Today we’d like to introduce you to Marisa Molina.
Marisa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I moved to San Diego almost 16 years ago in the fall of 2002 to go to school at UCSD. I completed my undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology and then obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Health, Epidemiology from SDSU. I’ve always had an interest in health and well-being.
After completing my Master’s program, I did a 6-month fellowship in Atlanta, Georgia with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and couldn’t stay away from San Diego any longer than that! I made my way back and I was hired by the SDSU Research Foundation to manage a Project for the Institute for Behavioral and Community Health for a community based participatory research study. The purpose of that program was to promote physical activity and healthy living to low-income Latina women and determine if it improved their health. We designed a program, that utilized incredible volunteers and provided nearly 50 free exercise classes a week to residents of South Bay San Diego between 2010 and 2015. The results of this study are published in the American Journal of Public Health and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Here’s a little video about the program. https://youtu.be/i2ygoi6FtzU
Halfway through the research study, I decided I was ready to explore something different. I wasn’t interested in sitting behind a computer and doing research anymore. I wanted to work with people. In 2013, I began studying to become a health coach with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and obtained a certificate in Intuitive Eating. In 2015, I started my first company Hello Beautiful Health (www.hellobeautifulhealth.com) working with women who struggle with finding balance, chronic dieting, emotional eating and binge eating. It was through my work that I began to study other methodologies, other ways to move through difficult emotions, to face challenges and disappointments and think about things differently. I realized how important mindset plays a role in accomplishing pretty much anything in our lives (from weight loss to having healthy relationships).
Most recently, I expanded my offerings to both men and women, in all areas of life with my newest endeavor (www.marisaalejandra.com). I call it alignment, but I support people to discover what’s really important to them, what is stopping them from having what they want in their lives and helping them shift their mindset so they can accomplish what they thought was impossible. It looks like helping them find balance, developing a routine that inspires and empowers them and opening the doors for opportunities they could never imagine.
I believe it’s incredibly important to give back to our communities and encourage others to do the same. I love working with people who have big visions for making a difference in the world.
Has it been a smooth road?
I wish it had been smooth!!!
Being an entrepreneur or starting your own business is quite a transformative process and by that, I mean, it is full of bumps, but there are also amazing moments when you reach the top of a big long hill and you get to look at the beautiful view of how far you’ve come.
The biggest struggle I experienced was separation from a business partner who decided she wanted to leave the business and pursue other things. That was really tough at first, very emotional, and was basically like starting all over. I am incredibly grateful we were able to move past this challenge and have become really good friends.
There were even times, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make enough money in the beginning to pay my bills. Thankfully it always worked out, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of starting my business on the side because my research grant had ended before my business was up and running, but it all worked out!
Believing in myself, realizing my value, and helping my clients transform things that I was personally still working on was also quite challenging, but it’s extra motivation to make that change in yourself and share that wisdom with your clients.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Marisa Alejandra Coaching story. Tell us more about the business.
I have a coaching company (www.MarisaAlejandra.com) that specifically focuses on supporting people to find their highest level of alignment. We live in a world where we have so many competing priorities, we are constantly busy, and we are in the never-ending pursuit of unreachable happiness, it seems. We have this amazing thing called social media that constantly reminds us what we don’t have or how life is “supposed” to be in order to be happy. We lose touch with who we are and what we really want in the rat race. As simple as it may sound, I support people to make decisions in line with what they really want in their lives, I teach them how to communicate to create deep and loving connections in their relationships, and to move past fears and self-doubt that stop them from achieving their goals. In essence, I support people to find alignment & raise their energetic vibration, to learn to listen to their intuition, develop a stronger connection to themselves and learn how to attract opportunities to fulfill on what is important to them.
I am most proud of the amazing things I have supported my clients to accomplish. There are so many things it’s hard to pinpoint one thing I’m proud of. I’ve been able to help people create miracles in their lives. From falling in love, creating their dream relationships, moving through divorce with peace, starting businesses, selling their homes and buying new ones in record time, going off of depression medication, ADHD medication, reducing anxiety, receiving money out of nowhere, healing trauma, losing weight, or ending binge eating, and even moving across country to pursue their dreams. The list goes on! With that said, I just love seeing people realize how powerful they are and what they can accomplish when they let go of fear.
There are a lot of life coaches out there. I think the way I have built my business is really what sets me apart from others. Over the years, my business has grown purely through referrals and from within my personal network. Not from online marketing funnels or ads or a best-selling book (yet), just personal connection. The people I work with know how much I see in them and make a difference for them and have become raving fans.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The life coaching industry has been growing a lot in the last 5-10 years. It’s definitely not going to stop any time soon and that’s a good thing because it’s a form of support that doesn’t have the stigma associated with it like therapy often does. It gives people the opportunity to talk to someone about what they’re challenged by and push themselves past their fears into bigger things.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.marisaalejandra.com
- Email: marisa@marisaalejandra.com
- Instagram: MarisaAlejandra
Getting in touch: SDVoyager 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.
