Ep24: The Challenges Tabi Faced Going from $0 to Fully Booked As A Face To Face Trainer

What's going on everyone? Matt here from pt Profit, Leverage and Lifestyle show. I'm super excited today. I've got a new guest with me. She's actually a beautiful client of mine, Tabby. We've been working together for a little over 12 months now, I'm pretty sure. So I've go from zero to being fully booked as a face to face trainer. She's got enough income now that she's living quite comfortable. She's got super exciting things happening in her world right now, but we're going to dive into her journey. So welcome Tabby. How are things?

Thank you. Thank you for having me. Things are good. I'm excited to be here.

Awesome. Happy days. So for those who don't know, do you want to give us a bit of a summary of I suppose, what you do, I suppose which, which gym location you're at and a little bit about yourself?

Yeah, so I am a personal trainer. I'm also a nutritionist and a yoga and Pilates instructor and I've been at, I've been running my business through Jets Naranga for just over 12 months now. But before that I was managing gyms and just getting experience in the industry. But then I kind of got to the point where I was like, I don't want to do this and I want to have my own business and actually work towards helping people myself. So yeah, that's what I've been doing and I love it.

Awesome. Love it. I was actually just thinking how we actually met. I'm pretty sure when I was at Anytime Fitness at Stafford, your mom was studying to be a PT and she was doing some work experience, I'm pretty sure there.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Just actually reflecting on that just then actually. And she used to actually shadow a few of my sessions and then I think I ran into her when I had my gym in Bethany at the grocery store and I'm pretty sure we got chatting about you doing like Pilates in my gym and then here we are, 12 months.

Yeah. Then I came and worked for you for a little bit and now my mom does covers for me. So yeah, full circle, very fast.

Hey.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thank you so much for being here. I'm super keen to hear a bit more about your story because you know, you've obviously been quite, quite successful in the industry. So I want to dive into, into that. But more so also the challenges that you experienced and what the mindset was like for you because I know you completely changed your perspective with Mindset over the last 12 months. I definitely want to pick your brain on that.

Yeah.

But I suppose if you want to take us back. What were you like before? I suppose running. Running a business personally.

Yeah. So before I was running my business, I was training heaps myself. I was actually really, really sick for quite a while. So I ended up having to have like about three months of no work between being a gym manager and then starting PT because I ended up having to have surgery and having all sorts of problems. But then I finally recovered and I spent a lot of my life recovery time at home just getting my business prepped and then I, yeah, reached out and obviously started this. But when I first started my business, I completely winged it because I had no idea how to do any of it. I honestly looking back, I was so ignorant to all of the little in and outs of it, like accounting side of things. I was so clueless to all of that. I had to just learn everything from scratch. But it was one of the best things I ever did because I feel like now I have a much more well rounded understanding of what actually is involved in running a business. I think a lot of people think that it's just training clients and that's it. But there's so much more. You have to do all your prep work, you have to do your accounting work, you have to do your lead generation, your marketing, your sales. And for me that was a huge mindset block at the start was actually like dealing with that overwhelm and just doing it and learning all of these new skills. But yeah, ever since kind of like actually putting myself out there and you know, I spent so long doing 14 hour days or just like stupidly long hours, but it paid off because I managed to get myself fully booked and you know, I learned so many skills. I'm down pat with all the accounting stuff now, all the IT systems. But yeah, I feel like I'm a much stronger and lot smarter because I've had to just learn so much. So yeah, awesome.

Now you've definitely become a completely different person over the last 12 months and it's been awesome to see the transformation. The same as like when we do transformations for our own clients. It's the same thing. We help businesses go from, you know, zero to whatever they wanted, wanted to achieve. But it's awesome to see the, the transformation in the mindset along the way. I'm curious to know from your perspective what's been some of the hardest times over the, the last 12 months. I want to dive into more. So the challenges that you experienced.

