Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Danielle Hester. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Danielle, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Finding “my” purpose has been a journey, and I would say that I am still working to live in my purpose everyday. I first started thinking about purpose when a friend asked me to define what it meant. I was telling her about an idea I had to start a fitness platform where I’d use working out as an entry way to talk to people about discovering their own purpose. “But what does purpose mean, like really mean?” she asked. In that moment, I could not clearly define it. Her question has remained with me til this day.
What I’ve discover over the years is that defining purpose isn’t as clear as we make it out to be. It’s also not as easy to identify. It took me a very long time to make the connection that health and fitness would help me find my purpose.
In hindsight, my purpose has manifested in many ways throughout the years. I started my post-grad career as a freelance writer covering stories about Black women’s health and wellness. I’ve always loved working out and being active, and would be the first to know about and try the latest wellness trends, fitness boutiques, and activities. I am also a very social person and love attending events. I didn’t know how to describe these interests back then, or how they connected, I just knew that I felt my best when I was active and engaging with people.
One birthday, I organized what I called a “fitness crawl,” in which I curated an itinerary of activities where friends could pop in and out throughout the day. There was options for yoga, zumba, sound bath, escape the room, and of course ending with a happy hour. I had to collaborate with many of the establishments, pitch my idea, and get them on board. It was my first taste of event planning and I loved it. I loved bringing my friends together. I loved the energy each activity created. I loved seeing everyone moving and engaging with each other.
The idea to create my own fitness platform sat with me for years, until one day I just decided to execute an event no matter what it looked like. From there, opportunities kept coming to partner with others looking for the type of wellness experiences I was creating. I’d get recommended to lead workshops for teams, or offered a dedicated slot to host my events at a studio. It seemed organic to get people to say “yes” to my vision and participate.
Then, I met my now business partner, April Nadine, in 2019 and everything seemed to expand from there. We shared a like-minded vision to create experiences for our community around health and wellness. From that synergy came the launch of Building Exponential Wellness, B.E. Well, LLC, a holistic wellness platform dedicated to the enrichment and empowerment of Black wellness. It combines my passions for health, wellness, and fitness with events.
If I had to answer my friends question in this moment, What does purpose really mean,? I wouldn’t offer a definitive definition, instead, I’d offer a few things to ruminate about: What is something you genuinely love doing? What topic(s) do you seem to know a lot about? When you unplug for the day, what is something you find yourself engaging with that doesn’t seem like work? For me, these are the questions that helped me define my purpose. My purpose is connected to the things that bring me constant joy and feels natural to me. Yes, it’s still a lot of hard work to build on my purpose from an entrepreneurial pursuit, but these efforts are centered around things that I enjoy doing, that I’d gladly do leisurely. Lastly, the thing about purpose is that whatever that thing is you’re meant to be doing or leading, it will always show up in different forms. It might look different, but there’s always an opportunity created around what you’re meant to be doing in life. It just takes intentionality to see the through line and make the connection.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
During 9 to 5 hours, I am a cultural marketing professional for a multicultural media agency where we help brands craft authentic messages for multicultural consumers. My 5 to 9 consists of me tapping into my passion for fitness and wellness in a couple of roles, including coaching fitness classes at a Chicago-based boutique gym and running my own wellness event platforms, Fit4Purpose and B.E. Well.
Fit4Purpose aims to inspire purpose-driven thinking and ignite action-oriented goals through fitness, talk therapy, and wellness centric activities. F4P experiences incorporate aerobic workouts with mindfulness activities like yoga, mediation, journaling, and talk therapy.
B.E. Well is a holistic wellness platform dedicated to the enrichment and empowerment of the Black community, where we curate, facilitate, and produce wellness experiences. Our annual wellness summit for women and men of color is a one-day interactive experience where attendees participate in workshops, panels, and demos all led by POC health and wellness experts. The goal of our summit is to create culturally-forward spaces where the Black community can get direct access to health and wellness resources.
On May 18th, 2024, B.E. Well will host it’s third summit in person at Bric Arts Media in Brooklyn, NY. To find out more and purchase a ticket, visit www.everythingbewell.com
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Reflecting on my journey, there have been a combination of qualities, skills, and areas of knowledge that have contributed to my journey. At times they overlap and complement one another.
Quality: The one quality I’ve learned to identify as an attribute is my innate ability to connect with others effectively. I call myself an empathic leader, in which I am able to understand and relate to others in a way that allows for me to successfully work with different personality types and skillsets. This quality has afforded me opportunities to work with some amazing, diverse and unique creatives. Over time, my interpersonal communication developed into a skill that I was able to apply in corporate settings when having to work with different departments. It’s also been most impactful as an entrepreneur looking to make organic connections and build a network.
Skill: A valuable skillset I’ve leaned into during my journey is strategic thinking. Managers would often tell me I was a strategic thinker and pull me into projects to help strategize and plan. The reoccurring feedback allowed me to understand what value I brought to the table in both corporate and as an entrepreneur. Once I identified strategy as my valuable skill, I now welcome opportunities to lead strategy, analyze complex situations, and make sound decisions.
Areas of knowledge: My days writing about health and wellness set the foundation for developing an area of expertise around a specific topic. Having to research and stay abreast of the latest topics in the health and wellness field kept me informed and connected to the needs of the community. I have applied insights into personal approaches to fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness. This area of knowledge allows me to provide nuanced perspectives on topics we program for our events.
Overall, I’d advice people early on in their journey to observe others feedback and how they interact with you. If you keep hearing that you’re a great problem-solver, or you are a people person, or you are resourceful around a specific area, take note of that and tap into it. Leverage other’s feedback and experiences of you to craft your story and how you brand yourself.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
When I think about the past 12 months, I’d say my biggest area of improvement is how I invest in myself. I don’t make new years resolutions. Instead, I set an intention by selecting a word for the year. This year, I chose “bold,” and set intentions around talking about my projects loudly and confidently. In order to do that I must be “doing,” meaning executing and working on projects to propel my ideas forward. This means, doing the work consistently so that when I talk about the work and people get interested I can follow up on the conversation and engage them. I wasn’t the best at the “doing” part 12 months ago. I’d work on a project then stop. And although I have myself grace to be in energy I was in at the time, I had to acknowledge that I would only see things progress if I did the work. I am most proud to say I am doing the work, finally producing the first in-person wellness summit for women and men of color in May during mental health awareness month. It’s been three years in the works, but this year feels different. There’s movement happening and I am boldly talking about it at every opportunity I get.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.daniellenhester.com, www.everythingbewell.com
- Instagram: @_fit4purpose, @thebewellexperience
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellenhester/
Image Credits
Art Ninja Studio (www.instagram.com/art_ninja.studio)
