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Fitness Coach Lou Barter Mums Redefined Niche Fitness
15 Plays1 year ago
In this podcast we introduce you to Lou, she takes us on a journey about the importance of finding your niche and gives great insight into what it’s like to run your own fitness business!
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Transcript
Introduction to Career Exploration
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to A to Z Jobs, the podcast that delves into the fascinating world of careers, one profession at a time. In each episode, we'll deep dive into a specific profession, exploring its history, requirements, challenges, and rewards. So get ready to expand your horizons, challenge your perceptions, and discover a world of possibilities. I'm Roxy. And I'm Nate. And we're excited to host you on this journey.
Finding a Niche in Fitness
00:00:31
Speaker
In this podcast, we introduce you to Lou. She takes us on a journey about the importance of finding your niche and she gives us some great insight into what it's like to run your own fitness business. Hello Lou. Welcome to our podcast. Hello. Hi. Thanks for having me. Awesome. I can't wait to find out your entire story. Um, let's jump right into it and find out what you do for a living.
00:00:56
Speaker
I am a personal trainer. I specialize in working with mums. So I've been working with mums specifically for the last two years. And I do it through either group classes, which the wonderful Roxy was a client of mine last year, or I do personal training as well. So I'm quite specialized, like I said, specifically working with mums through the course that I've done.
00:01:25
Speaker
It's bridging that gap between like your standard personal trainer and what a women's health physio would do. So yeah, that's me in a nutshell. Yeah, it's brilliant. It got me back into everything again with a bunch of moms, wonderful community. Yeah.
00:01:46
Speaker
So what does a day in the life of Lou look like?
Daily Life of a Personal Trainer
00:01:50
Speaker
What would you do on a daily basis to make this career happen for you? Good question. So thankfully I don't have the 5am get-ups like I used to in the start of my PT career. Although I do still get up pretty early. I've got a dog who might make an appearance at some point.
00:02:10
Speaker
So I take her out for a walk, come back, have breakfast, then if I've got classes, I'll get the car packed up, depending on what I've got programmed for that day, obviously what equipment's going in the car. And then, so I'm in Maroubra in Sydney and I do my classes in Centennial Park, which is, depending on traffic, 15-20 minute drive away.
00:02:37
Speaker
So yeah, head over to the park, get myself set up, classes start at 9.30. So I usually get there at about 10 past, quarter past nine. And start welcoming in the mums. So at the moment, for example, during some trials, so there's lots of new faces joining us, which is fantastic. So I'm there, nice smiley face, welcoming in the new mums. Obviously it can be a bit,
00:03:05
Speaker
nerve-wracking the first time. But yeah, then we get into it. So the class, there's obviously a lot of pelvic floor work, a lot of stretching. I like to incorporate a little bit of breath work as well, because I find that's really important for mums who might be a bit flustered, you know, baby hasn't slept, hasn't, you know, crying in the car, all the different things that happens with the little ones.
00:03:32
Speaker
And then we get cracking into the main part. And that will change week to week really between the classes. Some days I have two classes.
00:03:44
Speaker
Again, it really does depend on obviously time of year. And then from then
The Business Side of Fitness
00:03:49
Speaker
I will either head off to, I do mobile personal training around the eastern suburbs, or I'll come back home and then it will be admin, which surprises a lot of people how much admin is involved. I think when I was just a,
00:04:12
Speaker
you know rookie personal trainer if you're like when I was working for a gym there wasn't so much of the admin but now running my own business there's a lot of admin some of it is fun some of it's not so fun but that's you know that's what happens when you run a business and do you do all your own admin you're taking payments you're doing the taxes you're doing it's all you
00:04:38
Speaker
everything to me. I have this year or well last tax year so within the last few weeks got a bookkeeper on board because if I'm honest I completely buried my head in the sand when it came to
00:04:51
Speaker
my finances and tax returns and whatnot. But yeah, I'm now, I guess I'm 18 months into doing the specific mum's business. And hopefully, who knows, I'd like to get a mortgage one day. So I need to make sure that I'm all over my finances, the boring grownup stuff. But luckily my bookkeeper's lovely and very friendly and knows that it's not my strong suit.
