Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in mental wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Michelle Alveranga, Founder of T.R.U.S.T. Wellness Inc., located in Toronto, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
T.R.U.S.T. Wellness Inc is a counseling agency I founded here in Ontario, Canada, that supports the BIPOC community dealing with grief and loss. I help clients develop the tools they need to build resilience and find joy in their darkest times.
Tell us about yourself
I have been dealing with loss since I was a child. When I lost my Mom at the age of 11, there was no such thing as grief counseling in my community at the time. I did not have access to the grief support I needed, which would have allowed me to fully express my emotions and gain tools to cope as I got older. After connecting with a culturally responsive counselor, I realized the importance of giving my grief a voice. I was always naturally drawn to the counseling field, and after many years, I made the decision to obtain specialized training and education so I could counsel others.
I founded T.R.U.S.T Wellness Inc during the pandemic as I knew it would be a much-needed resource. T.R.U.S.T. is an acronym that stands for Time to Release, Unlearn, Surrender, and Transform. This is the process I found most helpful in living out my grief journey, and I want to share it with others.
What motivates me each day is knowing that I am providing a service that gives people the space to freely express their grief without fear of judgment. We live in such a grief-illiterate society where people often feel like they have to suffer in silence. T.R.U.S.T. Wellness Inc is an opportunity to give your grief experience all the attention and care it deserves.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment is starting! There were so many internal hurdles I had to jump, like fear of failing and imposter syndrome. I put in a lot of hard work, from creating my target customer and vision with my business mentor to getting over the internal self-doubt through life coaching and therapy so I can promote my services. I can say it has paid off because I am getting speaking invitations for conferences and radio shows. And I did all this while birthing two beautiful girls! I have a two-year-old and an eight-month-old.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things as a business owner is splitting my time between my growing business and my growing family. I really value quality time with my husband and our girls. It is how I recharge and re-center. Balancing my time between my family and my business can be very challenging. Some days I want to pour as much as I possibly can into my business, and other days I want to spend the entire day playing outside with my girls.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
The first tip would be to find a niche market that interests you and learn as much as you can about what it takes to become a master at the product or service you are offering. Tip #2 is to surround yourself with other business owners who can mentor you about the ins and outs of starting and maintaining a business. Running a business is best learned through watching others and experiencing it yourself. The third tip is to know that you can't be everything for everyone and delegate as much as you can to avoid exhaustion. Make the most of your time by finding people who are great at doing what you can't do. For example, I suck at creating websites, so I hired a really amazing website builder. It saved me a lot of time, frustration, and embarrassment and came out awesome!
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Starting my business was one of the best decisions I made. If you are thinking about starting, stop thinking and start doing!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://trustwellnessinc.ca/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodfoodgoodgrief
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-alveranga-12435344/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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