Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Apolonia Cross. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Apolonia, thanks for joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?
One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned from a previous job was from my regional manager at the time. I was having some internal theft issues withing my store and I was pretty upset about. At the time I thought the right thing to do was email the loss prevention investigator about the situation as it was unfolding in the hopes that he would be able to help me with the situation. Instead my regional manager had came for our monthly meeting and talked to me about needing to take more responsibility about the situation and just handle it. He wasn’t rude or anything at all which I appreciated. However, after validating my feelings on the matter he made me understand that my store wasn’t the only store having theft issues and that I was more than capable enough to handle the situation myself without having to constantly email the loss prevention detective. I didn’t realize at the time and honestly didn’t catch it until now that instead of taking full ownership and responsibility in my role as the leader that I was and trusting myself I was seeking approval and validation.
As an entrepreneur you’re completely on your own and you have to learn how to trust yourself fully even if things don’t always go as planned. You have to KNOW that you are more than capable of doing the work you’ve been called to do and to trust in your own abilities in being able to take a risk and handle the situation as best as you can. This is something that sticks with me in all areas of my life both personally and professionally. I even make sure to teach my kids this life principal as well in the hopes that they understand that they don’t need someone else to always tell them what and how to do things. Learning to trust in yourself and your own ability to problem solve early on will carry you far no matter what you do.
Apolonia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
When I first started this journey I had no intentions of trying to build a business. I solely was focused on getting myself back to being happier and healthier. At the time I was a mother of 2 boys and was struggling with my own depression and anxiety of trying to navigate being a new mom and wife. I just truly wasn’t happy. That caused a lot of issues in my marriage and how I was able to show up as a mother. I knew that something needed to change if I wanted to better for them so I set out to start my own self care journey with getting back in shape using at home workout programs. Through my own personal transformation and sharing my journey a lot of people began to ask me for help that’s when I decided to take the leap and become a beachbody coach.
I learned a lot during my time as a beachbody coach. Hosting different challenge groups and helping women get into their best physical shape of their lives after having kids. I noticed though that a lot of women needed more than just an outward transformation. They needed help with inner healing and personal development to help them overcome some of the mental & emotional trauma that comes with the burdens of motherhood. One major thing I learned through my own journey is that no matter how physically fit you are you can still be mentally, emotionally, and spiritually broken on the inside. Without a healthy outlet to truly work through and process those emotions we can find ourselves looking the part, but still feeling empty inside. Which leads to lack of motivation and the desire to commit to change in a sense creating that yo yo effect we see a lot it the weight loss culture. In recognizing that I decided to pivot into becoming a Certified Christian life coach instead so that I could help women more on a deeper level.
In doing so I decided to take my love of planning & journaling combined with my background in wellness coaching to create Plan Her Way to fit, a Lifestyle Planning & wellness coaching brand that helps momprenuers create a healthy and sustainable lifestyle for themselves and their families. We offer various products & services specifically designed to help moms improve their over health & well-being as well as teach them how to create various systems, routines, and build healthy habits. We also offer both 1:1 coaching for the mama who’s wanting to more of the one on one support as well as group coaching through my signature program H.E.R. Lifestyle Academy for those mama’s who are looking to connect with other mama’s who are also on their healing & recovery journey.
I’m just so grateful to be able to provide this kind of service & support to mama’s out there who are struggling in silence. I used to be that girl on the floor feeling so lost and overwhelmed not knowing what to do and didn’t have much support. So to create a brand as well as a program that provides that support that I only wish I had access to is such a full circle moment.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
In 2019, we were hit with a major life change when we got custody of our 3 nieces. Overnight we went from having 3 kids to having 6 kids in less than 12 hours and didn’t know if this would be a temporary situation or permeant. Shortly after that we entered into the first year of Covid and got pregnant with my 4th child. I can honestly say this season of life took a whole new level of resilience that I didn’t even know existed inside me as well as took a lot out of me in the process. Juggling all the things took on a whole new meaning and so did overwhelm. Although I wasn’t perfect and held on to as much sanity and peace as I could to keep myself good for the kids and my husband it did take a lot out of me in the process. During this time in my business I was clinging on to do anything to keep me a float and stay consistent with keep my personal brand alive as well as just starting Plan Her Way to Fit. A lot of days keeping up with my social media is what kept me out of feeling so stuff. Even though I wasn’t able to make a lot of big moves as I had hoped there were still a lot of networking and exposure I was able to gain through doing my live videos because we were all stuck at home trying to figure out this new normal as a world together. Even though it was a hard season, but, I’m grateful for it all because despite how chaotic and uncertain everything felt at the time there was some great moments too. I’m also glad to say that our nieces are thriving back home with mom and are doing well together as well as our family.
So remember no matter how dark things might seem right now there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel as long as you’re willing to fight to see it.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
One of the biggest things I’d say if you’re wanting to learn how to manage your team better is invest in the time, energy, and resources it takes to learn more about each member. In doing so you’ll not only get better insight to them personally, but you’ll also be able to learn how the best operate individually and with a team. This is where most leaders fail is that they have a 1 size fits all type of mentality and wonder why they have low morale or a high turn over rate. People will not work for you if they don’t feel valued, understood, or appreciated. Also, get your team to focus on the mission instead of the assignment. There’s going to be a million and on assignments, but there’s only one mission.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.planherwaytofit.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/apolonia.
cross - Facebook: www.facebook.com/apolonia.cross
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/apoloniacross
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzA3dYXvUh-1a0UdGrIM0xg