00:05:20
Speaker
It's good that you can have those kind of systems in place and reach out to people for that kind of support. But yeah, your mom's group was amazing to me. As a mom trying to get out of the house and knowing that if I'm five to 10 minutes late, it's fine. Other moms are in the same boat. Or if my little one decides to kick off, all the other little ones are there. And throughout that hour, at least one of them would do the same thing.
00:05:43
Speaker
or another mum would chip in, she'd be like, I'll hold your baby while you run the lap, and then you hold my baby while I run the lap. It's all about community and support, and I think that's what stresses a lot of mums out to start with. I hear a lot that they've gone to
00:06:03
Speaker
tried other forms of exercise and it's just too much, it's too overwhelming. So my classes are specifically designed with that in mind. You can jump in and out, you know, as a wimbub needs you. Sometimes as you said Roxy, they'll be chill, they'll be fine, they'll be good on their mat. Some days they might want to cuddle, see
00:06:23
Speaker
worst part of my job you know i get to help all these lovely little lovers um but yeah so it's it's i really enjoy it i get a lot out of it i'm super passionate about it as well oh it's brilliant so how did you get started in this profession
Path from Sports to Fitness Career
00:06:40
Speaker
So I have been a coach for almost 10 years, be 10 years next year. I have always been a little sporty spice, if you like. I have got three brothers.
00:06:56
Speaker
So have grown-up sports been quite predominant in our family? Football in particular, or soccer, if you're listening in Australia or the US, but it's football, we won't get into that argument. In case anybody's wondering, my team's Liverpool. My family are from Liverpool and I didn't really get much of a choice when I was growing up.
00:07:19
Speaker
So yeah, really into football growing up, playing sports, swimming, got to secondary school, hockey, everything, absolutely everything. And then when I finished school, school sports finished and I did nothing, absolutely nothing. I didn't continue anything like that. I went to uni, I had a couple of years out, went to uni,
00:07:46
Speaker
Did the tried the gym thing and to be honest was quite intimidated by it. Did what I think probably most women would be guilty of, just sticking to the cardio equipment because I felt it was safe.
00:07:59
Speaker
And then I'd always thought, oh, I really do enjoy it though, if I knew more, that kind of thing. And in the UK, it's not a very well-paid profession, at least to start with. I'm going back 15 years.
00:08:19
Speaker
a long time ago, let's say, when I first contemplated it. And it was probably starting salaries at about 16 grand UK money. So not very much. So I actually went to university and did something completely different. I did entertainment technology. So still in the background to Roxy, I worked in TV production. I loved the editing. I loved the project management side of things.
00:08:48
Speaker
And that was probably my strong suit. Fast forward a few years, I come to Australia, the land of opportunity. And I started doing bootcamps as a client outdoors. And now once I had trained outdoors in the UK, there was one winter, one's worth common, I did a bootcamp and it was
00:09:11
Speaker
Oh, there was snow. Let's put it that way. Nothing worse. I can't believe when I look at it now, because even if it's a slightly chilly day in Sydney, I'm like, oh my goodness.
00:09:22
Speaker
It's when your knees crunch on the frost on the rugby field or you just... Yeah. Yeah, so I started doing some of these boot camps in Bondi, of course. I'm a Brit, that's where we all flock to. And I just loved it. I was like, wow, we can train outside in this environment, you know, meeting new people all the time.
00:09:48
Speaker
And then it was coming up to when my visa was being renewed and I needed to go on to a student visa. And there's lots of wishy-washy student visa courses, if I'm honest. And I was like, God, if I'm spending money, I want it to mean something I'm interested in.
00:10:08
Speaker
So just a little backtrack, at this point in time, I was working in the backpacker travel industry. So again, completely different. Anyway, I went and started doing my certs in fitness. And yeah, it just snowballed, I guess. Coming up to 10 years ago, I answered an ad for a bootcamp in Bondi, looking for like an apprentice type thing.
