaw it as something that poor
people did to being anentrepreneur.
Because I literally saw it assomething that poor people did,
(09:25):
like because we did not havemoney to pay for dance, and like
these extracurricular things,um, or like try to get extra
money to put food on the tableor whatever.
Have you like my parents neededsupport with?
Um, I was like, oh, this is soembarrassing, like now you have
to go sell to your friends, andlike these strangers because we
(09:49):
cannot make enough money from ajob.
Okay, fucked up, I know, goahead and message me.
Please message me.
I would love to kind of have aconversation about this, see how
you're feeling.
So go ahead, dm me, email me.
Like I don't know who listensto this, um, but if you feel
(10:10):
seen in any way, or like you'vemaybe, like maybe your thoughts
have been put into words at somecapacity, then I would love to
just connect.
So, yes, I thought thatentrepreneurship was what poor
people did, and because we didnot make enough money, then we
had to go sell things to people.
(10:31):
I felt it was almost kind oflike begging to bring more money
in, and I know that I've hadthis conversation with friends
over voice notes.
So thank you so much forholding that space.
And the friend I had thisconversation with.
She also had parents or peoplein her family who were
(10:51):
entrepreneurs and I think thatshe saw it differently, or maybe
some similarities, and she'salso like first gen Latina where
she saw this kind of like playout with her, with her loved
ones.
So, anyway, that was one of mybig resistance with
entrepreneurship because I wasjust like, oh, it's people
(11:13):
begging for money.
Poor people do this.
Another time I bumped intoentrepreneurship was in high
school.
One of my classmates um, y'allremember avon?
There was a subset of Avon.
I forgot what the name was, butit was targeted towards young
girls, young women, and it wasso many fun things in there,
(11:34):
like fun scents.
I remember there was this sensethat allowed you to smell like
chocolate and it was like thismusky chocolate scent and I
thought that that was soluxurious and they sold these
cute purses and cute tops andall that.
Anyway, um, my classmate, shewould bring the little book to
school and I bought from her afew times and I was like I, I
(11:58):
didn't think much of it, but Iwas always embarrassed by it,
like, oh, you're puttingyourself out there to make money
.
I never really saw it as oh,you're such a badass, right,
like you are making money foryourself, you're finding a way
Like.
I never had that perspective,and maybe it was this lingering
(12:20):
thing inside of me of like, oh,you must need money, like your
parents must need money, or youmust have to make your own money
to just buy what you need,right.
So anyway, um, in college I hada friend who was majoring in
business and I.
That made me want to throw up.
(12:40):
I just didn't see the point.
And he's a very successfulentrepreneur.
He has been an entrepreneursince we were in college and I
had zero interest in learningabout it.
Now that I think back, I feellike everybody should major in
business and I think it was verysmart of him to do that.
But I ended up majoring inLatin American studies, english,
(13:07):
spanish, lit.
So yeah, and fast forward tobeing in the workplace.
I worked in companies, but Iworked directly with the sales
team.
Oh, no, no, there was onebefore that, when I was in
college.
I worked at the Gap, and duringthe summer breaks I worked at
the Gap in Fifth Avenue.
(13:27):
I didn't even know what I wasgetting myself into.
But anyway, I worked at the Gapand part of being on the floor
was to help sell right, like you, help sell the merchandise.
And then you had to sell peopleon opening up a credit card and
I wanted to fucking throw up.
I was like hell, no, I wasalways getting in trouble for
(13:49):
not getting any credit cardquote, unquote sales and I just
thought that it was an awfulidea.
So every once in a while Iwould mention it to when I was
at the register, I would mentionit to the customers and
sometimes they were like yeah,and it was so easy, and other
times they were like no, andbecause it was fifth Avenue, a
(14:12):
lot of times they were out ofthe country.
And every time somebody was outof the country I was like yes,
like there's really nothing elseto sell them on because they
can't even open one.
Um, so it was just not my thing.
It made me feel really gross.
So now fast forward to actuallybeing working corporate and
(14:33):
being part of the sales team mywhole life, where the sales team
is basically entrepreneurs forthe company.
They have their own book ofbusiness, they need to pitch
deals and close deals and upsellpeople and make sure their
customers are happy, and allthat.
And as an account manager whichI was most of my life I had
(14:54):
zero interest in that andusually there was two tracks
when you were in an accountmanagement role where you either
grew in the account managementtrack where you became a senior
account manager and probably adirector or whatever have you in
client services accountmanagement, and then some
account managers transitionedfully into the sales department
(15:17):
where they would go and becomean account executive, where they
would go pitch deals, closedeals, all of this.
Whenever my account executivewould tell me to accompany them
to a sales meeting or be on asales call, I wanted to fucking
throw up.
Especially when they tried toget me involved.
I was like no, and it wasn'teven my freaking thing.
(15:39):
I just I don't know what it wasabout it where I was just so put
off by it and I even tried totrain or like to develop my
skills in sales and in pitching.
I feel like I could have donean excellent job but, as with
everything, what was in my brainwas blocking me and in health
(16:02):
and wellness is the same thing.
Like in theory, you can do areally good job and the changes
might be simple, but what's inyour brain stops you in your
tracks and really kind of likefreezes you or makes you so
scared that you cannot moveforward.
And that is exactly what Ithought, especially because I'm
(16:23):
brown.
Um, everybody almost everysalesperson was white and blonde
and they looked really nice Notto say that I don't look nice,
right, but I feel like it's alayer that I had to deal with,
that my peers in the salesdepartment did not have to deal
(16:44):
with, and usually the people whoyou were selling to were also
white, right.
So it was just this whole thingof I needed to feel comfortable
being seen as who I was.
I also did not straighten myhair.
I like to wear, you know, redlipstick and things like that so
it was just a whole layer.
(17:05):
So entrepreneurship was neverlike my thing.
Entrepreneurship was somethingthat I felt very uncomfortable
around and it just was notsomething that was on my radar
of something that I aspired todo.
(17:26):
So fast forward to my health andwellness journey in 2016, where
I had had my second kid and Iwanted to feel good in my body
again.
I didn't like how clothes wasfitting me.
My loved ones had given mefajas to wear or girdles under
my clothes, and I just did notlike that solution and I
(17:49):
promised myself because, right,like, how was I going to wear
fajas in the summertime?
Like, how was I going to wear afaja with a bathing suit?
Like, there was just thingsthat I was thinking about where
it's like no, I just want to becomfortable in my own skin.
Do I need to wear a shaper?
Or would I wear a shaper hereand there?
Yes, like, why not?
(18:10):
To help smooth things out?