Yeah, so I had quite a lot of challenges. But looking back honestly, like, majority of my challenges were my mindset. Like, I struggled a lot at the start with confidence and actually having the confidence to sell myself. I knew I could help people. I was very confident in my skills. But I had this really weird thing where I would just struggle so much to feel comfortable discussing finances and money with clients. And I remember saying to you when we do, like, our meetings, and I would just say, like, I just feel so uncomfortable asking for the sale because I had this. This really weird mentality of, like, I wanted to help people. And I almost felt guilty for then charging for my service when that's the whole point of a business. Like, I have to make a living. So it was this weird, like, almost cognitive dissonance that I just was really struggling with that. But then I kind of just. Honestly, I had to just have a chat to myself and be like, you've got to put food on the table. Get over it. And I just actually started to just fake it till you make it. And I acted super confident in sales calls and actual sales meetings and with other little challenges that I would face in the club, like, if I had to, you know, do a lot of work for free. And I was really struggling with that. I just honestly faked the confidence, had the chat, and ever since, like, things have been so much better. But it was all just stemming back to. I wasn't as confident at the start, and so many of my little issues were made worse because in my head, I just. I didn't know how to overcome that, when in reality, it wasn't a big issue. I just needed to be confident in my own abilities there. So it. Yeah, it's been like, a huge personal transformation. Even though it's like, it is my business, but it's made me as a person so much more confident in myself and discussing finances and actually just connecting better with people. So, yeah, it's been amazing.

Awesome. I love that. One thing that stands out to me is definitely, like, the money mindset transformation that we've gone through over the last 12 months. I remember it was funny because all these things are coming back to me now about the process that we went through, even when we're talking about increasing your pricing and stuff like that. But I remember telling you, you're actually doing the client a disservice by not charging them, because when people don't pay anything, they're less likely to pay attention.

Yeah.

And I think as well, with the. The whole sales process that we. That we Talked about if, if you're not willing to. Objection. Handle their. Objection and they don't get the results because you didn't put in the effort to. Objection. Handle.

Yeah.

Or fault that they didn't get the results because you have the, the magic pill or whatever to solve their problem. So yeah, it's funny looking back on those, those conversations and the other thing that, that really stood out for what you said before is the confidence. When you say you kind of had to fake the confidence until you got confident. I'm assuming now. What's the confidence like now that you've gone through all that stuff over the last 12 months?

Yeah, honestly I don't really think about consults and sales as a nerve wracking thing anymore. Like when I have a consult with someone, it's honestly, I'm on autopilot now. And the go. The whole actual going through the sales process side of it and you know, discussing the financial side of it, I don't feel anxious about that at all anymore. It's so natural to me now. Whereas in the past I just had this weird. I just felt so guilty about charging, but I've really overcome that now and now I don't even think about it. And I've upped my prices now and it's actually really paid off because. Exactly what you said, if people aren't paying, they're just not listening. And when I was doing so much free work just because I had no boundaries and couldn't say no, I found people just weren't as consistent, they weren't showing up the same. And then I upped my prices, I started charging more and pretty much every single person, their consistency improved, their results got better, my relationship with them got deeper because we were able to connect more because to them, they valued it more. So that was a huge lesson to me and it's transformed so much of my business and my business model as well. So yeah, awesome.

Love it. Good to see just one thing that I know we've been working on recently is obviously setting the, the boundaries or well, even sometimes expectations for clients as well. Was that something that was quite challenging for you with not only like yourself but with clients as well? Was that a big thing for you?

Yeah, yeah. So I, it was so linked back to I guess that like lack of confidence at the start. But I used to have like no boundaries. And I remember saying to you, I'm so tired because I would work like stupidly early and then stupidly late at night and if someone messaged me, I suck, you you know the drill. You get client messages all the time. But I wouldn't have set hours to do that. And I would be. I'd lie in bed and be like, I need to reply. I need to reply. They're going to think I'm being rude if I don't. But you can't do that when you've got like, you know, 30, 40 clients. It just doesn't work. You can't get back to everyone. And I kind of got to the point where, like, I was. I was really run down and I was like, I'm not being my best self to my clients if this is how I am. So I put the boundaries in place. I don't do. I'll do like one startup free program, but that's it. I won't do any more after that. I won't respond to people at stupid o' clock at night when it's dark and it's like they're in bed and I'm in bed. I just don't reply. Then I'll wait till the morning. And with weekends, I'm actually giving myself time now to not be on my phone, which is. It's such a silly little thing, but it took me months and months to actually feel okay with doing that. And I remember you had, oh, I can't remember if it was a podcast or if it was an Instagram post, but you said somewhere about how your business is running you if you can't take any time away from it, but you're running your business if you're actually able to set boundaries and make it your lifestyle that actually works for you. So. So yeah, that really hit home because I was like, oh, the whole point I of me doing this was so I had work life balance and I have none. So I just completely restructured everything and it's been great ever since. So boundaries matter 100%.

