We were lucky to catch up with Carolina Marrelli recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Carolina, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I’ve had 2 big, risky career moves in my adult life.

In the early 2000’s, I worked as a Graphic Designer + Art Director in several marketing departments, design firms and finally in a advertising agency.

At the same time I was doing design work, I was volunteering my time one night a week and on weekends as a musician and worship leader at a local church.

BOTH of these jobs — Graphic Design and Music Ministry — were something that I dreamed of doing since I was in elementary school, so I felt blessed to be able to do both things.

The church eventually asked me to take on a more serious role with the music department… This was a very clear “HECK YEA!” for me. So I leave my well paying design job at the ad agency in Miami to move up to NC to go through an accelerated music ministry certification, I go back to Miami and the rest was history!

I spent the next 15+ years working in music ministry and had the opportunity to play for several different churches (both Protestant and Catholic), release a CD, tour around a bit leading worship and speaking. It was heaven on earth, truly.

But…..then I got deathly sick after my second child was born — I went septic with a Group B Strep and that was immediately followed by a C.Difficile infection. I’ll never forget the doctor looking at me and saying, “Carolina, you are lucky to be alive.”

It took a full 2.5 years to completely heal from what my body went through. During this time, I stepped down from my role at the church / music ministry, cancelled all plans to tour and focused completely on healing my body.

I ended up on a journey I never expected to take and fell in love with all of the things I had learned about the human body, nutrition, Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy etc —

Women were coming to me left and right, asking what to do for X / Y / Z ailments for themselves and their kids — because they knew I knew what to do from a holistic perspective…. And I LOVED helping them!!! So much so that I began to wonder if there was a career that would allow me to use all of my natural gifts/talents and now this newfound love of all things holistic health.

3 weeks later, I learn about this career of “Health Coaching.”

Back to school I go — to two of them at the same time. One for health coaching and one for plant-based medicine.

After I graduated, I started my health coaching practice, EquiBalance Health. What’s amazing is that I really DO use all my gifts/talents! For example,

– I art direct and design all my eBooks, program guides, courses, photo shoots etc. so that design degree didn’t go to waste!

– I use all the skills I learned from being a musician on a stage — like being quick on your feet when something goes wrong — when speaking to large audiences.

-And I’m not afraid to put myself out there to connect with others or get speaking engagements!

It’s been 7 years now and I love what I do!!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Carolina Marrelli and I’m a wife, Mom of two boys, and for fun, I sword fight. Yes, you heard that right — I’m a foil fencer.

For work, I’m a Holistic Health Coach and a Corporate Wellness + Women’s Ministry Speaker.

But this wasn’t always the case — I was in full time music ministry and had plans to tour with my band after my youngest son was born, but, I got deathly sick and toured a hospital instead when I went septic with a Group B Strep and that was immediately followed by a C.Difficile infection. I’ll never forget the doctor looking at me and saying, “Carolina, you are lucky to be alive.”

It took a full 2.5 years to completely heal from what my body went through. During this time, I stepped down from my role at the church / music ministry, cancelled all plans to tour and focused completely on healing my body.

I ended up on a journey I never expected to take and fell in love with all of the things I had learned about the human body, nutrition, Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy etc — This led to me going back to school — to two of them at the same time. One for health coaching and one for plant-based medicine.

After I graduated, I started my health coaching practice, EquiBalance Health, where I help women between the ages of 30 – 55 to fix that “sick and tired of feeling sick and tired” feeling. I help these women to get back to feeling their best and having the energy they need to do the things that they love.

I do this through either group or one-on-one coaching, on-demand courses, DIY programs, eBooks and of course teaching live workshops or keynote speaking engagements.

One of the coolest parts of my work is getting to be a hope dealer to women who may feel like giving up because they have lost all hope…. I love getting to infuse encouragement, inspiration and motivation into them….. There is nothing like helping a woman to make one small tweak and then seeing massive results!

I think one of the things that sets me apart is that I KNOW what it’s like to feel at your worst and be hopeless. I was that woman!

I know what it’s like to go on a journey back to health (or towards just improving your health) and how challenging it can be — so I’m super empathetic. But I won’t let clients stay where they are because I KNOW they have a purpose to fulfill!!

Have you ever had to pivot?

Pre-COVID, I had an office in Miami and only saw 1:1 coaching clients. I did not have a blog or any kind of real strong online presence. My email list was super small, I had no lead magnets or automated email drips — my business was 100% word of mouth or from me putting myself out there networking etc.

Once the pandemic hit, everything changed.

My kids had to be homeschooled.
Nobody was going to an office.
AND…. my family and I moved from Miami, FL to North Carolina.

Needless to say, I had to make MASSIVE PIVOTS.

My business was forced to go completely online.
I had to build a whole new community of friends.
I had to build a whole new business network in a city where I only knew a few people.

As we all witnessed, people lost jobs and money was tight for everyone. That meant hiring a private coach became a luxury…. So I kept taking pulse on the market, asking what women were struggling with and began creating my on-demand courses, DIY programs etc based on where people were at. I wanted to women to be able to get the help they needed, at a price most could afford.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

People don’t buy right off the bat. You have to keep showing up, offering value and letting them know you have something to help them.

And be consistent! Don’t let your feelings dictate if or how you will show up every day. Show up and do the work no matter if you feel like it or not.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.EquiBalanceHealth.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinarmarrelli/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/equibalancehealth
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinamarrelli/
• Other: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/846361950