Or to buy a ruched dress or ayou know tummy control, what,
like single piece bathing suitor a dress or something like
that?
Like, yes, let's, we're not,we're not going to be kidding
anybody here.
Okay, um, but in general, Ijust wanted to be comfortable in
(18:32):
my own skin.
I didn't want things pullingand tugging and sucking me in
like a freaking, such a chongwhich felt so incredibly
uncomfortable.
I was like I can't eat, I can'tbreathe, this feels miserable
and I don't want to live likethis anyway.
So I ended up in this two yearjourney of health and wellness,
(18:54):
which was not what I was callingit back then.
I didn't even have thatlanguage.
I literally just wanted to feelgood in my clothes.
That was it.
I didn't know about health.
I didn't know about wellness.
I didn't know about self-care.
I had no idea what any of thatmeant.
I did not know that it wasdirectly tied to my health and
that I was pre-diabetic and thatI could do something about it.
(19:15):
I didn't know any of that.
I just knew I wanted to lose mybaby weight and I wanted to
look good in my clothes again.
That is it.
Period, point blank.
So if this is your goal too,yes, girl, it is okay.
You will evolve and learn fromthere.
If you want to, and if you wantto make it more than that, and
(19:37):
if this is where you want tostay, then that's cool too.
Then that's cool too.
So the first year of thisworking with a nutritionist,
going to the gym once a week, soon and so forth I ended up
losing 50 pounds and I met mygoal.
My goal was not to lose 50pounds.
I didn't have a number in mind.
(20:00):
I just knew that I was going toknow when in my own body.
I was like I'm just going toknow when I get there.
And it ended up being a 50pound weight loss and I was like
I was even below my weight whenI got pregnant.
So I like my mind.
(20:22):
When that happened after theyear mark, I was like this is
great, woohoo, fantastic.
I need to enjoy it while itlasts, because no one ever
maintains their progress, likeno one ever maintains their
weight.
No one ever stays looking thesame way.
(20:43):
I know that maybe in next yearI will probably gain all the
weight back and I'll be tryingto lose it again and I won't
look like this.
This is what my brain istelling me.
And then, yeah, like I'm justgoing to have to kind of share
what happened.
This was my expectation.
(21:05):
So when the year mark of numbertwo happened, I blew my own mind
because I was like how is itpossible that I have two babies,
how is it possible that I havea full time corporate job with
long commutes, not really beingable to cook how I want or not
(21:27):
going to the gym more than oncea week?
By then I had had a stint ofabout close to a year where I
went twice a week.
Okay, that was it.
And I was like how is itpossible that I still eat the
foods I love?
How is it possible that I stilleat the foods I love?
(21:48):
Yes, I had made modifications,but I was not restricting, I was
not counting, I was notnecessarily measuring.
Well, for a certain extent Iwas, but I was not doing
anything crazy.
Where I was like this sucks, Iwas thoroughly enjoying my life.
I went on vacation, I went to alot of concerts and shows and
dinners and still ate mycultural foods and fried foods
(22:11):
and all this.
So I was like how is itpossible to like or no like?
It is possible to maintain yourweight.
It is possible to keep yourresults.
It is possible not to bemiserable and on a stupid
restrictive diet or taking pillsand shakes and shots and all
(22:34):
these different things?
It's possible to just live yourlife.
Increase your knowledge aroundfood a little bit, you know.
Increase your knowledge aroundfood a little bit, move a little
bit and and you're good.
So that's when I was like, oh myGod, I want to share this with
(22:56):
my community because all I seeis women being miserable, women
stuffing themselves into thegirdles and taking the shots and
the pills, and the surgeriesand doing all this and like not
enjoying flan and cake atgatherings and always being
cautious about what they eat tothe point where they're not
enjoying their life.
(23:16):
And I was like, if they justknew this little bit of
information and how to connectwith how they were feeling, they
can achieve these kinds ofresults too.
And I wanted that for mycommunity so bad.
And this is when I told thehubs.
I was like, oh, I have thisidea of just gathering some
(23:38):
information of how people areeating women are eating and then
just giving them some feedbackand this can help them.
So then I started thinking of aname for the business, which
ended up being Bagels andBrussels that's another story
for another day and I was likeI'm just going to help whoever I
can, I'm just going to putmyself out there.
(24:00):
But I didn't know this wasentrepreneurship or business or
nothing like that.
And I wasn't thinking aboutmoney, like I just really wanted
to help people.
So I started helping the firsttwo people because, for
absolutely free over textmessage, okay, I created this
(24:20):
form of information that I wouldneed, which I still use today.
It's just very much evolved.
Um, and then I would get on thephone with them and discuss, you
know, the feedback, and then wewould talk over text, we would
check in over text.
And the first person was I wentto um, a friend's baby shower
(24:43):
and one of my college peers whowas there and I had not seen her
in a long time.
She was like, wow, you lookgreat.
How did you do it, especiallyafter having two kids?
And then I was like, oh my god,this is my opportunity.
And I was like, oh, you know,it was very simple just food and
knowing what to eat, so on andso forth.
I was like, if you want, I canhelp you.
(25:05):
She was like, really?
And I was like yeah, and I saidhere's my number, legit, wrote
my telephone number on thebarbecue napkin and I handed it
over to her and I was like, justtext me.
And two weeks later she textedme and then we started the whole
process.
And then the other person was atthe gym class I went to at the
(25:27):
time and I heard her complainingto another gym member that she
was showing up working so hard.
And it's true, I saw this girlthere every single time and
beyond of she was working reallyhard and she goes.
But I have such a big issuewith the food.
I'm just so lost I don't knowwhat to do and I remember my
(25:51):
heart started pounding and I waslike, naomi, you have to go
talk to her.
Like you have to go talk to her.
So, anyway, I went and then Iwas like, hey, I don't want, I
don't mean to be like a metiche,but I just wanted to let you
know that I heard what you saidand this is my transformation.
I think I showed her like mybefore picture and I was like I
(26:14):
can help you with that, I canhelp you understand the food and
I can help you with thatprocess.
And she was like, yeah, let'sdo it.
And again, we started coachingover the phone and she, I
remember, got amazing results.
And then family members startedto ask, so on and so forth.
So I had done a lot of the, alot of the outward business
(26:39):
stuff.
Like I made myself businesscards, I bought my domain, like
I did all that crazy shitbecause I did work in digital
advertising and that's what Isaw the businesses had.
But you know that that is likethe least kind of of your worry
sometimes when, when you'restarting off, even though I
really enjoyed having thosethings.
So, anyway, that was in 2018,when all of this was happening,
(27:07):
and for two years, from 2018 to2020, like I just had this idea
and I was randomly helpingpeople here and there.
