When I started my first job (not in a moving company), I wasn’t clear about the concept of wellness. I didn’t even know the word in English or Spanish. It wasn’t a common topic, but I did have good habits, such as exercising and constant learning, that helped me through this workaholic stage of my life.

I have been a very active person since high school, practicing dancing and sports. During college, I couldn’t continue with basketball because I was working and studying at the same time. However, I found a new way to exercise by going to the gym five days a week, which kept me healthy. Despite this, I experienced episodes of stress that manifested in sickness during my last two years in the company where I formerly I worked.

I studied international commerce and started working for a moving company in Nicaragua. It was a dream come true because the opportunity to study and work in your field in my country is very rare. I was very grateful that all my effort—working from Monday to Saturday, studying English at night, and attending college on Sundays—paid off. I worked for this company from 2007 to 2015.

In 2014, I encountered a multilevel marketing company promoting healthy products. This sparked my interest in the industry and the self-growth education they promoted. By December 2015, I quit my job due to a lack of growth opportunities and managerial positions. I took two sabbatical years from 2016 to 2018 to travel and engage in various activities, including creating healthy programs to help people lose weight and wellness programs offering nutrition, meditation, psychology sessions, and exercise. I also delved into neuroscience, earning certifications in Neuro Sales and Neuro Coaching. I gave conferences, conducted training, and invested in my personal brand as a speaker and coach. However, being recognized and well-paid in this field takes time, and with a baby on the way, I had to rethink my career path.

I decided to focus on the experience I accumulated in the moving and wellness industries, creating a combination of both. I started with myself, working solo and attending to a few clients while also taking care of my body and mind. I maintained a healthy lifestyle, worked out regularly, meditated, and worked on enhancing my emotional intelligence.

As the team grew to seven members, I eagerly shared and applied my knowledge of productivity and well-being.

Now, as the owner and general manager of this company, I can gradually implement wellness benefits for my team. Our goal as a company is to positively impact our team’s lives with these tools. Not only are staff more productive, but they also reduce stress and improve their health for themselves and their families. We provide these tools as part of our compensation plan to all our team members, including interns, to start them on the path to wellness.

The company offers:

• Monthly Massage: A monthly massage during office hours.

• Celebration Meetings: Celebrations for birthdays, Women’s Day, Mother’s Day, job farewells, and new employees, with meals outside the office paid for by the company.

• Planning and Gratitude: Training on task planning, starting with gratitude for three things: the office, clients, and personal skills.

• Training with Meditation and Self-Esteem: Internal training sessions beginning with focus meditations and activities to empower self-love.

• Group Lunchtime: Coordinated group lunches, allowing team members to organize and share what each person brings.

• Gym Therapy: Group exercise sessions three times a week during office hours (in progress).

• Surprises: Occasional snacks and cards with motivational messages, encouraging team members to take the initiative to support each other.

As I write this article, I decided to survey the team to measure the impact of these wellness initiatives. The results were highly positive, with satisfaction ratings between 8 and 10 points. Team members reported that the monthly massages significantly improved their well-being, productivity, mood, and physical comfort.