We had the good fortune of connecting with Lindsey Bonadonna and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lindsey, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
This is such a great question, because I believe in our society, we often live by a “never give up”, “hustle harder” type mentality and it has been my experience, that the more we slow down, surrender, and get curious, the more clear it gets as to whether or not we should keep going, or move on to a new adventure.

That being said, I definitely did not always have this “slow down and let things unfold” mentality, in fact up until the beginnings of my brick and mortar business, be., beginning to come to life in late 2022, I definitely subscribed to the belief that the harder you work, the more you can make anything happen, but going into birthing be., I knew I wanted to experiment and see if I could build a business by letting my intuition lead and not sacrifice my wellbeing in the process. be. at its core is all about encouraging humans to slow down, get curious, and nourish their WHOLE selves and I believe that the more we can nourish our WHOLE selves, the more energy and capacity we have to create our own unique ripples in the world, therefore, making the world a better place simply just by being our authentic selves! So you could see how important it felt to me to live by this belief in the process.

By choosing this path to build be., it also encouraged me to explore what I felt failure looked like. To me, failure doesn’t look like closing and it really isn’t even about “giving up”. Failure to me in this venture looks like denying my intuition, and pushing too hard or holding on too tightly to something that is no longer meant to be.

So the way I know how to keep going or to move on is simply by slowing down, tuning in, and trusting that everything is unfolding for me. If I start to feel like I’m pushing too hard, or I’m starting to swirl in anxiety, I take those as reminders to slow down and check in with myself, doing some journaling, go for a wander, and make sure that I’m nourishing myself in all the ways so that I can approach the situation with a clear head. To me, it’s always about discovering what is more aligned for you to be doing in a day or particular season of life and there is no wrong answer as long as you are tuned in to your intuition and doing what feels right to you!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
be. is a whole-building experience where we are a role model for radically changing the status quo by encouraging humans to slow down, get curious, and nourish their WHOLE selves with thoughtfully curated, nutrient-dense taste-good foods, and feel-good experiences made easy and all crafted to take the second-guessing out of self-care. We believe that the more we slow down and consider ourselves in our own lives, and take tiny steps to care for ourselves more, over time, the more energy, capacity, and inspiration we will have to go out and create our own unique ripple in the world, and therefore, changing the world just by being more of who we are at our core!

And when we say whole-building, we mean it! Our 1st floor houses The Market @ be., a welcoming space filled with nutrient-dense, gluten, dairy, and peanut-free friendly foods that also taste delicious. We offer made-to-order smoothies and smoothie bowls, delectable egg bites (including a vegan option), ready-to-eat meals that are easy to grab-n-go, fresh (and free) alkaline, antioxidant, super-hydrating Living Water, and a market area filled with as-locally-sourced-as-possible pantry staples and snacks that make healthier living more possible by making one little swap at a time.

Our 2nd floor is home to The Studios @ be., which houses a collective of heart-centered healers and helpers who offer a variety of mindful experiences that are crafted to meet you at wherever you find yourself in your wellness journey. Our current collective includes Kindred Flow Yoga + Wellness, Michele Luck: Intuitive Reiki, Tarot, & Crystal Bowl Practitioner, Lauren Albarella:Yoga Therapist, Hannah Chapman: Money Coach + Advisor, and Autumn McKinley: All Cheri’s Intriguing Crystals + Jewelry.

I believe what sets us apart from other wellness spaces is our dedication to making nourishing your WHOLE self as easy as possible. As a health & life coach, I know that our health is defined by so much more than just what we eat, drink, and how much we move. I also know it can be overwhelming AF to start or be on a wellness journey, and that is why we aim to make everything we do at be. as simple and transparent as possible, aspiring to take all the second-guessing out of self-care! We have done all the work to read the labels, and make sure that everything we create in-house, or bring in from our partners, tastes great and is great for you. We are also so proud to have Kindred Flow Yoga Studio & Wellness as an anchor in our 2nd floor Studios, as well as incredible collective of healers and helpers that are all so gifted at meeting each person wherever they are at wherever you are in your journey.

We are so proud to offer a space and community where all humans are welcome, are cared for, and encouraged to be all that they are <3

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh my goshhhhh!

The City of Wyoming where be. is located! On our block, we have Wyoming Community Coffee, an amazing coffee shop that also roasts their own coffee, The Sticker Shop, which offers an amazing curated selection of stickers, albums, cards, markers, and is such a love letter to my childhood, as well as The Work + Shop, a cozy co-working and private event space! Down the street from be. on Wyoming Avenue and down Springfield Pike we have a number of independently-owned shops and restaurants to enjoy as well! Some other fun things I love about Wyoming is that there are over 130 female-identifying entrepreneurs in its 2.5 square miles, as well as an amazing accessible playground that is fun for humans of all abilities, and several other playgrounds that are sure to make the trip a hit for humans of all ages.

I am also such a big fan of any place that offers intentionally healthier options, like Harvest Market in Milford, Rooted in Oakley, Green Farm Juicery in Blue Ash, The Whole Bowl in Clifton, Sleepy Bee (multiple locations), and a visit to Findlay Market in OTR is a must, because there you can find a host of local vendors and restaurants that are doing things with integrity and transparency down there! I also really love MadTree Brewing Company in Oakley and their restaurant, Alcove in OTR, it is such a great vibe, great beverages (including a very intentional non-alcoholic cocktail list crafted in-house), great food, and their whole mission is about connecting people to nature and each other! Also, being from Buffalo, NY originally, I have a deep appreciation and love of chicken wings (and yes, you can live a healthy, vibrant life that includes chicken wings!), and the best in the City are definitely at Wild Mikes Miami Heights on Bridgetown Road in the West Side.

One of my favorite places to get outside and into nature is the Cincinnati Nature Center, it is so amazing there! Also, any of the Great Parks and Cincinnati Parks are must-sees!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh my gosh, there are so many people! First, every morning, I take time to thank God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and my angels and ancestors for their guidance, support, love, and inspiration I would LOVE to shoutout my daughters, Presley and Luci, and my mom, Vicki, for their endless hugs, love, and words of support, my Aunt Tonya, because of you, I was able to bring this vision to life with ease and grand plans, my Dad, for his support and who has shared so many helpful stories of his business adventures, my boyfriend, Mike, for holding my hand (literally and figuratively) through what have been the most tremendous 4 years of my life and reminding me that I can do hard things, my Business Strategist, Stacy Kessler, for helping me design both my businesses around my heart, soul, and unique brand of genius, Katie Rodgers, my Executive Chef, who helped me see what was possible for be. and is always so supportive, funny, and amazing, ALL of my dear friends who take time to check in on me and remind me that I am loved no matter what and to slow down, ALL of the humans who help make be. be all that be can be, our team in The Market who cares as much as I do about people, integrity and quality, as well as all the practitioners in The Studios who have chosen to share their gifts with our community, Sara from Wyoming Community Coffee for her shoulder and gift to bring my vision to life as my architect, the City of Wyoming for embracing the vision and being such amazing partners and answering my bajillion questions about permitting, every Human who has stepped in to be. and taken time to nourish themselves, as well as every Human who is slowing down, getting curious, and starting to consider themselves more in their own lives. It is hard to human, but we can do this!

Website: www.nourishatbe.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nourishatbe/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nourishatbe

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-market-at-be-cincinnati?osq=the+market+at+be.

Other: [email protected] is our email ◡̈

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutOhio is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.