Then it was like five and ahalf years into my job, almost
six years I decided that'sanother story for another day to
(27:27):
quit.
And then I also decided to hiremy very first coach, which was
a career coach, and, mind you,this was February 2020, the end
of February 2020, the beginningof March, so right before the
(27:48):
shutdown happened mid-March inNew York City with the pandemic.
So I have this meeting with thecareer coach and the career
coach is like I tell her like mywhole work history, and then I
also tell her about thisbusiness idea that I had, and at
(28:09):
the end of the call, she's likeokay, well, how do you want to
move forward?
I thought I didn't expect thatquestion and I thought that we
could do both.
But I sat there and I thoughtabout it and I was like let's
move forward with my resume.
But I sat there and I thoughtabout it and I was like let's
move forward with my resume,which was literally two weeks
before the shutdown happened.
Anyway, she was like why, why?
(28:31):
And I was like why, why?
And she goes why do you want tomove forward with your resume
after you also like, while alsohaving this business idea which
you have executed on already,not only have you gotten results
for yourself, but for otherpeople, like maybe four to five
(28:53):
other people, and you've doneall this work already.
And she and I sat there and Iwas like I'm really scared, like
I don't know how to do this.
And she said I can help youbring this off the ground.
I can help you get this up andrunning if you want to move in
(29:13):
this direction.
And then I was like, okay,let's try, let's try it.
So, thanks to this career coach, we got my business up and
running.
She worked with me with a lotof my fears and roadblocks that
I had going on, and while I wasworking with her, I got my very
(29:35):
first paid client.
And then it was a handful, likemaybe three or four paid
clients and I was in completedisbelief.
I was in complete disbelief.
This was May of 2020.
And that was the start of thebusiness, and you know to be
(29:57):
here five years later.
It's been so much growth, it'sbeen so much evolution, it's
been a lot of investing of timeand energy.
Um, it's given me so much to inreturn, like there are the
quote-unquote perks of youcontrol your time and all this.
(30:19):
And it's come at a time whereit's allowed me to be kind of
the parent where I want to, thatI want to be like being more
present for my kids, being ableto switch up my schedule when I
need to take them to a doctor'sappointment or shopper on a trip
or they don't feel well andneed to stay home, like all
(30:40):
these little things that becomea lot more complicated when
you're working for a company,right.
So there's been a lot ofmoments where I just want to put
my hands up in the air and quitor think that if I went back to
corporate, my life would bebetter, which kind of like.
(31:05):
I was in corporate for 12 years, so I a lot of times remember
my pain points there and it'slike, well, if I'm going to have
a hard time and things to workthrough, then I'm it might as
well be in my own business,right?
So that's a little bit about myjourney through
(31:27):
entrepreneurship or how I gothere.
I always say that it chose me, Ididn't choose it.
I want to really say thank youfrom the bottom of my heart for
anybody who supports me,supports my business, who just
listens and is present and ishere, who has invested in me and
(31:51):
the business, who has invitedme to speak, who has shared
anything with loved ones, orsomebody who can use this kind
of support.
Um, I don't take that lightly.
I am have deep gratitude forthat, um, because I wouldn't be
here if you guys are not here.
You know, um, and I don't thinkthat there's a lot of people in
(32:18):
this space explaining thingslike me or like have this
perspective, um, and just bringsin a holistic perspective.
I just ended six months withone of my clients today and she
was like I came in expecting onething and I got so much more.
(32:39):
And that's usually the feedbackI get from every single person
that does one-on-one coachingwith me.
Because it is that holisticperspective of well, what's your
mind saying?
You know, what are theroadblocks that are getting in
your way, what are thesechallenges?
Because clearly you're so smart, clearly you've tried so many
other things before, um, andit's just been kind of like
(33:03):
tangled wires trying to figureit out, or you're at a loss
right now, when you knew exactlywhat to do before.
So, um, I thank you.
I thank you.
I thank you, um, and I hopethat if you do continue to see
value that you do, pleasecontinue to share and support um
(33:25):
and, just, you know, be inconversation and in community
with me.
It's, it's a lot more fun thisway when we just talk right and
communicate and share.
So, with that said, um, let meread you all this letter that I
wrote to my business and now mycomputer's telling me that I'm
(33:50):
signed out right, like in suchthe perfect timely manner as if
I haven't been signed in all day.
But here we go, I am now in.
Okay.
It says dear food and healthcoaching business.
I can't believe we've made itto year five.
(34:13):
The stats say that a lot ofsmall businesses don't make it
this far.
I didn't even choose you, youchose me.
All I wanted was to help womenin my community treat themselves
better, nourish themselvesbetter, to get the same goal
that they were trying to achievein a very mean, short-lived and
torturous ways.
Trust me, I was the first onewho was embarrassed when I found
(34:36):
that the career which hadchosen me was coaching.
I thought that all I was goingto do was teach women about
ingredients in their food andhow to better balance a meal.
It was not that simple.
I didn't realize that a lot ofwhat was standing in the way of
making quote unquote such simpleadjustments to how they ate
(35:01):
went deep, deep into theirchildhood.
Growing up in survival, copingand soothing with the most
(35:21):
accessible tool food, health andwellness being a luxury, not
something to be proactive about.
These are some of the realreasons these women were having
a difficult time making a simpleswitch.
General health became part ofour mission because, even though
(35:42):
, as women of color, we all comefrom some form of traumatic
background, a lot of us do notneed to remain there anymore Cue
in guilt and shame.
We have the resources to healphysically and be proactive
about staying well.
This is not the only changewe've had these last five years.
(36:05):
It made me face so much aboutmyself that I never knew needed
healing.
The first one was myhyper-independence.
That was my badge of honor.
I took pride and joy notneeding help, especially
financial support, from no one.
I don't come from money and mybusiness is self-funded.
So, yes, I eventually neededsupport of some sort.
(36:27):
That broke me.
I felt like my badge was rippedaway and I got dragged through
the mud.
That was my biggest growthmoment.
I got dragged through the mud.
That was my biggest growthmoment.
Next, I had no idea thatbusiness finances were managed
very differently from personalfinances.
I cried for a whole year as Ifigured this one out.
Entrepreneurship is presented asglamorous a lot of the time,
(36:52):
but I'm here to tell you thereare some perks and there are a
lot of hard moments too,especially when this is your
livelihood.
There have been many times Ihave wanted to quit you.
I've been mad at you.
I don't want to celebrate you.
I think you're not working andit's over, and somehow you
always pull through, whetherit's a client sending me a
(37:15):
message of how they havereversed a chronic condition
through our work, someone onsocial saying how our content
has helped them live a betterlife, or an invitation to share
our message with a largeraudience.
