We caught up with the brilliant and insightful MARIANA MOLERO a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
MARIANA, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?
My name is Mariana Molero. I am the mother of Diego and Paola Fernandez, Adolfo Fernandez’s wife, a Venezuelan attorney, and a human rights advocate. My husband and I arrived in the US in September 2005. Since then, we started our immigration journey. When I arrived in the US I have very poor knowledge of the language, and I barely speak English until 2010, when after being a stay-at-home mom, I decided to learn the language and pursuit my career in the US. I attended classes at the West Area Adult School, where my kids, [US citizens] attended the Family Literacy Program, but since we speak Spanish at home, they learned the basics of English. After completing the ESOL program, I did an internship in a local law firm. Nevertheless, I already started a fitness career that I loved, and I decided to pursue that pathway instead resuming my legal career. I became a successful personal trainer with +100 certifications in the fitness and nutrition area, which allowed me to work as Health and Fitness Director of one of the biggest retirement groups in Central Florida. Afterward, we moved to Miami, where I had the opportunity to work with celebrities and get recognition by thumbtack and lessons.com as one of the top 10 fitness trainers in South Florida, appearing in different TV shows, and spreading the world with a positive message about living better, healthier and happier. Simultaneously, I advocated harder for the recognition of the human rights of the Latinos, especially the Venezuelan community, becoming a nationwide leader, running several actions and campaigns to get the TPS for the Venezuelans approved, as it happened on May 8, 2021. I am part of the directive of AMAVEX since 2019 [the oldest Venezuelan-American Human Rights Advocacy Non-Profit in Florida, established in 2007].
Alongside, I was on the cuspid of my fitness career, writing my fitness book, but in 2019 when covid hit the country, I realigned my priorities and the social distancing allowed me to convert all my 1-1 personal training sessions, to 1-1 virtually assist my clients, and subsequently, in May 2020, I was admitted to the LL. M. program of the University of Puerto Rico, that due to the pandemic, the American Bar Association (ABA) temporarily permitted me to take the classes assisted by technology: I knew this was a golden ticket that I needed to do whatever it takes to finish the program ASAP, so I did! We moved back to St. Cloud Florida, so we could have a calmer lifestyle, as well as I could also focus better on the program, and finally after exhausting months of non-stopping academic projects and exams, on June 30, 2022, was held the ceremony of my graduation: for personal reasons, I decided not to participate but after achieving this master’s program in Law, among my records as a foreign attorney, I completed all the requirements to request the evaluation and the revalidation of my Juris doctor, to be allowed to take the bar exam and after passing, obtaining my license to practice law in federal jurisdictions, which is my goal, particularly to be able to support and to advice immigrants in their process in the US. None of this would be possible without the love and support of my family especially my husband, all the credit to him: certainly, our kids are watching our steps, but without your love and support I couldn’t successfully achieve any of my success: I love you, Adolfo José!
Since May 2022 I also have been working as a Legal Assistant of a local attorney, handling civil, business, and immigration cases, and simultaneously keeping my fitness career. Now, I am planning and preparing my studying plan to prepare and learn the necessary skills to pass the bar exam and to obtain the license to practice law in the US Federal jurisdiction.
In God everything is possible!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Over the years I merged all the learnings from my attorney career, my vocation to serve the community with my fitness certifications to guide others into a better, healthier, and happier lifestyle. When it comes to health and fitness, unfortunately, society sometimes focuses too much on appearance, how skinny or fat a person looks instead of helping or guiding others to live a better, healthier, and happier lifestyle: and that’s my goal, no just guide them to effective and safe workouts but also to provide them with all the skills I’d learned to help them alleviate what’s getting them away to achieving their goal, which might mean reviewing sleeping or eating habits, adding relaxation techniques or just motivating or referral clients to specialist to find the proper help they need to conquer their goals.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I started my fitness business after a knee injury that required surgery to be repaired: an injury that changed my life and subsequently helped me to change the lives of 125,000+ people across the world. After surgery, I decided to learn fitness and obtain my first certification as Zumba Instructor; afterward, I drove my learning passion into achieving 100+ certifications in fitness, health, and lifestyle [including certified personal trainer, yoga, Pilates, nutrition, HIIT, Bootcamp, SilverSneakers, water aerobics, core specialist, injury prevention, life coach and more].
Once I learned enough to begin my own fitness business, as crazy as it sounds: I invested $100 in used pieces of fitness equipment to start offering private sessions in public gyms, parks, as well as luxurious places; and yet over the +8 years later I had the opportunity to work with celebrities, billionaires, CEO’s, professionals in different areas, stay at home moms, elderly population, politicians, kids. My passion for fitness has helped me to make a huge impact on the world!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I am an immigrant, I’ve lived in the US for the past 17 years, coming from my home country Venezuela with a professional career [attorney], and having to start over from scratch and begin a business in a different field has been not just one of the most challenging things I have ever done but also a big inspiration to keep overcoming obstacles in life: I don’t see limits when I decide to do something: I see opportunities, challenges as I put together my Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats to achieve what I mean to do. As I mentioned before I am a foreign attorney, and as part of this journey on June 2022, I graduated with a Master in Legal Studies from an American Bar Accredited school that will allow me to complete the requirements to take the bar exam and after passing, be licensed to practice law in the US.
Also, I have been a human right advocate for +20 years, fighting for the protection of the human rights of Venezuelan migrants in the US. I take the opportunity to share with the audience that when you do something by heart the results are unimaginable: over years of activism and tons of actions for this goal: on March 2021 we achieved that the Venezuelan Community was granted a Temporary Protected Status that safe immigrants from social and judicial vulnerability; also recently, on September 29, 2022, during Hispanic Heritage Month, I was awarded by a congresswoman with the US Flag waved in my name for 30 minutes in the Congress of the US as recognition of my contribution to Latino communities through my work.
In the near future, I plan to be admitted to take the bar exam and to earn my license to practice as an attorney in US Federal jurisdiction cases, where I look forward to assisting immigrants in their immigration process.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.healthywithflavor.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mmol18/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariana.molero.988
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianamolero/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mmol_18?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClnn8mTko20FlwIMKIJW_Vw
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/healthy_with_flavor/ https://www.instagram.com/amavexinc/?hl=en https://www.iqballawfirm.com/our-legal-team/mariana-molero/
Image Credits
– JCPenney Portraits – Alfredo Olivares – Luis Molero