00:10:36
Speaker
and I wrote the lady that owns it a letter on the email, selling myself. I remember going and buying new activewear but from cotton on because I couldn't afford anything too much because I was still in that sort of backpacker mindset.
00:10:52
Speaker
And that was the start of it really, and I worked for her for a couple of years. So again, I was working on a bootcamp on Bondi Beach as a Brit. I was living the life, absolutely living it. And then I moved to a personal training studio in Double Bay.
00:11:14
Speaker
So very different, that was one-on-one. I was dealing with general populations, so men, women, all different ages, whereas the boot camp was mainly women. And from there, that's probably where my passion for working with women specifically. Not that I've got anything against men.
00:11:37
Speaker
But I found, so I was the only female trainer in the gym. And so I was passed a lot of the female clients that would come in, particularly the moms, because they felt like they could open up to another woman. And I loved it. I absolutely loved it.
Impact of COVID on Business Focus
00:11:54
Speaker
However, the pre and postnatal course that I did then was very basic to say the least.
00:12:03
Speaker
And something didn't quite sit right in my head for me. Not that I've had children myself, but obviously being female, got the same bits and pieces. I can empathize with a new mum, you know, when they're saying, oh my God, I'm peeing myself or I feel a bit heavy, you know, this isn't quite right. Then along came COVID.
00:12:27
Speaker
I remember that one. And I was managing a different gym at the time. We had to get rid of all our trainers. So I was training all the clients, plus managing. But I still had that 9.30 till 12 o'clock slot free. And I'm like, this is prime mom time.
00:12:54
Speaker
So that thought process brought me back to the training that I had done, which I was like, oh, not sure about. And I found a lady called Jen Dugard, who runs a course called Safe Return to Exercise. And it went from there. I did her course almost two years ago now, I think.
00:13:19
Speaker
And I just loved it. It blew my mind of how, I mean look we know, obviously Roxy you know first hand, how incredible a woman's body is. You know that it can bring life into the world.
00:13:38
Speaker
And even, you know, even without being a mum, there's so many different things, the physiology, you know, the hormones and this and that, which sometimes I think if we're honest, we're like, oh God, hormones, you know, they get a bit of a bad rap, but really it's incredible, this potion of different things we've got going on.
00:14:02
Speaker
And then I did that course and then I wanted to, I moved away from the gym that I was working at, wanted to start doing my own classes and I had this opportunity come up in Centennial Park and I jumped at it and that was me. So my first classes I did were in April 2022. So yeah, almost 18 months ago now.
00:14:29
Speaker
So that's bringing me up to date. It's amazing how a certain point in your life can kind of come full swing back into what you're passionate about, what you love, but also the stuff that you do has so much more of an impact when you go back into that full swing. So finding that slot of time and understanding women more and all of the steps you got there, it was amazing.
00:14:58
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And I think from going from working with everyone when I was at the personal train in the studio, I really did. And I guess this comes with maturity as well. When I'm young, I was just, I'll do anything, I'll work with anyone, that kind of thing. And I really wanted to work with women and also have some positive impact on women's mental health.
00:15:27
Speaker
Um, and again, to use your words, Roxie, it's come full circle because I find a lot of the moms work with. All they want is that one hour to themselves a week. And it's, you know, it's mind-blowing. Sometimes the changes that they'll come in, they've had a crappy morning and I can see their straight stressed and look at them, ask them how they are, ask them how they sleep is, which as we know, isn't always the best when you're a new mom.
00:15:57
Speaker
and just someone paying them attention and this listening to them and their needs rather than bub because you know bub's fine bub's got mom bub's got dad bub's got a million other people around them mum tends to you know and obviously it depends on your relationship but mums are the one that are holding down everything so yeah i love it absolutely love it
00:16:24
Speaker
You definitely get that from the sessions. You walk in and it's taken a lot to get there with every new mom. You're trying to pack the milk, you're trying to make sure you've got the right bra on, a few breastfeeding, on all of these different things, and a sports bra that's also a breastfeeding bra, and the right outfit, the baggiest outfit, or all of that stuff you're thinking about on top of Ben is needs and what he's doing.