I almost didn't want tocelebrate you on your fifth
anniversary.
I wanted to ignore you becausethat's how I was treated when I
(37:36):
didn't perform to others'expectations of me.
I realized how mean that was ofme to even think that, after you
have granted me so much, one ofthe biggest gifts you have
given me is the opportunity tobe present and an advocate for
my boys when they needed me themost.
Thank you for always having myback and sometimes giving me
(37:58):
what I need instead of what Iwant.
I'd be lying if I said I madeit to year five all on my own.
Like I said, I wanted to quitso many times and someone had to
walk me off that ledge.
Thank you to all the careercoaches, business coaches, life
(38:18):
coaches, money coaches,ancestral healing coaches,
mentors, peers, family, friendsand my amazing OBM online
business manager for supportingme when I am broken and when I
am thriving.
Last and certainly not least,my deepest gratitude to all the
women who have trusted me to betheir health coach, who invested
(38:41):
their time and money on astranger to support them in
something so deeply personal andvulnerable as their health.
Thank you to all the companiesand small businesses who have
invested in me to be part oftheir community.
Without all of you, my businesswould not have hit this
milestone.
It's been worth it and I lookforward to the next five years
(39:02):
with love.
Naomi, that's the end of myletter to my company.
I wrote this after sobbing for afew hours and being guided
through my emotions by myancestral healing coach and by
the hubs who was like, why areyou crying?
(39:23):
Um, so it's really heartfelt,open.
I could have gone on and on,but I think that captures, you
know personally, like, the maingrowth moments for me, um, in
the last five years.
There is a lot of work to bedone on the backend as you're
running, uh, as you're trying togrow something, you know, um,
(39:50):
and again, I am deeply gratefulfor y'all being here and at the
same time, I know that this ismy purpose.
I love to do this work so much.
It brings me so much freakingjoy and, just like I don't know,
it feels like grounding when Italk to my clients and they
(40:14):
share with me how they'vereversed chronic conditions, how
they're able to live a lifethat is more at peace within
their own skin and brain withthemselves, right when they've
lost weight in a way that feelsso effortless, where they've
(40:35):
reversed prediabetes or healedPCOS and done pregnant, um, you
know, dealt with high bloodpressure.
Uh, there's, there's just somuch.
Have this connection betweentheir brain and their body
finally not being mean tothemselves, you know, um, it's
(40:58):
very rewarding to just help,support and give space and
untangle a lot of the messagingthat they've received throughout
their life with society, thingswe carry with us through
generations, um to to just lookat things differently, you know.
(41:22):
So thank you for listening.
Um, if you're interested in thiskind of support and work, I
invite you to reach out or tobook a free consultation call so
that we can discuss it.
This is how I'm going to keepserving and supporting, and I
(41:45):
want to support you too.
If you have felt like nothinghas worked for you and you have
health concerns, or you knowthat you want to lead a
lifestyle rooted in wellness,but you're scared, like I was or
you're a lot of thoughts aregetting in your way, or you
(42:07):
think it's not possible for you,for whatever reason.
You would be the first one inyour family trying to do
something like this.
You really do want to influencegenerational health for
yourself and for your loved ones, so I invite you, I invite you
it's up to you, if you want toaccept the invitation right To
(42:31):
join me on this journey.
If you're ready and that's whatyou want to do at this moment,
all right.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for being here, thankyou for being part of this
community, and I appreciate you.
I hope to speak with you soonand I hope you have a nice week.
Bye.
Hello friends, welcome back to Wealthy
Generation Podcast.
That's W-E-L-L-T-H-Y Wealthy.
So this week I am celebratingfive years of being an
entrepreneur, five years oflaunching my business, and it is
(00:22):
actually not something that Ideliberately set out to do, and
today I just want to share alittle bit about how I ended up
being an entrepreneur and aletter I wrote to my business
the day before the five-yearmark.
I got extremely emotional and Ifelt it brewing inside of me
(00:51):
and it was not an emotion oflike, it was not celebratory
energy, it was not happy energy,it was actually like
disappointment and sadness.
To be honest with you, and Ithink that out here in the
interwebs there is a lot of like.
There's this I don't knowpicture of what entrepreneurship
(01:14):
is, or like outline or what itlooks like, and sometimes it
looks very glamorous and thatpeople are making a lot of money
and it's so easy and you'llhave control over your time and
you could just be rich and andit might be true for some and it
also is a hard ass journey andsometimes I feel like
(01:41):
entrepreneurs maybe are not askind of open about that or what
really is going on behind thescenes or what really it looks
like to just keep deciding andchoosing to be an entrepreneur
and I'm not like trying to talkshit about anybody, it's just
and and everybody has the rightto share as much or as little as
(02:07):
they would like to, um, but Ithink that there also should be
a level of transparency, and I'mincluding myself, right, I'm.
I'm, first of all, I'm not I'ma health coach.
Um, I'm a hormone health coach,food coach, right, holistic
coach.
So talking about the backend ofmy business is just not
(02:32):
something that I feel like isnecessary to do all the time,
but in this anniversary, I amjust going to talk a little bit
about the business aspect of itfor myself and how it ties into
I don't know my journey as anentrepreneur and how I help my
(02:54):
clients and all that, because Ithink it's important to talk
about and, to be honest, Ididn't even think I was going to
be here at the five year mark.
I didn't even think I was goingto be here at the five-year
mark.
I think that that's part of theemotional toll that it's taken
on me, just like the fact thatit's been five years.
I come from a digital marketingbackground where I worked in a
(03:17):
lot of publishing companies andto be five years at a company.
It was like being old, like youwere just grandfathered in, you
have been there forever.
Usually those were highturnover positions or roles in
(03:38):
because the industry wasevolving so fast.
So it wasn't uncommon or lookedat as weird if you would spend
two years, three years at acompany and then you moved on.
Either you got promoted fromthe inside or you moved on to
another company to continue tolevel up on your career.
Now I have some of my dearcolleagues and peers who have
(04:02):
been at their companies nowactually where I used to work
for about 10 years.
So we were like these firstfive years together and then
they continued on and now I'mlike five years into
entrepreneurship and they're 10years into their careers at
these companies, which is agreat accomplishment.
And I think it's happened forthem because the company on its
(04:24):
own has evolved so much and hasgrown so much company.
They kind of did start workingfor new companies.
Every time that they acquired anew business or that things
(04:49):
shifted, they opened updifferent lines of business
within the same company.
So just the environment gavethem the opportunity to evolve,
whereas if a company's kind ofstaying the same, then it would
be the trend that people wouldmove every two to three years.
