Dreaming Big + Staying the Course with Andrea Rogers

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I’m so glad that you are here today. We are diving into a conversation with a woman that I’ve gotten to know over the past year or so. And every time I’m around her, my goodness. 

She’s such a light. Her positivity just radiates. She’s so smart. She’s so classy. I have just really enjoyed my getting to know her over the past year or so.

And today, our conversation kinda covers it. It’s all over the place, to be honest with you, because we talk a lot about her backstory, how she got from where she was to where she is. You know, we all think overnight successes are overnight successes when that couldn’t be my less true. 

So she’ll dive into a little bit of her personal journey and then, of course, continue our conversations and our theme around personal growth, and we dive into that today too. You are going to love this podcast with my friend, Andrea Rogers. 

Get ready to take some notes. Get ready to be inspired. Let’s dive in.

Andrea Rogers, welcome to the Crank It Up my Podcast.

[00:01:35]:

I’m so glad to have you here. I’m so excited for this conversation because you are such a badass female entrepreneur at the heart of everything that you do. 

Both bricks and mortar now on the online space, and I’m excited to dive into this story and tell us how you got here and tell us this journey and talk to the women in the audience about what it is what it has been like to be a female entrepreneur now, back in the day, the whole journey, like, all the thing. I love it so much. 

Embracing Change and Taking Action: Andrea Rogers’ Lessons in Business and Personal Growth

Andrea [00:02:07]:

Thank you. I’m so happy to be here. I love your energy as always, so I’m so excited to have the opportunity to talk with you and chat with you about all things. We had a hard time even just getting on here because we just can’t we just my

Julie [00:02:18]:

Stop talking. I know. I know. We need to live closer because I feel like we would be

Andrea [00:02:23]:

Oh my gosh.

Julie [00:02:24]:

I know you as this my Pilates expert, this person who’s come into the body space, the team body space, and that’s how I got to know you. And as I continued to get to know you, I’m like, woah. Woah. Woah. This woman is like the definition of a fierce female.

Like, what’s happening right now? I would love to know, though, you’re not an overnight success even though people might just be getting to know you right now. 

There really is no such thing as an overnight success. But how did we get from where you were to where you are? Can you? That’s a long story. I’m sure. But, you know it.

Andrea [00:03:01]:

No. I can definitely summarize it, but you are right. It definitely is not an overnight type of success. It is definitely a grind and dedicated and and just really lays down the foundation of tenacity and determination. So I started dancing from a very young age. 

Dance and movement has always been embedded in my soul. I mean, music and movement together are just my spark, my lights, and everything. And after, you know, dancing and then taking my dance career into a professional realm, I felt the need and connection to build a career that was based around those passions.

I tried another thing. I tried to go down the route of, like, a traditional classical job at a desk, and I lasted 6 weeks, which I think was a long time.

Julie [00:03:51]:

That makes me laugh. Just as a dancer, there’s no way you could sit behind a desk.

Andrea [00:03:56]:

I was at an advertising agency, so I’m like, oh, I’ll be creative because I need to be creative. No. I need to move my body and create. And so I decided to go into a classical Pilates certification training that was happening in South Florida where I lived at the time, and I took a year to develop that certification. 

It was a full comprehensive certification, very in-depth, very connected to my being. It was like everything I wanted to do with my body came through in this Pilates approach with the scientific approach to movement, which were my Just light bulb moments. 

And I had done Pilates for years as conditioning, right, to keep my body healthy and mobile while I was dancing professionally night after night after night. So I knew the power of Pilates, but not until I became certified and started teaching did I really understand how effective it would be.

So I started teaching Pilates in a studio in South Florida and had some incredible mentors along the way. I think it was about 3 or 4 years in. And, Julie, I was just like, oh, I miss dance. You know? 

And I miss that choreography. I miss the creative freedom because Pilates can be very regimented and very much in the box, and it’s an incredible box to be in, let me tell you. But I wanted to just go, well, what if I added what if I did some plies here?

And I had done barre workouts in New York City. I traveled to New York quite often. I’d done barre workouts all over, and I loved them. And I saw the power of that as well, but I also wanted to tweak that. So I thought, okay. 

Andrea Rogers Creates her Own Barre Workout Incorporating Dance Elements

Why don’t I just do it myself? So I reached out to the owner of the studio at the time and said, listen.

