"Spend your time on revenue generating activities" with Ria Patag

Photo Credit: Morgan Simes

Ria Patag is a 19-year-old entrepreneur, podcast host, and fitness influencer. With her extensive weightlifting and nutrition experience, she focuses on content creation to help others learn about fitness. More notably, she founded an activewear brand called Bolt Active. Bolt’s unapologetic and bold branding is aimed to help young women feel represented and welcome in the fitness space, as a male associated industry.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

Thanks for having me! As a first-gen immigrant, my mom had these set standards for me, doing good in school, excelling in hobbies and sports, and more. However, I was simply getting by in school and didn’t have any hobbies. I didn’t fit in anywhere until my freshman year, I started weightlifting. Like most people, I started weightlifting due to bad body image, but fell in love with the process, where it became much more to me!

What inspired you to start your business?

I wanted to make the gym a less intimidating place for young women. Although the lifting community can feel male dominated, lifting is for girls too, and it doesn’t make you any less feminine. I wanted to help girls feel more confident and comfortable at the gym, and my way of doing so was creating my brand Bolt! To me, it’s not just activewear, it’s a community and a movement of strong women. 

Where is your business based?

At the moment, I run everything from my room! Including my inventory, as I’m doing self fulfillment for now and outsourcing to a 3PL later.

I live in Las Vegas, Nevada right now but would love to relocate one day.

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

First is the seed, next you have to plant it!

Once I identified what my brand mission was, who I was selling to, my brand values, etc, it was then time for me to use those values to find a manufacturer, since I wanted to sell ethically and sustainably made clothes. Inevitably, since they’re ethically made and the workers get paid a living wage, the COGS (cost of goods sold) is more than what it would be if I was reselling Alibaba leggings. Since I had a sense of direction, I went to my graphic designer to turn my ideas into visuals. I actually had her do my first startup’s logo!

From here, I put in the order for samples. In fashion, it’s a small investment to know your manufacturer is reliable and the product is what you expect.

While waiting for samples, bulk products, and more, I focused on growing my social media presence on Instagram and TikTok, so when I did launch, I had a warm audience interested in fitness / wellness!

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

I like to leverage social media, while content creating and sharing my knowledge when it comes to fitness and self development. From there, I’ll naturally bring up my brand, and sometimes my followers will even share it on their platforms!

I also love building connections via DM! I’ve made a lot of friends, not out of the intent for them to purchase, but to build genuine connections. They support me, even not by purchasing, but by following me and even reposting my posts. Word of mouth marketing is obviously something I rely on as a startup. People trust their friends and family.

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

My biggest challenge is definitely getting traffic. Organic traffic is lots harder than it seems! I’m overcoming this obstacle by investing more into paid advertising. Not just investing financially, but my time, and learning more on how to optimize my ads in order to get the best ROAS (return on ad spend) 

How do you stay focused?

Identifying what your distractions are. For me, it’s my phone. If I want to sit down and get lots done in one sitting, I’ll literally hide my phone from myself in order to avoid getting distracted.

Staying focused on a macro scale, to me, just means getting inspired and remembering your passions. Sometimes that spark can get lost, but you’ll end up finding it. Good ways to get that ‘spark’ back is by visually getting inspired (reinventing your vision board), talking to someone with similar goals, listening to podcasts or videos by people who’s spot you want to be in one day, and more.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

With activewear, all of the brands are pretty much the same, they all have cute clothes right? In a way, I make my USP (unique selling point) my brand. Most activewear brands will sell you on “tummy tucking” and “hide that muffin top” or “anti cellulite”. I’m not big on that, my entire brand mission is to uplift and empower women in the fitness space. Bolt’s changing the conversation to stop hiding and start embracing who you are, at all stages in your fitness journey.

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

I’m big on UGC for ads. If someone looks at an ad, and it- well, looks like an ad, they’re going to skip it immediately. I create TikToks, super personable and has me in them, and repurpose them for paid traffic. This seems to be a strategy I’m going to stick to for at least a while, and A/B test the different TikToks! 

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

Spend your time on revenue generating activities. It’s so easy, especially as a new entrepreneur to fall into this trap of ‘disguised procrastination- doing things that are time consuming, but unnecessary. For example: editing your LinkedIn, spending an awful long time checking email, random networking calls, etc etc. Before you do something, consider it’s ROI (return on investment). Is this going to help me make money? How is it going to help me make money?

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

My favorite app is Instagram! Social media can be toxic, and I don’t like using a lot of social media apps. I like Instagram because although it can be toxic when misused, it’s made for sharing your favorite parts of your life, which I can do while inspiring people who resonate with me!

I don’t typically read blogs, but Neil Patel’s blog is a good one for marketing! I’m more of a YouTube kinda person, and I love learning from people like Graham Stephan, Ali Abdaal, and more. I love to utilize YouTube for entertainment purposes obviously, but I mostly see so much educational value in it. I can learn whatever I want from people who are much more knowledgeable than me!  