So that's a long, very longwinded way of saying like to be
(05:14):
an entrepreneur for five yearsis kind of a big deal coming
from the background that I camefrom, because it wasn't like
these kinds of companies whereyou had a pension and or like
you had to stay there for solong to get some sort of benefit
, right, like people have tostay there for 20 years and then
(05:35):
they would have a pension orhave some sort of other benefit.
It was just that was just notthe kind of industry that I was
in.
It was you had to move.
That was just not the kind ofindustry that I was in.
It was you had to move.
So to be here at five years, Ithink it's kind of a big deal
from the background that I comefrom.
Now I want to talk to you alittle bit about how I came to
(06:01):
be an entrepreneur and then theletter that I wrote to my
business, that I sent out to mynewsletter, I posted on
Instagram and LinkedIn.
So if you want to go ahead andread it, those are places where
you can find it and read it Atthe same time.
If you're not on my newsletter,I invite you to join.
You can join with the link inthe show notes or you can go to
(06:24):
my website, naomijarezcom, whereI send social media between
LinkedIn, instagram and allthese places.
(06:47):
Their algorithms change, youknow.
Things just get lost a lot oftimes.
So I try and also be veryactive and involved in my
newsletter and that's somethingthat is, you know, mine, and, of
course, this podcast as well.
That's kind of like off tosocial media.
(07:09):
So anyway, um, let's start fromthe beginning, and by the
beginning I mean when I was akid.
Trust me, it's not, it's notgoing to be.
I'm really not going to makethis long winded, but I remember
when I was a kid, um, the firsttime I heard the word
entrepreneur was at church.
My mom used to take us tochurch every Sunday and they had
(07:35):
a young, young like youngadults group or young like
preteen teams group.
It wasn't young adults, I wasdefinitely not an adult and they
were teaching entrepreneurshipand I was like, what is this
long word?
I've never heard about it.
And they gave us theseworkbooks and I can't even tell
you what was in there because itwas boring AF.
I had zero interest, I did notsee the purpose of it.
(07:56):
So I just I didn't think it wasimportant.
And you know, my mom was anentrepreneur, right, she was
selling pastelitos at my danceclasses to make money to buy me
my costumes and she was sewingcostumes for all the dance girls
(08:18):
to make money to pay for mystuff.
Pay for my stuff she would sell.
I remember pantyhose and shewould bring a bag of pantyhose
with her to sell at familyfunctions or we went over to
friends' house and things likethat.
She opened up her own daycarebusiness.
So she has been doing this fora while but I didn't know what
(08:42):
it was.
I didn't know it was anentrepreneurship.
Actually, I've discussed this alot in therapy and I was.
I saw entrepreneurship as a badthing because I saw it as
something that poor people did.
I know, I know I'm going to trynot to cry on this podcast
episode, but it's reallyvulnerable and from you know the
(09:03):
heart and like insights and thethings that I've never really
shared publicly, aside from withmy coaches or with therapists.
But in healing, inentrepreneurship and this money
journey, I had a lot ofresistance to being an
entrepreneur because I literallysaw it as something that poor
people did to being anentrepreneur.
Because I literally saw it assomething that poor people did,
(09:25):
like because we did not havemoney to pay for dance, and like
these extracurricular things,um, or like try to get extra
money to put food on the tableor whatever.
Have you like my parents neededsupport with?
Um, I was like, oh, this is soembarrassing, like now you have
to go sell to your friends, andlike these strangers because we
(09:49):
cannot make enough money from ajob.
Okay, fucked up, I know, goahead and message me.
Please message me.
I would love to kind of have aconversation about this, see how
you're feeling.
So go ahead, dm me, email me.
Like I don't know who listensto this, um, but if you feel
(10:10):
seen in any way, or like you'vemaybe, like maybe your thoughts
have been put into words at somecapacity, then I would love to
just connect.
So, yes, I thought thatentrepreneurship was what poor
people did, and because we didnot make enough money, then we
had to go sell things to people.
(10:31):
I felt it was almost kind oflike begging to bring more money
in, and I know that I've hadthis conversation with friends
over voice notes.
So thank you so much forholding that space.
And the friend I had thisconversation with.
She also had parents or peoplein her family who were
(10:51):
entrepreneurs and I think thatshe saw it differently, or maybe
some similarities, and she'salso like first gen Latina where
she saw this kind of like playout with her, with her loved
ones.
So, anyway, that was one of mybig resistance with
entrepreneurship because I wasjust like, oh, it's people
(11:13):
begging for money.
Poor people do this.
Another time I bumped intoentrepreneurship was in high
school.
One of my classmates um, y'allremember avon?
There was a subset of Avon.
I forgot what the name was, butit was targeted towards young
girls, young women, and it wasso many fun things in there,
(11:34):
like fun scents.
I remember there was this sensethat allowed you to smell like
chocolate and it was like thismusky chocolate scent and I
thought that that was soluxurious and they sold these
cute purses and cute tops andall that.
Anyway, um, my classmate, shewould bring the little book to
school and I bought from her afew times and I was like I, I
(11:58):
didn't think much of it, but Iwas always embarrassed by it,
like, oh, you're puttingyourself out there to make money
.
I never really saw it as oh,you're such a badass, right,
like you are making money foryourself, you're finding a way
Like.
I never had that perspective,and maybe it was this lingering
(12:20):
thing inside of me of like, oh,you must need money, like your
parents must need money, or youmust have to make your own money
to just buy what you need,right.
So anyway, um, in college I hada friend who was majoring in
business and I.
That made me want to throw up.
(12:40):
I just didn't see the point.
And he's a very successfulentrepreneur.
He has been an entrepreneursince we were in college and I
had zero interest in learningabout it.
Now that I think back, I feellike everybody should major in
business and I think it was verysmart of him to do that.
But I ended up majoring inLatin American studies, english,
(13:07):
spanish, lit.
So yeah, and fast forward tobeing in the workplace.
I worked in companies, but Iworked directly with the sales
team.
Oh, no, no, there was onebefore that, when I was in
college.
I worked at the Gap, and duringthe summer breaks I worked at
the Gap in Fifth Avenue.
(13:27):
I didn't even know what I wasgetting myself into.
But anyway, I worked at the Gapand part of being on the floor
was to help sell right, like you, help sell the merchandise.
And then you had to sell peopleon opening up a credit card and
I wanted to fucking throw up.
I was like hell, no, I wasalways getting in trouble for
(13:49):
not getting any credit cardquote, unquote sales and I just
thought that it was an awfulidea.