I have an idea. Nobody’s doing barre in South Florida right now. Nobody’s doing barre really in Florida. It was really New York, California, a few studios. Uh-huh. And I was like, I think I can do this, and I wanna do it my way. 

I wanna really incorporate my fundamentals of Pilates, and I wanna really incorporate the dancer elements and not just go down an inch and up an inch and down an inch and up an inch and call it a barre class. I’m like, dance is full movement.

[00:05:59]:

It’s full range of action. It’s big explosive movements with small micro movements and isometric hold, and I wanted to really find that program that spoke to me, because I knew if it spoke to me, that it would speak to more women. 

And that’s what happened. We launched it, and it just kind of took off from there. Within 2 weeks, we had waitlisted classes, and I’m like, oh, okay. We got something here, and so I started to develop the repertoire. I said, okay. I need more instructors to teach this class because I can’t teach all of them.

Right? I was teaching 5, 6 days a week from 5 in the morning until, like, 9:30 at night. And so I was like, I need more instructors, so I developed a little manual, which I did myself. 

I took pictures. I set up my camera in my little Pilates room at home, and I did the entire manual. And then, I started my Training people. I started training people on how to teach my technique, and then it snowballed from there. 

We had one woman who I’m still dear friends with today, Kim, who is a client at my studio, and she was moving back to New Orleans. She was relocated after hurricane Katrina to Boca.

And she was moving back to New Orleans, and she was like, my I need to do something different with my life. She was a nurse, and she’s like, I want to give back to women in my community and build back their confidence and build them you know, after this entire community was destroyed. 

She wanted to change lives, and so she said, I’m gonna open a Pilates studio, and I wanna bring your workout to New Orleans. And I said, oh, okay. How? I didn’t even know what to do. Like, how do we do that? 

So a friend of mine was actually licensing a kid’s dance program, and her husband was an attorney. We were close friends, and he put together my entire license documents and taught me really, like, what it was all about and then Kim was just so gracious and such a perfect first license owner because she was along for the ride with me. She was helping me to build the company.

[00:07:46]:

You know? And so it’s just when you find really strong women who really wanna see you win, it’s a beautiful thing. And so I just went from there. We went from one student in New Orleans to, like, 15 or 20 licenses across the country, and then we started to franchise it, and then we went international, and then it just kinda grew from there. 

Surround Yourself With The Right People and Get Opportunities From Those Connections

It all grew from quality of programming, really great programming, quality of education, really superb training, so really strong instructors, and then really amazing women that wanted to grow this brand in their community and got behind the mission. And so that’s where we are right now.

Julie [00:08:28]:

It seems so simple. And, yeah, we know it’s not. You know? Right? When you all when you kinda tell the linear version of it, it’s like and then and then my

Andrea [00:08:37]:

And then we lost studios, and then we lost some owners, and then we didn’t suck, and then we stopped franchising. And then, like, it has definitely been the most humbling experience of my life. 

I’ve had times where I woke up in, like, a ball of stress and, like, how am I gonna do this and can I, you know, pay the bills for the business, and then I’ve had days where I’m like, oh my God? This is insane. I can’t believe I’m crushing it like this.

So there is definitely no smoke and mirrors. It has been a difficult challenge. I have had a lot of wins and a lot of losses. And somehow, you know, we’ve just continued to, you know, find our way up the hill. 

And now we’re with BODi, which has been something that I’ve wanted for a very long time to be a part of this online community and have the reach and the capacity for more individuals to try these my to have these experiences because I know how strong of the programming is that we put out, and I know that if more people do these programs, they will have life my changing experiences. 

And so BODi was my opportunity to really expand that awareness and expand and extend our bubble and bring more people into the fold.

Julie [00:09:48]:

Because no matter how amazing bricks and mortar is, there is a cap at some point as to how many you can reach. You know, whether it’s how many reformers are in the studio, how many mats in the studio, how much space, how many bikes in the studio. Like, at some point, there is a cap. 

Andrea [00:10:03]:

It’s a hard industry. Right? Yeah. It’s a hard industry. It’s really, really hard. It’s a high risk. It’s high risk. It’s volatile. It’s super competitive, and it it’s expensive. Very, very. Yeah. So digital has that reach. 

