Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Keri Welch. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Keri, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

After spending 25 years working as a licensed physical therapy assistant and having a steady income and job, my husband encouraged me to take a risk to start my own business. Not only was it a personal risk to step away from a lifelong career, but a family risk to use funds we didn’t have. We had no guarantee of when I would be contributing again to our family income and certainly no idea whether or not I would be a success. And to add the mix, we had two high school boys getting ready to go away to college! But, at the time the risk was something my husband supported and I felt I could triumph over. Thats what I was raised to do in life, don’t be afraid to fail and give it everything you got. Thanks to my amazing parents for that mentality! The 4-5 years prior to taking this risk, my career as a physical therapist was being challenged. Insurance companies changed reimbursement for therapy services which in return affected our pay rate. In addition there were limitations on the amount of time I could spend with my patients. This affected both my workload and my ability to see improvements with my patients which led to frustration and aggravation. I am a caregiver at heart and just want to impact my patients ability to return to their normal function.
Now this is the good stuff! At the same time, I was exercising at a fitness studio and the owner asked me to teach a class. I was surprised and not confident to do so, but I took the risk and taught it. And I LOVED it!! It grabbed my heart and excitement to have another way to affect the wellness of those around me. I couldn’t get enough of it, I studied to earn several certifications after that and even worked to receive my personal training certification. I was revitalized in my desire to study, to continue to improve the health and wellness of people in a completely different arena.
My excitement was contagious and I developed a small following of consistent clients for group classes and I started to build my in home personal training. Then my sweet and loving husband took it from there, encouraging me, pushing me and ultimately finding me a building we could buy to start my second career, Forward Fitness. The work to remodel the building was intense and my husband did the majority himself with me as his assistant. Here I am almost two years later, surviving, growing and impacting my community of clients’ health and wellness. And the risk so far, has been very worth it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As stated, my previous career as a physical therapy assistant was being impacted with less time available to spend with patients due to contraints of insurances to improve the health and wellness of my patients, as well as less availability of work. As a result to supplement, I began teaching fitness classes and seeing personal training clients. A new fire sparked inside to study and improve the craft to allow me to continue to impact the health and wellness of others. At heart, I love and value my own body, how it moves me around the day and allows me to be strong and mobile through life, I wanted to allow others to feel and value their bodies in the same fashion. I started Forward Fitness to encourage my clients to look Forward at what their health and wellness can be. I encourage each and every client to respect and value the importance of putting their own wellness first so that they are best equipped to handle all of the responsibilities of life. My 25 years of experience and knowledge working in the physical therapy industry serves as a valuable asset to understanding the individual body, the aging body, the injured body, the weak body to allow my clients to improve with less risk of injury or pain and even more stability and strength in their body to improve their functional mobility. My studio offers multiple forms of exercise as I believe in a balanced approach where not just one form of exercise is enough to truly keep us completely strong, stable and healthy. So, strength training classes through weights, cardiovascular health training in each and every class, TRX training classes for use of bodyweight resistance, Pilates classes for improved core stability, mobility and strength and yoga classes for the body, mind and spirit. And I also want my clients to experience joy and community while they are here. It isn’t always easy to start a new journey into better health and wellness, I aim to foster a community where clients feel they can step in my studio at any level, feel comfortable yet challenged and see immediate progress to their goals. I want them to have fun, laugh and smile while working hard. I keep the environment fun through themed classes, celebrating holidays in studio etc. And I see now having been open almost two years how valuable that has been to my clients. I’m most proud of my continued desire to study, I won’t ever stop trying to be better. I’m proud of my past experiences allowing me to better serve my clients. I want others to know I’m on this journey with them, a true coach at heart and always there to keep them moving Forward.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

In the fitness industry, I have found that marketing is one of the biggest challenges. As a new business owner, I do not have any funds available to spend on outside marketing sources and as a healthcare provider for 25 years that was also not something I had any experience in. So, starting out I leaned on social media the best I could to develop a following. I found that to be tougher than I imagined! I find now that word of mouth for Forward Fitness is the strongest growth I have had. I encourage my clients to invite their friends, offer a free first class and New Client Special, and reward my current members and personal training clients when they do refer someone. Forward Fitness clients will now share my social media posts as they want to be part of the growth of this community as well. If they are talking about Forward Fitness then that is a win!! I know I have a lot to learn, but for now, I feel I have to keep my clients talking about my studio!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

The biggest asset I have is my 25 years of experience in the physical therapy world. I have had years of practice working with patients who are in need of care, fostering their perseverance, motivating them and encouraging them to improve. I have studied the human body and worked with many patients to improve their physical state to allow them to return to function and life again. At Forward Fitness I get to use all of those experiences and knowledge to foster those same ideals to help my clients improve their wellness and maintain a level of health and mobility to continue to tackle life. I work to improve their form and use cues to protect their bodies for a lifetime of wellness. My clients report feeling very comfortable during our sessions as my attention to detail is appreciated. This enthusiasm for classes and individual sessions inspires my clients to share their experiences and encourage their friends and family to the Forward Fitness community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.forwardfitnessky.com
• Instagram: @forwardfitnessky
• Facebook: Forwardfitnessky

Image Credits
EM Photography Cassandra Etter www.emphotolove.webs.com