So every once in a while Iwould mention it to when I was
at the register, I would mentionit to the customers and
sometimes they were like yeah,and it was so easy, and other
times they were like no, andbecause it was fifth Avenue, a
(14:12):
lot of times they were out ofthe country.
And every time somebody was outof the country I was like yes,
like there's really nothing elseto sell them on because they
can't even open one.
Um, so it was just not my thing.
It made me feel really gross.
So now fast forward to actuallybeing working corporate and
(14:33):
being part of the sales team mywhole life, where the sales team
is basically entrepreneurs forthe company.
They have their own book ofbusiness, they need to pitch
deals and close deals and upsellpeople and make sure their
customers are happy, and allthat.
And as an account manager whichI was most of my life I had
(14:54):
zero interest in that andusually there was two tracks
when you were in an accountmanagement role where you either
grew in the account managementtrack where you became a senior
account manager and probably adirector or whatever have you in
client services accountmanagement, and then some
account managers transitionedfully into the sales department
(15:17):
where they would go and becomean account executive, where they
would go pitch deals, closedeals, all of this.
Whenever my account executivewould tell me to accompany them
to a sales meeting or be on asales call, I wanted to fucking
throw up.
Especially when they tried toget me involved.
I was like no, and it wasn'teven my freaking thing.
(15:39):
I just I don't know what it wasabout it where I was just so put
off by it and I even tried totrain or like to develop my
skills in sales and in pitching.
I feel like I could have donean excellent job but, as with
everything, what was in my brainwas blocking me and in health
(16:02):
and wellness is the same thing.
Like in theory, you can do areally good job and the changes
might be simple, but what's inyour brain stops you in your
tracks and really kind of likefreezes you or makes you so
scared that you cannot moveforward.
And that is exactly what Ithought, especially because I'm
(16:23):
brown.
Um, everybody almost everysalesperson was white and blonde
and they looked really nice Notto say that I don't look nice,
right, but I feel like it's alayer that I had to deal with,
that my peers in the salesdepartment did not have to deal
(16:44):
with, and usually the people whoyou were selling to were also
white, right.
So it was just this whole thingof I needed to feel comfortable
being seen as who I was.
I also did not straighten myhair.
I like to wear, you know, redlipstick and things like that so
it was just a whole layer.
(17:05):
So entrepreneurship was neverlike my thing.
Entrepreneurship was somethingthat I felt very uncomfortable
around and it just was notsomething that was on my radar
of something that I aspired todo.
(17:26):
So fast forward to my health andwellness journey in 2016, where
I had had my second kid and Iwanted to feel good in my body
again.
I didn't like how clothes wasfitting me.
My loved ones had given mefajas to wear or girdles under
my clothes, and I just did notlike that solution and I
(17:49):
promised myself because, right,like, how was I going to wear
fajas in the summertime?
Like, how was I going to wear afaja with a bathing suit?
Like, there was just thingsthat I was thinking about where
it's like no, I just want to becomfortable in my own skin.
Do I need to wear a shaper?
Or would I wear a shaper hereand there?
Yes, like, why not?
(18:10):
To help smooth things out?
Or to buy a ruched dress or ayou know tummy control, what,
like single piece bathing suitor a dress or something like
that?
Like, yes, let's, we're not,we're not going to be kidding
anybody here.
Okay, um, but in general, Ijust wanted to be comfortable in
(18:32):
my own skin.
I didn't want things pullingand tugging and sucking me in
like a freaking, such a chongwhich felt so incredibly
uncomfortable.
I was like I can't eat, I can'tbreathe, this feels miserable
and I don't want to live likethis anyway.
So I ended up in this two yearjourney of health and wellness,
(18:54):
which was not what I was callingit back then.
I didn't even have thatlanguage.
I literally just wanted to feelgood in my clothes.
That was it.
I didn't know about health.
I didn't know about wellness.
I didn't know about self-care.
I had no idea what any of thatmeant.
I did not know that it wasdirectly tied to my health and
that I was pre-diabetic and thatI could do something about it.
(19:15):
I didn't know any of that.
I just knew I wanted to lose mybaby weight and I wanted to
look good in my clothes again.
That is it.
Period, point blank.
So if this is your goal too,yes, girl, it is okay.
You will evolve and learn fromthere.
If you want to, and if you wantto make it more than that, and
(19:37):
if this is where you want tostay, then that's cool too.
Then that's cool too.
So the first year of thisworking with a nutritionist,
going to the gym once a week, soon and so forth I ended up
losing 50 pounds and I met mygoal.
My goal was not to lose 50pounds.
I didn't have a number in mind.
(20:00):
I just knew that I was going toknow when in my own body.
I was like I'm just going toknow when I get there.
And it ended up being a 50pound weight loss and I was like
I was even below my weight whenI got pregnant.
So I like my mind.
(20:22):
When that happened after theyear mark, I was like this is
great, woohoo, fantastic.
I need to enjoy it while itlasts, because no one ever
maintains their progress, likeno one ever maintains their
weight.
No one ever stays looking thesame way.
(20:43):
I know that maybe in next yearI will probably gain all the
weight back and I'll be tryingto lose it again and I won't
look like this.
This is what my brain istelling me.
And then, yeah, like I'm justgoing to have to kind of share
what happened.
This was my expectation.
(21:05):
So when the year mark of numbertwo happened, I blew my own mind
because I was like how is itpossible that I have two babies,
how is it possible that I havea full time corporate job with
long commutes, not really beingable to cook how I want or not
(21:27):
going to the gym more than oncea week?
By then I had had a stint ofabout close to a year where I
went twice a week.
Okay, that was it.
And I was like how is itpossible that I still eat the
foods I love?
How is it possible that I stilleat the foods I love?
(21:48):
Yes, I had made modifications,but I was not restricting, I was
not counting, I was notnecessarily measuring.
Well, for a certain extent Iwas, but I was not doing
anything crazy.
Where I was like this sucks, Iwas thoroughly enjoying my life.
I went on vacation, I went to alot of concerts and shows and
dinners and still ate mycultural foods and fried foods
(22:11):
and all this.
So I was like how is itpossible to like or no like?
It is possible to maintain yourweight.
It is possible to keep yourresults.
It is possible not to bemiserable and on a stupid
restrictive diet or taking pillsand shakes and shots and all
(22:34):
these different things?
It's possible to just live yourlife.
Increase your knowledge aroundfood a little bit, you know.
Increase your knowledge aroundfood a little bit, move a little
bit and and you're good.
So that's when I was like, oh myGod, I want to share this with
(22:56):
my community because all I seeis women being miserable, women
stuffing themselves into thegirdles and taking the shots and
the pills, and the surgeriesand doing all this and like not
enjoying flan and cake atgatherings and always being
cautious about what they eat tothe point where they're not
enjoying their life.