Julie [00:10:17]:

I’m gonna rewind just a little bit because I know you talked about New York, my And I think you taught at Broadway Dance Center. Is that right?

Andrea [00:10:24]:

Yeah. Yeah. That was cool with that. It’s like Oh my God. That was a moment because I used to take classes at Broadway Dance Center as a student during my teens. And, like, yes, when we were able to put that together and have my classes at Broadway Dance Center. It was like, Yeah.

It was a moment for sure.

Julie [00:10:43]:

I bet. Were you like, I made it? I don’t even know anything else now. I made it here.

Andrea [00:10:47]:

That was it. I still have that, like, say, my bio picture with Broadway Dance Center underneath it. Yeah. Because, you know, as a girl growing up dreaming of New York City Dreams. You know? It yeah. It definitely filled the bucket. 

Julie [00:11:00]:

And one of the pieces that we connected on was the Disney piece because I know you bought the merch for Disney. So tell us just a little bit I you know, if you’re listening to my podcast, chances are you have a little bit of a Disney love too because we you know? But, tell me how that came about. Like, what did you do for the Disney company?

Andrea [00:11:21]:

That was my first professional dance job. I was 19 years old. I was in college. I was completing my first year of, at Oakland University in Michigan, and I was always scouring the audition pages for things, and I found there was an audition in Toronto. And I lived about 5 hours away from Toronto in Michigan.

This was at, like, 4 o’clock, 4:30 in the afternoon, and the audition was the next day at 8 AM. So I called my mom. I’m like, mom, What do you think? She’s like, call your dad. So I called my dad at work. I’m like, dad, what do you think? He’s like, I’m on my way home. So they came home. My parents are awesome. They pack up the car.

They drive 5 hours to Toronto, get a hotel. We stayed that night. We woke up the next morning. I’m at the auditions at 7:30 AM. I auditioned. I got the callback. And this is a cool story, Julie. I always tell this story because number 1, I am so grateful for the support of parents that believe in you and believe in your out of the box dreams and desires because they could have said, what are you talking about? 

Andrea [00:12:33]:

But they knew how important it was to me. So that’s number 1, amazing parents. And then number 2, I remember the director calling me and he’s like, alright. 

It’s between you and another girl for this role. And it was a pas de deux role, this dream role for me with Disney. And, he said, I need you to do pointe.

I hadn’t done pointe dancing in, like, years, and I was not a ballerina. I was, like, jazz and hip hop and So but I was like, yeah. I do pointe dancing. 

Julie [00:13:02]:

I mean, if Disney asks, the answer is always yes.

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Andrea [00:13:06]:

It’s always yes. So he said, alright. Send me a video. I’m like, of course. So I’m like, again, call my mom. My dad mom’s like, call your dad. Now this is back in the day of camcorders. I didn’t have an iPhone.

Andrea [00:13:18]:

There were no phone cameras. Right? So Right. Like, I’m on my way home. So he leaves work, meets me at my dance studio. I found my good old pointe shoes. I’m whacking them out and getting them out and getting them ready, put on my pointe shoes, and I filmed whatever I filmed. Right? We went right to FedEx, and dropped off the FedEx video and overnight it. So it was with him, like, in less than 24 hours.

So he called me back the next my late morning, and I’ll never forget it. And he said, Andrea, you got the job. And I was like, oh my God. I’m so excited. So you watched the video? He goes, no. I didn’t watch it. He goes, I already knew you had the talent. He goes, but your determination and your diligence is what got you the job.

And I was like, oh, that was a life lesson right there. That was a big life lesson. He’s like, I’m not even gonna watch the other video. You’re done. You got it. I’m like, okay. Yeah. And that’s how it all started.

The Power of Personal Growth:
“I wasn’t doing podcasts. I wasn’t reading books. I wasn’t… but what I was doing was eating well and exercising and walking and talking to the right people… and learning and digging into areas of my business that I had no idea.”
— Andrea

Julie [00:14:14]:

Like, if that’s the only takeaway from this episode, that is what a huge lesson. I didn’t even watch the video. It was the fact that you did it, and you got it to me that quickly that showed I’m invested in this, and I’m showing up. So that’s incredible.

