Today we’d like to introduce you to Beatriz Alvarez.
Beatriz, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Of course! So, I graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2015 with a BFA in industrial design and a minor in entrepreneurship. Since I was young, I have always loved art and design. While in college, however, I got deeply involved in nutrition by accident. It became my second passion after design. I completely transformed my health by going vegan and started to educate myself and read every book I could on the topic.
After graduating, I did not have a clear path of what I wanted to do since I had so many passions. So, to gain myself some time, I started working at a Miami’s local juice bar called Jugo Fresh. They shared many of my core values in terms of both health and customer experience. I thrived in that environment, learning so much about holistic wellbeing while helping their customers improve their own health. In two years, I grew within the company and become a regional manager for Jugo Fresh. This is when I learned the business side of running a business.
But my entrepreneurial side was strong. I decided to leave Jugo Fresh to pursue my certification as a holistic health coach and start my own practice. In less than one year, I was working with private clients in my health coaching program. The knowledge and experience I gained through being a health coach were unbelievable, and I felt honored to be a part of the wellness entrepreneur community (we call ourselves wellpreneurs!).
It didn’t take long for me to want to help the wellpreneur community in a different way. Instead of working with private clients through my health coaching programs, I wanted to help other health coaches and wellpreneurs improve their business. My philosophy was that the more health coaches I can help, the more people will have access to their expertise and be able to improve their health and wellbeing.
And this is when Bia Alvarez Design came to life. Through my company, I offer branding, website, and graphic design services to wellpreneurs who are either just launching their business, or who have been doing this for a while but don’t yet have an online presence.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Every bump on the road was a learning opportunity. I believe that it is much better to fail over and over again at the beginning of launching a business in order to create a solid foundation through experience and trial and error than to have a smooth ride and encounter even bigger struggles down the road.
My biggest struggle has been to try to do it all myself and not being part of a community. I am a dedicated and hardworking entrepreneur, but the support system and knowledge you gain from joining forces with other entrepreneurs is indispensable. It took me over a year to realize this. I now make a big effort to connect with other entrepreneurs, both in my field and not, in person and online, and to be open and honest with each other about our journey, what we are struggling with, and how we can support each other.
One of my projects to be launched in 2019 is a podcast where I will interview other wellpreneurs about their own journey, struggles, and learnings in launching and growing their business. I want new entrepreneurs to feel empowered and part of a support system, instead of alone, which is how I felt when I embarked in my solopreneur journey.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Bia Alvarez Design – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Through Bia Alvarez Design, I offer a variety of design packages to my wellpreneur clients. My two most popular services are branding and website design. Followed by ebook design and other smaller graphic design projects.
What differentiates me from other branding, website or graphic designers out there is that I am a part of the wellness community myself. I am a certified health coach. I went through the process of launching a coaching business, of looking for clients, starting a health blog, running a newsletter, developing vegan recipes that were featured in magazines, and even uploading recipe videos on Youtube! When my clients come to me, they know that I speak the same language as them. I know who their customer is, how they want to come across to their audience, what are their branding and website needs, all because I have been there myself.
And above all, I want to bring high-quality design to the wellness community. I know how hard my clients dedicate themselves to be the best health coaches (or any other wellness entrepreneur) that they can be to their community. And to honor their hard work, everything I design for them I want to be of the greatest quality. I believe good design that accurately portrays the client’s mission and message can only elevate their business.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I have actually two large projects I am launching in 2019 as part of my business. One I have mentioned previously, which is the launch of my podcast. Being a podcast nerd myself, I see the podcasting world as an educational and inspirational platform for anyone who can access it. My favorite podcasts are business focused, that either share information to help other entrepreneurs grow and launch their businesses, or of other entrepreneurs who are now successful and are sharing how they got there. What I have not yet found is a podcast focused directly on the holistic coaching community, and I want to make it happen!
My second big project for 2019 is to launch an online store on my website with printable resources for all holistic life and health coaches out there. It will include everything from client management tools, resources for coaches to share with their coaching clients, and some branded tools such as business cards and workshop brochures. All designed very beautifully to elevate the coaches’ businesses.
Contact Info:
- Website: biaalvarezdesign.com
- Email: bia@biaalvarezdesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biaalvarezdesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biaalvarezdesign
Image Credit:
Edelio Sanchez
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
