The whole first year of business as an entrepreneur is...

Wow!
Can't believe it has been a year since I felt called to expand my fitness passion to those all over the world. Well...at that time, I honestly didn't know that would happen but it has.  And as I think back over the past year, here are my initial thoughts...suggestions, advice.

• The whole first year of business as an entrepreneur is FINDING YOURSELF.  I saw the people around me were stay at home mom's...and had found success in Beachbody coaching by marketing and working with other stay at home mom's...so that's what I did, or at least tried to do.  And I tried to push it. I tried to market myself as those type of women. But quickly realized I am not a typical stay at home mom.  Yes...I stay home, for the most part. I work from home. BUT I am not a relatable stay at home mom. I come across as intimidating to some. I didn't have a life-changing story of fitness because I lost all my baby weight. And I didn't come from an overweight background to be able to understand or empathize with those who had.  So I struggled.  
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• The whole first year of business as an entrepreneur is HARD WORK. Because so much of the first year is getting the word out. Finding who you are. Learning about your brand and who you are most relatable too. It is finding a social media voice that fits your purpose.  It is doing all the behind the scenes preparation, planning, trying and failing.  It is hard word because there is not a lot of instant success or financial freedom or visible proof of your efforts that first year. I have stayed up late, gotten up early, passed up social activities to work the grind because I believe so firmly in what I have to offer and where I'm heading.  And yet there are days when I say, "what AM I doing??? Will this ever work??"
• The whole first year of business as an entrepreneur takes HEART.  You literally have to put your blinders on.  Put your nose to the ground and work. You can't compare your work and fruits of your labor to others.  You have to keep pushing. Even when it's tough and doesn't seem worthy..like you won't make it.  You show up. And you celebrate showing up. Daily.  Much like when starting a fitness program...you may not see the fruits of your effort for weeks, even months...It's about belief and effort.
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• The whole first year of business as an entrepreneur is EXCITING! All the sudden this new dream comes to fruition and has legs and you are off and running.  It is meeting new people. It is trying new things. It is attending and networking at trainings.  It is late nights listening to YouTube channels about how to improve your business. It's conference calls with prospective clients.  It's volunteering at events to get your name out there and show your heart and purpose for this business.  It's making phone calls and writing letters.  It is becoming part of a whole world of dreamer's and doer's out there who are working the grind, the same as you, with the same purpose and hope. It is finding people who work as hard as you and finally feeling understood and not demeaned for your crazy ideas and "head in the clouds" tactics and conversations.
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• The whole first year of business as an entrepreneur is about EXPERIENCE. It is finding out who your real friends and supporters are. It's learning how to communicate with those near you about the sacrifices you have to make at first to have a better life in the near future.  It's about trying new things. Making mistakes. Learning from them.  It's attending events with people you've never met but going anyway, to be a part of the experience.  It's signing up for awarded trips ahead of time, adding them to your goal/dream board for the next year of business.

• The whole first year of business as an entrepreneur is JUST THE BEGINNING. I feel like NOW, just NOW I am finally beginning the see the fruits of my labor.  You work day to day as an entrepreneur. The sum of the whole isn't really added up until you step back at a monumental moment and say, "wow! Look what I did..."

1) I've trained clients in Mexico, China, India, Canada, and Hawaii...

2) I've been able to reconnect with hundreds of old clients I had no way to train again after we moved...until now.

3) I've been able to share my voice for love of strength training and how it is mis-marked by the fitness industry as "bulking"...

4) I've been able to voice my passion for making fitness a lifestyle change, not a quick fix.

5) I've been able to fundraise for 3 special needs adoptions, host an online cancer fundraiser with fitness, help set-up a fund for a young girl needing traveling funds for her doctor's appointments weekly out of town, host a fundraiser women's crossfit event at a local CrossFit gym to raise funds for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Reno County, design fitness apparel to sell for my sheSTRENGTH program and raise funds for Girls on the Run, International.

6) I've been able to add $500/month to $500/week now to our savings account the past year as my business has grown--which equates to paying off debt quicker AND fills a need within me to contribute financially.

7) I've been able to earn Jerad and I a trip to Dominican Republic next spring.

8) I've been able to design my own personalized programming business called shestrength.com

9) I've been able to show other women, like myself, how to grow their own fitness business, and set goals just like mine for a year from now.

10) I've been able to inspire so many women and men to change their lifestyle to that of a healthier one--for their own personal health, for their families, for their futures.  This has come through 5k's, half marathon training, powerlifting meets, CrossFit events, losing 40 plus pounds and keeping it off, doing their first pull up....and on and on.