Andrea [00:14:31]:

Yeah. It was a moment. You know? I remember it. I’ll never forget the word diligence because I was like, oh, wow. Nobody ever said that. So, yeah, it stuck with me. And then I moved to Toronto for 3 months and trained, rehearsed and then joined the cruise, and it was the best year of my life. At that time, I mean, it was transformative. Just transformative.

Julie [00:14:51]:

It’s true. I mean, you know, Jesse was on the cruise, and it was my It’s such a unique and, just it’s it’s like no other experience whatsoever. There’s a great deal of maturation, I think, that might have happened in that year for her, probably for you as well. Yeah.

Andrea [00:15:09]:

Tremendously so. Your exposure to different things. You’re exposed to new things. You’re exposed to, you know, unique situations. I mean, there were only about 10% of Americans at my time that were part of the crew.

And so you’re exposed to just different cultures and different ways of living and different people, and at such a young age to have that experience is quite vital. It just opened my eyes, and I became so much more hungry for life after that opportunity. 

And I knew that I wanted big things. You know what I mean? It was like, okay. No. I’m not gonna play it here. I need to go after here.

And it just continued that ball of ambition.

Julie [00:15:45]:

And what I love about that too is whether someone wants to be on a Disney cruise or not. That’s not the point. What I love about that is you likely really had no idea what you were stepping into. 

Living Life with an Open Mind:
“You really probably didn’t have any idea what this was gonna be like, what it was gonna be like to live on a ship, what it was gonna be like to work for this company, what it was gonna be like to dance all the time. You had no idea, and yet you just kept saying yes and kept showing up…”
— Julie

Then here was this opportunity that presented itself, which probably then led to. I’m guessing you probably still have connections or friends from that experience.

Andrea [00:16:16]:

We do. Of course. Yeah. And it’s funny. I took my girls on the same ship last year, last May, on the exact same ship, and I’m walking down the corridor. And I’m like, Eddie? And it was what my former dance captain liked and now he’s the stage captain, and he’s been there for, like, 20 some years. And he’s like, oh my god. And we just sat and reminisced.

And he went in the back and showed me still all the pictures of our posters up there because we had a very tight crew. Our cast was incredibly tight. And, my Yeah. I mean, when I look back on my life, that is one of the years that I reflect on as one of the most influential and positive years of my life by far. 

In working for Disney, it’s funny because it seems very cliche, and you probably think like, oh God. There’s all this there is there was a sense of pride there that I hadn’t felt up to that point, there was just like the sense of pride of being a part of Disney, and the Disney difference is different. 

Like, they’re training in the way that they operate.

So there was a lot of pride involved. Yeah. And then they set the caliber quite high in terms of future gigs.

Julie [00:17:18]:

Right. I mean, the standards and it is funny because, of course, like any job sometimes there’ll be some pieces that aren’t so awesome, like any job no matter what. And sometimes Jesse will say something like, hey, you know what? I don’t need to know that. Don’t tell me any of that. I like my magic. I like my magic in my mind. I don’t even know anything else.

So we’ll say that that was a year of growth. Let’s kind of transition a little bit into talking about personal growth because we’ve been talking about that a lot this month. 

You cannot grow a business to the degree that you’ve grown a business if you weren’t growing yourself right alongside that. I can’t imagine. You say it so calmly and so, like, matter of factly, and then we had a franchise, and then we went international, and then we have it’s that’s so mind blowing to me. And my 

To know that you would have had to been growing yourself alongside that team and think about growing a business like that, I would love for you to talk to us a little bit about my Personal growth and just sort of how it is in your life, where it plays in your life, and the journey that you’ve been on. 

Andrea [00:18:25]:

It’s interesting because if I’m being completely transparent, I didn’t seek personal growth during that growth stage of my life. I’ve always, I think, been in a per personal growth mindset.

I’m now seeing like, looking back on that and realizing that in my life because I’ve always been wired to, like, go after things. I’ve always been wired to wake up with gratitude and optimism and ambition. 

I’ve always been wired to just do the things that I needed to do to make myself feel good, to give myself the energy and optimal, you know, platform for growth. And so I haven’t always done it right, and I’ve always and I’ve had ebbs and flows, certainly, but I like, as I look back at my life, I wasn’t I wasn’t doing podcasts. 