Yeah, I remember having that conversation. It was actually good friend of mine, Dion, he actually helped me start this mentoring business actually. He. I actually got that from him. So he's been podcast as well. So he's an absolute legend. But yeah, I'm curious to know, like, I know you've gone through this massive transformation where you're, you know, working all these hours, but now, like, we're talking before we started recording that you've got like a work from home day now. So do you want to talk us through that transition from, you know, working in the gym all the time to now having a bit more time at home to do, you know, whatever you Wanted to do.

Yeah. So work from home is great. It's so nice. So I do four days a week in the gym at the moment. Um, three of those days are split shifts. But I'm completely fine with that because I have that work from home day and that's my reset. So I, for me, do Fridays as work from home because then I feel like I can actually, I do all my check ins with clients on that days. I finish all my programming stuff. It's a really busy day for me, but it's my chance to just reset and get everything sorted. Whereas then I'm not stressing all weekend about have I done this, you know, know, what stuff have I left for the next week? Like, it's that day for me to just actually be in my pajamas and be at home and get stuff done that I don't have to then have that same social battery for. And that was one thing that when you're working five days a week split shifts, you have just no social battery after that. And I have so much love for my clients and I absolutely love what I do. But at the same time, I have to still have a life outside of that. Um, so having this work from home day was amazing. It was such a game changer. I can actually get work done now. I have my weekends now, which is just huge. Yes, it was so huge for me. But actually getting to that process was, was tough, but we did it.

Speaking of the process, I would love to possibly go through a little bit of strategy or skill skills here on the boundaries that you set with clients, because obviously you, you were pretty full or still are pretty full. And so how did, how did you manage to narrow everything down to four days? And what was that, what was that transition like from being in the gym like all the time to then having the stay at home day?

Yeah, it was oddly smooth. I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. I think I was so, like, worried that if I had that work from home day, then people just wouldn't find another time and then I'd lose clients. But that just wasn't the case at all. I literally just said to everyone, I was like, hey, I'm not doing Fridays anymore. We're gonna have to pop you on another day. And they all made it work. Like, I lost no clients in the transition. It actually worked to my favor because my days worked so much smoother now. Like now I actually have blocks in the morning and in the afternoon. And it's just having that boundary and just saying to people, I've got this and this time available. Which one do you want? And they have to make that work. That's been really beneficial. And I know that sounds so silly, but in my head back when I first started, I would always just try and bend over backwards and do whatever time worked for them. But now it's like, no, I have that boundary of this is when I can fit you in. So that's just what we do. And then if they can't, they go to online. And that's been really helpful as well because I have got some clients transition to online because I couldn't do that time spot that they wanted in anymore. And that's exactly what I want because I am starting to now transition to half online. So it actually was so smooth and the process of having that work from home day was so beneficial for me. I don't know why I didn't do it sooner.

Yeah, I was going to say, I'm sure you would have been thinking about it for a while and just procrastinating on it because of fear or. Yeah, probably fear from, you know, as you said, losing clients or you know, people not having different times available but at the end of the day they need you. So the mindset shifted from when you first started. You came from a place of desperation where you needed to find clients for, you know, whether it's financially or just to get confidence in yourself that you, you know, could run a business.

Yeah.

Now I think you're, you're like, well, this is, this is how I do it. So this is what it is. So you know, if you want the help then.

And like it works great. And at the end of the day I, I work with people who want to help themselves now and actually having that mindset shift of I will only work with people who are really wanting to help themselves has been huge. Like my client retention is really good because these people actually want to be doing this. Um, and I've started doing more community based stuff as well, which has been really helpful and it's actually given me more flexibility because now I've got people that have made friends out of my client group and that really helps because then that's, I guess it helps with retention then and that I don't have to then do I guess as much work then to maintain them because I've just built these connections and that does it for me, which is incredible. So. And it's really nice to see people supporting each other then and creating that.

Community 101 thing that you do That I don't think too many other people do is. And tell me if this has changed, but have you still got the client group chat?

