Recognition Turns Wellness Programs Into A Habit with Leonora Cherry, Zen and Zest Wellness Solutions LLC

0:00Welcome to Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners. Every week, we sit down with business owners, founders, and leaders to uncover the real stories behind building a successful business. The wins, the setbacks, the lessons learned, and the strategies that help them grow. No scripts, no fluff, just honest conversations with entrepreneurs who are in the trenches every single day. Whether you are a business owner yourself, thinking about starting a business, or simply enjoy hearing how successful people think and operate, you are in the right place. Let's jump into today's episode, shall we?

0:58Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth. Today, I'm excited to be joined by Nori Cherry, professionally known as Nori, founder of Zen and Zest Wellness Solutions in Chesapeake, Virginia. Nori, how are you doing today? I am doing well, Cliff. How are you? I'm doing wonderful. Really, really blessed and really excited to have you on. So yeah, let's go ahead and jump right into it if you don't mind. Sure. All right. So, you know, Nori, what do you provide for Chesapeake, Virginia and beyond?

1:36You know, what does your business do for everybody? So Zen and Zest Wellness Solutions is a wellness consulting firm and we provide wellness initiatives for organizations, such as our workplace wellness programs, where we can do a complete wellness program starting from whether that's an incentivized program or not. We support the organization in establishing just some guidelines for what their wellness program looks like, meaning if they want to have their employees get annual physicals, participate in any type of work site wellness challenges, walking challenges. We do recycling challenges down to helping the organization lower the rising cost of healthcare.

2:26We do mental health first aid training. We do resilience training with stress and burnout. So we can pretty much tailor our services to every need of any organization, whether they're small or large. And then we have direct services that we offer just to the community. Someone who may be, you know, notice that someone in their community may be struggling with a mental health challenge. So we can certify them in mental health first aid to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of when someone is struggling from a mental health or substance abuse challenge. So that is on an organizational level as well as an individual level within the community.

3:09so we we're pretty much a one-stop shop we do some mental health not mental health i'm sorry we do some color therapy workshops as well and those are community-based as well as within organizations okay and and who is nori cherry what do you have going on personally Oh, Nori Cherry. I am married to my amazing husband, Eric. And we have a total of, because we're a blended family. So we have four children and 10 grandchildren. Well, actually we have six children because we've taken my sister passed away. So her two children are our two children now and everybody, they're all adults with their own children.

3:58So we've got Six kids, 10 grandchildren all together. So our life stays pretty busy, but we like to golf. We like to bowl. We like to travel. And that's what we do outside of, you know, supporting our community through the wellness consulting firm. Yeah. And I'm sorry to hear that about your sister. Awesome that you took them on though. That's awesome that you took on her kids for. Yes. Yes. They were adults when she passed away, but that is actually what started me, Cliff, down this road of the path of wellness. When my sister was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer, I was searching for a graduate program because my undergraduate degree was in general education.

4:44And what's that? Where are you working? Um, so I was looking for a niche, something specific, and I found the wellness and lifestyle management graduate program through Rowan University. And that program really was what helped me get through the traumatic event of caring for and losing my sister. So the work I do is not just by accident, should I say. It really has become a true passion of mine just for helping and caring for people. And honestly, with that, you just answered the first couple of questions. So I appreciate that. You kind of got into some of your background there and then kind of how you got started.

5:25So, yeah. So, I mean, you know, Nori, tell me a little bit about this. So a lot of workplace wellness programs kind of struggle because employees do not engage. Do you notice that a lot? I definitely noticed that. And so what I can tell you from my experience is employees need some motivation or incentive to thrive in a wellness program in order for them to participate. And the incentive does not necessarily have to be monetary. As you know, it is human nature. We want to be acknowledged. We want to be rewarded for the good things that we do. And so one organization I partnered with, they have an amazing monetary incentive.