I wasn’t reading books. I wasn’t, but I what I was doing was eating well and exercising and walking and talking to the right people and my sitting at the right table and surrounding myself with the right network and asking the right questions and being humble and and learning and digging into, you know, areas of of my business that I had no idea.

[00:19:22]:

I had no business franchising experience, but I did it anyway. And I did some of it good and some of it my not so good, but I learned, and I surrounded myself with the right people and got the meetings and pushed myself to get there. 

The reason I got to be with BODi, this is another good example. This is another moment of my life that I think is pivotal. I was found by one of our directors, Andrea Ambandos, who directs a lot of our content, and I did my first DVD with her. 

And the reason I got that job was because I was like, well, I can do… Why am I not on a video? I can do this. I know I can do this just as well as these people. Like, why can’t I?

Take Action & Embrace Change:
Andrea’s journey to entrepreneurship was not an overnight success. She faced failures and challenges, but she kept pushing forward by taking action and doing the hard things. She encourages us to step outside our comfort zones, ignite our entrepreneurial spirits, and be disciplined and strategic in our pursuits.
Change can bring growth and new possibilities!

Andrea [00:22:04]:

So one day, I went to Target, and I grabbed all the DVDs, and I wrote down all of the companies on the back of the DVDs. Jillian Michael, all the fitness ones. Right? I went into the fitness aisle, and all the DVDs used to be there, and I would write what I wrote down. 

Anchor Bay entertainment, Lions’ Den, all of them, and I just randomly sent emails. I googled and tried to find whose email I could find, and then I just wrote, like, info at or, okay, Steve is the CEO, Steve at, my you know, like, I just wrote I probably sent, I don’t even know, 20, 30 emails in one hit, and she wrote me back. 

It was Anchor Bay Entertainment, and she was like, I don’t know who you are, but okay. Like, send me a video. So I sent her an audition video, and I got the job, and then I got the interview with Bandos.

And she was like, well, I don’t know why they hired you because you’re crazy green, and you better be good. You better be good. And I showed up well rehearsed and well over prepared and did my thing, and then it just went from there. 

And then she recognized me and started to introduce me to the right people. And so, yeah, it was just like I always had that, like, well, if I don’t have it in front of me, I’m gonna figure it out. I’m gonna go after it and get it. 

And I think a lot of times these days, it’s like people are always waiting for an opportunity to present itself. When you have to go backwards, you have to be like, okay.

Where do you wanna be? You wanna be here. What are the steps you need to take to get here? Like, if you wanna open a bake store, what do you bake store, what do you need to do? 

Well, you need to go. Who are the best bakers in your community? How can you get a lunchtime meeting with them? How can you shadow them? What can you do? Like, you have to figure out the way. 

And so when it came to personal growth, it was just about, like, doing the thing. Like, doing it. Taking action. Always taking action.

Julie [00:23:44]:

When you and I were together in Arizona a couple weeks ago, and Brendan Burchard author speaker Brendan Burchard was speaking. And one of the pieces that he said that my I don’t even think he meant it to be so pivotal, but I wrote it down. I can’t stop thinking about it when he said so many people are waiting for their life to be handed to them. 

And I thought, oh my goodness. How many people does that describe? And how many times it describes us sometimes, even if you’re on a journey, sometimes you get in those places where you’re like Sure. Can someone just just make this happen for me? You know?

Andrea [00:24:15]:

100%. I don’t always wanna pull my roll up and do the thing. Right. Right.

But you gotta do the thing. You have to do the thing. Like, you have to do the thing. And if you don’t do the thing, the hard thing, the whatever. If you don’t do it, you’re not going to see change happen, and that’s at the end of the day. You come up with every excuse in the world of why it’s not happening for you. 

And make things happen. And and and that’s what it comes down to. It’s like, I think that’s really the defining difference between my people that can grow and and chain. And not everything’s like I said, it’s not all just this uphill But I think that you just have to be like, well, watch out, world. 

I’m gonna figure it out. I’m gonna find a way. And by the way, I had some big failures, big failures with my business, and in my personal life. The road, like, went like, I mean, I had times where I would wake up in tears because it was really hard.

[00:25:09]:

But I knew I just had this, like, deep, deep knowing that I was meant for more, and I was going to do more, and I’m meant for good things, and I’m gonna figure it out. Like, I’m going to figure it out. 

And so I just kept that voice in my head saying, like, you got this, Andrea. Just keep going. Just keep going. Just keep moving. And I lean into my Specific principles, which I won’t get into here today, that keep me going. 

So my personal development is about routine and strategy and sticking with certain things that I do every single day to push myself in the right direction.

And that’s kind of really where I focus on.

Julie [00:25:44]:

I also love you talked about I got myself in the right rooms because I think we forget about that sometimes. We do get, we do silo ourselves a little bit soon. Let me read the book. Let me listen to the podcast. Valuable. Valuable. But those are also the individual, you know, actions. And I love that you said, and I got myself in the right rooms.

You talk about that a little bit. Just the importance of that community or just putting yourself in the room where it happens.

Andrea [00:26:12]:

Yeah. Yeah. The room where it happens. Right? Right. It’s hard to say that line without starting to dance and sing, but I won’t. My Well,

Julie [00:26:20]:

I’ll let you dance and sing. I’ll do neither one, and I’ll leave that to you.

Andrea [00:26:27]:

So I really believe that. I know the power of a network. Like, I’ve seen it happen. I understand it. And I didn’t go to some Ivy League school. I didn’t grow up surrounded by that type of influence. 

I didn’t go. I grew up in a very small town in Romeo, Michigan. Right? My Like, it was a small town kind of place, and I didn’t have those that network at my disposal.

I didn’t grow up like that. And so I put myself in the right places. My And, you know, right after moving to New York City, I remember reaching out to people and being like, come out and take you to dinner. And I did. 

And some of those people… one individual who I actually met through BODi, a publicist that I became very good friends with, and he’s become a mentor to me. I was like, can I just get to know you?

And he and he has continued to support me in my career, and he’s introduced me to some pivotal people who have now started my Some pivotal new projects that I’m working on because of that introduction. And so I would encourage everybody to ask. You know, people ask me things all the time.

I have a hard time saying no. I’ve gotten better at saying no. But even if they get a no. Right? Even if, like, I would love to help you, but can’t do that right now. Great. Ask the next person. Just keep asking. There is going to be a yes somewhere, and that person of influence is going to motivate you in the right way.

So find someone that is inspirational to you, that is motivating you, that is doing the things that you wish you could be doing or have done things that you don’t know how to even start doing, and put yourself next to them. 

Ask for a call. Ask for, you know, lunch. Ask to buy them dinner. Ask for a coffee. Ask them anything. Just, you know, try to get in contact with them. And sometimes that little teeny thing can spark something in you, and it goes a very long way.

I continue to do that. I continue to do that. The women in our network, it’s overwhelming . It is real. I don’t think people understand.

I didn’t understand. I didn’t know. I feel like I’m just now discovering it because I haven’t had the opportunity to meet with everybody so much. And just being at that last event, I’m like, I was telling, some friends of mine. I’m like, my God. These groups of women. If you put all of you guys into a room and said, you wanna invest, and I didn’t know what the heck it was. I don’t know what the company was.

I’d be like, yes. I’m investing. I just give… take my money… because these women are fierce, and they are strong, and they’re powerful, and they’re credible and driven, and they are everything that I aim to be and surround myself with. And that’s another thing.

Julie [00:28:54]:

Right.

Andrea [00:28:54]:

Surround yourself with my women that inspire you, and want to see you win because powerful women are not a threat. My Powerful women are an opportunity to grow and to develop. Say that again.

Julie [00:29:08]:

Say that again. It’s so interesting to me too that you say that because friends that I’ve had that maybe are no longer in my life, sometimes I think it’s because if you’re around me for very long, I’m gonna ask you what your goals and your dreams are. I’m asking you what you’re doing. 

And if you’re not comfortable with that, if that makes you nervous, we’re probably not gonna be friends for very long because I’m gonna ask you what your goals and your dreams are. I’m gonna expect you to be on some kind of growth journey. Like, we’re going someplace. Right?

We’re going someplace. And if my that’s not where they are, which is fine. That’s their own journey. We’re probably not gonna stay in each other’s ecosystem for very long.

Andrea [00:29:42]:

Probably not. Yeah. And I think that’s another important thing. Think you really do. And I’m not saying you need to cut out everybody in your life that doesn’t match your energy level or ambition level, but I do believe that you need to be disciplined and strategic about who you spend time with. 