My favorite fiction book is The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon. I love the message of everything having a purpose in life though it may not make sense at the time. My favorite nonfiction book is The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. It’s a handbook to living the life you want! I could reread that book 100x, because there’s so many gems on working less, and living more.

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

Canva is a tool to create graphic designs. There’s templates, element stickers, and text boxes; it’s very user friendly. I love it because it gives my website and Instagram feed an established look for free! 

Who is your business role model? Why?

Nastassia Ponomaranko! She’s my business role model because I see myself in her. She’s around my age, and a female founder, so it inspires me knowing she was able to have so much success in e-commerce through growing her personal brand.

How do you balance work and life?

The reason I wanted to pursue entrepreneurship was to be able to enjoy life more. With grind culture, it may seem like you’re not worthy unless you work 24/7 - but the truth is, if you work 24/7, it won’t even be your best work. There’s more to life than work and productivity, and I feel comfortable in my decision and the path I have. There’s no rush! Since I’m choosing to be patient, I feel no need to overwork myself, then burnout. The answer is a mindset shift! 

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Honestly, the gym! Moving your body in any way that you enjoy is an amazing way to get your mind off things, especially business related stress. For me, it’s weightlifting, but there are so many different types of exercise! It could be yoga, dance, stretching, hiking, sports, even a walk. 

What do you have planned for the next six months?

I’m putting all my focus towards scaling Bolt! I’d like to put my income into either investments or ads. Also - be excited for winter drops. The compressive fabric we’ve got for the summer sets is unmatched- so imagine it in leggings! ;) 

How can our readers connect with you?

Connect with me on Instagram on instagram.com/riapatag

And check out boltactive.com

"Don’t over-think things and don’t over consume information" with Allison Jackson

Allison Jackson is the founder of Allison Jackson Fitness and helps corporate moms get lean eating foods they love so they can be at their best. She knows exactly how hard it is to work full-time, take care of the kids and household...plus try to fit in working out, eating right, and taking care of herself, too! Allison has spent the last eight years training and competing in figure competitions -- even winning three pro cards in one year -- so she has a crystal-clear picture of what it takes to get to your ideal weight and stay there. Get free resources and listen to her Fit to Lead Podcast at www.allisonjacksonfitness.com.

Can you tell our readers about your background?
I’m a certified personal trainer (NASM) and nutrition coach (Pn1). I’ve been interested in fitness since the ’90s but also always struggled with my weight. After achieving my bucket list goal of competing in a figure competition in 2012, I’ve competed every year since and attained my pro card in 2019. I love continuing to learn and attained my yoga teacher training (YTT-200) during the spring of 2020.

What inspired you to start your business?
My competition experience launched my business, Allison Jackson Fitness. I’ve always used coaches during my competition preps, so I knew the benefits of having someone provide guidance and a strategy. After competing for so many years, people kept asking what I was doing to get stage-ready and started asking me to coach them to lose weight. It’s so rewarding to help others reach their goals.

Where is your business based?
It’s completely online and I’m located in Northern New Jersey.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?
I started by coaching people for free. I wanted to make sure I could get the results and began creating systems to ensure a consistent process. Eventually, I ended up getting a logo, website, and marketing materials.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?
By far, social media has helped me get the word out about my business and grow my following. I started on Facebook and have expanded to LinkedIn and Instagram.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
Working full-time while trying to grow a business can be challenging from a time and energy perspective. Plus, I’m married and have two teenagers so there are only so many hours in a day. It’s important to prioritize who and what needs you the most at any given time. You definitely need to have balance and set boundaries.

How do you stay focused?
I find that regular meditation every morning keeps me grounded and focused. It’s also such a wonderful way to manage stress. In addition, I’m a big fan of time-blocking, which is using chunks of time to focus on one thing, whether that’s phone calls, emails, or editing podcasts.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
Everyone has a different story, experience, and background. For me, since I still work full-time, compete, and run a business. My target is busy, working moms, so being able to walk the walk and talk the talk has been my biggest differentiator. If I can dedicate the time and effort, anyone can!

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
It’s definitely creating a private Facebook group with your “tribe” of followers. These are your biggest fans and the people who you want to constantly and consistently give value to and go above and beyond.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Don’t over-think things and don’t over consume information (i.e., analysis paralysis). Just start doing what you love and see if it’s possible to generate money from it.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?
My favorite app is Todist. It’s literally provided a way for me to keep a scheduled, ongoing to-do list, which is a huge stress reliever.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?
My favorite tool is Google Drive. You can literally run an entire business with the tools and features in Google Drive. It’s amazing.

Who is your business role model? Why?
It’s definitely Eve Guzman of G-Transformation Academy and the Macro Mentorship. She is one of the best business coaches I’ve ever hired. She started her business from nothing and has grown it into an amazing empire.

How do you balance work and life?
I prioritize accordingly. Sometimes my family needs me more and sometimes work or my business does. It’s evaluating where you add the most value at any given time and then move in that direction.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?
Meditating and doing yoga, followed by taking a nap. Rest and recovery are so vital for self-preservation.