6:13And so that's the easy thing to do. But organizations can do things just like acknowledging the employee of the month, right? The employee who went and got their annual wellness checkups. You create a leaderboard. I I can remember having a challenge for individuals getting their annual physicals uploaded before the end of the quarter. And it was a struggle initially. And then when I said, hey, I'm creating my, you know, recognition board for everyone who emails me and tells me by this date that you've completed your annual physical, the company, company wide, you will be recognized. and it was just that simple and they all started flooding in.

7:02So it is human nature that we want to be recognized and rewarded. And so I think if you have a wellness program that is intentional to support the employee and meet them where they are based on their culture, it has to be, you know, definitely meet each and every group of, you know, the diverse amount of people within your organization. It can't be cookie cut, but for sure, when you recognize individuals, you will definitely get more engagement. And I found that this one organization, it is a culture, like you're not even cool if you're not a part of the wellness program. Okay. Now we're going to get into the real, you know, kind of the real nitty gritty of the business and kind of what really people want to hear because we do have a pretty solid entrepreneurial audience that listens to the podcast every week.

7:56So, you know, I know this, I know this question will help a lot of people who listen. So Norit, can you tell me what is the biggest challenge you would think your business is facing right now? Would you say? The biggest challenge I would say Zen and Zess is facing is awareness. You know, we are not, But as humans, we were in a autopilot mode, right? So we just get through to the next moment, to the next moment, to the next moment. So we are not very proactive. We are predominantly a culture of reactive, right? We react when something happens, right? And then we realize that, oh, we need these supports.

8:39Oh, we need mental health. You know, we need support with that, or our employees are, you know, they're stressed and burnout. So if, if organizations could be more aware that we're all in this together, and as long as you're on this earth, you're going to experience all of these scenarios, right? With burnout, with, you know, I do a presentation on aging gracefully, supporting your elderly parents. Like as long as we're here, these things are going to happen. So if I could make organizations more aware of, you know, I know everybody's trying to meet their bottom line. They're engaged in their day-to-day business.

9:19But if you put the proper cushions and supports in place to take care of your employees' well-being, then when these crisis hits, you won't find the burnout. You won't find that increase in turnover. You won't find the lack of productivity within your organization because you've prepared your employees throughout the year. OK, I love that. So what do you believe is preventing the business from reaching its full potential or reaching the next level? Is that kind of going to that a little bit? My personal business, again, I go back to being able to make organizations aware that this service exists and what the benefits of the services are.

10:09And another blocker, I think, is that organizations will think that's not in our budget. We can't afford a wellness program. And so that kind of turns the, you know, all these things are great, Nori, but we can't afford it. And so with Zen and Zest, I also offer a virtual wellness platform that saves the employee. It's at no net cost to the employer. And the employer actually gets back about$640 per year per employee that participates in the program. And then the employee gets back about$1 ,200 a year. And this is twofold. So they could, let me back up a little bit. So this program requires that an employer has 10 full-time W-2 employees making at least $35 ,000 a year and that they are providing health insurance to those employees.

11:12So as long as they've met those requirements, that is where they can free up those dollars to be able to fund a wellness program for their employees. But on top of that, you now have this virtual wellness platform where your employees are no longer going to the doctor using their deductible for that three-month checkup for the cold for the flu for you know Johnny has asthma and we're always going to to you know get a refill for all those little or maybe it's a little urgent care situation that doesn't require like an x-ray a cast or anything of that nature you can use this platform to virtually you know how we did when we went with COVID, right?

12:02There's an app, you log in, you pick your primary care doctor. That is who you will see regularly. So it's not like docking a box. You can build a relationship with your doctor and then you save your deductible for emergencies, right? So you save that for a planned surgery or your child fell and broke an arm at school. You got to go to the emergency room. That's where that deductible will apply. Otherwise, you don't have to use your deductible throughout the year for prescriptions. They can be delivered straight to your home free of charge because you were participating in this program. And so that's where I can help employers be able to fund a wellness program to provide those additional services I spoke about, the mental health first aid training.