(23:16):
And I was like, if they justknew this little bit of
information and how to connectwith how they were feeling, they
can achieve these kinds ofresults too.
And I wanted that for mycommunity so bad.
And this is when I told thehubs.
I was like, oh, I have thisidea of just gathering some
(23:38):
information of how people areeating women are eating and then
just giving them some feedbackand this can help them.
So then I started thinking of aname for the business, which
ended up being Bagels andBrussels that's another story
for another day and I was likeI'm just going to help whoever I
can, I'm just going to putmyself out there.
(24:00):
But I didn't know this wasentrepreneurship or business or
nothing like that.
And I wasn't thinking aboutmoney, like I just really wanted
to help people.
So I started helping the firsttwo people because, for
absolutely free over textmessage, okay, I created this
(24:20):
form of information that I wouldneed, which I still use today.
It's just very much evolved.
Um, and then I would get on thephone with them and discuss, you
know, the feedback, and then wewould talk over text, we would
check in over text.
And the first person was I wentto um, a friend's baby shower
(24:43):
and one of my college peers whowas there and I had not seen her
in a long time.
She was like, wow, you lookgreat.
How did you do it, especiallyafter having two kids?
And then I was like, oh my god,this is my opportunity.
And I was like, oh, you know,it was very simple just food and
knowing what to eat, so on andso forth.
I was like, if you want, I canhelp you.
(25:05):
She was like, really?
And I was like yeah, and I saidhere's my number, legit, wrote
my telephone number on thebarbecue napkin and I handed it
over to her and I was like, justtext me.
And two weeks later she textedme and then we started the whole
process.
And then the other person was atthe gym class I went to at the
(25:27):
time and I heard her complainingto another gym member that she
was showing up working so hard.
And it's true, I saw this girlthere every single time and
beyond of she was working reallyhard and she goes.
But I have such a big issuewith the food.
I'm just so lost I don't knowwhat to do and I remember my
(25:51):
heart started pounding and I waslike, naomi, you have to go
talk to her.
Like you have to go talk to her.
So, anyway, I went and then Iwas like, hey, I don't want, I
don't mean to be like a metiche,but I just wanted to let you
know that I heard what you saidand this is my transformation.
I think I showed her like mybefore picture and I was like I
(26:14):
can help you with that, I canhelp you understand the food and
I can help you with thatprocess.
And she was like, yeah, let'sdo it.
And again, we started coachingover the phone and she, I
remember, got amazing results.
And then family members startedto ask, so on and so forth.
So I had done a lot of the, alot of the outward business
(26:39):
stuff.
Like I made myself businesscards, I bought my domain, like
I did all that crazy shitbecause I did work in digital
advertising and that's what Isaw the businesses had.
But you know that that is likethe least kind of of your worry
sometimes when, when you'restarting off, even though I
really enjoyed having thosethings.
So, anyway, that was in 2018,when all of this was happening,
(27:07):
and for two years, from 2018 to2020, like I just had this idea
and I was randomly helpingpeople here and there.
Then it was like five and ahalf years into my job, almost
six years I decided that'sanother story for another day to
(27:27):
quit.
And then I also decided to hiremy very first coach, which was
a career coach, and, mind you,this was February 2020, the end
of February 2020, the beginningof March, so right before the
(27:48):
shutdown happened mid-March inNew York City with the pandemic.
So I have this meeting with thecareer coach and the career
coach is like I tell her like mywhole work history, and then I
also tell her about thisbusiness idea that I had, and at
(28:09):
the end of the call, she's likeokay, well, how do you want to
move forward?
I thought I didn't expect thatquestion and I thought that we
could do both.
But I sat there and I thoughtabout it and I was like let's
move forward with my resume.
But I sat there and I thoughtabout it and I was like let's
move forward with my resume,which was literally two weeks
before the shutdown happened.
Anyway, she was like why, why?
(28:31):
And I was like why, why?
And she goes why do you want tomove forward with your resume
after you also like, while alsohaving this business idea which
you have executed on already,not only have you gotten results
for yourself, but for otherpeople, like maybe four to five
(28:53):
other people, and you've doneall this work already.
And she and I sat there and Iwas like I'm really scared, like
I don't know how to do this.
And she said I can help youbring this off the ground.
I can help you get this up andrunning if you want to move in
(29:13):
this direction.
And then I was like, okay,let's try, let's try it.
So, thanks to this career coach, we got my business up and
running.
She worked with me with a lotof my fears and roadblocks that
I had going on, and while I wasworking with her, I got my very
(29:35):
first paid client.
And then it was a handful, likemaybe three or four paid
clients and I was in completedisbelief.
I was in complete disbelief.
This was May of 2020.
And that was the start of thebusiness, and you know to be
(29:57):
here five years later.
It's been so much growth, it'sbeen so much evolution, it's
been a lot of investing of timeand energy.
Um, it's given me so much to inreturn, like there are the
quote-unquote perks of youcontrol your time and all this.
(30:19):
And it's come at a time whereit's allowed me to be kind of
the parent where I want to, thatI want to be like being more
present for my kids, being ableto switch up my schedule when I
need to take them to a doctor'sappointment or shopper on a trip
or they don't feel well andneed to stay home, like all
(30:40):
these little things that becomea lot more complicated when
you're working for a company,right.
So there's been a lot ofmoments where I just want to put
my hands up in the air and quitor think that if I went back to
corporate, my life would bebetter, which kind of like.
(31:05):
I was in corporate for 12 years, so I a lot of times remember
my pain points there and it'slike, well, if I'm going to have
a hard time and things to workthrough, then I'm it might as
well be in my own business,right?
So that's a little bit about myjourney through
(31:27):
entrepreneurship or how I gothere.
I always say that it chose me, Ididn't choose it.
I want to really say thank youfrom the bottom of my heart for
anybody who supports me,supports my business, who just
listens and is present and ishere, who has invested in me and
(31:51):
the business, who has invitedme to speak, who has shared
anything with loved ones, orsomebody who can use this kind
of support.
Um, I don't take that lightly.
I am have deep gratitude forthat, um, because I wouldn't be
here if you guys are not here.
You know, um, and I don't thinkthat there's a lot of people in
(32:18):
this space explaining thingslike me or like have this
perspective, um, and just bringsin a holistic perspective.
I just ended six months withone of my clients today and she
was like I came in expecting onething and I got so much more.
(32:39):
And that's usually the feedbackI get from every single person
that does one-on-one coachingwith me.
