HER STORY ⟡ Jessica Dion
Today, we are meeting Jessica Dion, founder of ZEST The Collective!
About me!
Hi, I’m Jessica, founder of ZEST The Collective, a wellness co-working and event space in Waltham, MA. I’m also a full-time corporate professional, entrepreneur, and someone who knows firsthand what it feels like to build something of your own while still balancing everything else life throws at you. I created ZEST to give wellness professionals, entrepreneurs, and small business owners access to beautiful, professional space without the cost and commitment of doing it all on their own. But somewhere along the way, ZEST became about much more than space. It became about creating the kind of community and support system I realized entrepreneurs desperately need, myself included. I’m still building, learning, changing my mind, figuring things out as I go, and probably doing half of it with 37 tabs open. And I think that's a pretty accurate representation of entrepreneurship.
Why I started:
ZEST really started because I saw a gap. There are so many talented people who are ready to grow their businesses but aren't ready or simply don't want to take on the expense, risk, and responsibility of their own commercial space. I wanted to create another option. A place where you could show up, have a professional space to serve your clients, host something, create content, or grow an idea without signing a long-term lease or spending thousands of dollars building out a space. But I also quickly realized that space was only part of what people needed. Building a business can be incredibly isolating. So ZEST has evolved into something bigger: a place where people can connect, learn from each other, collaborate, and build their businesses alongside people who get it.
What inspires me:
People who are building something. Especially the people doing it in an unconventional way. The person working a full-time job while building their business at night. The person with an idea they can't stop thinking about. And the established business owner who's ready to try something bigger but isn't quite sure what that looks like yet. I'm inspired by watching people take those ideas seriously. One of my favorite things about ZEST is seeing connections happen that I never could have planned like someone finding a new client, meeting a collaborator, learning something from another business owner, or simply having someone say, "I've been dealing with that too." Entrepreneurship may be independent, but I don't think it has to be done alone.
What does beauty mean to you?
Beauty, to me, is confidence. Not necessarily the kind where you walk into every room feeling completely sure of yourself, but the kind you build by continuing to show up as yourself even when you're still figuring things out. It's being comfortable with the fact that you can be ambitious and overwhelmed, confident and unsure, successful and still learning all at the same time. I think there's something really beautiful about creating a life that feels like yours, even when it ends up looking completely different from the life you originally thought you wanted.
What piece of advice would I tell my younger self?
Your dreams are allowed to change. You don't have to have your entire life figured out, and changing the vision doesn't mean you failed at the original one. Some of the best things in your life will come from plans that didn't work out the way you thought they would. Trust yourself enough to pivot. Take the risk. Start before you feel ready. And don't spend so much time trying to make your life look the way you thought it was supposed to look that you miss the opportunity to build something even better.
Connect with Jessica:
Website
https://www.zestthecollective.com/
IG
https://www.instagram.com/zestthecollective?stkn=MmhkYW1yNmkxYXRl