12:55We can do wellness fairs. We can do lunch and learns, weekly or monthly newsletters, keeping employees on top of, hey, what is the latest health trend for hypertension or diabetes? So there is plenty of opportunity to fund a wellness program. But again, like I said, the blocker for me is getting an employer to really sit down and analyze and assess the well-being of their employees. Okay. Now, you know, and I want you to kind of be honest with this. You know, what is something people assume is easy about running this type of business that is actually very difficult? Hmm. Something people assume, I think people assume running most businesses are easy.

13:48Um, but, but especially in the wellness industry, again, because like I said, people are on autopilot and they think they, they get the impression that this is wellness is a luxury, like, and, and I'm going to relate it to massage therapy, right? It's, it's, it's a treat. It's something that we do when we have time to do it. And that isn't so. And there's a lot of hard work that goes into, you know, providing evidence-based content, you know, to organizations, to companies. It isn't something that you just come up with and say, hey, I'm going to try this. You know, every service that I offer is backed by evidence-based studies.

14:38And it requires a lot of research, a lot of commitment, and a lot of conversations to get organizations and individuals to see that your well-being should always be a priority. Okay. Right. So, you know, you support mental, physical, emotional, social and financial well-being. How do you keep that breath from becoming confusing in your marketing or sales process? So I really just try to define it as how we view ourselves. Right. So using the dimensions of wellness, just we are, you know, we all have a financial life. We have physical, emotional, and spiritual. And I just compartmentalize all of them pretty much the way we do in life.

15:33And one of the things, and I'm going to share this with you, Cliff, just being totally transparent, that agenda that I mentioned to you, I was creating the agenda. I have an agenda for my home, right? So just the same way that I run my business, my goal is to run my home the same way. So I view this with even my clientele. You said, how do I compartmentalize? So I believe that every area of our life should have a department, right? Just like in an organization, you have HR, right? You've got the EAP service. Every organization has different departments for different needs of the organization, the finance department, the payroll, the accounting.

16:23And so that's the same way that I compartmentalize my business. So it may be that an organization only needs one portion of the services that I offer. And that's what we focus on for that organization. Okay. Now, you know, having a business like this, have you had to change something about your personality type or maybe about your personal life? Have you had to do anything like that in order for your business to start growing? Or were you good for it right off the bat? So I feel like this is what I was born to do. Even as a kid, I've always been health conscious, mindful of my physical well-being.

17:09I can remember asking my mom to buy me. I don't know if you remember if I'm telling my age, but the total gym was a thing that you could. It was a total gym, literally, that you could mount to a wall in your home and you could work out right at the house. I think I was maybe 15, 14, and that's all I wanted for Christmas. Now, most of the time I just looked at it and dusted it off, but it was always a desire for health and wellness as a young person. And however, you know, when you are, if you're an accountant, right, no one knows if the accountant's books are right or not, because that's a private personal thing.

17:54When you're in this industry, everyone is looking at you and diagnosing your well-being. Do you look like, do you look the part? Are you speaking the part? Are you, you know, are you really living the part? So I've learned that this profession is pretty transparent, almost like the expectation of your pastor at church, right? You expect certain things because that's the title you wear. I didn't realize I signed up for that until I started working with different organizations. And when I come in, they're like, oh, wellness is here. You know, if I have a cookie in my hand, that's not wellness. You know, we don't get you don't get to you don't get many passes.

18:47That's what I'll say. OK, OK. Now, about how many hours are you working in on the business right now a week? Well, this particular week, Cliff, I'm probably will get about 60 hours in. And that's because we are preparing for an event for the Wellness Expo over at Norfolk State University. We will be, we're preparing to do a color therapy session with their faculty and staff members as they come back for the new school year. So this is a pretty big event for us. So all hands on deck, we're preparing for that event. So this will be a pretty heavy week. But on average, I would say maybe 40, 45 hours a week.

19:37Okay. Okay. That's not too bad. Now, you know, in this next question, it's a little tough to look from the outside in, right? But, you know, do you have any employees right now or is it just you? So right now there's myself and my husband is my partner, my silent partner, we'll say. I, he, he helps, you know, as I need in terms of preparing and, and counting inventory and packing and, you know, setting up for an event. And I do contract out for this particular upcoming event. I will have a contracted partner who will participate and assist me in this event. So it just depends on the size. I do a lot of virtual work.