Because it is that holisticperspective of well, what's your
mind saying?
You know, what are theroadblocks that are getting in
your way, what are thesechallenges?
Because clearly you're so smart, clearly you've tried so many
other things before, um, andit's just been kind of like
(33:03):
tangled wires trying to figureit out, or you're at a loss
right now, when you knew exactlywhat to do before.
So, um, I thank you.
I thank you.
I thank you, um, and I hopethat if you do continue to see
value that you do, pleasecontinue to share and support um
(33:25):
and, just, you know, be inconversation and in community
with me.
It's, it's a lot more fun thisway when we just talk right and
communicate and share.
So, with that said, um, let meread you all this letter that I
wrote to my business and now mycomputer's telling me that I'm
(33:50):
signed out right, like in suchthe perfect timely manner as if
I haven't been signed in all day.
But here we go, I am now in.
Okay.
It says dear food and healthcoaching business.
I can't believe we've made itto year five.
(34:13):
The stats say that a lot ofsmall businesses don't make it
this far.
I didn't even choose you, youchose me.
All I wanted was to help womenin my community treat themselves
better, nourish themselvesbetter, to get the same goal
that they were trying to achievein a very mean, short-lived and
torturous ways.
Trust me, I was the first onewho was embarrassed when I found
(34:36):
that the career which hadchosen me was coaching.
I thought that all I was goingto do was teach women about
ingredients in their food andhow to better balance a meal.
It was not that simple.
I didn't realize that a lot ofwhat was standing in the way of
making quote unquote such simpleadjustments to how they ate
(35:01):
went deep, deep into theirchildhood.
Growing up in survival, copingand soothing with the most
(35:21):
accessible tool food, health andwellness being a luxury, not
something to be proactive about.
These are some of the realreasons these women were having
a difficult time making a simpleswitch.
General health became part ofour mission because, even though
(35:42):
, as women of color, we all comefrom some form of traumatic
background, a lot of us do notneed to remain there anymore Cue
in guilt and shame.
We have the resources to healphysically and be proactive
about staying well.
This is not the only changewe've had these last five years.
(36:05):
It made me face so much aboutmyself that I never knew needed
healing.
The first one was myhyper-independence.
That was my badge of honor.
I took pride and joy notneeding help, especially
financial support, from no one.
I don't come from money and mybusiness is self-funded.
So, yes, I eventually neededsupport of some sort.
(36:27):
That broke me.
I felt like my badge was rippedaway and I got dragged through
the mud.
That was my biggest growthmoment.
I got dragged through the mud.
That was my biggest growthmoment.
Next, I had no idea thatbusiness finances were managed
very differently from personalfinances.
I cried for a whole year as Ifigured this one out.
Entrepreneurship is presented asglamorous a lot of the time,
(36:52):
but I'm here to tell you thereare some perks and there are a
lot of hard moments too,especially when this is your
livelihood.
There have been many times Ihave wanted to quit you.
I've been mad at you.
I don't want to celebrate you.
I think you're not working andit's over, and somehow you
always pull through, whetherit's a client sending me a
(37:15):
message of how they havereversed a chronic condition
through our work, someone onsocial saying how our content
has helped them live a betterlife, or an invitation to share
our message with a largeraudience.
I almost didn't want tocelebrate you on your fifth
anniversary.
I wanted to ignore you becausethat's how I was treated when I
(37:36):
didn't perform to others'expectations of me.
I realized how mean that was ofme to even think that, after you
have granted me so much, one ofthe biggest gifts you have
given me is the opportunity tobe present and an advocate for
my boys when they needed me themost.
Thank you for always having myback and sometimes giving me
(37:58):
what I need instead of what Iwant.
I'd be lying if I said I madeit to year five all on my own.
Like I said, I wanted to quitso many times and someone had to
walk me off that ledge.
Thank you to all the careercoaches, business coaches, life
(38:18):
coaches, money coaches,ancestral healing coaches,
mentors, peers, family, friendsand my amazing OBM online
business manager for supportingme when I am broken and when I
am thriving.
Last and certainly not least,my deepest gratitude to all the
women who have trusted me to betheir health coach, who invested
(38:41):
their time and money on astranger to support them in
something so deeply personal andvulnerable as their health.
Thank you to all the companiesand small businesses who have
invested in me to be part oftheir community.
Without all of you, my businesswould not have hit this
milestone.
It's been worth it and I lookforward to the next five years
(39:02):
with love.
Naomi, that's the end of myletter to my company.
I wrote this after sobbing for afew hours and being guided
through my emotions by myancestral healing coach and by
the hubs who was like, why areyou crying?
(39:23):
Um, so it's really heartfelt,open.
I could have gone on and on,but I think that captures, you
know personally, like, the maingrowth moments for me, um, in
the last five years.
There is a lot of work to bedone on the backend as you're
running, uh, as you're trying togrow something, you know, um,
(39:50):
and again, I am deeply gratefulfor y'all being here and at the
same time, I know that this ismy purpose.
I love to do this work so much.
It brings me so much freakingjoy and, just like I don't know,
it feels like grounding when Italk to my clients and they
(40:14):
share with me how they'vereversed chronic conditions, how
they're able to live a lifethat is more at peace within
their own skin and brain withthemselves, right when they've
lost weight in a way that feelsso effortless, where they've
(40:35):
reversed prediabetes or healedPCOS and done pregnant, um, you
know, dealt with high bloodpressure.
Uh, there's, there's just somuch.
Have this connection betweentheir brain and their body
finally not being mean tothemselves, you know, um, it's
(40:58):
very rewarding to just help,support and give space and
untangle a lot of the messagingthat they've received throughout
their life with society, thingswe carry with us through
generations, um to to just lookat things differently, you know.
(41:22):
So thank you for listening.
Um, if you're interested in thiskind of support and work, I
invite you to reach out or tobook a free consultation call so
that we can discuss it.
This is how I'm going to keepserving and supporting, and I
(41:45):
want to support you too.
If you have felt like nothinghas worked for you and you have
health concerns, or you knowthat you want to lead a
lifestyle rooted in wellness,but you're scared, like I was or
you're a lot of thoughts aregetting in your way, or you
(42:07):
think it's not possible for you,for whatever reason.
You would be the first one inyour family trying to do
something like this.
You really do want to influencegenerational health for
yourself and for your loved ones, so I invite you, I invite you
it's up to you, if you want toaccept the invitation right To
(42:31):
join me on this journey.
If you're ready and that's whatyou want to do at this moment,
all right.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for being here, thankyou for being part of this
community, and I appreciate you.
I hope to speak with you soonand I hope you have a nice week.
Bye.
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