What do you have planned for the next six months?
Grow my podcast, do more speaking engagements, possibly write another book, but what I really want most is to help as many people as possible with their health and fitness.

How can our readers connect with you?
Visit me at www.allisonjacksonfitness.com and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn -- @allisonjacksonfitness.

"With so many things to work on and progress, it can be hard to see the wood for the trees," with Billy Ferguson

Billy Ferguson is the founder & CEO of Trivelo.  A triathlon and multi-sport specialist agency providing product testing and digital marketing services to a range of triathlon companies.  Clients of Trivelo include HUUB, TYR, Zone3, Proviz, Salomon, and Orca.  As well as devoting his time to making Trivelo a success, Billy is Father to three children so maintaining a balance between work and life is a huge priority. 

https://blog.trivelo.co.uk 

Can you tell our readers about your background?  

After working in a bunch of technology roles within the financial services sector for more than two decades my ambition to do something for myself led me to set up Trivelo.  I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have worked for a number of blue-chip companies in Senior Executive roles and this has allowed me to learn a number of transferable skills much of which is relevant now even as a small business.

The other half of the Trivelo story came from taking up a triathlon over a decade ago.  After playing hockey since childhood fitting it in around a busy family life became too much.  Disappearing for an entire day every Saturday wasn’t going to last.  I’ve always loved the sport so needed something new.  Surfing as my other sporting passion isn’t a daily option where we live so triathlon offered a chance to do something new.   

What inspired you to start your business?

In spite of being on the wrong side of 40, I continue to be thirsty for knowledge and to learn.  This has resulted in continually developing myself through my career following the completion of higher education.  It additionally has meant reading everything I can.  Not fiction but business books and autobiographies of inspirational people who have achieved amazing things.  Not just in business but across a spectrum of disciplines. 

From absorbing this over the decades my tendency has been to read more and more about how businesses startup.  This planted the seed for my own business that I guess has always been there.  The trigger to take this from a dream to actually starting came from the timing.  I reached a point in my career where I had created a wonderful network of people I can genuinely consider as friends.  Many of them work in different industries doing different roles but combined offer everything you could need to start a business.  Without planning it I had the perfect panel to help me kick start a business without needing a swarm of external consultants.  This opportunity seemed too good to miss and something that I used to help me start my business. 

Where is your business based?

London - United Kingdom 

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

The idea for the Trivelo and our REAL Athletes and TRUSTED Reviews platform came from a service used in IT Development where firms use virtual testing panels.  They commission testing from a panel to get usability testing on mobile apps and websites.  I wondered if I could bring the same concept through to a triathlon service.  From this, the idea was born.  The first steps were to write a business plan and socialise this with a “friendly” audience to get feedback.  Having done this it was a case of raising funding to get the business going which allowed the fun to really begin.   

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

This is difficult.  Selecting one single item that has helped to raise awareness over everything else is hard.  Raising awareness has been the result of a number of supporting things.  There are two main areas we have focused on to achieve business reach.  Firstly, Twitter has been our social media focus since day one.  With an open platform that connects businesses and individuals, it has worked well for us to create a community of athletes and fitness companies.  Secondly, Search Engine Optimisation has been and will continue to be a huge focus for our business.  We don’t use any paid web advertising and have grown 100% organically.  This has been possible by continuous investment in SEO.  It is certainly not a “one and done” answer as we have to keep monitoring and refining our SEO based on changes in the web.  

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

The biggest challenge I faced in our first few years of running the business was facing the stark reality that the business plan wasn’t going to work.  The original concept was to build a secure platform for cyclists to buy and sell used bikes.  We got as far as building out the full platform that we ran with for a couple of years but a website that relies on user-driven content needs visitors. 

There is a critical mass that you need to achieve to ensure you have new content for people to find and without this, you are dead in the water.  Getting critical mass either needs a boost from viral engagement or you throw money at it with swathes of advertising.  The private equity funding behind the business wasn’t prepared to put up an increasing pot of money for advertising so the gut-wrenching decision was made to change direction.  The important lesson learned through this was that while a business plan activity ahead of starting up is super important to stress test an idea you can’t be wedded to it once your idea is a living breathing entity. 

How do you stay focused?

There is a lot of noise and distractions - with so many things to work on and progress it can be hard to see the wood for the trees.  Everyone needs a good filtering process so they can have a mechanism to keep the focus on the work that matters.  I established early the processes that we can share across the business and use on-line to keep track of who is doing what and keep sight of the important tasks that need time and attention.   

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Research.  Research.  Research.  We have spent thousands of hours researching everything we do.  It is a strategy that we deploy with everything.  Who are our competitors and what are they doing?  Who are our potential financial targets and how are they spending money at the moment?  What are triathletes looking for?  What new cool stuff can we be the first to review?  By seeking answers to the right questions all the time we can reach more people and create a larger impact continuously.  This is something that is the lifeblood of the company, as soon as we stop researching and asking the questions I don’t believe we will continue to grow.  Indeed survive.