I do, yeah. So I actually have two. I have a women's only one because I'm very, very big on like getting women strong. So I've got my women's chat and we do like a women. It's an open women's lifting session once a week. So I run that on a Monday and pretty much once a week. Any of my female clients can come to that. And it's pretty much just like a group class, but they love it. We've got a name and everything that they all picked out. They always like support each other and encourage each other and it's so nice. So we've got that chat and then I've got my big client group chat, which is everyone. And we pop like weekly highlights in it. I'll pop updates. When someone's really sore, they'll pop that in the chat. And it's always really funny to see people's responses. If people have silly little embarrassing things that happen in the gym, they always put that in the group chat. And it's so nice. And that's been really helpful because then people have been like, oh, who is like so and so we saw them post this and then I can point them out and then they make friends and it's so nice.

Yeah, that's 100. And you know, that's obviously helped with your retention over time as well. Like it's funny like, because people, like when people do cancel PC, they never want to actually cancel and like, if they've got other people that they've made friends with that are also training with you, it's. It's very uncomfortable for them to actually pull the pin. Yeah, that's a really good tip actually because it just came to mind that you, that you do that. So thank you. Thank you for sharing. What's. What's the plan for you these days? So you mentioned that you've obviously you're wanting to do a bit more online stuff, which is great. So are you just. Have you got a really good balance now doing Face to Face plus online?

I have a pretty good balance. With that said, though, I have taken on more face to face clients when I should have not because I was full. So that's again, set the boundaries. But it's going a lot better now. I've transitioned quite a few people to online and I'm still like pretty full with Face to Face. So I am still in the process, process of transitioning a few more people over. But that's been really successful and I've actually found it's really, really good for my clients because it's almost like a confidence boost for them because the clients that I have transitioned over, I. It's been in like our check in sessions that I do. So I've brought them in and I've been like, hey, you're doing amazing. I think you're ready to actually be training on your own now, but with my support and then I'll go through what my online packages and I really frame it in the sense that like, you've done so much work with me to get you to this stage where I'm confident that you can actually do your own training sessions now just with my programming and all the other stuff that my online coaching offers. But if I frame it in a way that's like really boosting them up and like, it's true though, like, hats off to them for getting themselves to this point where they knew nothing and now they can do this without having me standing next to them. It's. It's really nice for them to actually feel that progress and feel proud of themselves for getting to that point, especially if there's someone who is absolutely like terrified of being in the gym. So that's kind of how I framed it for my clients and they love it. Everyone who I've said that to has been like, you're right, like, I've come such a long way, let's jump to the cheaper option. And I mean, I make online a little bit cheaper than my face to face, so everyone wants that.

I was gonna say, you make it sound like a little graduation, like they're graduating to new possibilities.

They love it. They love it. And like, it's so true though, because they are at that point where they are ready now to have those sessions on their own. And it just works great. I kind of get that time back, but I obviously still like, I love my clients. So that's why that women's group that I do works really well because my online clients can still come to that and can can still see me if they want to that week. So it's worked great. And the other thing that's been really good is I do a yoga teacher as well. I do a monthly group stretch and recovery class with all my clients. It's like an open invitation thing. And quite a lot of my online clients have actually made friends with each other. And now I see them training at the gym on the same time. So they're my clients, but they're training together now and that's really, really beautiful. So yeah, that's been like, honestly the most rewarding part of it, like is just seeing people make friends and creating this community.

Yeah, well, that's what it's all about, having the, the community. Because that's where you truly get the freedom of business. And speaking of business, do you find like all these skills or mindsets you see you've had in business, do you feel like that's also helped with your personal stuff as well?

100%. 100%. So I, I kind of have the mentality of like, I know that you have to have that work life balance, but I still like to think of myself as like a fusion of the two. Because when you're having something going on in your personal life, it affects your business and when your business is affected, it affects your personal life and everything is connected. So I try and like take whatever skills I've learned in my personal life and flip that onto my business. And my personal confidence has just gone up so much since having a business and since learning these skills because I never would have had these sales skills, these objection handling skills, or even just like little problem solving skills and not necessarily problems, but for instance, like just little excuses that clients have and why they can't be consistent. Coming up with alternatives for them that is actually feasible and that they can do is something that I've had to really learn how to actually like think outside the box with that and that's to help me so much in my personal day to day life. And also just I spend all day chatting to people and I'm a bit of a yapper. So like, I'm fine with that. But it's just helped me so much when I have to meet new people in my personal life and I can just now yap away like they're a client and it's fine. So yeah, it's actually been really good.

That's awesome. You, you mentioned obviously the development of your sales skills, but the one thing that comes to mind is even just in conversations like you're either selling to someone or you're being sold to. Even when having conversations with, with friends about, you know, you know, you want to go out to dinner, like, I don't know, a date night or whatever, like you're trying to sell the other person on going on the date night or going to the movies or whatever. So. Completely agree. I think the skills that people learn from business can be replicated for the personal side of things as well. One thing that we haven't actually talked about, which I remember was a pretty big challenge was. And we can go as deep as you want in this one with what about. What about club managers?

Yeah, I. That was challenging. Not in the sense that, like, it's not that I didn't like my club manager or anything like that. Like, he's actually like every club manager that I've had has been amazing and lovely and really kind and a really good person. But we have different business ideas and that's where there has been some conflicts in the sense of we have different ways that we want to run our businesses, which is totally fine. I 100% respect others opinions and how they do it and like, I can learn from that. But with that said, one thing that I did struggle with was having a lot of free work put on me and then actually having the confidence to be like, I don't think that's fair that I'm doing that much free work and having. Or to have to have that hard conversation and say, look, I love it here, but this has to be toned down a little bit because I just need to be valued a little bit more. And that's really hard. And I remember I was so. I had to have a bit of a conversation just about how much free work was being put on me. And I was so scared for it. And I was really proud of myself for the way that I had that conversation. And now, like, I have a really great relationship with my club manager. There's a lot of respect there and we're both on the same page now. But that whole. It wasn't a conflict because like I said, like, it was just different ideas of how the businesses should be run. But I'm really proud of standing up for myself there. And now we kind of have that more mutual respect of this is how we each do our own business. This is how we can be in.

Harmony together then 100%. Yeah, I remember. I remember that as well. How did you overcome that? Because there was a bit of fear I remember from having that conversation as well. So do you remember, do you remember how you overcome that? Was it just like you seem to rip the band aid off or was there any process that you went through to get through that?

Yeah, I, to be honest, I was so anxious just because I'm such a people pleaser. Like that's where everything stems from. I'm so into a people pleaser. So I just had to like break out of that. And I can't actually really remember the whole conversation because when I get anxious, I just black it out. Like, I'm just into. I just had to get through. Apparently my nervous system doesn't know the difference between a conversation sensation or if I'm actually being chased and hunted down. So I just black it out. But I remember, like, leaving and feeling really proud of myself because I remember, like, I just stayed really calm. I wrote everything that I needed to get across down. And I, like, really just opened the conversation in a way that was like, hey, these are the positives. I love it here. I did the whole criticism sandwich type thing. So good thing, negative thing, good thing. And that worked great. We both came to a really mutual understanding of the problem. I feel like communication with club managers or anyone else in the gym, like, if they don't know how your business runs and what I guess your values are and your business's values are, you're always going to clash and you're never actually going to fully understand the other one. Whereas having that conversation and being like, this is the values of my business. This is what I want to do. This is how I'm helping people. This is why I'm here. But these are the things that I. I can't do this much free work. That was really good because we actually just got to understand each other a little bit more. And it just, it made me realize literally every single conflict can be resolved if you just communicate properly about it 100%.

Yeah, I remember there was obviously there was a few different. Yeah, I just said I wouldn't necessarily think it was conflict, but just different ways of thinking. Yeah, yeah, I remember. I'm not sure if you remember this, but back when you, when you were first starting the. The club manager was saying your pricing was too expensive for the demographic, but now, now your price is even more.

Yeah, to be honest, that was another thing that I think really stemmed into. When I was starting, I had that fear of, like, charging people, which is so stupid because you literally, you pay for my service. But anyways, that was, I think, where that came from because it was so early on. It was like, I think my second week there and back. At the time I was charging, I was very, very cheap. Like industry standard pricing. I was like the very bottom end of that. And I had someone say that, they said that to the club manager, that my prices were like the most expensive fitness plan they've ever seen. And then I got told to drop them. And then I had to be like, that was another instance where I had to stand up for myself and, and be like, look, let's actually Google industry standards here. And then we kind of came to that mutual understanding that, oh, this is just one person having a little bit of a whinge because my prices were really low. And then I kind of just was like, you know what, I know what I'm worth. I really boosted my confidence there. And yeah, you're right. Now I charge higher than that. So it was just. It all comes back to that confidence again. And I think too, like, just educating, I guess, other people on the way that the industry's changed because it's changed so much in the past, you know, even five years and you know, cost of living, everything's changed. Pricing, like people's perspective and mentality with things has changed so much. So just actually making sure that perspectives are really fresh for both parties then and that there's like good education and understanding of what's actually happening in the industry is just really important.

Just with the, the whole cost of living situation, do you feel like got mixed opinions on this? Do you feel like it's had a big impact on the fitness industry? Only because a lot of people are saying, you know, PT is the first thing to go when everything else goes up. But other people like, well, you know, I really need to get back in shape type of thing. So what's your opinion on maybe the last 12 months with this?

Yeah, so pretty much the only objections that I've ever, ever had is cost of living. Like most consults that I've ever had and there's been an objection, it's been the cost of living. And like, I honestly think it depends on someone's values because at the end of the day I. Cost of living is a lot and like, everyone struggles with that. But if someone really values their health, they're going to put that first. And I remember you saying part of the objection handling was you could say, well, instead of, you know, spending this much money on alcohol, you can spend it on pt. And that's something I've never been super comfortable with. So I've managed to avoid having to say that. But I've kind of just reframed in those situations and mean like, yeah, cost of living is cooked right now, but your health is something that is always going to need to be a priority. So that's when I have multiple different offers there. And a lot of the time I have had people who cost of living in their mind has been so much that they couldn't afford face to face. So then they've started online and then they've actually come to face to face because they start doing it and they realize just how valuable it is and they make those money shifts on their own. So that's why I'm okay with having that process of being like, yep, let's not pop you on the highest ticket item, let's start you on the lowest. And then I've had two people now who have just changed their minds and be like, no, I want to jump up to more sessions. I'm loving this. This has to be more of a priority and they make it work. So it's a very valued, like, objection, and it's valid, but there are ways to work around it and it just depends on the individual's priorities as well.

Yeah, yeah, I think you're right. I think it's just different priorities. But it's also super important that obviously you have options to suit different affordability, which is obviously why, you know, we've got a few different options. I just want to touch on, because I remember you were super, super scared to get started because obviously you're starting from zero. So obviously you had zero income, like.

Full, sick, zero savings, zero, zero.

I want to briefly touch on the mindset shift that you had from. From one, you know, going all in on the business, but also you had to also invest in yourself as well. So you essentially, I suppose, going backwards. So firstly, what was the mindset like back then and how did you overcome or want to take a leap of faith to get some help and get yourself started in the fitness industry?

Yeah, well, like I kind of said before, before I started, I was so, so sick and I had to medically leave my manager job because I was so unwell. And then when I did get better and was like, oh, do I go back to a management role? Do I start my business? Because that's what I want to do. And I always had FOMO looking at the other trainers, and I was so scared to start it. But then I was like, well, I don't really have much to lose when you like. Because I obviously had those few months where I just, I could not work. I was like, in and out of hospital, my savings got drained, and I was like, look, I've literally got nothing to lose. Worst case scenario, it, you know, flops, and then I just go back to where I am. And that was really helpful because I was like, you know what? Just do it. Worst case scenario, I will be fine because it's where I am. And then it. Honestly, I just was like, I've never given this a go and this is something that I've always wanted to do. Like I made my website when I was in grade 11 because I wanted to do this so badly. Like I've had this for years and I never acted and I was like, my, all the issues that I was having pre business, like being sick and everything, I was like, to me, that's just my life not being 100, what it's meant to be then. So something had to change. And then I made the shift and my health improved, which was weird because I was working so much. But you know, I haven't gotten anywhere near as sick as what I was. My confidence improved, everything went up the more I did what I was scared of. So to me, when I was in that worst case scenario, I was still managing that fine. And that's what I always think. Like you can always, always restart, even though you're probably never going to have to. But there is always that option, so why not just give it a go and.

Yeah, well said, well said. You know, who, who knows where you would have been if you didn't take that leap of faith, you know, 12 months.

Oh, I would be like, I would be kicking myself because I'd be still looking at people doing what I wanted to do and I'd have the worst fomo. And then you know, the feeling that you have when you just know you can be doing more. And like I would, I always had that feeling. I knew I could be doing more, but I was so scared and I just got to the point where I was like, you know what? I just, I just want to give it a go because, you know, you only live once. And I've always wanted to have my own business and work for myself and it was the best thing I've ever done. Hardest, but the best.

Yeah, I was, I was going to say, like, you definitely went all in everything into the last 12 months and you know, definitely paid off. I think you've got, you know, really good business, you know, structurally and the model that you've got, obviously making a great income as well, which is awesome. But is it, is there any other. We've covered a fair bit of the challenges, so. Fair to say there's a few challenges.

Oh, absolutely. But like I said, I actually look back at every challenge that I had. 1. It helped because you'd had so many challenges when you started as well. And I remember messaging you and you were just like laughing and being like, it's fine, it'll work out. And it did. And like, I don't know, I learned so much. And even like, as a person, like, I can be fully independent now. I can completely support myself and support my clients now, like actually mentally by getting them to be a healthier version of themselves. And it's just, it's so rewarding. So I feel like the scarier something is to start and the more of like a risk, the more you have to do it because the greater the reward is then so.

And that becomes like the new normal as well. Like we were talking before we recorded about all these other challenges that are happening or are going to happen. No doubt about it. And like, the mindset now is just like, yeah, yeah, you know, there's going to be more challenges coming. So, you know, bring on, let's, let's see what happens. But like, you're right. Like, like, obviously you know, my story about the challenges that I had to go with, we'll go through. Sorry. And a lot of the time people are just, you know, they think that it's the worst thing in the world at the time, but it's almost the best thing that would have happened. Like when, when I talk about my story about when I got kicked out of Anytime Fitness, I wouldn't have never opened my own gym if I didn't get kicked out.

Yeah.

Facility. And you know, if, if I didn't happen to open the gym and if your mom didn't happen to do the groceries at the, at the same plaza.

Yeah.

Everything happens for a reason, so everything is always aligned, in my opinion. So. Yeah, it's been awesome to see the, the growth over the last 12 months. Yeah, it's been completely different mindset shift from the conversations that we had when you first started compared to, compared to now. Is there, is there anything else or any other tips that you've got for. I suppose because a lot of this audience is face to face personal trainers. Do you have any final tips or a little bit of advice to dealing with the challenges that they'll face in their business?

Yeah. So pretty much what I would tell, like me when I first started because, like, yeah, very different person now is it's a lot of work, but if you love it and you have the passion for it, it is so, so worth it. And the more you put in, the more you're going to get from it. And every little challenge that you face because, like, you're going to face them, it's just part of life, it's part of running a business. But every challenge is a catalyst for change. And every negative thing that you encounter is going to. There's always that balance of it. So there's going to be something positive. And even when it can feel like two steps forward, forward, one step back, you're still progressing forward. So pretty much just don't give up. Stay true to yourself. It's very easy to let stress get the better of you and just, you know, want to, you know, stray from your own values then. But for me, like, if you just stay true to yourself, be real with who you are for your clients, you're going to just grow from there and things just will work out. So, yeah, pretty much just. I know it's tough, but keep pushing through and it's super rewarding and you're helping people. And at the end of the day, I go to bed and I think about the really, you know, positive things that you're doing for people and it just is so rewarding. So it's so worth every little bit of stress.

Well fed, beautiful soul. So thank you again for jumping on the podcast if people do want to follow you, which I highly recommend. She's got some awesome content. Uh, where should people go? To which social media platforms?

Yeah, so Instagram. I don't have TikTok because I just don't even want to bother. It's not me. So Instagram, my Instagram is Tabby Mae Life and then my coaching page is TML Coaching and I've got my website as well, which is just tabbymay Life. Um, so jump on there. It pretty much has, yeah. Everything about me and everything that you need to know. So, yeah.

Awesome. Thank you so much, Tabby, for jumping on and looking forward to seeing where you can take yourself in the business.

Awesome. And thank you so much for all your help because you have been so helpful with setting up my business. So thank you.

Anytime. Pleasure.

Really appreciate it. Thanks, Matt.