Written by: Melissa Ortiz at PrimeGuide Partners
Q1: Can you give me some background information on yourself before you started your own?
When I was ten, I told my father I want to have a job. Then he helped me to get it when I was fourteen. That is normal here in the United States, but that is unusual for a 14-year-old girl to get work in Colombia. Later, when I graduated as a business administrator from Autonomous University in Barranquilla, I started working for a family-owned business. I was managing all the aspects of the business and then I moved and went to work in direct sales. Then I moved from local self-representative to a national administrative sales manager in only seven years, but I knew I wanted more, so I decided to come to the United States to study English. In 2007, I came to study English, I remember a man who asked me what I came to do here in the United States, and I said to him sharply, I came to study English and I want to have my own business. So, he told me, okay, I can help you with that and we can work together to achieve that goal. That man today is my husband, so I started working with him and in the meantime, I started studying for my second career. I got 6 certifications in Wellness, among them is a Zumba Strong Nation, group fitness instructor, personal trainer, specialization in women’s fitness, and life coach. So, I also worked for two jeans here in Brooklyn, NY. I worked for my husband and now I’m working for my own business.
Q2: What type of business is the Wellness Boutique and why did you decide to go into it?
The Wellness Boutique is a virtual Wellness Center that combines a fitness and retreat experience to get people into shape and self-care. I decided to have that business because of two main reasons. The first one is because in 2004, I was working very hard and I was exhausted so I wished to find a place where I can have time for myself and have connections with myself. And I searched around, and I didn’t find one, so I promised myself that one day I would have a place where busy people, professionals that take care of the family, the children, everybody else except themselves, they will have a place to go. So, that’s why The Wellness Boutique retreat experience was born and there is a unique place where you can go to reset, rejuvenate, rejoice, and reinvent yourself from the inside to the outside. And the second reason is because during COVID-19, one of my students asked me to have some fitness online classes, so I wanted to help her and help others who didn’t have a physical gym, to give them the opportunity to exercise with me. So, from there I considered the idea and finally I decided to execute the plan, and I really love to help people and I feel so good. It’s so rewarding to see their faces, to see the transformation that my students have after a class. It’s a physical, mental, and spiritual transformation. So, it makes me feel so good and I cannot live without that connection, that interchange of energy, and high vibes that we have flowing in the same space.
Q3: Does your business have a mission or a mantra?
Our mission is to lead people to enjoy a happy and healthy lifestyle combining fitness and retreats.
Q4: What attributes of yourself do you consider to have created success in your business?
I am a very passionate person. I am focused and very disciplined and determined. But the most important characteristic that I have is the love that I feel when I see in front of me any human being. So that love, it makes me give my best to that person, to you and to the universe.
Q5: What has been the biggest failure that you’ve experienced so far in running your business and how did you learn from it?
Well, it was three years ago. During COVID-19, I started working on my online business and my Facebook business account got hacked so I got terrified. So, I was so scared and what I did was I stopped, I didn’t continue. During those three years I did not work at all in the business. I learned some trouble shootings technical issues, and also, I learned how to protect my accounts. But the most important lesson is consistency. I have to be consistent in what I do. It’s important to keep going, do not stop, keep going. Have a growth mindset and go for it. Do not stop, keep going and get advanced every day, grow better and more. That’s my main lesson.
Q6: What is your relationship with TIQC and do you feel like they can improve or are you satisfied with their services?
I have been a user of TIQC since about six months ago. They provide me with support, education, guidance, and affordable prices to run my business. The director Ying, is a tremendously supportive person and the team that’s accompanying me is so lovely. I feel so confident in TIQC’s hands. Our relationship is going to improve and what I envision is going to be the next step is implementing AI into the Wellness Boutique. For example, I would love to have my members stand in front of the computer or any device and to have the body mass index and all the assessments that we do manually. I would love to have them completely in front of the camera which is so easy and then those assessments manually will be in the past.
Q7: Do you have any other goals or dreams regarding your business or even personally?
Yes, yes, I have many, many dreams and goals, both professionally and personally. However, I’m going to tell you what one is. I know right now I’m focused on starting my business and developing the Wellness Boutique. But I’m planning also to write a book because I want to give an additional value to the world and I want to contribute to the next generations who are pursuing a better future. So, the book is going to be about marriage and focuses exactly about the wife and how to be an epic wife. And while statistics, they show that within 10 years many marriages are going into divorce, I want to share my experience and attitudes in order to promote long lasting and fulfilling marriages. And Mother Teresa, when she received the Nobel Peace Prize, she was asked, what do you think the world needs to promote world peace and then her answer was go home and start loving your family. So, the wife is the real leader in a relationship and therefore the family. The wife has 80% of the success in a marriage and family, so that’s why I am going to teach and I’m going encourage the wives in the world. But don’t panic because I’m going to tell you how to be a very epic wife and to enjoy your magnificence.