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

Brand advocacy has been incredible.  We firmly believe our success is directly linked to the community of athletes that we create.  The more we can meet the genuine needs of our community and work with them to understand what they want the more they help us grow.  Through brand advocacy, we can meet new people and have a growing community of support that will work to create new opportunities and protect the integrity of our brand.   

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

You will need to be patient - having read hundreds of business books there is a danger that you can embark on a new business venture expecting within 12 months to be running something that rivals Netflix.  Of the millions of businesses that start each year it is estimated that 90% of these fail.  If you are brave enough to start a new business and you can keep it going you are bucking this trend.  If 5 years after start-up you are still growing and the business is alive you are succeeding.  BE PATIENT.  Trivelo celebrated our 5 year anniversary this year and I still very much consider us a start-up.  The Ferrari is yet to be ordered!

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

App - Asana.  This is a cloud-based tool for activity management.  Essentially a collaboration tool for “to-do lists” across teams.  We use this throughout Trivelo to run mini-projects and loop in the right people tracking who is doing what and where things are.  It is really lightweight and creates no barriers to entry allowing quick tracking of what has been done on a day-to-day basis. 

Blog - Hubspot.  A mammoth collection of useful resources to follow for anyone running a digital business.  I like that there are genuine takeaways that you can apply straight away and use in your business.  

Book - Shoe Dog by Phil Knight.  A memoir by the creator of Nike.  Shoe Dog traces the origins of Nike from its founder Phil Knight who set it up as a side hustle while holding down a full-time 9-5.  It is hugely inspirational to hear how Nike struggled and evolved into the business that it has since become.  Cash flow problems dogged the company for over a decade and they faced the stark reality of going under on a number of occasions.  There is a vast amount of this story that any entrepreneur can relate to.  This is especially true for anyone who is working to build up a small business while paying the bills with a day job while they battle to turn a profit.  The book is a very honest account of how Phil Knight built Nike through the early years hunting down Adidas and the numerous hurdles that threatened their existence on a day to day basis.  Brilliant book and a must-read for anyone thinking of starting their own business showcasing what it means to have a vision and the persistence needed to realise this.  

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

Google for a work suite of apps. Having a cloud-based office suite that we can share and access from a range of devices is perfect for a small business. It is free to use and as powerful as any Microsoft equivalent. With the files, all cloud-based it means we can collaborate on content and track progress in shared files. Again perfect when the team is not co-located as we don’t all work out of one office. A further benefit for a cash-strapped start-up is we can buy and use chrome books rather than expensive laptops. All of the above remove usual barriers to a small business of complexity of IT and costs for getting off the ground. Thank you, Google!   

Who is your business role model? Why?  

Richard Reed.  Founder of Innocent Smoothies.  Richard is not a common role model in business circles I accept but I have been lucky enough to meet him a handful of times and heard his story.  I am open to share that some of his business concepts I have fully adopted and plagiarised for Trivelo.  The most amazing part of his story was how the business set out from the outset with a drive to deliver positive social change.  This business plan component to give back really struck a chord with me.  If you follow the story of Innocent Smoothies it is a brilliant venture into the unknown having the courage to do something new and embarking on a market dominated by major players.   

How do you balance work and life?

My working week has been turned upside recently with the impacts of the global pandemic.  Usually, I would be expecting to travel around the country working but for the past 5 months that has been restricted to home working that has taken some adjustments.  I continue to try to juggle the demands of a young family with three young children whose childhood I do not want to miss due to work.  In addition to these many time hungry activities I also try to train for triathlons myself and fit in swimming, cycling, and running every week. 

I plan ahead as much as I can and have a clear outline of the week ahead.  It requires discipline and prioritisation so I always have a “to-do” list per key role that I maintain on my phone.  Each day working through this and using this to keep my time on the key activities.  Modern technology such as my phone and Google workplace tools means I can work round the clock but I maintain boundaries for work ends.  I don’t let the working day drift into the evening and call time on the laptop to spend time with my kids.  Likewise with my week ahead planning I make sure there is time for exercise factored in. 

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Make time for exercise in your daily work routine.  Giving your mind a break from the demands of being a CEO means that you can retain more of a fresh outlook.  Studies have shown that productivity improves through exercise.  By factoring this into the middle of your day you give yourself the ability to return invigorated and ready for another start.  Don’t put this time for you out of your diary viewing this as wasted effort.  As well as refreshing your mind it also gives you time to reflect while taking in some exercise.  Sometimes my most valuable breakthroughs have come from doing something completely different.  A swim.  A ride.  A run.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Our goal for the next months is to see the business clear the last of the investment debt.  When we get through this milestone my plan is to begin our contributions to charities with a percentage of our profits.  I have always wanted the business to “do good” and the most obvious way of doing this is to donate funds to help charities that we can really connect with. 

How can our readers connect with you?

Blog - https://blog.trivelo.co.uk

Twitter - @trivelo_bikes

YouTube - Trivelo Bikes

Instagram - trivelo.bikes

"Split your time at least 50/50 between researching and just starting" with Tyler Read

Tyler Read is an industry-leading certified personal trainer and successful entrepreneur. He became an authority on fitness and nutrition by obtaining a bachelor’s in kinesiology, 3 fitness certifications, and 10+ years as a personal trainer. He is also an expert on building careers and businesses within the fitness industry as exemplified from building a 6 figure personal training business than building a six-figure personal training career business, PTPioneer. Tyler wants to continue to grow his reach and influence within the personal training and nutrition coaching industry so he can help guide and educate more people who want to get into this sink or swim type of industry.

Can you tell our readers about your background? 

I went to college at Sonoma State University and majored in kinesiology and pre-physical therapy. Before that, I grew up in Santa Cruz, California. I played a lot of sports in high school and discovered my love of fitness and decided to focus on that in college. After graduating I got my personal training certification through NASM and I started working as a personal trainer.

During my time as a personal trainer, I’d always get friends asking me what the job was like, how much money I was making, how I got started, and what the best personal training certifications are. It was a difficult question to answer myself and even harder to put it simply for others because there are so many legitimate options out there. 

So as I was working as a personal trainer, I began to put together PTPioneer in order to start answering these questions about which certifications to get, how to study for them, and how to pass the exams. That was the beginning of PTPioneer. Right away, I got a lot of feedback that the information I was providing was really helpful in other people’s journeys towards becoming a personal trainer so I’ve continued to follow this passion of mine. 

What inspired you to start your business? 

Besides wanting to help my friends and clients that were asking about how to get started as a personal trainer, I also wanted to start my own business and be able to work for myself. That had always been a goal of mine and I did know that you could make money from having your own website and getting traffic to it from search engines or paid ads. 

I wanted to learn more about internet marketing because I knew several people who had their own online businesses and were able to leave their desk jobs and work for themselves. 

I was inspired to start PTPioneer because I could help people become personal trainers, become my own boss, work from wherever I wanted, and whatever hours I wanted.

Where is your business based?

Technically my business is based in the United States in Portland, Oregon, but we do have people on our team working from all over the world. We have people from South Africa, Colombia, Peru, Australia, the US, and the UK. 

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

My business started from getting asked the same questions about personal training and over and over being asked if I could help people get started choosing a certification. The next step was creating the website because this was a whole new world for me that I didn’t know anything about. I started to dive into learning about WordPress, hosting, domains, and how to start a blog. Getting that all set up was a task I had to take on after I got home from working full time as a personal trainer,

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

Outreach. Reaching out to other people who are doing similar things in the fitness industry and personal trainer certification organizations themselves to see if I can become a writer on their blog or get a mention on social media. I sought out these sorts of collaborations in order to show them and their audience what I was doing and why it was important for the industry.

Typically I get good feedback from personal outreach and I’m able to connect and reach their audience which builds brand recognition and awareness for PTPioneer.

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

Figuring out the tech side of things. I already had the knowledge about personal training, but I didn’t know anything about tech or writing good content for the internet. I didn't have the money to hire web developers so I had to learn all on my own. 

The hardest part was building the website. Even when I finally built it, it didn't look good. So then I had to figure out how to design it and when I tried something new, something else would break because of a plugin conflict or something else. That was a major challenge in addition to getting hacked, which has happened multiple times.

That kind of stuff is super hard because you put all your energy into a website and just to have it disappear because you broke something and don’t understand how to fix it. The site is now live and functional, but the ongoing site maintenance is still a challenge for me. However, I overcome all these challenges through personal research and taking it one step at a time. I’m also now able to hire the proper experts to help when I need it which is a major relief.

How do you stay focused? 

I honestly want to help people succeed. I get a lot of people reaching out to me with additional or specific questions. They want personal guidance from someone who knows why they might choose one certification or path over another. That and the fact that I love being my own boss are the two major driving forces for me and keeping me focused. I don't want to give up this lifestyle where I can travel and work for myself. That’s a huge motivating factor for me.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

My business has the most organized website in terms of mapping out what aspiring personal trainers and nutrition or fitness coaches need to do next on their career path. I clearly lay out what step 1 is and step 2 etc. A lot of other sites have some of the same information, but it’s not organized, there’s no clear direction about what you need to do for example after you get your CPR and what you do after you choose a certification or how to apply for a job and figuring out what type of gym you want to work in. No matter what stage of your career you're in, we always have a clear direction for what to do, where to go, and how to advance your career.

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

Outreach has also been my most effective marketing strategy for PTPioneer. Connecting with people, tapping into their audiences, being able to collaborate with them on projects, and getting social media or website mentions from their brands. Each of these things has been extremely effective in building brand awareness and SEO in order to help rank my content higher on YouTube and in search engines. 

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

Create what I like to call the research and application balance. When I first started, I was researching all the time but had not yet done anything. I got caught in an information overload. I was researching and researching and there was always so much more information. I didn't know where to start so I was in this analysis paralysis.

I wasn’t doing anything. The more I learned, the more I got stuck. Split your time at least 50/50 between researching and just starting. If your goal is to create your WordPress site, just buy the domain and hosting and install WordPress then do a bit more research and come back to do more. Balance the doing and the learning. 

