Hope Zvara, mindfulness and lifestyle expert, best selling author, and motivational speaker empowers individuals nationwide by sharing her personal success story, delivering her message, guidance, and applicable tools.
Breath, Body, and Belief are the pillars of Hope’s mission to Help Others Purposefully Excel. Zvara offers direction based on how the mind operates, how the body works, and how beliefs affect mental health and wellness overall. Zvara has changed thousands of lives over the past 15 years by sharing her journey of loss and recovery.
What motivated and inspired you to start your own business?
I was going to school, Marquette University, studying to become a motivational and inspirational speaker. While I was still in and out of recovery, yoga fell into my lap. With a prayer and a virgin internet search, I found a yoga school tucked away in the Colorado mountains and off I went for a month of intensive yoga training. This training fueled my passion for health and fitness.
After battling obstacles I encountered over the years, I was inspired to help and empower individuals through yoga and mindfulness exercises. I spent years trying to be someone else, then I came to realize I can’t be that, I can only be me. Now, I help others find themselves so they can reach their fullest potential, not somebody else’s.
Tell us about your business.
I’m not your typical yoga teacher and I’m not your typical inspirational speaker. But I do teach about living in your body and increasing your happiness both on and off the mat. My work often looks like yoga or some sort of fitness related exercise, but what I am really teaching is how to live in your skin, self awareness, and how to enhance the person you are, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
List awards/certifications/accomplishments.
- Nominated as Yoga instructor of the Year 2008-09 “Yoga Hall of Fame.”
- Awarded Top Women in Business 2007-2008 by Cambridge Who’s Who.
- Has been featured in: Mind Body Green, Daily News, PersonalGrowth.com, and on the cover of Nature’s Pathways Magazine.
- Has presented for: Horizon Health Care, Glacier Hills Credit Union, Landmark Credit Union, West Bend & Hartford Union High School, MOPS, AT&T, IDEA Fit, Yoga Alliance Conference, as well as been featured on dozens of podcasts.
Where is your business based?
Greater Milwaukee Area, Hartford, WI.
What were the first few steps you took to get your business up and running?
I had to find a space to hold yoga classes in. Then I counted the number of students I currently had that I knew would attend my yoga studio and knew that I could cover the expenses I had.
Then, I opened my brick and mortar business in April of 2016. We didn’t have social media like we have now, so I printed 250 flyers and walked around the Walmart parking lot and other streets and posted flyers on people’s cars. I hustled… a lot.
I taught 95% of all my classes, 18 a week to be exact. I knew I wanted my face to be the face of yoga in my area. That meant, I needed to be the one teaching and running the business.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?
Word of mouth, getting involved and connecting with people in my community. Social media has been very effective too!
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
One of the biggest challenges was the BIG leap from small local business owner to a national and global scale. That takes, time, money, and investment on all levels, and the understanding that you can’t do it on your own. Finding good help and tech support for expanding into the online world was a challenge, but now I have a stellar back end and I see that investment paying off.
A big challenge of mine was content to consumer. People always tell me I NEVER have a shortage of content, both live and online. But it’s the magic of getting it packaged to people, and delivered to them in the correct manner that is not my strong point.
I’m a creator. The challenge was finding people who saw my vision, and didn’t want to change me, but help me flourish my powers and to get them out to people who wanted them. I think people underestimate the need for tech, production, and logistics. I know I did, and it’s a financial investment. But about 4 years ago I decided to start really investing in my business and my talents and it is really paying off.
Speaking up in my business has been tied into all my challenges. Speaking up for what is right for me, when I did not like how things were going, or how the work was being done. Because I was working internally on those issues, they were sabotaging my business as well, and that hurt me financially and a put me behind. It was a learning lesson to really be a boss (LOL).
How did you overcome these challenges?
I continued to seek out help. I hired a coach who really helped me with my vision, helped organize my programs and assisted in launching my first online course. But when I outgrew her I struggled parting ways. That was a learning lesson, but at the end of the day, you need to do what is best for you. I had a social media guy that I didn’t realize wasn’t doing much for my business and only doing what he new to do, and again I had to speak up and part ways.
