We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Beth Funari Sims a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Beth, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

I was fortunate to have supportive mentors early on in my career who helped foster my confidence to establish my own business.

After several years spent working with athletes in a sports medicine training role I decided I wanted to shift my focus, and take on a new challenge.

I was consistently finding myself having conversations with women who were frustrated with their health – in particular so many said they were working out, and not seeing the results they hoped for.

I had started training women of various ages at this point, and knew this was an area where I excelled, and could make an impact.

I decided to pivot from training athletes to focus on helping women – and build a business around empowering women to take control of their health.

Still setting out on your own can be overwhelming, and there’s no roadmap.

Starting a new business often means you’re wearing many different hats through the course of the day – especially in the early days. There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes.

Beth, 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?

I’m an NYC /Connecticut based NASM Personal Trainer with specialities in Prenatal and PostPartum Exercise, Fitness Nutrition, Behavior Change, and Corrective Exercise.

In 2018 I launched the brand MissModernWellness – a brand and business to empower women on all things wellness related – without the BS. I saw how much noise there was in the health and fitness space, and I wanted to help women navigate the trends and understand what actually works.

I work one on one with women in NYC/CT and the surrounding areas , and train clients virtually all over the world. My services include personal training, rehabilitation, and nutrition counseling.

I studied Sports Medicine and Journalism in college — and have had a lifelong appreciation for health, and writing about it. Through years of working with women to help them meet their goals I’ve found that most of us don’t know how good our bodies were designed to feel. My goal is to help remedy that.

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

Word of mouth and referrals are a huge part of my business. I want every client I interact with to feel they are a priority.

There’s no better reputation builder than results. And I think the results I’ve helped my clients achieve has fostered a lot of my business growth.

My process is highly customized for every client. We’re all different people with differing genetics and preferences. I don’t believe in the “one size fits all” fitness model.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

During the pandemic I (like most of us) was forced to pivot.
My business became 100 % virtual for 18+ months.

There were challenges along the way as I restructured.

Still I’m grateful for the resilience that period of time instilled in me. So many fitness based businesses folded or were forced to close during that time (understandably.)

MissModernWellness ended up growing in different ways, and I was able to see new areas of opportunity. Part of being a business owner or entrepreneur is knowing when to change course – sometimes that situation is voluntary, and sometimes it’s not.

Ultimately our challenges help build resilience, and hopefully make us more nimble.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MissModernWellness.com
• Instagram: MissModernWellness
• Other: Tik Tok: @MissModernWellness

Image Credits
Shelly Xu of SomeShelly Photography