00:16:52
Speaker
But then you arrive and you know you you're so welcoming and friendly and then all the moms involved are in the same boat as you but you're so right in that it's that one hour where you're actually focusing on yourself and rebuilding this beautiful structure that has made a baby and trying to put it back together and you just feel better every week thinking
00:17:13
Speaker
You're not going a huge amount. It's not a massive hit class where you come back absolutely dead. It's taking those steps that you need to build your life forward, which is amazing. I love hearing how people find their niche. It's such a touching story, particularly the little steps along the way. Like Roxie said, you circle back and it all sort of clicks at one moment and you just have that realization.
00:17:44
Speaker
So this next question, I'm just gonna break it up a little bit to two questions. So the next question is about a faster path. So how could you get to where you are now quicker? But I would love to know, do you have any, is there anything you would do to get to your niche quicker?
Tips for Personal Trainers to Specialize
00:18:00
Speaker
And then also, is there anything you could do to get to where you are with your qualifications and starting your business quicker?
00:18:10
Speaker
Oh. So here's a good story, if you like. I had quite a junior trainer that I was working with a few months back in third party. And she asked me, what would my advice be to someone just starting out in the industry?
00:18:36
Speaker
And I said to her, find your niche and get really fricking good at it. Because it took me seven, eight years.
00:18:48
Speaker
There was a few other factors in the way, like the gym where I was working with general population, my visa was tied to. So I kind of had to do that. I think, yes, if I'd gone back in time, I would have niched out. I was also younger then. And I think that comes with it. Unfortunately, in the personal training industry,
00:19:14
Speaker
there was a stat at one point a trainer the average trainer lost 14 months um yeah quite quite crazy and i can see why because there's a lot of burnout you go in it's five am starts you know seven eight p.m finish
00:19:32
Speaker
huge gaps in the middle of the day. If you've got clients not turning up, so I'm talking more on a one-on-one basis, you're losing money, but you're still at work, so to speak. So a lot of trainers do burn out. They don't know what it takes. There's also
00:19:55
Speaker
Also, a lot of it is there is a sales element. And this was even before I had my own business. You've got to sell yourself. You know, it's people are investing.
00:20:08
Speaker
their money in you and they want to know that you are the best person for them. So yeah, to come back to it, it's a tricky one to get there faster. I'd say maybe if the visa hurdle hadn't been in the way, I might have got there a couple of years before.
00:20:26
Speaker
But I still think I had to go through that working with general population. Yeah, absolutely. And really click in, keep getting that mum time, if you like, on my calendar free for it to then those jigsaw puzzles and pieces come together. All of it to click into place.
00:20:48
Speaker
And in terms of the qualifications for being a personal trainer or boot camp trainer, is there a quicker way to do that? Would you recommend doing a short course or is university going to get you a higher paying? Is it worth doing?
00:21:04
Speaker
Good question. So university you can go in and get qualified as an exercise physiologist also physiotherapist is a another way if you want to you know a similar
00:21:20
Speaker
area I guess. Personal trainer as such in Australia you can do it through TAFE or any college you just called your certificates in fitness three and four. Again because I did mine as a student visa it was quite a long path it was about 18 months you can do it really quickly in I think about nine months. Personally I would say
00:21:49
Speaker
the slower the better because you're learning more and you can get that on the job training. In regards to, I guess, sort of my qualification now with working with mums, at the time I did it, I think it was over three, three one-day sessions or maybe four one-day sessions.
00:22:14
Speaker
And any niche that you're going to go in is going to need that experience and then that qualification as sort of the cherry on the top really. But yeah, I guess get in there quicker.