20:20So that makes it easier for me. I don't have to necessarily travel set up unless I'm on site. So I would say right now about 80 % of my work is virtual. So it makes for just myself. But I do partner with several other business owners, educational institution. I'm also partnering with an assistant professor over at Hampton University. we are working on an initiative to be able to offer Narcan and mental health first aid training to higher education students as well as high school students. So I have a lot of partners, but with Zen and Zest, it's pretty much solely myself. Okay. Okay. So I guess then we can kind of frame this question in as less, you know, let's say we go to one of those folks, right?

21:18that's worked with you pretty closely in the past. And let's say that we ask them, you know, what is Nori's greatest strength as a business owner? What do you think they would tell us? I think they would tell you resilience. Yeah. My ability to kind of bounce back, to be agile and flexible and kind of just adjust and redirect when necessary. Okay. Okay. That's fair. And then now Now, on the flip side of that, let's go to the flip side of that. So, you know, let's say if we ask them, you know, what is what is a leadership or business skill that Nori could improve on? What do you think they would tell us?

21:56Delegating. I think they would say delegating. If I had a business partner here and I also I had a business coach previously who would probably say the same thing is to delegate, to know when to bring in a contractor for that additional support or ask for help from those around me. I tend to kind of carry it all so that that that is one skill that I'm looking to improve. Okay. Okay. That's fair. Yeah. I appreciate you getting transparent and kind of getting a little vulnerable there. So, you know, you emphasize that wellness cannot be one size fits all. So I want to get into kind of the customization programs and stuff.

22:43So how do you customize programs without making every engagement difficult to price and deliver? So in customizing, I really need, I do an assessment with the organization. Once we meet, sit down before I create their proposals just to have a very relaxed general conversation so that I can understand the nature and culture of the organization. And then if we're going to proceed, then I, you know, depending on what direction they would like to take the program in is how I kind of customize to their specific level of service. And I'll give you an example. let's say we, you know, the organization says, hey, you know, our health insurance has really increased over the past three years.

23:34We've noticed that we've got a lot more employees who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and hypertension. And then from there, we do an assessment of just about how, what are those numbers? Like, who are those people? Are they men? Are they women? What's the age group that they're falling under? And then we create a program around that, right? And so let's say, example, they're males between the age of 40 and 55. And so that is our target audience, right? And then we find out what type of organization is this? You know, is it higher education? Is it a construction company? And so based on the level of skill set with the employees and how they best might learn, right?

24:29So we know that construction company, hey, they are very good with their hands, right? And they're probably very good with contracts and understanding how they're developed. In higher education, maybe, hey, They're more likely to receive presentations in more of a lecture environment. And so we tailor and cater it to what those individuals need. The construction company, we may actually create a program around ergonomics, right, so that they can start to see some results throughout their day. If we teach them some things that they can do in terms of movement throughout their day. The educational setting, we may set up lunch and learns for them and go over some nutrition and better ways that they can get in the physical activity, but also focus on, you know, some of their nutrition.

25:23So those are just two different ways that you could deliver the same service. Those two services don't, they won't necessarily cost anymore. It's just how will we deliver and meet the employee where they are. okay okay now let's get into kind of your i guess competitors or you know other providers so why do customers choose you instead of another provider would you say so i feel like instead of another provider we we offer everything from again like i said what stops most companies in my profession from getting in the door is because an organization will say it's not in the budget and there's no emergent need for it.

26:09So we're not going to offer the opportunity. Whereas with Zen and Zest, we say, hey, we can support you from the health insurance aspect of, you know what, let's lower the cost of using that annual deductible. If we're not touching that, your insurance is going to drop by default. But also we're going to be able to give you back some funds that are, This is at a no net cost to the employer, the program. And then we can allocate those funds, again, either to your bottom line or toward developing a wellness program. So that's what I think. That's the number one thing that sets us apart is that we can save the employer on their utilization of their health insurance deductible for their employees.

