Embrace Fitness as a Lifestyle: Edition 8

Welcome to the eighth edition of the Embrace Fitness as a Lifestyle blog! In this edition we will be covering:

• Things I Learned in My First Year as a Business Owner

• Home Gym Storage Hack

• Sierra Whiskey Fitness News

Things I Learned in My First Year as Business Owner

2022 was my first full year owning and operating Sierra Whiskey Fitness. I learned a ton of great things and lessons that I'm happy came early on. I want to talk about some of the things I learned operating my Coaching business out of my garage gym. These are the things that the "gram" didn't see.

1. Certifications Do Not Make You a Better Business Owner

Knowledge is power but not always in a form of a certification. I learned that a certification won't make me a better business owner. I remember how excited I would get over something I found online that I thought would make my business better. Instead, I now know it's more important to spend time learning how to run a business, how to network, marketing, social media, etc. I did invest in a couple of business coaches in 2022 and this helped a ton. I now know that my knowledge as a Coach is enough but that my energy would be better spent and used focusing on business information.

2. The Success of Your Business is Driven by You

I drive and conduct the Sierra Whiskey Fitness train. As the owner, I am responsible for every aspect of my business. I love this because there is no one else to blame at the end of the day except myself. I am in control of the growth and direction Sierra Whiskey Fitness goes.

3. You Can't Help Everyone

This was probably one of the hardest things to accept as a lesson learned. When I started 2022, I had no idea the type of client I wanted to work with. This is where the importance of niching down comes into play. I worked with a variety of clients over the past year and found myself getting burnt out. Now, I focus my energy on helping women be strong, be confident, move better, and perform better through strength training. Since narrowing my niche more, I found that the clients I work with now match my energy and vision.

4. You Aren't Going to Get Rich Your First Year

I knew that my first few years of business were not going to be profitable. I just ran my annual numbers this morning and found a deficit between money earned and money spent. I smiled when I broke everything down because I saw that the money spent went towards equipment upgrades and investments in learning how to operate a business. To me, I see this as positive growth because of the time I spent building my foundation. Every cent made was reinvested back into SWF. The first few years are always the hardest but once things get going, I imagine it'll be great. Patience, consistency, and remaining open minded, are what keep me focused.

Home Gym Storage Hack: Lockers

As I was scrolling on Facebook, I saw a home gym post that caught my attention. I saw a locker in a corner of a garage gym that held random items from the gym. I have been searching for a way to organize small items in my gym and this was the solution. I hopped on Marketplace and found a set of two red lockers for $125. We took an adventure and picked them up.

Here's a quick story time:

I asked the seller for measurements to make sure the lockers would fit in my Subaru. The seller wrote me back and said "Oh the locker is 60 inches tall by 30 inches wide". I then proceed to head to my car with the tape measure. I checked everything and found that I had plenty of room for the locker set. We get to the seller's house and find that the locker was not 60 inches tall. With creative Tetris abilities, we were able to load it into the Subaru. Rhyan and I were nose to the dashboard but it all worked out.

My favorite line from the seller after we loaded everything was "Wow it's like you guys are riding Coach". We did a polite laugh and then drove away. I got home to check the measurements and indeed the locker was not 60 inches but instead 70 inches.

As you can tell, this has organized and consolidated a lot of my miscellaneous items around the gym.

Here are links to some of my favorite items in the locker:

1. Bench Blokz

2. DMoose Dip Belt

3. 5.11 Tactical Weight Vest

Sierra Whiskey Fitness News

I always love writing this section because I get to talk about all of the exciting things going on at SWF! First, I'm excited to say we made it through our first full operational year! I am excited to see the growth that 2023 will bring. I am working on a lot behind the scenes, so stay tuned!

I have rebranded my merch line with some new options! You can purchase your SWF merch at this link:

https://www.bonfire.com/the-lifestyle-line-2023/

Here is my quick disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.