00:22:30
Speaker
that's a real tricky one because look some people do and you know and they're fair play to them but I think for me it's experience, age and as well because of the age I'm at I'm 38 having that
00:22:48
Speaker
you know, mentality of a woman in her mid to late thirties, how my body's changed, and then be like, okay, well, if I was a mum or I've got friends that are mums, like, that understanding. Whereas if you'd asked 25-year-old me, who had no friends that had kids, who, let's be honest, was probably not treating her body very well, yeah, it would have been a very different story. So, yeah.
00:23:16
Speaker
Yeah, so it's really about getting yourself out there as much as you can and then trying to take a longer route so that you don't get thrown into the deep end. And I think that's probably where you've got this sort of personal branding experience as well. We've talked a lot on other podcast episodes about how to sell yourself. And it seems to be something that pops up a lot in every industry now.
00:23:42
Speaker
It's something that everybody needs to learn. It's learning how to, you know, push yourself forward and trying to push your niche, which is you and your story across the line to get your, in this case, your clients, which is, it's a real, that you can see in a really quantitative value. Whereas, you know, in other workplaces, it's you trying to push for a pay rise or
00:24:04
Speaker
An annual review or any of that kind of stuff. Absolutely. Absolutely. So what would be your favorite part of your job? Are you feeling inspired by everything you've learned so far? Keep that momentum going with our four-part Career Change Made Easy course. Dive deeper at thecareerchangecoches.com. Now enjoy the rest of the podcast.
00:24:34
Speaker
meeting the new mums and chatting to them. So before a mum even comes to the class, I give them a call and I chat to them about their birth story. And I love how I can build that report over the phone instantly.
00:24:52
Speaker
because I you know and these are things I need to ask I'll chat to them I'll be like okay are you peeing yourself is there any heaviness was it a vaginal birth was it a c-section you know getting down to the nitty-gritty of it because that's going to tell me a lot about their you know their recovery and where they're at and you know how far I can push them in class or you know whether do we take it easy that kind of thing
00:25:16
Speaker
And then when they first come, you know, spending that quality time with them, because I spend a little bit more time with new mums, checking for abdominal separation, making sure that they're doing the pelvic floor activations correctly. And I think, again, it's that, wow, she's here for me, and she's concerned about me, and checking in with them at the end of the class, which, look,
00:25:42
Speaker
And at this point, Bob's probably feeding. I've lost count the amount of times at the end of a class, I go, hey, how are you doing? And they're feeding, they're littling, and they're looking at me like, my gosh, you're so interested in me kind of thing. So yeah, that's definitely the best part. And then the feedback, just knowing that they've had a great time and done something for themselves.
00:26:07
Speaker
I remember when you called me and you said, so what was the birth like? And I said, well, I had to drive myself to the hospital. And she went, what? Then you went, no, no, I mean, like the actual birth. I was like, oh, well, that's a whole different story.
00:26:24
Speaker
I sent my husband out to party the night before. My kid came early, so he came home. One o'clock in the morning, three o'clock in the morning, Rory decided to arrive. It's like, Dan, we're off to the hospital. Get in the car.
00:26:42
Speaker
Now it's, it's amazing to connect and every mom's got a different story. So you must learn something new, especially also about fitness and physiology and all of that. Every time you talk to somebody about, you know, the,
Challenges of Body Image in Fitness Industry
00:26:57
Speaker
the nitty gritty of the story, really, which most people don't really talk about that much because, you know, my first reaction was, what's the actual funny story around it? Not actually, how did I have Rory and what happened? Yeah. So in terms of the negatives then, what's the drawback with the industry or with the journey? Is there anything that stands out as something that's been quite negative for you?
00:26:58
Speaker
the.
00:27:25
Speaker
When I was working for a gym, it was 5am get-ups, I won't lie. In the summer, it is the best job in the world. The sun's already up at 5 in the morning. I'm definitely one of those people whose circadian rhythm is with the sun because come winter, it's horrific getting up at that time in the morning.
00:27:48
Speaker
which you know is great for me now because I'm running the show so I don't have any clients earlier than 6.30 and they're personal training clients and I have a little personal training studio at home so I have to roll out of bed at 6 o'clock. I'd say that's the you know personal negative if you like is definitely hours. I think for the industry as a whole
00:28:17
Speaker
There's a real connotation of, first of all, with personal trainers, how maybe not the most intelligent people in the world.
