Wellness specialist supported by Inspiring Enterprise to create online mindful-eating course
Wellness specialist Bronwen DeKlerk has combined her newly acquired IT skills with a passion for the wellness industry to bring her business online. The growth of her business Eat Mindfully was supported by Inspiring Enterprise business advisor, Paul Creeden.
The effect of COVID-19
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bronwen worked as a wellness specialist – specialising in Yoga, Shiatsu and Mindfulness. She regularly taught live classes and workshops as well as offering private sessions.
Unfortunately, lockdown hampered her business,
“COVID lockdowns severely impacted my work as a wellness specialist, as my work required contact with people – which is what I enjoyed about it. Whilst many yoga teachers took to online teaching during the pandemic, I was unable to do this due to having a house full of children!”
Discovering Inspiring Enterprise
Bronwen became despondent in the second year of Lockdowns and decided to go into Software and UX Design and embarked on online courses to upgrade her skills. She had worked as a computer programmer 20 years previously, before getting into the wellness industry.
“After completing these IT courses, I was job searching and one of the consultants asked me why I had decided to leave the wellness industry. She encouraged me saying that there might be assistance if I still wished to pursue it. It was then that I was put in touch with Paul at Inspiring Enterprise. I decided to combine my newly acquired skills in IT with my love and passion for the wellness industry by bringing my wellness business online – starting with my mindful-eating course.”
Bronwen of Eat Mindfully
Exciting developments
Bronwen is delighted with how she has been able to develop her business,
“I have built up my private practice again and now have regular clients. After releasing my online Eat Mindfully course and accompanying workshop manual on Amazon, I was very excited to publish my book Eat Mindfully, which includes my own journey to healing an eating disorder.”
Praise for Inspiring Enterprise
She claims none of this would have been possible without the support of Paul Creeden from Inspiring Enterprise, who was able to keep her on track.
“I don’t think I would have come this far without Paul! Having regular meetings with him helped me to stay focused. I tend to not finish what I start because I second guess myself and then move onto the next thing! Paul would gently reign me in when I was starting to do this, so I was able to conceptualise and materialise some ideas that I had put aside for years!”
Paul also helped with Bronwen’s confidence,
“What has been the most helpful to me is having Paul believe that my ideas were worth pursuing. I had lost hope in many of them and was feeling very despondent. My meetings with Paul helped me to see how close I was to materialising these ideas, which gave me the final boosters that I needed to complete them. His support was vital as he would also ask some very important business questions, bringing me back to how my ideas would fit into the bigger business plan.”
Future business goals
Bronwen has many more big ideas for online and in-person courses.
“Having gone through this process with Paul, I now have a clearer idea of the steps needed to take an idea to completion. My dream is to create my Yoga School – offering teacher training and continued education online and in person, locally and internationally.”
Bronwen’s Top Tip for Future Entrepreneurs
“Perseverance. Ask yourself what you love doing and stay true to that. When you do what you love, perseverance is easy.”
You can view Bronwen’s Eat Mindfully website here and she can be followed on most social media channels from this website.
You can also book her Eat Mindfully course via this link. The accompanying workshop manual and her Eat Mindfully book are both available on Amazon.
Inspiring Enterprise
WSX Enterprise Ltd is a business support organisation delivering a range of start-up, business growth and digital skills projects across the UK.
Their Inspiring Enterprise project ran from 2016 until 2023 in Hampshire and Surrey. Our team of experts advised, mentored and supported over 1000 people to find a better future by moving them into self-employment, employment or training.
The project is currently not taking any new enquiries and will finish in April 2023.
It is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and the European Union European Social Fund.