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

Favorite App: Honestly, Google Chrome because it serves as every app in one.

Favorite Blog: I really like smartpassiveincome.com because it helped me learn so much about internet marketing, SEO, how to work for myself, and how to become a full-time blogger.

Favorite Book: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card because I really like sci-fi. I love that book. I've read it three times.

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

Asana because it can organize my whole team. We organize our projects into separate tasks and we can work on everything in one location as opposed to keeping track of everything through email. Asana makes things so much easier. I use it for myself personally and for my team.

Who is your business role model? Why?

One of my best friend's older brothers is my business role model. He's been running an internet business ever since leaving high school. He taught me that I could do it too and quit my 9-5. As much as I love personal training, I love traveling as well. He helped motivate me to get started and he's had a lot of success which gives me even more motivation.

How do you balance work and life? 

Setting a stop time on my work day because if I didn’t, I would probably keep on working all night. There’s always an infinite amount of things to do and I really like doing it, but it’s just as important for my business success to allow myself time to cool down, to work out, to hang out with friends, and just relax and read a book. So I set a schedule and I stick to it. I set a stop time 6 PM and I don’t allow myself to work after that time. 

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Working out is hands down my favorite way to decompress. It doesn't need to be an intense workout like high intensity interval training (HIIT) or anything like that, but it could be just walking outside, taking a hike, or going to the gym and lifting weights. Exercise—any form of it.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Well, I am hoping to get back back to Colombia where my apartment is. I'm currently stuck in Peru because of COVID-19. Everybody during this time is kind of stuck, but in my life, I’m looking to get back to Columbia. In my business, I’m looking to create more connections.

A lot of people have been online talking about the change from in person training to online training, I've been doing a lot of work to help fitness professionals transition to an online platform. Helping personal trainers get websites created, teaching them how to work with clients online so they can have work even during this pandemic. I’m working with that and excited about the hybrid future of personal and online personal training.

How can our readers connect with you?

Visit my website at ptpioneer.com and check us out as PTPioneer on Youtube.

Q&A with Ryan Dobroff

Ryan Dobroff is a prominent coach and business owner in the Sacramento area. Ryan has 6 years of experience as a US Marine, his military occupational specialty was a parachute rigger. Ryan has his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science from Sacramento State University. Ryan has 11 years of experience working in various fitness facilities such as private studios, commercial gyms, and interning on the Sacramento State strength and Conditioning team. RoyalFitnessByRyan.com

I was inspired to start my business by accident. I completed my personal training certification during the summer as I transferred from Los Medanos Community College to Sacramento State University. When I transferred, I wanted to get experience as a personal trainer before starting on my own. I worked for 24-hour fitness for a few months and decided to leave once I got said experience. I then started to slowly build my own client list as I left. I trained my clients in their homes, and at parks.

Toward the end of that year, I was preparing for a large influx of new clients with the holiday season around the corner, so I started calling gyms in the area if they had room for any trainers. I called over 15 gyms, only one called back. It was CJ from “The Gym” in Rancho Cordova. Little did I know how much this gym would mean to me. It was the perfect set up for me to be successful. “The Gym” gave me the perfect opportunity to be successful. I am thankful every day for this opportunity. I would not be where I am at today without it.

Fast forward 2 years, I prepare to graduate. I had a decision to make, do I stay with my business, continue onto Physical Therapy school, or look for a career in the health care industry. My original plan was to use personal training as stepping into physical therapy school but decided against it. I was having too much fun doing personal training and enjoying all of the relationships I had already. It was a tough decision, but I am so happy I made the decision I did. I am in awe of how far I have come since then. I was inspired by my clients and love of helping others to continue the start of my business. My clients bring out the best in me and teach me more than I teach them. It has been almost 2 years since I have made that decision.

The first step I took toward building my business was delivering excellent service with integrity, word of mouth is the best marketing technique. I also placed lead generation and client retention as my top priorities. All while going to school full time and performing my US Marine reservist obligations. The most effective way of raising awareness for my business was and is word of mouth, lead generation, and website. In recent events, I have been pushing more brand awareness by creating towels and apparel, as well as pushing more into social media.

The biggest challenges I have faced and still currently face is self-confidence in the rough times, other peoples’ opinions, and negative self-talk in my head. I overcome them day by day and do my best to not let these affect me and my work. It has been a constant struggle, and I doubt it will stop any time in the future. I stay focused by remembering that this is bigger than me. This is about my clients and those I serve. Their well-being, happiness, and of course goals are top of my mind for me. I do my best to accommodate any needs they have, make time for them, and educate them on how to lead a healthier lifestyle.

I remind our clients this is not a quick and easy route; these are lifestyle changes that are meant to stay. That is what separates me from my competition. My niche. My niche is Health and Fitness coaching. I consider Health and Fitness coaching to be an art form. I consider it an art form because, within a short period of time (typically 2 hours out of the 168 hours in a week), I need to persuade our clients to become the best version of themselves by eliciting positive change.