00:28:29
Speaker
You know, only there for the Instagram and this kind of stuff. I am definitely, and when I mark it more sort of my personal training, I actually say, I am not the coach that you will see with her six pack out, with her glutes on display, posing longingly at her stomach. I said, that's not me. If that's the coach you want, I'll point you in the right direction. I feel that that's,
00:28:58
Speaker
the Instagram trainers, let's say, okay? Look, and some people love it. And there's some, you know, a lot of them are hell of a lot more successful than me, but that's just, that's not my thing. I think the other side of the industry, more to do with my actual niche, is the get your pre-baby body back message, which again, makes me feel ick all over.
00:29:25
Speaker
Yeah. Structurally, a woman's body's changed. Full stop. There's no getting around it. Hips have widened. You'll have things when you're holding the baby. You've got wrist issues, shoulders, this kind of stuff. To assume a woman wants to be smaller than she is the moment you meet her,
00:29:56
Speaker
just doesn't sit well with me. I think, you know, in 2023, we're all about body positivity and all of that, which, you know, I'm 100% behind, but I think that the fitness industry still very much preys on new moms about losing weight, losing the baby weight, getting back into shape, this, that, and the other, all these messages that are just being jammed down their throat.
00:30:23
Speaker
And it's hard, like it's really hard. And I understand, I understand from both sides of it, you know, from a Jim's point of view, it is, you know, it's marketing, it's selling, you know. They're going for the common denominator. What a mum needs is to get strong first and to recover, you know.
00:30:47
Speaker
It's on the registration form that I do for my clients. There's a question, something like, what do you hope to get from our sessions? And I would say 95% of the time it's about body image.
00:31:03
Speaker
which is it's just the society we are in and look and it's not something it's not like i you know ignore it or anything like that but i chat to them and i'm like we will be getting you strong again that is the the objective here um but yeah that's that's i'd say the most negative thing about the industry
00:31:22
Speaker
Yeah, it's amazing. I know nothing about this topic, but just to me, this is something that I feel like you just don't see it on Instagram. You don't hear about these safe spaces. You don't know that they exist.
00:31:39
Speaker
So I can hear a really good story. This might be TMI, but I'm that kind of person, so it's fine. I went on a speed date in night a couple of weeks ago, and obviously everyone's the same question. What do you do? Where are you from? Blah, blah, blah.
00:31:55
Speaker
And there was one guy in particular who I might have matched with if this hadn't been his response when I told him what I do and what his niche was. He goes, oh, so you help mums lose their baby, get their pre-baby body back. And I went, no, no, no, no, no. Actually, complete opposite. I helped them move them strong. I don't force that message down the throat. He goes, oh, but that's what they really want, isn't it?
00:32:17
Speaker
And I just remember looking at the time, I was like, when is this five minutes up? Let's move along now. Bless him again. He doesn't know any different. He wasn't in the fitness industry, but it's again, it's just that narrative that is there constantly. And it costs this chap a date, so hey home.
00:32:39
Speaker
Now you are completely bombarded with it, with Facebook advertising, with family and friends, with, you know, being in a mum's group, everybody's different shapes. I'm a big shape. I always have been. And just watching my other mum friends completely slim down again and think, you know, what am I doing wrong? And all of those things that go through your head.
00:33:01
Speaker
But it's your class where you said to me, Rox, you are a little tired. Are you all right? Is Rory not sleeping as well? Sort of pushed me a little bit to go to the doctor and go, I am a little bit more tired than everybody else. What is going on here? And I had a really bad iron deficiency, which they hadn't checked up on. So I was in the bright, bright red, and they were like, wow. Let's get you sorted in the next day or so.
