We were lucky to catch up with Gerrard Roberts recently and have shared our conversation below.

Gerrard, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

At Zenco Solutions, our mission is to make wellness a more holistic and accessible journey—mind, body, and career. But for me, it’s more than a mission statement—it’s personal.

Zenco was born out of my own experience navigating high-performance environments while quietly dealing with burnout, self-doubt, and the pressure to always keep it together. I realized how often we talk about wellness in theory, but not in the context of real life—where work stress, imposter syndrome, and the need to show up don’t leave much room for rest.

I created Zenco to shift that. I wanted to build a space where people could reconnect with themselves—not through major overhauls, but through small, intentional tools that help you feel a little more grounded, a little more confident, and a little more human each day.

Whether it’s a journal, a sticker that makes you pause and smile, or a reminder that you’re allowed to rest, everything we create is about helping people reclaim their peace—and redefine what wellness looks like for them.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m the founder of Zenco Solutions, a career wellness company rooted in the belief that wellness isn’t just a personal journey—it’s a professional one too. My background is in Human Resources, where I’ve spent over a decade as a strategic partner to leaders, teams, and organizations across various industries. In my role, I’ve worked closely with employees at every level—supporting everything from performance development to burnout recovery, from building confidence to navigating major career transitions.

Time and time again, I saw incredibly capable, hardworking people quietly struggling behind the scenes—questioning their value, overextending themselves, and not feeling like they had space to breathe, let alone thrive. I realized what was missing: tools that supported the human side of work. Not just productivity, but peace. Not just output, but confidence. That’s where Zenco began.

Zenco offers wellness tools that support people in showing up as their whole selves at work and beyond. Our products include:

Guided journals designed to build confidence and clarity
Coloring books with career affirmations to promote calm and creativity
Motivation-forward sticker packs and lifestyle merch that feel like soft encouragement throughout your day
What makes Zenco different is the way we blend career development with emotional wellness. We speak to the overachiever who’s learning to rest, the people-pleaser who’s learning to set boundaries, and the quiet leader who’s learning to own their voice.

What I’m most proud of is that Zenco feels real. It’s not about aesthetics or performative self-care—it’s about creating tools that are gentle, affirming, and actually useful for the person navigating deadlines, family obligations, and personal growth all at once.

Personal quote:
“Zenco is my reminder to myself, and to others, that it’s okay to slow down. You don’t have to hustle for your worth. You can build the life and career you want—one intentional step at a time.”

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was the idea that career success has to come at the cost of your personal life.

Early in my career, I deeply admired a VP of HR who had accomplished so much. She was sharp, respected, and had clearly “made it.” There was this running joke in the office that she kept pushing her retirement date back every year—always one more big initiative, one more goal. But eventually, when she was finally ready to retire, her husband divorced her. He’d been looking forward to that time together, had waited patiently, and finally got tired of waiting. That moment stopped me in my tracks. It was a reminder that no title or project is worth losing the relationships that matter most. I’m also married, and I never want to get to the end of my career and realize I have no one to share that life with.

Not long after, I witnessed something similar with a high-performing director who was working on a major project in manufacturing. His wife was close to delivering their second child, but he stayed at the office until she was almost ready to give birth. He didn’t make it in time. He missed the birth of his child. I remember thinking, For what? That stuck with me. It made me realize how distorted our relationship with work can become if we don’t check in and set real boundaries.

So now, through Zenco and in my own life, I try to push a different message: that it’s okay to be driven—but not at the expense of the people you love or the moments you can’t get back. Success means nothing if you’re too busy to enjoy it—or if you’ve sacrificed the people waiting for you on the other side of “someday.”

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Before launching Zenco, I had already spent years building trusted relationships in the HR and career development space. People knew me as someone who listens deeply, communicates clearly, and delivers with intention—and that translated naturally into how I built this brand.

I didn’t want Zenco to just sell products—I wanted it to feel like a trusted companion. So I focused on showing up with a clear message, a calm voice, and offerings that solve real problems, not surface ones. Whether it’s helping someone reclaim their confidence through journaling or encouraging a moment of pause with a sticker or affirmation, I care deeply about the experience people have with the brand.

I also think reputation is built over time when you show people who you are through your work, not just your words. With Zenco, I’ve tried to let the brand be an extension of how I show up in real life: grounded, encouraging, and real.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://joinzenco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatgerrard/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrardcroberts