"I stay focused by staying fluid" with Erica Marcano

Photo Credit: Nousha Salimi

Erica Marcano is the founder of The Notorious ATC, a holistic fitness brand serving clients looking to bridge the gap between past injury and true fitness. Erica is an Athletic Trainer, Strength Coach, Reiki Master, and Breathwork & Meditation facilitator, with 15+ years of experience with clients ranging from elite athletes to weekend warriors. She blends the latest evidence-based practices in athletic performance and sports medicine with the wisdom of ancient traditions to strengthen her clients’ bodies, minds, and souls. Erica believes that we are meant to be deeply connected to an internal, intuitive intelligence that helps us to heal and grow, and her work serves to reconnect her clients to that intelligence.

Can you tell our readers about your background? 

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and have been an athlete my whole life. When I was in high school, I sustained a shoulder injury, and eventually had surgery. My rehab after surgery inspired me to become an athletic trainer, and since finishing grad school and passing my board exams, I’ve worked in multiple settings, including NCAA Division I athletics, orthopedic physical therapy, higher education, and boutique fitness. After 15+ years in the industry, I decided to launch my own holistic fitness business last year.

What inspired you to start your business?

I had been thinking about starting my own business for a few months when the pandemic hit and I was let go from my job as the clinical strategic manager of a bespoke wellness studio. I felt it was a “now-or-never” moment, and spent the free time that I suddenly had putting all the behind-the-scenes pieces in place, and soft-launching by taking on clients who I had worked within the past. I officially launched at the end of August 2020, and things have really taken off since then!

The inspiration for starting my own business rather than waiting it out and finding another job really came from two places. First, I consider myself the classic example of climbing the corporate ladder only to find out it was leaned up against the wrong building - I had been successful in my past jobs, but I wasn’t truly happy. Second, I was finding it difficult to use all my skills together at work - some hours I was wearing the management hat, other hours doing sports rehab, and then on my days off, Reiki, breathwork, and meditation. Creating my own business allowed me the freedom to do things differently, and actually blend these skills together to create something new, special, and extremely effective for my clients.

Where is your business based? 

I’m currently based in Brooklyn, NY, but, having launched my business mid-pandemic, the majority of my clients are virtual. I love being able to work remotely, as it allows me to help people regardless of where their home base is!

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

The very first step I took (before I even really knew that I was starting my own business) was investing in myself. I had always invested in my continuing education as a professional, taking courses and getting new certifications to build on my rehab and fitness skill set. However, at the end of 2019, I made a decision that for 1 year, I was going to invest my time and money into self-development outside of my clinical skill set. My first investment was in a course that helped me really clarify what I was most valued for by my clients, and what I really loved about my work. This enabled me to see what was missing from the industry and what people needed and led to me developing my niche. The timing of this aligned perfectly with the need to pivot my career.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

My business has grown largely by word of mouth - I believe the best way to raise awareness about what I’m doing is to have happy clients who are meeting and then bypassing, their goals. A secondary factor that was important to me was to feel confident that if a client sent someone else to check out my website or social media to work with me, they found authentic, professional, and fun content that lets them experience exactly what it’s like to work with me. For that reason, even though my clients are referred by their friends and family, I manage my website as if people were finding me randomly in a Google search, and I’ve received feedback that people found it so helpful in making the decision to work with me.  

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

My biggest challenge was actually realizing that I could create the business that I wanted to work in! For years, friends and colleagues had told me I should start my own business, but I couldn’t imagine myself running a company like any of the ones I had worked for. Because I held such a narrow vision of what owning a business would look like, I told myself it wasn’t something I wanted. Once I got out of my own way and began building something from scratch that looked different from anything I had seen before, everything started falling into place!

How do you stay focused? 

This might sound counterintuitive, but I stay focused by staying fluid. At former jobs, I was the queen of multi-tasking and making my way through lists - but my anxiety was always sky-high. I still make lists, but now I have more of a “to-do this week” list, and I allow myself to go with the flow of my energy - I always get everything done, and with much more ease. I learned about Human Design a little after starting to create my business, and when I found out I was a Manifesting Generator, I really felt like it gave me the permission I needed to work in this way. In a regular workplace, it probably wouldn’t fly, but that’s one of the benefits of being a solopreneur!  

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Many health and fitness brands use taglines like, “treating the whole person, not just the injury,” but what they really mean is that they’re working through the whole physical body. What makes me different in the industry is that in addition to working with the whole kinetic chain to create strong, stable, pain-free movement patterns and improve athletic performance, I also do mindset work with my clients, to help them truly access and utilize the physical progress they’re making. The research shows that this type of work is incredibly significant, and we know that many elite athletes do this, but the general population doesn’t usually have access to this type of holistic approach. My business makes this approach to training available to anyone who wants it!

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?  

Being completely transparent about how what I’m offering is different, and just as importantly, being open about the types of clients I don’t work with. This has allowed me to build a great network with my colleagues, and a two-way street for referrals. 

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Rather than looking at existing business models and trying to replicate them, start by looking at how what you love and what you’re skilled at overlap - then figure out how to create something that can help other people with it! I love the Japanese concept of Ikigai, which has been explained to me as one’s “reason for being.” To use this as it applies to work, you would look at what you love, what you’re good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs - where all four overlap is your personal calling. 

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

My favorite app right now is Peloton. As a coach who programs my clients all day, sometimes I don’t want to have to think about programming my own workouts too! I find that the Peloton app has enough options for me to find a workout that matches my goals and my time constraints on any particular day.

I love reading the blog archives from The Minimalists and Ramit Sethi. These authors have really been instrumental in the way I structure my life and my business.  

My favorite book, that I go back to over and over again, is The Little Prince. I first read it as a child, and each time I reread it, I feel like I take away something new from it.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Does education count as a resource? I’ve learned so much over the past year and a half, utilizing everything from YouTube tutorials, to books, to mentors, to consultants.  

Who is your business role model? Why?

There are so many people who have served as mentors to me throughout my career, and I’ve especially had a lot of help over this past year! But my business role model, who I’m fortunate to also have had as a coach and mentor, is Dr.  Shante Cofield, otherwise known as The Movement Maestro. The way she created and continues to evolve her business and her approach to work-life balance really align with my own vision.

How do you balance work and life? What’s your favorite way to decompress?

My work-life balance is currently better than it’s ever been. I make sure that I have time for all the things that keep me feeling balanced - from sleep, to cooking, to exercise, to connect with family and friends - and am still able to prioritize my clients and the creative part of my work. This is so important to me, because it’s something I didn’t have for most of my career. Now, when I am presented with a new project or opportunity, I take a good look at whether I can keep this balance before saying yes.

To decompress, I try to take at least two walks a day - it helps me clear my mind and it feels good to move my body in a way that isn’t a workout. I also love snuggling on the couch with my puppy, Luna, a good book or movie, and a glass of wine.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

I’m launching a new coaching option for clients whose busy lifestyle keeps them from being able to commit to regular time slots for their training sessions. This new option will allow me to provide them with individualized programming, based on their history, needs, and schedule, all done via an app where we can receive and send videos and texts to each other, have accountability check-ins when they matter most, and adjust programming on the go. I’m super excited about this, because it allows me to provide very personal coaching to people and removes one of the biggest barriers to consistent training that exists.

I also have some workshops coming up for other health and fitness professionals on how to overcome the burnout that is so prevalent in our industry.

How can our readers connect with you? 

I’m most active on Instagram, you can find me at @notorious.atc, or you can check out my website at https://www.thenotoriousatc.com to learn more about my services. If you visit my website, don’t forget to check out my blog, where I have workout tips and offer you a deeper look into all aspects of holistic fitness.