00:33:28
Speaker
But it's having that safe environment. And I went to a couple of different exercise classes, and they were intense. And, you know, they're all sort of energizer bunnies and trying to move forward with and it just felt not real. Whereas you go into Centennial Park with these other mums, everyone's complaining at the same time, everybody's kids complaining at the same time, or they're all smiling and cheering each other on as we go across. And it's
00:33:53
Speaker
It's really what I needed to get back into exercise and I don't know if I would have had the guts to. I now go to boot camps and I go to spinning again and I built that strength back up through these mum classes. Yeah, well so nice to hear.
00:34:13
Speaker
So we did touch a little bit about advice. Are there any key points of advice that you would give somebody who's aiming to come into this industry or even trying to start their own business in the same way you have?
Advice for New Personal Trainers
00:34:28
Speaker
Because I know that there's a lot of admin and things involved with that.
00:34:31
Speaker
Finding your niche is really important for a trainer. You've got to do at least a couple of years doing general pop, if you like, so you can find out what you're passionate about. And then find your niche, then be good at selling yourself.
00:34:50
Speaker
Um, and to get a business mentor, that's, that's been a huge, um, game changer for me. Um, I'm part of, um, the cook mom say, so it's like a membership is all fitness professionals in there. And each month we'll have, we'll either have some technical upskilling or we'll have a business element. Like next week, I'm really looking forward to it. It's about getting yourself out on LinkedIn.
00:35:18
Speaker
a platform which is traditionally a corporate one. Recruiters use that kind of thing. I do have a profile on there, but I don't do anything with it.
00:35:30
Speaker
No, exactly. And you know, through that business mentorship, it's like, oh, okay, I can go and ask like, this isn't working, what can I do? Or how would you best do a Facebook ad and that kind of thing? So niche down, well, get experience first, niche down, get yourself a business mentor. Those would be my three top tips.
00:35:59
Speaker
And I can see all of those things happening with you as well because I must have started with you because Rory's one years old and you've been going for 18 months. Sorry, I saw you taking the photos and then the adverts popped up. In all the different layers in place with it all. Yeah, it just looked like it was developing now.
00:36:22
Speaker
you know, quite a bigger group of mums and more sessions. And one of the wonderful things that you do is, you know, we all go for a coffee after, and at the same time, you're also handing out pamphlets to other mums that are around to, you know, share this community, which is wonderful. Yeah, absolutely. And I find that mums are more willing and, you know, that kind of thing. So when I worked at the gym before,
00:36:52
Speaker
we'd have flyers to give out and people would just go, oh, get out of the way, get out of the way, get out of the way. But I think coming across, I guess probably being female and of a similar age definitely does help. Although I do know some very good male mum specific trainers.
00:37:09
Speaker
But yeah, it's just been friendly and it's not assuming that they need training or anything like that. I literally, they've got a bub, you know, youngish age and I'm like, hey, I do mums and pubs, mums and pubs, sorry. Mums and pubs, that'd be a great one, wouldn't it?
00:37:27
Speaker
We might have done that once or twice. I give the leaflets out and I'm like, hey, I do mums and bubs classes, here's a flyer, and just leave them to it. I'm not there pushing, pushing, pushing. The information is there. I had one mum, Anya, a couple of months ago, she tried to...
00:37:50
Speaker
I've just found your flyer at the bottom of my bag. And I was like, oh, okay. Because I had to ring you straight away. It's been there for months and I was like, okay, brilliant. And I got her in the next day. So it was fantastic. Little thing, little stories like that. I love. I think I walked past you, Edward. What is that?
00:38:08
Speaker
And then I got a coffee at Centennial Park in one of the little cafes and there was a fire there. And I took a picture of it and sent it out to all my mum's groups. Who wants to do this with me?
00:38:20
Speaker
And that's the other good thing, working with mums is the network and the recommendations. Um, cause you know, mums are put in, um, you know, your mum's groups and it's the, let's do this together. Let's do this together. Let's find a time together. Cause it's the, it's the socialization in the community. Definitely. Yeah, definitely.
00:38:44
Speaker
We've already spoken a lot about your education, so I might not rehash all that again, but I just wanted to give you a moment if you've got, do you have any shout outs for any other resources, any podcasts or books or anything that you've read or blogs that you feel have supported your journey?