Even like my best girlfriend who, you know, I connect with, we don’t just talk small. We talk big talk. Everything from parenting and life to, like, ambition and politics and all the things that you know, I surround myself with intellectual people that really my late me.

Yes. And it’s very important to me. So I don’t always fit in everywhere.

You know what I mean? It’s sometimes even challenging for me to find those people, especially after moving to New York City. It’s easy to find. Yes. Easier. In Dallas, it’s a little a little harder for me, but I’m finding those people. 

And it’s important to me that I dedicate my time and allocate my time to people that really make me feel like, oh my gosh, that she’s inspiring to me.

[00:30:42]:

And it doesn’t mean you have to be doing big things. I’m not talking about big things. I’m talking, like, she’s inspired by me because of how she balances her life at home. You know, it’s just somebody that has that same kind of wavelength.

Julie [00:31:00]:

No. I feel that. I feel that. And I think that’s a good reminder that you have to seek that out too. You have to seek that out, because if you’re not, you will find yourself among the people who are simply talking about carpools and lunches and and whatever because that…

Andrea [00:31:18]:

Gossiping. We’re gossiping. And you know what? I think a lot of the times when you become a woman I mean, I’m 42 years old. You get into this, like, niche. You may get into this routine, and you’re like, well, where do you find those people? You have to seek them out. It’s not just like waiting for life to happen.

This network is not gonna happen unless you do it. Where are people volunteering? What is your local charity organization? There are a tremendous number of women’s organizations in every chapter in every community. Join them. Volunteer. 

Become a part of these networks. You have to put yourself out there. It’s like, you know, you gotta push yourself out there and start to meet these people and and push these relationships, my And that’s something I’ve done moving to Dallas.

I’m like, okay. I like her. She has a strong network too. Let’s find… I wanna go out, wanna go on a date, double date. Let’s go do this. Let’s go do that. Let’s, my Yeah. Coffee, you have to push yourself.

Some days, I don’t want to go and do it. I just wanna stay home and get my work done, but I know that that’s part of the business too, is developing and fostering relationships.

Julie [00:32:15]:

Yeah. And that is part of personal growth. Again, it’s not just siloing yourself in your house reading a book. That’s also part of personal growth.

Andrea [00:32:23]:

I’m so glad you said that. I think yes. That is huge because it’s all about action. You could listen to 1,000s of podcasts. You could read 1,000s of books. And you have to really understand how that not only remains in your ecosystem, but how is that applicable in your life? Like, what are you doing with that information?

Julie [00:32:44]:

So good. Okay. Let’s talk about some fun stuff. Let’s talk about some fun stuff. We’ve been talking about the I mean, this is the summer of the female, Which is just translating into the year of the female, which makes me so happy. And, I mean, celebrating that Taylor Swift just became a billionaire. 

I’m just over the moon excited about that because I love seeing women succeed. Setting that example for future females whether they’re in music or art, whatever art they might be in. Like, now they know they can do it, which I think is super cool. So if you could name an era that you’re in. What era are you in right now?

Andrea [00:33:23]:

Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh. That’s a great question.

Julie [00:33:28]:

It could be a Taylor Swift era or it could be an era that you make up.

Andrea [00:33:31]:

Yeah. You know what? It’s interesting because I have, you know, I started Xtend Barre in 2008, so it’s been a while. Right? It’s been a while, and there’s been a lot of ups and a lot of downs. 

And now I feel like I have my footing, and I feel like I found my home, BODi. And I feel like that’s where… I feel Xtend Barre, you know, has this nice little foundation to continue to grow and to continue to impact. So that is my biggest thing is how can I continue to impact?

And now I’m working on some other personal projects because I’ve realized that I need that spark again. Yeah. I need to ignite again in a new way.

So how can I step outside of the Xtend Barre bubble and create something over here that syncs really nicely with what I do in the wellness world, but, you know, launch something that makes me feel that new entrepreneurial spirit again, which I need at this point in my life? 

So that’s what I’m working on. I’m working on a new project, and I am back in that entrepreneurial zone. 

I’m back in the new business building mindset. I’m back into the grind and hustle, and I feel good, excited and nervous and risk taking and all of those things, and it’s good to push yourself again. I gotta just… gotta keep pushing myself. You know?

Julie [00:34:42]:

So yeah. Close. Just saying. I know nothing.

