Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Perez.
Hi Heather, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story begins in December 2020, after experiencing a few losses in my family due to Covid. I was overweight, diabetic, and worried that I wouldn’t have the chance to experience life with my daughter. I decided to take control of my life and health and buckle down on losing weight. After some online research, I decided to make a weight loss journal that would help me keep track of my progress and goals. To ensure I stuck to it this time, as I had attempted to lose weight before, I posted my journal on TikTok with the intent to post weekly weigh-ins and have a way of holding myself accountable. At that point in time, I had about 50 followers, only posting trending videos. After posting my video that night, I went to sleep, only to wake up to “99+” notifications on TikTok. When I opened my video, I received thousands of views and counting. Every second I got a new notification to the point where I had to disable them temporarily, as it was causing my battery to drain. When I finished work that day, I went to the comments with hundreds of people were asking me about my journal, where I got it, and who made it. How did I do that? It was so overwhelming but exciting at the same time. After a few days passed and speaking with my husband (then boyfriend) about his thoughts, I decided to embark on the adventure of creating weight loss journals for others to help them in their journey. After all was said in done, and the notifications began to slow down, my post had received over 4 Million views. I was in a complete shock. I went from 50 followers to nearly 100K in less than 48 hours.
Since that day, my life has changed forever. As a side gig, I started making handwritten journals like my own and created a PDF version of that journal so people would not have to wait in line for the handwritten journal. Oddly enough, so many people were obsessed with my handwriting and were willing to wait months to get their hands on it. During that time, I created my Facebook group: Inspired Journeys with Heather, to create a safe place for people to discuss their journeys and have a chance to meet people who were like them. Today, that group has reached 4.5K followers worldwide, now having a place to talk about their journeys, successes, and setbacks. It truly created a safe space to talk about it.
Today, I have 310K followers of “besties” on TikTok who have committed to following my journey and sharing theirs. I have had the pleasure of virtually meeting people worldwide and sharing the journals I create with them. I feel so proud to have accomplished this, even with this being a part-time thing, because surprisingly, I still carry a full-time job that I love. It has been such a blessing this experience. I am forever grateful.
You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
Absolutely not! I have been on my journey since January 2021, and I continue on it today in 2023. Weight loss, in general, is difficult; one of the most difficult things any person can go through, whether natural weight loss or with the assistance of weight loss surgery. But with every stumble (weight gain or no weight loss), I get back up and continue striving to reach my goal of being the best version of myself, personally. I have also struggled with social media and my small business. Having the courage to be completely vulnerable and transparent with the world is no easy task. I received negative comments, bullying, and reports of “inappropriate” content, but I overcame it and let nothing drag me down through it all.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As much as I love to create and share weight loss journals with others, I do it only part of the time. I fit it into my busy schedule on top of my full-time job as a Transactions Coordinator at REEP Equity, a Multifamily Real Estate Investment Firm. I love and enjoy what I do. I have been fortunate enough to have some very understanding weight loss “besties” who get that even though I love to do journals, I couldn’t give up my career, as well as very supportive coworkers and bosses who truly root for me in my journey and small business. In my journals, what sets me apart from others is that everyone should receive a quality journal. I currently have a waitlist of over 100 people willing to wait months before they can have their own. I can complete about 5-10 a month, depending on how much information I must put into each journal. Many people comment, “you should mass produce them, so there doesn’t have to be a wait!” Although that is true, I feel that people lose the sense of personal experience and will see themselves as another number in my order log. I want the journal to be so much more than that. I want it to be a useful tool they use in their weight loss journeys.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
“Never let a stumble in the road; be the end of your journey!” This can go with not only my weight loss journey but my small business and social media journey. I have had life events/people try to bring me down, and no matter what, I pushed myself to keep getting back up. You fail only if you give up on yourself, and I won’t dare let that happen. I won’t give up on myself for my family, my friends, and the fantastic support I have received in my journey.
Pricing:
- Custom Handwritten Weight Loss Journal with Bundle $65
- 45 page PDF Weight Loss Journal (Emailed) $40
- 45 page PDF Weight Loss Journal (Printed/Shipped) with Binder/Bundle $100
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tiktok.com/@heathermarie4174?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
- Instagram: instagram.com/heatherm.perez
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1365337190492202/
- Twitter: twitter.com/heathermarie725
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTJ00_vIfFjtSv6ubMBFzWw
Image Credits
Bridal Portrait: Ardore Photography and Video
