A recent study from John Hopkins Medicine reveals that in the post-COVID wake, Black and Hispanic Americans are especially vulnerable to depression. Disproportionately impacted by COVID infections and mortality rates within their communities, Black Americans are now 1.16 times more likely to screen positive for depression, while Hispanic Americans are 1.23 times more likely to screen positive for depression than White respondents.
Years before the pandemic began, Samora Suber — founder of SamoraLife and a digitalundivided BREAKTHROUGH graduate — was on her way to discovering a somatic path — consisting of yoga, mindfulness practices, and coaching that empowers the mind-body connection to alleviate her stress and anxiety.
“I’m passionate about (somatics) because I saw the benefits of having a personal self-care practice with movement with breath, and with having a coach of my own,” Suber says.
But when the pandemic came, Suber’s natural affinity towards embodying the practice became a gateway towards sharing her journey and wellness practice with other women of color. Seeing how the pandemic caused turmoil for Black women and women of color, Suber set a goal to encourage women of color to feel connected and confident in their bodies and lives through the power of movement, breathwork, and mindset coaching. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Essence, and Health Magazine. She has taught workshops at organizations such as Soho House, The Gathering Spot, UPenn, #BlogHer, and many more.
Read this week’s Founder Feature to discover how Suber’s somatic practice could help support you!
What’s your founder’s origin story?
I started the company because I was already in this space of teaching yoga and meditation, coaching and counseling people as a part-time thing. (But) I was working full-time at a production company. Long story short, COVID-19 came, and everything started to shut down, including my production company. I had to make a choice. Either I just sit around and wait to find another opportunity, or create my own with the things that I was already passionate about. I decided to lean in. Around that time, more people were looking for their own personal care practices. Mental health became a big hot topic. Everyone’s company wanted to bring more wellness programming into their offices — into their zoom. So, it honestly just took off. I just haven’t stopped since.
Why is your product necessary for this market?
I work primarily with women of color. The age range is all over, (but) I think the common thread to what the women experience when they come to me is high levels of anxiety, high levels of stress, high levels of just feeling stuck, which is a byproduct of being a woman in Western society, right? Especially for women of color, there’s a lot of oppression. People face a lot of hurdles. There’s a lot of feeling disconnected or unvalued. There’s a lot of things that make people not necessarily feel loved. My services, coaching, yoga, breathwork, and meditation really help people navigate their own minds, their own bodies, their own emotions. They really start to regulate their nervous system so that they’re not so balled up and stressed, and are more present and grounded in their experiences. The goal is that they’re making choices that are aligned with their highest potential versus self-sabotaging. So my services are important so that they’re not depleted and not losing their minds to this very harsh society that we live in.
As a founder, what has been the biggest struggle you’ve had to overcome in building your business?
Running a business and being an entrepreneur is hard. I tell people all the time, if there was a job that allowed me to feel this fulfilled and have this kind of freedom and creativity, I would just take the job. I don’t need to be an entrepreneur because it’s hard. Some of the struggle is really just having to manage your own time, manage your own accounting systems, wearing all of these different hats, having to be so many things to so many people all at once.
I had to learn how to ask for help. That’s something that I didn’t necessarily know how to do, just because I’ve been very independent from a very young age and never really felt like I needed help or received help before. But I had to realize, ‘No, you need help. You did not know how to keep these books. You have to ask. You have to figure this out.’
How did participating in digitalundivided’s BREAKTHROUGH program help you navigate your founder journey?
I love digitalundivided. I feel like y’all will always have a special space in my heart. The BREAKTHROUGH program came at a time where I was really feeling depleted and overwhelmed and burnt out, to be honest. It was just a lot of me trying to navigate what I’m doing. I was still very new. I think I was only a year and a half into my business. So (BREAKTHROUGH) came at a time when I really felt like I needed it. It really validated me as an entrepreneur. I felt like, okay, these people obviously believe in me, they see me, they know what I’m doing. There were many women that I met in the program that were really helpful in my business and also in my personal life. A lot of these girls ended up being my friend in real life. It was just such a good connection of women who understand this journey. It was a really good experience to have more community with women of color.
What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs on their journey? What is the one business motto you abide by at all times?
Be patient with yourself. There’s a lot of people who are doing so well in their businesses. Sometimes it makes you feel like, ‘Oh, well, maybe I should be doing more, or I should do something different,’ because compare and despair. Instead of comparing someone else’s journey, just know that you’re on your own path. You have to be patient with how your path unfolds. I think that’s one of the big lessons that I’m having to learn, especially in the development of this app. I want it to feel good as I’m doing it, and that requires patience.
Are you an early-stage founder looking to gain a deeper understanding of your customer, growth marketing strategies, and gain networking opportunities to scale your venture? Apply to digitalundivided’s BREAKTHROUGH program today! Each company accepted into the program will receive a $5,000 grant. Applications close March 20th.
[Editors note]: This interview has been lightly edited from its original transcription.