Pivoting by Jess Pfeffer
About 5 months ago I made the decision to start my own company. I was co-owning a local organic cold pressed juice bar with my sister, for 2 of the 6 and 1/2 years it was open. Our landlord decided to not renew our lease and open a coffee bar for his son. At first we were very disappointed, but we reminded our selves that everything runs its course and ends eventually. This was a harder on me as I was managing the business and it was my salary that pays for my living expenses. She moved out to San Diego 2 years before with her husband.
As a single woman who has been through many careers in my life, I was back at square one. Starting all over again. I studied Elementary Education undergrad, and then received my masters in mental health counseling. Post grad school I received my 200 yoga teacher certification, more for my own practice rather that to teach. Once our juice bar closed I had to decide if I wanted to go back to my education and original career plans. After some journaling, discussions with my support system(family and friends) I knew those weren't the industries I wanted to be in at this point of my life.
I really enjoyed being my own boss and being able to create health and wellness for my community. While running the juice bar, I encountered so many holistic practitioners. The community I live in is filled with yoga teachers, reiki masters, sound healers etc. Many of my customers were also artists, chefs, and musicians. After talking to a few of them I started to notice as freelancers a lot of them were struggling with the business component. By business I mean the contracts, asking for payment, and marketing. Social media is a huge part of our society today and many light workers have aversions to self-promoting. A lot of them want to be creative and serve the community with their talents but hesitate to post photos and create content. I realized this was an opportunity that I can foster because I want all of them to succeed and I know if can support them in ways they'd benefit from. I am fortunate enough to be connected to our community due to our juice bar and my sister's long time yoga career. Running the juice bar and practicing yoga has allowed me to attract amazingly conscious people, who want to help others. I also noticed I was visiting Miami more often to attend conscious events. I wanted to continue to build my new life in Delray Beach and decided to reach out to all of my friends and comrades and ask them if they want to be a part of a conscious collective.
The concept began to evolve when I decided to call myself a holistic talent agent. The Jerry Maguire for the holistic community. I wanted to elevate these individuals by helping them build their brands, by introducing them to more people, by creating social media buzz, and by creating events where I can showcase their skills. Slowly but surely the team grew into 23 people. Artists, Chefs, Musicians, Authors, Yoga Teachers, Life Coaches, Nutritionists, Hypnotherapist, Reflexologist, and even a declutter organizer. A group of people who can be hired for group events or private sessions. And the company was launched, Real Connections SoFla, a holistic talent agency. A three part model: talent agency, event planner, and sustainable consulting.
Real Connections SoFla main stream of income is event based.. and then Corona. Here I am a few weeks ago again wondering what am I going to do now for money? I reached out to some friends with kids and offered to babysit. And spoke with my support system again, when we realized that I did brainstorm about being online one day. And that day came sooner than later. Two weeks ago as I moved back into my parents I reached out to my team and some friends and asked them if they wanted to be a part of this new version. We needed to pivot to online workshops indefinitely. Thankfully most were on board and days later we were online. I created an online platform with the help of ZOOM, where members can subscribe for $50 for the month of April, and they can attend 14 master classes. I am trying it out and hope to continue into May and perhaps in the summer. Since everything is so unknown and each day is different I am staying focused and optimistic. I want to make sure my mission of connecting the community to these amazing people continues. As a female owned small start up business owner 20 of the individuals I represent are also women entrepreneurs. Real Connections SoFla is more than just a business it is a family, and I am going to do whatever I need to do to make sure my family still works, still has money, still can feed themselves and their family, and still have a place to live.
