By Doreen Hemlock
When her father was diagnosed with cancer, Laura Barrera re-evaluated her busy life in the fashion industry in Miami. She took time to reflect on health and study holistic practices. But she faced problems finding high-quality health, nutrition and meditation coaches just when she wanted.
To meet that need, Barrera is developing a platform, myjourney.coach, that connects people with health and wellness coaches on demand. Her team vets the coaches and provides them software and administrative support to link easily with customers. The venture is in the beta-testing phase, now working with some dozen coaches chosen from 250-plus applicants and offering one-on-one sessions online, Barrera says.
“There are more than 150 million people in the United States with conditions like diabetes and anxiety who can really improve their health just by changing their nutrition and lifestyle, and that’s our focus: the whole person,” says Barrera [pictured above].
Barrera is building the venture partly out of a program called Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, which aims to bridge the gap between clinical nutrition and functional medicine. Certified practitioners look to address the underlying causes and conditions of health problems. Her husband, Elliot Dinetz, who she met during her wellness journey, is a medical doctor active in the field. He sometimes recommends health coaching, so patients can get assistance with changes in diet, exercise routines and lifestyle.
“A doctor can say you need a gluten-free diet, but it’s the coaches who guide you on what to eat and how to transform thoughts from negative to positive,” says Barrera. “Coaches help motivate you to make behavioral changes, which have emotional and spiritual components. They help you advance.”
Working with doctors to help motivate patients
To bring in customers, myjourney.coach is initially relying on referrals from doctors. It also plans to work with companies, who can use coaching for group sessions and team-building, Barrera says.
Costs for coaching are generally not covered by U.S. health insurance, so Barrera says she aims to keep prices accessible, now starting at $69 per half-hour session online. That’s lower than the rate many coaches charge when they freelance independently, she adds.
Health and nutrition coach Jenna Reed, a certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, says partnering with the platform offers benefits over solo work. For instance, myjourney.coach does the marketing to identify customers. Its software also handles booking, payment and uploading of each patient’s health history – all in compliance with HIPAA rules to safeguard patient health information. Working independently, coaches must do those tasks on their own.
“The myjourney.coach platform is easier, because everything is set up for you,” says Reed, 38, who lives in California. “When you’re running your own business, you are the finance person, the assistant and the marketer.”
A journey from design to heath-tech
For Barrera, it’s been quite the journey to launch the platform. Born in Spain, she studied communications and then, earned a master’s in art direction in her hometown of Vigo. She worked in fashion for such brands as Carolina Herrera and Zara first in Spain and then, Miami – before her dad’s cancer diagnosis and a shift in direction. In 2016, she founded her own studio, GigMiami, specializing in digital design with a holistic focus. Clients included Sacred Space Miami.
To build myjourney.coach, Barrera has been self-funding and working from her Miami Beach home. After beta-testing, she plans to seek investment to scale up. The venture earns money mainly from a share of revenue from coaching sessions and also, from a share of sales of high-quality supplements.
“Our core business is not selling supplements, but if someone wants them, we want to offer access to medical-grade vitamins with natural ingredients and no fillers,” says Barrera, 38, who takes medical-grade Vitamin D+K and magnesium for her own needs.
Barrera knows from personal experience how holistic practices transform lives. She’s buoyed journey also has helped her dad, whose cancer has been years in remission.
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