Honestly, being able to look at myself, my choice, my life, without excuses and judgement and see what I needed to work on (not others, me) was incredibly healing. This propelled my business.
If you own the car, you have to be the responsible one to do the maintenance and I wasn’t doing that to my business. And it showed. I was scattered and unorganized. And it showed. But letting go of the wrong people and hiring the RIGHT people was KEY and it was an investment. I realized then that there is no such thing as self made.
How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
My faith and belief system is key. Getting some quiet time and meditating offers me stillness so I can hear my own thoughts and reflect on my choices or on what to do next. I love inspirational audios and sales content to help me see where my holes are.
Self care is extremely important. I walk daily, practice yoga, try to eat healthy, use my sauna, and most importantly, I have someone I see as a spiritual mentor I have regular contact with.
If you are not right on the inside, things will not be right on the outside.
How do you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
My goal is to help people reach their full potential. I have led thousands of people, just like you, towards living a life they love.
My approach is different, because I use The HOPE Process. With The Hope Process, I help people purposefully excel by using the three B’s: Breathe, Body, and Belief in a way unlike any other. This unique and exclusive process was developed based on my deep understanding of how the mind operates (or doesn’t operate in times of addiction, depression, anxiety, stress, fear). How our body works in movement and in everyday life action. As well as, how our beliefs affect our overall success from our jobs to our marriages, to feeling personally fulfilled, to mastering that hard yoga pose.
I specialize in working with people that are ready to catapult their lives towards greater success. Working with people who are willing to step up to the starting line with open ears, and willing hands to make the necessary changes and dig in to the new opportunities that lie ahead is an absolute and joyful experience.
What is the best advice you have received recently?
“It’s not that the opportunity didn’t work for you, it’s you didn’t work for the opportunity.”
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Be willing to do the work. It seems everyone wants to be their own boss… and that’s cool. But understand, that there is much more to it than just “doing your own thing”.
Show up when you don’t want to, and invest in yourself. And after all that, making time for you is essential. Self-sacrifice is for the birds when it comes to staying balanced as a boss, I tell all my students, “If you don’t fill your cup, how will you fill the cups of others?”
What are your favorite business tools/resources and why?
I love Canva! Super easy to pump out graphics and sweet content that I don’t need my team to spend time doing. I can work on that at night while hanging with my hubby.
I also love Lastpass. It’s an online password platform that securely saves passwords for you to go in and out of sites with ease. I used to have a notebook and then I’d lose it, or need to constantly reset passwords even daily. This free app has saved me thousands because of the time it’s saved me. And who doesn’t love being more organized.
What is a good article or book you have read recently?
“Sold or Be Sold” by Grant Cardone. Now you might say, “You are not in sales!” But one thing I have learned is everyone is in sales. You are constantly selling something to someone. Understanding your thoughts and being able to properly portray your message is essential to having a successful business and quite frankly, having a successful life!
What are you currently learning about for your business or looking for help with?
I’m growing partnerships and expanding my reach. I always knew this was essential, but with the right people. Partnering with the right people who have skills, products and services that compliment mine.
What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?
My goal is to increase my stage and speaking presence. I want to help as many people as possible, and I love speaking events. I thrive in a full room of motivated, strong women all wanting the same thing: to live their best lives.
I truly believe my philosophy can bring peace to many people. My team and I are reaching out to conferences, retreats, meetups, social groups to help bring my message nationwide.
What social media outlets do you use? List them below.
Instagram @hopezvara
Twitter @hopevavara
Facebook @theHOPEprocressbyHopeZvara
Pinterest @HopeZvara
Website www.hopezvara.com
Email info@HopeZvara.com
Hashtags #HOPEprocress #dailydoseofhope #womeninspiringwomen #hopezvara #thehopeprocess
Bianca Bee says
Amazing blog! there’s a lot of things to learn from here and I’m so excited to explore them all.
Elaine Rau says
Thanks so much!!!