Over eighteen years ago, I was teaching high school English here in the Midwest. I loved my students dearly, but there were parts about the job I began to dread.
I wasn’t living out my purpose and potential — even though I LOVE teaching and believe it IS part of my purpose — and I certainly wasn’t having fun anymore. (I didn’t know it yet, but I would soon discover ways to teach that didn’t revolve around a traditional classroom.)
Fast forward to the present, where I’m absolutely in love with what I do. And to think that it all started with a dream and zero experience is incredible to me.
Wanna know a secret? You can build your dream business, too.
Yes, my business is centered around health and fitness — but I’m convinced no matter what small business you’re interested in starting, these entrepreneurial tips will work for you.
- Go All In
After teaching a few years and quickly hitting a ceiling for my earning potential, I became frustrated and knew I wanted more control over my financial future and life. And I needed more than lukewarm motivation and limited earning power to make it happen.
I knew I had to make a change. And I knew I had to go all in.
Not once in the 12 years I’ve been building my online business have I wanted to shrink back or bail. That does not mean I work 24/7 or there aren’t days when I’ve needed a little push. But I’ve never wanted to quit because it’s never stopped being fun for me.
For me, Beachbody gives me hope — hope in controlling my own financial future. Hope in my life. And hope for helping others be their best selves. And CONFIDENCE that I can CREATE the life I want to create for me and my family.
- Take Agency Over Your Life
When I was teaching, I loved seeing the “a-ha” moments I could bring my students. But I also knew my income and opportunities would eventually cap out, and frankly we were struggling to make ends meet. So I started teaching some fitness classes at a local Y. That kicked off a journey which led me to starting my online business. Before long, my paychecks were covering everything from workout shoes to the mortgage to family vacations that up to that point had been just a dream.
When you own your business, you’re no longer in the passenger seat of your life. You’re in the driver’s seat, where you call the shots. This surreal moment in time might be an opportunity to finally take control of your life, to stop letting others dictate your success and opportunities, and to bring your dreams to reality.
- Be Coachable and Willing to Work
Being coachable means taking in habits and tactics you see from other successful people. Successful people leave clues. We just have to pay attention and then apply! Take notes. Be grateful. If you really give it your all and lend yourself to these coachable moments, you’ll succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
I’ve watched people across all industries (other fitness coaches included) claim things were just too hard to keep going. But when I think about it, “hard” is really a perspective isn’t it?
Hard is fighting cancer; hard is losing a loved one; Hard is illness.
Yes, committing to health and fitness and building a business takes work, but it’s not “hard” in the grand scheme of things.
In any career, you get out what you put in. In this job, I say “the work works.” There are literally hundreds of thousands of success stories with Beachbody. That’s because these people were willing to have a coachable spirit and put in the work.
- Keep it Simple
At its core, Beachbody means tapping into a powerful fitness platform and nourishing our brains and bodies with the best of the best. It’s really that simple.
But we tend to overcomplicate things. And when we overcomplicate and bring in all this unnecessary drama and extraness we think we need to be successful, we can start to feel overwhelmed and scared. And when we get caught up in what others are doing, we lose sight of what we’re here to do.
Maybe you’re not overwhelmed. Maybe what you are trying to do or build is just ‘new.’ Go back to you, your why, and what you love.
I started my business to help others help others — it really is that simple. And it’s what I love and what I get to do every day.
- Have Fun
This one rings true no matter what line of work you’re in. Life’s too short to get up every day and dread the work you’re doing! If that’s the case, it’s time to get back to what you love and what fires you up. As humans, we have the power to move, make changes, and recreate our destinies. And we deserve to have fun doing it!
For me? I have a front-row seat to watch women transform their lives through health and fitness and become the best version of themselves.
- Just Show Up
Some days you’ll be feeling it. Others not so much. That’s just part of being human. But the key to growing a wildly successful business is to be willing to keep at it, to show up even when you don’t feel like it.
Most days, my Beachbody work doesn’t even feel like a job. It’s a calling and a passion and a gift. And I believe it’s what I was put on this Earth to do. I wake up each and every day excited at the opportunity to grow and invest in others.
I may not be the smartest or most creative businesswoman out there, but I keep showing up. I’ve made consistency my superpower. And if I have an off day (and who doesn’t now and then?!), I simply get back up and do better the next day. I know that champions — including everyday women building businesses and lives — show up even when they don’t “feel like it” and that it’s in the ongoing, everyday, unsexy, unglamorous stuff that truly creates a meaningful life and successful businesses.