27:02employees and we can actually provide a no net cost program to the employer. Okay. Okay. All right. So I appreciate that. So we're going to head into what's called the this or that round. So how this works is I'm going to give you two choices, this or that, and I want you to choose one and then tell me why you chose that. Kind of give me a little paragraph on why you chose it. Good way to learn about your personality a little bit and kind of your personal side a little bit. All right. Okay. Sounds fun. Let's go. All right. So first one is beach or mountains and why? Oh, beach, beach, beach, beach.

27:36The beach is where that's my Zen place. That's where I go and create my best ideas. It's where I go and relax. It's where I just feel like the water, the sand, and my body just all connect. That's my home right there. Okay. Netflix or YouTube? Netflix. I am not a big TV, movie, television watcher, but I would say every now and then I like a nice Netflix series. Okay. Now getting into that a little bit more with your Netflix series so is that reality tv or true crime neither okay so netflix i'm trying to think of a couple of series that i've watched on netflix some of them are funny you know the girlfriends episodes i think brooklyn might be one i can't and i'm terrible with names i just my husband finds them And he's like, I think this might be one that you'll like, because I am, I'm more of a comedy watcher, lighthearted things.

28:55I'm not a, don't do well with the crime and, and, you know, the mystery and trying to figure out who did what, maybe a little drama in there, but mostly lighthearted, funny or love stories. But I'm not, not big on the crime thing. Okay. Okay. Coffee or tea? Tea. I will have a cup of coffee, but I am a tea 24-7. Yeah, I can go for tea again. That's another Zen. There's so many health benefits. I'm a green tea drinker primarily. It's calming. It's relaxing. It's kind of like a safe feeling. If I'm holding a tea mug, it provides a sense of security and calmness for me. early bird or night owl i'm a tweener yeah i'm not not super early and not super late i would say early for me is 6 30 but for some folks that's late and then late for me is 11 11 30 and and honestly i being again totally transparent this past week burning the candle at both ends.

30:15So I'm exceeding both of them this week, but that is not a norm. Okay. Dogs or cats? Dogs, always the dogs. Funny story. My sister was always petrified of cats. And I think it's because my cousin scared her as a kid, but her fear, not only did it, you know, did I take it on, but her children took it on and my children took it on. And so like, we got this whole family thing with cats and we don't know why there's no rhyme or reason. I cannot tell you a cat has ever done anything to me, but I'm afraid of them. And I don't really care for them, but I love dogs. I actually have always had a dog. I have a, I have my baby now who's at the groomer.

31:03So yeah, we're dog people. Okay. Summer or winter? I think I know the answer here. Oh, you know summer because we got to be on the beach. I figured. Do you not like doing, so you don't like winter at all? Nothing, you don't care for it? You know what? I embrace it. You know, I, when my children were younger, we would take them snowboarding and, you know, do the snow tubing and all that. I embrace it, but I am much more a summer person. I kind of get through the winter because I have to. Yeah, you don't have a choice. Exactly. It's coming. Yeah. Apple or Android? Apple. Yeah, it's just easier to, in my mind, right?

31:56For me, it's easier to use. it's just it's just a majority you know thing that's what most people are using so it in in my world because that might not be a true statement so it's easier for me to connect i love the fact that i can just hit facetime and see all my baby's faces when i need because everybody's got an iphone yeah sweet or salty salty not big on sweets okay hey don't get that too often most people say yeah Yeah. No. I mean, I'm not saying I won't eat a cookie. I told you, I got caught eating a cookie. But if I have to go with anything, it's going to be salt. Salty and savory. Okay.

32:40Cook at home or eat out? Well, in theory, cook at home because that's what I prefer. My lifestyle often will push the eat out. so basically if you had enough time you would cook at home in ideal situation but most of the time you've got things to do and you have to be out right? Right so when I have time to do the meal prepping on Sunday it's a great week if I don't it's a sketchy kind of week so yeah I'd prefer the best thing to do anyone listening best thing to do is cook at home because it's less processed and you know what you put in your food. So that, that is what I prefer by far. But again, full transparency, it does not always work that way, but I try to make the best choices when I'm not able to be at home.