I help bring about this change by convincing them that their health is important and that they need to incorporate these changes and lead a healthier and more active lifestyle. I help them realize the big picture, and what needs to happen for them to get there. A lot of people do not realize this, but I am slowly replacing our client’s bad habits with healthier habit choices. This is not easy. In a sense, I am convincing someone that their way of thinking is wrong, and mine is better. I do not put it so bluntly with them, but that is a general idea. Their way put them in front of me, our recommendations will help them build their foundation for success. Our goal is to help our clients become self-sufficient.

One of my favorite books is “Success Principles” by Jack Canfield. In his book, he shows you how to be successful in whatever you do. He helps you build your foundation for success by having you complete the workbook, I reflect and re-read this every April to track my progress from years past.

My favorite business tool or resource is my website. My website is a direct reflection of me. My website is the first thing potential clients see, it’s my first impression on them.

 My business role models are Gary Vaynerchuk and Mark Coles, for different reasons. Gary is who I base the business model off of by leading with compassion, love, and kindness. Always providing value to others with or without payment and expecting nothing in return. Mark, because he is all about training the trainer. He is all about professional development, constantly and never stopping continuous learning.

I balance work and life by doing what I love and making time for myself. I love what I do, so more than half the time I do not feel like I am working. Sometimes I cannot believe I get paid to do what I do. I nurture and build relationships and hang out with people all day while they workout. I also get internal fulfillment by helping others reach their goals, I love the “A-ha” and “congratulatory” moments. I ensure I do make time for myself. I have been to the point of burnout plenty of times, and it is a sweet balancing act. I almost always have something on the calendar to look forward to for a vacation, have consistent and scheduled “Me” time. I also am not afraid to take a mental health day, as well as make time for family. My clients understand how important family is to me. For me to help others, I must first take care of myself. This allows me to be better.

My favorite way to decompress is a night out drinking with the guys, attending a music festival, working out, hanging out with friends, eating food with good company, going for a nice drive, or just kicking back and playing some Xbox.

In the next 6 months, I have a lot of planning. I have recently become a Realtor for Mimi Nassif Luxury Estates, Inc. My goal is to buy/sell my first home for a client. As far as Royal Fitness by Ryan is concerned, I am looking to expand my reach. Recently I have been taking on coaches and finding them work through my lead generation techniques. This is nice because this will allow me to grow my business and help friends find work now. I am in the process of building and developing my team. I am excited about this next quantum leap. I am also developing a clothing line for Royal Fitness By Ryan as well. We just pushed out branded towels. Next is hoodies, tank tops, and masks.

Readers can connect with us in various ways. The simplest and easiest is our website RoyalFitnessByRyan.com. There’s also Instagram - @RoyalFitnessByRyan, YouTube – Royal Fitness by Ryan (Here we upload 1-minute explanations of exercises. No more fluff-filled exercise explanation videos), Facebook – Royal Fitness By Ryan, Email – RoyalFitnessByRyan@gmail.com, or phone: 925.334.8111

Q&A with Fitness Guru & Entrepreneur, Gabrielle Bolin

Gabrielle Bolin is an ACE-Certified Personal Trainer and the owner of Fit By Gab, an in-home and online personal training and nutrition counseling service for women.  In addition to being an athlete, a trainer, and a business owner, Gabrielle is also a cycling instructor, a writer, an actress, and a wife to her wonderful husband Simon, with whom she has one dog named Reese.

 Can you tell our readers about your background? 

I have been an actress for most of my life, appearing in a number of television shows, films, stage productions and music videos.  As an actress, staying in shape was always important to me, but working out felt much more like a punishment for what I ate than a way to stay healthy. 

After college, I found myself in a corporate job as the training manager for a restaurant group and fell in love with helping my young employees realize their worth and move up from a minimum wage job to a corporate position with a salary and benefits.  I started feeling really bad about not focusing on my acting career, so I took out my frustrations with "me time" at the gym whenever I could, which was usually 4:30 AM.  Before long, I looked and felt better and rediscovered my self-worth, and I knew I wanted to use my passion for training to help other women do the same.

What inspired you to start your business? 

My first personal training job was at a small local gym where the only people I was able to train were members of that location, most of whom were not the women I dreamed of helping.  Some of the other trainers I worked with had clients on the side that they trained in-home, so I figured out how to market to non-gym members looking for a personal trainer and started growing my clientele through online advertising and word of mouth.  There were really no independent personal training "brands" in my area, so I decided to distinguish myself and really dive in with both feet.

Where is your business based?

My in-home training business is based on Long Island, NY, but thanks to the internet, I have clients from all over the country.

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

There were really two parts to starting Fit By Gab: the legal side and the advertising side.  My husband took care of most of the legal paperwork because that's his forte (and, truth be told, it would probably still be in a pile on my desk if left up to me), while I did the advertising, wrote the training programs and found ways to set myself apart. 

However, the most powerful thing I did when I first started out was defining what my business was all about.  I didn't want to just be another run-of-the-mill trainer, so I slowly started phasing out my male clients and only took on women who wanted not just to look good, but to feel good.  Setting myself apart and learning to turn down clients who weren't a good fit was the best decision I made when forming my business.

