Oprah Winfrey has been inspiring us each month with her unique approach to life and to creating our very best lives so, as a tribute to her, A LaOprah, what did you know for sure when you decided to be a solo business practitioner?
After making the decision to start my own personal training business, I knew that all other aspects of my life would initially have to be sacrificed. As a 22 year old recent college graduate my financial situation wasn’t exactly ideal when I decided to jump into personal training. I really took a leap of faith and had to have enough belief in myself to make it through. Being a new trainer, I really had to pay my dues in order for my business to expand and my clientele to grow.The amount of patience it required, was almost too much at times. Not only did I suffer financially, but socially as well. Having to be up at 4:30a.m. and not getting home at 11:00p.m. doesn’t leave much for a social life. I can think of several times where I would go an entire week without seeing my roommates. But, as your business grows you can have better control over your hours and things begin to turn around. Looking back, the initial sacrifices are definitely worth the reward.
Take us through a typical day with your schedule from start to finish.
I’m typically awake at 5:30a.m. (sometimes 4:30) and quickly make a protein shake and some toast with peanut butter for the car ride. Starting off my day with the right energy sources is vital, keeping my metabolism high. I’ll pack 2 or 3 snacks for the morning, throw on one of my 20+ pairs of black spandex workout pants and sneakers and I’m out the door. I get to the club and typically train clients until about 8 or 9a.m. At 9, I will have an intense 1-hour session with my trainer (yes, even I have my own trainer), then it’s back home for a nap. Being a trainer is almost synonymous with being an excellent napper! I’ll sleep for about an hour or so. After that,I’ll spend the rest of my morning sending e-mails to my clients,writing training programs or reading up on the latest research in the field. At around 4:00 p.m. I head back to the club to train until about 10:00 p.m. When I get home, I need an hour or so to unwind from the day and I usually fill that with some mindless TV (Top Chef is my favorite!) before going to bed.
What are a few of your “can’t live without” applications on your personal computer/smart phone?
Well, I have an iPhone so my two favorite applications are GoogleCalendar and Simplist. Being good at setting and staying on top of your schedule is so crucial in this business. If I didn’t have that, then I wouldn’t know Monday from Tuesday or one client from the next. Simplist is an application that basically is an eco-friendly
Post-It. I’m a huge list maker, so anything that prevents me from having 15 yellow pieces of paper with me at all times is awesome!
What are your tricks for time management?
Like a said previously, keeping lists of what I need to do keeps me on track and focused. Also, prioritizing those lists helps a lot. It helps me think about what is most important to get done right away. To be honest, a great early morning workout is definitely a time management strategy for me. After a great workout I am much more motivated in all aspects of my business. It gives me enough energy to be as productive as I can be throughout the day ahead of me.
Best advice received when you started your business?
I think I received this advice long before I became a personal trainer, but it is something that has resonated with me throughout every job I’ve ever had. This advice is to truly believe in the product you’re selling. No matter what career path you’re on, whether if you’re a waitress or a musician or a lawyer, everyone is, in a sense, selling something. If you believe in what it is you’re selling than everything will fall into place and your career will be extremely rewarding.
If given an extra hour each day to seek new ideas and brainstorm, what are some sources you turn to?
There are so many resources about fitness out there and with so many people pointing you in so many directions, it’s almost impossible to weed out the good from the bad. The one that I have stayed true to since I was in college was the American College of Sports Medicine. I am a member of the association. I receive monthly newsletters and recent research from an extremely reputable resource. I am also a huge fan of Mike Boyle’s StrengthCoach.com, performbetter.com and fitnessanywhere.com. I’m such a visual learner, so for me it’simportant to be able to see videos of exercises. The websites I’ve previously listed have great videos and interviews with experts in the field. As far as magazines go, I really keep up with Men’sHealth and Women’s Health. They have effective exercises and funnutrition tips too!
Given the current economic climate, how has your strategy for your companies changed for the short-term and long-term?
