Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Wilson.
Hi Alex, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In 2016, I started doing the marketing for a yoga company and teaching yoga at local studios as an RYT200. I loved teaching yoga and helping people explore that particular avenue towards wellness. Between 2017 and 2020 I completed a few additional yoga and wellness trainings/certifications (including a 500-hour yoga teacher training) to add to my resume and improve my offerings. Then the Pandemic hit. I was unable to teach because all the yoga studios had closed down, and I lost my marketing job with the yoga company due to cutbacks.
This was a tough time for me as I felt that I had lost everything I had been working towards and building in my career. For the time being, I went to work for a non-profit and learned how to organize and host successful events.
Near the end of 2021, as fear over the pandemic was beginning to wind down, I felt and saw a need for re-establishing a sense of community in the area. Thus, my idea for the SWFL Wellness Fair was born. The idea was to put together annual events where people could connect with a community of like-minded friends, explore local wellness products, services, and professionals, take outdoor yoga and fitness classes, fuel their bodies with healthy snacks and food, enjoy live music entertainment, and performances, and just spend some time filling their cups with whatever ingredients make them feel well.
In addition to bringing people together in the name of wellness and community, I saw a need to support other local small business owners and wellness professionals who had struggled during the pandemic. I wanted my event to be a resource of support for regular community members interested in wellness and wellness professionals alike. So, I left my temporary, full-time job and got to work on the event.
Our 2022 SWFL Wellness Fair was a success. We had approximately 50 vendors and 300 attendees. Now we are in the process of planning our second event for April 2023.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The Covid-19 Pandemic was a major roadblock that I faced, but ultimately, it lead me to this path of organizing and hosting wellness events for my community.
Planning my first event, all on my own was challenging in and of itself, but I didn’t hit any major roadblocks once I’d decided to move forward with it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Our vision: Regular community events that are about connecting with ourselves and others, filling our cups with the things that are good for us, bringing people together to bolster community health and well-being on all levels, and having fun in the process; hosted in one location where event guests can come and explore local wellness services, information, products, and professionals with ease because we make them accessible.
Our mission: To strengthen the community and support healthier, happier lives by creating access to local wellness products, services, and professionals in an environment that’s safe and fun.
The SWFL Wellness Co. brand is built on a set of core values that include: Community, Wellness, Accessibility, and Fun. Everything we do as a business is measured against these core values.
I am the event creator and host, and I do everything – planning, organizing, logistics, marketing, hyping people up, acquiring sponsors, selling tickets, day-of coordination, and more.
But I’m also a Yoga Teacher, Ayurvedic Lifestyle Coach, Reiki Practitioner, Aura Reader, and Intuitive Guide. My events are as much about promoting myself and what I do as they are about promoting other local wellness-related services and professionals.
The SWFL Wellness Fair was the first event of its kind in our area, and since it launched last spring, other small businesses have been inspired to host similar events in the SWFL area. I’m proud to be a leader in this movement of making wellness more accessible to our community.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think that quitting my job to focus all my energy on creating SWFL Wellness Co. and The SWFL Wellness Fair was a major risk. Upfronting my own money to cover costs without being certain that I would recover any of it or that I would manage to put together a successful event felt like a risk as well.
But these risks were worth it to me because I was so intensely passionate about putting this event together and making sure it was done well. Now I feel like those risks are what ultimately lead to the success of my event and have helped me lay the groundwork for future events that only grow in success as time goes on.
Pricing:
- Event attendance: Free
- Inclusion as a vendor: $100
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Level 1 is now $250
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Level 2 is now $500
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Level 3 is now $1000
Contact Info:
- Website: www.swflwellnessfair.com
- Instagram: swflwellnessco
Image Credits
Jesi Cason Photography