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

Nothing has raised my brand awareness quite like challenges.  One week I was going away on vacation, so I posted a workout video to my Facebook page each day for my clients to do, and each workout they did earned them 10% off their next training package, as long as they posted a video of them doing the workout, tagged me in it and included #FitByGab. 

I was just trying to keep my clients from falling off the wagon while I was gone - I had no idea it would create so much traffic!  Now, I run online challenges on Facebook for people who are not yet clients, and it's a great way to get people engaged and posting about me and my workouts.  Blogging has been great as well, but only when I write about things that are a little edgier than "How to stay healthy on Halloween."

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

My biggest challenges have been learning to say no and keeping myself organized as both a business owner and a personal trainer.  As someone in the business of helping people, it can be really difficult to stick to boundaries like work hours, service offerings and prices, but it is crucial for me to honor my own time off, my abilities, and the value of my time. 

As far as organization, I am always switching between being a personal trainer with workout programs to structure and a business owner with consultations, charity events and meetings to set up... and that's not including the time I need to dedicate to writing my cycling classes, structuring my own workouts and creating content for social media.  My to-do list is my North Star.  It's becoming a little easier to handle now that I have people working for me, but this business is my baby, so I still have a hard time handing over a project and not micromanaging it!

How do you stay focused?

Dedicating time to myself and my own fitness goals has been crucial in keeping me focused.  The women that I train all want to look and feel stronger, sexier and more confident, so when I don't feel that way about myself, it can be hard to bring that force into their lives. Keeping my own fitness a priority also helps me to change up the workout programs I write so that they never get stale or overdone.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition? 

The strongest separation between Fit By Gab my competitors is that I am a feminist, and I really built my business around the idea that women can be just as strong as men (in fact, one of the biggest pillars of my training is learning how to do real push-ups!). 

Eventually, I noticed that the women I train are inundated with so many extra responsibilities and workloads, so I switched my program to high-intensity 30-minute workouts that could be fit into any schedule.  I feel like men can find extra time for leisure, but women always put themselves last, so Fit By Gab is all about helping busy women be strong, sexy and independent.  

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

Facebook has been crucial for growing my business.  Whether clients are posting about Fit By Gab on their own page or I am using Facebook ads to draw new audiences to my content, I am always connecting with new people.  I would not have any of the success I've had on Facebook without Vix Reitano of CreatiVix Media, though.  She really helped me to take my online presence to the next level.

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

To aspiring new entrepreneurs, I say: invest in yourself.  When I first started out, I had crippling anxiety about spending money on the business for fear that I wouldn't get a return on it, but it wasn't until I began investing in my dreams that they came to fruition. 

Whether it's marketing materials, advertisements, equipment, employees, business strategists or even a new hairstyle to give you the confidence you need - you need to spend money to make money.  I suggest hiring someone to teach you how to do the things you're not great at, which, for me, was social media marketing.

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

My favorite app is Instagram because it's an extremely concise - you can find anything you're looking for on there!  I get so much inspiration from other trainers on there, and I love to see what kinds of workouts people are into each day.

My favorite book is "Shut Up & Run" by Robin Arzon, which tells the story of how she went from corporate lawyer to street athlete and gives awesome tips for running and working out on a busy schedule.

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

My favorite blog is Blogilates by Cassey Ho because she is such a force to be reckoned with!  She's strong, sexy, opinionated, and really wants young women to feel empowered.  She also always shares the craziest pilates moves to have your core screaming in just a few seconds!

I could not function without Schedulista!  Schedulista is a service that allows me to schedule all of my clients' appointments and sends them reminder e-mails 24 hours before.  When I first started training, I had a client whose house I would get to at 5 AM, and one morning she had forgotten our appointment and didn't set an alarm.  I went straight home and by 5:45 I had Schedulista!  It really keeps me sane and keeps my clients in the know about their appointments without compromising my privacy and making me share my entire calendar with them.

Who is your business role model? Why? 

Danielle Pascente is someone whose business I really admire.  She's so down to earth and real, but her programs rock.  A lot of trainers seem like perfect gym goddesses that you'd be embarrassed to ask for advice, but Danielle is just so warm and welcoming.  I also really admire Robin Arzon because she an accomplished marathoner, celebrity cycling instructor, unbelievable trainer and the queen of "no excuses," so whenever I'm feeling tired from teaching cycling or working out, I think of her and adjust my crown!

What do you have planned for the next six months? 

The next 6 months are going to be pretty exciting because we just rolled out a new in-home and online nutrition counseling service with the new Fit By Gab Registered Dietitian, Robyn!  We are also working on rolling out a new Bridal Body program for brides and their bridesmaids who are experiencing the busiest time of their lives and have very specific goals and deadlines! 

How can our readers connect with you?

The best way to connect with me is on Facebook (www.facebook.com/fitbygab) or on Instagram (@fitbygab_).  I love connecting with people on social media, so send me a message and let's chat!