Resources for Professional Growth
00:39:02
Speaker
Yes, self-development has been a big one for me over the years. I will actually credit my old boss that I worked at the gym, he was very good at that. We used to do personal development once a week, like all the personal trainers.
00:39:24
Speaker
I can't remember the authors, but there was a book called 10X. There's another one, which I've got over here, which is something about, hang on, hang on, I'm gonna find it.
00:39:38
Speaker
Sound like crazy. There we go. Sound like crazy. That's on my wish list on Audible to get into. There you go. Sound like crazy. The night creator's story. Shoe dog.
00:40:00
Speaker
Shoe doc about the knight creator. Very inspiring story. I mean, look, I'm an activewear girl. I have several pairs of knights, so there is that interest. But his story is about he was getting knocked down and knocked down and he just kept trying and trying and trying. So little things like that have really stayed in my head. As for podcasts, there's a few that I am really into at the moment.
00:40:25
Speaker
There's one called the Email Marketing Show. It's two English presenters, but very good. There's a good lot of tips in there about email marketing. There is now a Mumsafe podcast, which is really interesting. It's aimed towards mums and trainers of mums, so that one's a really good one. And I also, again,
00:40:54
Speaker
It's not completely off topic, but I really enjoy the diary of a CEO. He interviews a huge range. There's celebs, there's people in business, there's authors, but again, it's those inspiring stories of how people got to where they are and that determination. And there's always some good stories on there.
00:41:22
Speaker
Fantastic. I want to check a few of those out. I've definitely heard of a diary this year. I don't know if I might've listened to one or two. So just to finish off, are there any inspirational quotes that keep you going?
Philosophy: Valuing Life Over Wealth
00:41:45
Speaker
I think one of my favorite quotes, which is funny, it's not a business quote per se. There's no point being the richest man in the graveyard. Now that might sound a bit counterintuitive for someone who runs their own business and is obviously doing their passion to make money.
00:42:10
Speaker
But the way I look at that is, you know, I could make heaps and heaps of money, keep going and going and going. But am I enjoying what I'm doing? You know, do I need all that? I mean, yes, obviously, especially in this day and age, you know, rent, food, everything like that. But that quote has always stuck with me because I felt like it's helped me
00:42:39
Speaker
create a career that, yes, I can earn money, but it's also given me a career that I can have an afternoon off when the sun's out, take the dog to the beach. So that sort of sticks in my head.
00:42:54
Speaker
Brilliant. That's brilliant. Now, some of the best ones are the ones that aren't business. They're the ones that like stick there and sort of push you forward to, you know, make something passionate about your life and then also have a really good balance. Yeah. Yeah. I think the only thing I would ask you as well is how do people find you? You know, what are your websites and socials or can we just turn up in Centennial Park at 9.30?
00:43:22
Speaker
You Roxy can, by all means, be a lovely surprise. But yeah, I do like to have a chat to my mums, as I was saying, just to get to know birth story and this kind of thing. So if you are interested, or just fancy a nose,
00:43:38
Speaker
You can find me, I guess, Instagram's the most, you know, the colourful place. So my business page is at mums underscore redefined. And my kind of personal but still business is at Lou underscore B underscore fit. And there's a bit more about me in general and my dog a lot on there.
00:44:06
Speaker
Brilliant. Thank you very much. Thank you for everything you've done for me in the past year, but also thank you so much for being a guest on our podcast today. Great. I've enjoyed it. It's been a pleasure meeting you. Thank you.
00:44:23
Speaker
You've been listening to Roxy and Nate. Thanks for tuning into A to Z Jobs and always remember it's your career and it's up to you to shape it. So dream big, make bold moves, stay curious and keep exploring. Check out our website at thecareerchangecoches.com for more resources, tools and upcoming training. Thank you for joining us on this journey. Don't forget to subscribe and hit that notification bell so you never miss an episode of A to Z Jobs. Remember your dream career could be just one episode away.
00:44:59
Speaker
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