Unfortunately when it comes to difficult economic times, things like personal training are one of the first things that are cut. While before, when people had greater expendable incomes, selling personal training was a no-brainer. Now, with the current economic climate, it has forced me to really focus a lot of my energy into the sales aspect of being a trainer. While I know that what I have to offer each person is invaluable, getting over each person’s financial hurdles has really challenged me. While before, one great workout was all that it took to have someone understand the benefits of training, now it often takes MUCH more than that.
What’s been your proudest achievement as an entrepreneur?
Aside from hearing amazing feedback from my clients on how much they enjoy what we’re doing, I would have to say that gaining the respect of my colleagues has been my greatest achievement so far.Coming into this business at such a young age, especially as a female, there was nothing more rewarding than being accepted by my fellow trainers as both a person and a knowledgeable trainer.The talent of the trainers that I work with is so amazing that I sometimes can’t believe that I get to work with them and pick their brains on a daily basis. These are people that I look up to both professionally and personally and have been in this industry a lot longer than I have. For them to have so willingly welcomed me into their “family” has been a driving force behind my success.
What are some of the ways that you achieve balance in your life?
When I first started my business I had almost no balance between my career and my social life. However, it didn’t take long for me to realize that I was on the path of destruction and knew I needed to make a change. I am now in a co-ed flag football league with some friends and fellow trainers which is something that I really enjoy.It also helps that we’re undefeated (we’re super competitive if you can imagine that)! I am a huge sports fan so I love to go to RedSox, Patriots and Celtics games and try to do so as much as I can.I also really try to keep at least one weekend day completely free so that I can spend time with friends and family, or just on the couch…training is exhausting!
Two books you would recommend highly to our readers (and why?)
I would definitely recommend How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It’s an oldie but goody. Carnegie does an amazing job at explaining how to empower others so that they feel important and appreciated without feeling manipulated. My whole job revolves around invoking change in others, and many times there’s a fine line between doing so without being offensive. This book really explains how to do this in an effective way. As a trainer, one of the books that have changed the way that I think about exercise is Gray Cook’s Movement: Functional Movement System: Screening, Assessment, Corrective Strategies. This book taught me that training movements can fix muscles, but training muscles rarely fixes movement. Being functional (being able to have fluidity in movement in all directions) is far more important for long term health than simple strength training individual muscles.
If you received a surprise bonus equal to half of your monthly salary, what (if anything) would you spend it on?
One thing that excites me about being in this field is the constant challenge to be versatile. With that said, I would definitely use the money to take a course and learn more about an area of fitness that I’m unfamiliar with. The more credentials you have as a trainer, the more knowledgeable and appealing you are to potential clients. Right now I’m hugely into training with Kettlebells,so I would probably use the money to take a course on Kettlebell training. This would allow me to more effectively implement them into my client’s programs.
What are some of your most rewarding charitable involvements and why?
One of the most rewarding volunteer experiences that I ever had was when I was in college, I taught mentally challenged adults how to exercise. Each week I would go to a local fitness club and workout with my client, Carla. She found so much joy in the simplest successes and looked forward to our sessions so much that I couldn’t help but be encouraged. It was one of the highlights of my week and I would love to find a similar program in the Boston area.
Who has been the most influential person to you as you’ve advanced in your career?
As typical as this may sound I would have to say both my mother and my father. My mother is a 3rd grade teacher and has instilled an INSANE amount of organizational skills in me. When I first became a trainer that was one of the qualities that definitely set me apart from the other new trainers. I am 100% certain that I would not be this organized if it were not for her. Also, everyone told me since I was a little girl that I would grow up to be a teacher just like her. At the time I was young and money driven and I told them that I would never be a teacher because they didn’t make enough money. But sure enough, years later, I am in a sense a teacher just like her. Although she teaches 8-year olds their multiplication tables and I teach 30-year olds how to bench press, I get my ability to communicate my thoughts from her.
My dad, on the other hand is a sports fiend. He was the one always encouraging me to stay on top of my game physically. He taught me how to play, basketball, soccer, softball, tennis and any sport that you could think of. The skill set that you receive from playing sports was invaluable to me and I have to thank him for being so involved in every aspect of me possessing those skills
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