Andrea [00:34:45]:

Not close. Oh, darn. No. My No. I’ll be announcing soon, but it’s something that I’m truly passionate about. So it’s exciting, and it’s more their passion project. I’m going, like, all out full full on with this. Okay.

Julie [00:35:00]:

So we’ll call this your impact era. Okay. Last question. If you have to pick a favorite Taylor Swift song.

Andrea [00:35:09]:

I know. I have one. I mean, I my, some of mine are the more somber ones, like Exile and every time I put that on, the girls are like, no. Next song. 

Andrea [00:35:25]:

Come on. Are you kidding me? My favorite…. Everyone’s gonna say, like, that’s cliche, but Shake It Off. If you listen to the lyrics of Shake It Off Like, I’ve had to shake it off at points in my life to get moving. And so that song, not just the energy and the vibe and the beat, but the actual message.

Yes. And I love I love that, what you started with, like, the era of my Women, we’re just getting started. And my girls, I tell this story all the time. I’m like, how many times did Taylor Swift knock on a door and get told no? 

How many times did she have to show up at some little joint to try and beg to play on the stage? How many times did she get told that she wasn’t good enough? But she kept ticking and, like, kept believing and kept writing and kept doing it. Like, that’s what is so beautiful about my success, and that’s why she’s so contagious because great for her. You know? She wasn’t handed this.

And I think it’s all about being earned, not given.

Julie [00:36:28]:

Yeah. Well, what a beautiful thing is that your girls get to grow up in a world with Taylor Swift, and Beyonce and a Barbie movie, and they get to see these powerful women. And most of all, they get to see you. 

They get to see their mom going out there, doing the thing, having the goals, my building the dream. They get to see you, and that’s pretty cool because whether they’ll admit it to you or not you know, I have three daughters. 

They may not admit it to you, but it is impacting every bit of how they think and how they act and how they navigate the world, so I think that’s pretty cool my Andrea Rogers, thank you so much for being here. This has been an absolute treat. Thanks for helping us crank it up today.

Andrea [00:37:04]:

Well, you are amazing. Thank you for sharing that light and energy with me today, and I appreciate you having me on.

Julie [00:37:11]:

Okay. Are you as obsessed with Andrea Rogers as I am? I just think she’s the greatest. So I hope you enjoyed that conversation. I hope you took some notes. My hope you got some really good stuff out of it for your own journey. Let these stories inspire you. Let these stories remind you that if 1 woman can do it, 1 human can do it, you can do it too.

Sometimes we like to think people have these unicorn skills or magical talents. And you know what? Sometimes that’s true. Someone like Simone Biles or Taylor Swift. Yes. And those people with those magical talents worked very, very hard for a long time. 

Persistence, following that curiosity, honing that talent, showing up when it wasn’t convenient, showing up when they did not want to, that’s the piece that I hope you take away from so many of these stories and the fact that personal growth is the foundation of all growth. If you liked this podcast episode, let me know. I would love to hear from you.

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Andrea’s Website

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Meet Andrea Rogers

Andrea’s journey towards success has been anything but easy. From a young age, she discovered her love for dance and movement, finding solace and joy in the combination of music and body expression.

As she grew older, dancing became more than just a hobby for Andrea – it became her passion and her calling. Determined to turn her love for dance into a professional career, Andrea dedicated herself to the craft.

Today, Andrea has established herself as a respected professional in the dance industry. Her journey has taught her the importance of laying down a strong foundation and the value of constant dedication. With her spark and determination, Andrea continues to inspire others through her work, spreading the joy of dance and music wherever she goes.

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Thank you so much for listening to the Crank It Up podcast. If you know a friend who would benefit from this I mean, who wouldn’t? If you know a friend who would benefit from this episode, this conversation around personal growth, will you share this episode with them? I would appreciate it. 

Let’s get the world, especially women, talking about personal growth. Let’s get the world, especially women, on an intentional personal growth journey.

Let’s get the world, especially women, talking about cranking up your goals, cranking up your dreams, and cranking up your life. 

Thank you so much. See you next time. That’s it for this episode.

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Looking for a place where dreaming BIG and cranking up your ambition is the norm? Join my Find Your Fierce Membership Community!

And let’s get connected on Instagram @julievoris and @project100.co

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