After overcoming her own challenge with acne by healing her skin from the inside out, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Jeniffer Alburquerque is now on a mission to teach other how to heal themselves, too. Armed with the book she’s written, Healthy Gut Happy You, the app she’s created, Naked Flavors (available on iTunes and GooglePlay), and the wealth of knowledge she’s accumulated from both her clinical training and personal experience, Jeniffer provides help and support through an impressive array of media. Her interview and adventurous spirit inspires us to find and focus on our own Why, to live in service of others, and perhaps to have a little Amazonian adventure of our own.
What inspired you to become a holistic entrepreneur?
I want to live a purposeful life serving those who are experiencing the same health obstacles I did. I want to show whoever is suffering with chronic acne and digestive disorders the powerful bodies that we posses and that if we want, we can heal ourselves without toxins and chemicals.
My inspiration for becoming a holistic entrepreneur is to wake up every morning knowing that I am helping someone recover their happiness, self-love and self-esteem. I have suffered with acne for several years and I understand how much it hurts to be self-conscious everyday and the anxiety of not knowing what to do to feel pretty again (I truly believe that beauty comes from within, but when you have your face covered with blemishes and scars, this cliché phrase is a little hard to apply.). I see so many people suffering with this skin condition and I know how to solve it. I used myself as guinea pig when I started treating myself with real foods and I was able to heal my skin from the inside out. It’s been almost 7 years of acne-free skin. My mission is to teach others how to heal themselves.
How would you describe your current business model?
I am currently providing services to clients 1:1, both in-person and online. I am also creating a program in which I explain the steps they should take in order to get rid of acne. This will be a downloadable program from my website and it will include a 20 minute phone consultation. This is more for whoever cannot afford 1:1 service or would rather do it on their own.
There are also a couple of tools I have created. One of those is a healthy recipe app for iPhones and androids called Naked Flavors in which I share recipes following the nutrient-dense diet guidelines, nutritional information relevant to each recipe, and make it easy for people to create their grocery shopping list.
The second tool I have is my first book “Healthy Gut Happy You,” which will be published on September 29th, 2016. In this book I share my experience with acne and gut issues, how I overcame them, healing foods and supplements essential to my recovery and practical and savory recipes that anyone can make at home.
Is there a certain strategy you’ve found to be the most effective for growing a client base for Naked Flavors Nutrition?
I use social media (Facebook and Instagram) as one of my main tools for promoting my services, recipe app, book and eventually my acne program. Meetup is a great tool as well to connect with the perfect target audience in your area. I created a group, we meet at my house and I offer different cooking demos and talks based on the services I am offering. For example, since my goal is to reach to acne sufferers and those suffering with digestive disorders I created a class named “Healing Foods for the Skin and Gut.” I teach them how to make bone stocks and kombucha, we talk about the benefits, allow them to ask questions and share their health struggles. This type of meetings not only allows me to connect with like-minded people, but also to get clients and referrals. Personally, I love sharing what I know with whoever is interested.
Facebook ads are also a great tool to reach your specific audience, locally and virtually.
I am still learning new techniques and testing them to decide which one works best. It is a trial and error, but whatever strategy you decide to implement always make sure to provide value and genuinely show that you care. Share your knowledge and show your prospects that they can trust you with their most important asset – their health.
You have an app, Naked Flavors, available through iTunes. Can you tell us about your journey in creating that?
Also for Androids available through GooglePlay 🙂
My first Naked Flavors blog was very simple in which I would share some of my recipes with blurry pictures (which at the time I thought were legit!). Then I created my Facebook and Instagram, but frankly I wasn’t completely dedicated. Eventually when I began to spend more time in the kitchen I felt the need to share my creations with my followers and I would do this by typing them up on a post on Instragram.
I really wanted to create a home for my recipes, something simple that had all my creations organized by sections and somewhere I could constantly keep adding more. I wanted something that could be accessed by just a tab instead of having to type an entire URL. I thought an app would be pretty cool! But…I had no idea how to develop it. I looked for the “How to create an app for dummies” book but I was informed there’s no such thing yet. So, I just left the idea dormant for a couple of months. All of the sudden an old friend from college sent me a text asking me to help him spread the word about the company he and his brothers were building. “Coincidentally” his business was an app developing company. I didn’t think twice and I jumped on board with my friend to help me with this new adventure.
I always had the exact idea in my mind, I was very involved in the creative process. Lot’s of back and forth emails, phone calls and meetings. All the developing aspect was in hands of my friend and his brothers.
What are 3 pieces of advice you’d give a fellow holistic entrepreneur thinking about creating their own app?
- Ask yourself who is this app for? And create it as if you were the person using it. Make it as user friendly as possible. The simpler the better.
- Be clear when explaining your vision to your developer and be open to suggestions. Draw it on paper first, specifying exactly how you want your app to look and work.
- Start creating awareness about your app even before it is finished and define the purpose of your app. This will help you decide if you should offer it for free or for a small fee.
What has been the best piece of advice you’ve received as an entrepreneur?
To always remember my WHY.
Write it down and remind yourself daily what’s motivating you to do what you’re currently doing. Being an entrepreneur is gratifying but not always easy. I am not going to lie, I am not where I want to be yet, there is still a lot of confusion and learning, but I am training myself to trust in my own capabilities and keep my eyes open to the infinite possibilities awaiting. During those moments of hesitation I go back to my WHY, to all my reasons for deciding to become an entrepreneur. My Why gives me strength and hope.
What is your morning routine?
I like to start my days with a “Thank you” and set an intention. After few weeks of craziness I have started to go back to my morning meditations. Then I drink couple of glasses of warm water. Walk my dog. Go to the gym. Make breakfast. Feed Lenny (my pup) and start with my day.
What is your favorite indulgence?
I love chocolate, the darker the better and also enjoy having some berries with homemade raw whipped cream and topped with shaved cacao. Yummmmm!!!
Most exotic thing you’ve ever eaten?
Exotic and a little disgusting… Suri, a type of worm from the Amazon.
Most memorable place you’ve ever visited?
Wow, this is a hard one.
A friend and I decided to stay in the middle of the rainforest in the Peruvian Amazon for a week. Got to meet tribes, swim in the Amazon river, went piranha fishing, watched unbelievable sunsets and learned to trust complete strangers in the middle of nowhere.
Last book you read?
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuck
If you could only have one kind of food for the rest of your life, it would be…
Can it be two? Pretty Please????? Avocados and cheese
What is your go-to breakfast?
Pasture raised Eggs or raw kefir parfaits made with coconut cream, berries and nuts
What do you love most about being an entrepreneur?
I love that that I get to decide when and how to do things.
Jeniffer Alburquerque is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and Author based out of San Diego, California. You can find out more about Jen, her book, and her app by visiting http://nakedflavorsnutrition.com.
