We were lucky to catch up with Wendie Veloz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Wendie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

The mission of Wendie Veloz Enterprises, LLC (WVE) is to help solve society’s most complex problems by co-creating sustainable solutions with social enterprises that promote healthy and thriving communities through executive development, training, and thought leadership.

The story behind this mission starts long before the business. When I founded this business at the end of the COVID lockdown, I was working in public health as a director and was suffering from burnout. Our leadership changed and my position was eliminated.

Prior to working at the county public health department I had spent nearly 15 years in federal service. I left that role due to discrimination and knew there was no ladder for career advancement into management. During my time in the government I helped dozens of communities in the U.S. and broad through mental health programs, public health programs, and systems-change initiatives. I even traveled to Tanzania and worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, helped tribal nations and territories, and specialized in supporting community coalitions. Through funding grant programs and providing technical assistance I started coaching nonprofit and community leaders and found that I’m really good at supporting changemakers.

What I also learned from these two roles is that government work is not stable, as we are now seeing in the news more clearly. I also learned that these environments aren’t made for people to thrive. After the pandemic more employees want work-life harmony and need more flexibility.

I founded Wendie Veloz Enterprises, LLC to support purpose-driven entrepreneurs moving from environments where they’re burnt out and stuck to changing the world on their own terms. The goal of my business is to create shortcuts and solutions that help social enterprises scale and maximize their impact. By supporting founders and executives leading the organizations and proving training solutions, WVE enhances the sustainability of nonprofits, small businesses, and social enterprises through technical assistance and thought partnership.

The vision is to create generations of healed communities and people fueled by health, wealth, and equality.

Wendie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Wendie Veloz Enterprises is a boutique consulting firm that offers executive coaching and training services for social businesses and nonprofits. The founder, Wendie Veloz, has over 20 years of experience in strategic planning, implementation, and sustainability with funding at federal, state, and local levels. The main focus of Wendie Veloz Enterprises is to assist communities and founders of color in developing sustainable social change initiatives that address the specific needs of the people they serve.

WVE specializes in helping organizations scale their impact, secure aligned funding, and develop sustainable business practices. With a focus on leadership development, strategic planning, and capacity building, we empower our clients to drive meaningful change while maximizing their operational effectiveness and financial wellness.

We also create unique networking opportunities and events to make business and nonprofit work more engaging. By using creative concepts and unique branding, the events WVE offers are educational, engaging, and filled with empowering connections for personal and business development.

The thing I am most proud of is the pro-bono work we’ve done to support nonprofit and NGO leaders. From providing free coaching to founders in African nations who cannot afford executive coaching to offering discounts to local DC-based nonprofits, our impact mission is a key part of the work we do. The ability to help small and growing organizations with affordable or free consulting services is a very important part of our work. Every coaching program includes 1 pro-bono space open to followers, community members, and our online network.

The main things to know about this brand is we amplify other impact-based brands with executive coaching and training that blends business development, marketing, and implementing actionable strategies. By focusing on sustainability, WVE co-creates solutions to help clients navigate the ever-changing impact-landscape.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

As mentioned in the first response, this business was founded after losing my job at the end of COVID. I had enough savings to bootstrap paying for a $7K coach and to start the business. I lived off my savings and unemployment for a period of time while deciding what direction to take. Eventually I went all-in on building the brand and starting the business.

It took nearly 4 months to earn the first $3K through a contract with an organization I was already affiliated with. Slowly after sharing the news about being in business and starting to market myself as a business vs. a person, more people knew I left the government and were interested in what I was doing. The first year in business from June 2021-June 2022 I earned the smallest amount of money I had ever earned in my life, but I made it all on my own. Proving that I had a viable business and fueling my determination to keep going. The following year I was able to grow the business, making it possible for me to continue focusing 100% on the business vs. going back to another nonprofit or government job.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I started my business I only had a personal following of about 1,000 or less people on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. I was advised by a business mentor to start a business page for any platform I could and transform my LinkedIn into my business vs. jobseeker page.

I got to work starting from scratch at zero followers (as everyone has to) building an audience around my personal and business brand combined. Since I’m a solo founder my business brand is a personal brand.

I worked with my coach to gain confidence creating content and figure out how to market my new business. What made all the difference was consistency. Through consistency I grew my LinkedIn newsletter to 11K subscribers and my profile to over 4.3K followers. I also grew a podcast to 3 seasons and over 100 episodes with thousands of downloads.

Consistency and continuing to understand your niche and voice pay off. Doing the work to map your services to your marketing and learning the cycle of your business helps you get better at marketing every year. Being authentic in building your brand is so important for impact-based brands. But having the energy to fuel consistent authenticity can be difficult for solopreneurs and small organizations to maintain. That’s where having support like a coach or marketing firm can help.

Now four years into business I have my main personal brand- Wendie Veloz but I also built several other brands. Social Impact Level Up which is my podcast and community. As well as Elevate H.E.R. Worth dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs by providing transformative experiences, tools, and a supportive community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wendieveloz.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendieveloz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WendieVelozEnterprises
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendieveloz
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@socialimpactlevelup
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/social-impact-level-up/id1607172175

  https://open.spotify.com/show/6Twm8iYwCP2n4iiG76fs0L?si=ba681144ca7f4358

Image Credits

Photo Credits: Ather Ahsan & Mark Rinfrow