We caught up with the brilliant and insightful CaShawn “Cookie” Cooksey-Sims a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, CaShawn “Cookie” thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us 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.
When I first started training it actually happened on accident. In 2014 I had a friend who signed me up for selling Herbalife products. I remember I made a post about selling Herbalife products and at the time I got more emails regarding me training people though I wasn’t a trainer, than about purchasing products (though that came later). I do have an athletic background, as I ran track from the ages of 9-16. At this same time I was depressed and didn’t know it and that to me is the scariest type of depression because you are unaware of how sad you actually are. I was uncomfortable in my body. I was tired of being so skinny. I was tried of being bullied about my body and the fact that I had small boobs and no hips.
I was a junior in college and felt like my body should reflect that compared to the pre-teen body I felt I had. As wild as this is going to sound I was even bullied in college due to my body type. This led me to being fed up and desperately needing a change in my life.
I would go to the gym late at night when everyone was out partying and play around with the different type of machines that could help me build my body and muscles mass with gains naturally. During my own journey of reconnecting with my body, did I consider training. I felt for college students as I was working in retail and going to school how hard it was financially. But college students want to be healthy and look good as well. So I decided that after work I would spend an hour doing my homework and then I would train clients from 8-10 pm (sometimes 11) and finish the rest of my homework afterwards. It primarily came from the push from my social media to start training because I was documenting my journey every step of the way.
Some of the main steps I had to take were 1) getting out of my own head and actually doing it. I was nervous about training though I wanted others to feel confident in their bodies 2) Time! Since I was a college student and was training college students I had to start with group sessions because I only had 2 hours carved out and wanted to maximize my time. So I would train about 3/4 young women an hour at my apartment building.
Would I have done anything differently? Yes and no. I feel like doing research and understanding how to navigate running a business on my own is what I needed. All of those young women, some of which I still communicate with to this day, helped me feel confident in helping them feel confident,
I would tell young professionals to block out outside noise.
As my business began to blossom I do wish I reached out and got more help because managing my own workouts, in person clients and my online clients of over 500+ women all on my own while recording the programs content, editing the content, creating and editing the PDFs while also making sure I was getting & editing content for all my socials was sooooo hard to do as one person! And I feel like I may have let some of my squad down because I wore myself thin. But that is the only thing I would change.
But I was told it was impossible to grow my booty and hips in the gym naturally and I proved them wrong. It is TOTALLY possible to do both you just have to put in the work; with your hips you’re growing out your hip. All of which I show you how to do in my new Body by Cookie app coming out soon.
My next piece of advice is to trust yourself. Trust your gut and trust and believe in your craft. If you are consistent, if you love what you do – it will pay off! 8 years later I have been able to monetize my social media platforms but that only came through consistency. Even when it felt like no one was paying attention people are always rooting for you! Don’t give up on yourself!
My advice for someone who is just starting out in a craft I would say believe in yourself.
Ask yourself why you want to start this business. DO YOUR RESEARCH! Who is the best at the craft you’re into, what do you feel makes them the best? What makes them stand out from the rest? Now look at yourself, how can you make yourself stand out? Collect all your research and plan! Make sure you have everything organized when you want to launch! See yourself successful, see yourself flourishing in your craft. It’s 80% mental.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Talking about myself is a little awkward – it makes me a bit shy lol. But I started off working out to feel good and then it turned into me helping others feel good about themselves and their bodies. Motivating people makes me feel sooo good!
It lights a fire inside me.
I started out doing in-person training – then I was able to move to training people online, which lead to me eventually starting an apparel line to provide affordable apparel for you to wear while working out and affordable fitness accessories for you to use as well while working towards the body of your dreams! I have now newly launched my Beauty by Cashawn line which at this moment provides some essential beauty products to help you feel and look cute while working out as well!
I didn’t realize I was a creative until creative collaborations for commercials came about. My highest paid promotions/commercials came from my creativity which as a creative feels so awesome!!!!!!! I worked with production companies to promote movies through my love for fitness and they allowed me full creative control which is honestly hands down the dopest thing ever! I would send treatments to my videographers and we would just have fun as we filmed. I felt like a kid in a candy store. It was so AMAZING working with Warner Bros, Paramount, and Universal to promote , Marvel’s Thor, Terminator, Tarzan, Unforgettable, Baywatch, and Maze Runner. I think this is some of my proudest moments in my career outside of helping women and men feel amazing about their bodies and have confidence. I feel like not only did it make me official in my industry but to know I was seen as more than just a fitness guru was so dope! It gave me the courage to continue to step outside of my comfort zone.
(respects) I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart. I always knew I would own my own business some day. I am always looking for space to provide something to my because they mean so much to me! My squad is AMAZING! I love taking them through every journey of mine! We are now going through the journey of my pregnancy as I continue to grow and expand my businesses. I feel so much love and comfort from my squad about my pregnancy! They have sent me my first gifts from my baby registry, they DM me and check in on me, they uplift me as my body is going through so many changes! It’s AMAZING! They love me so much and I have really felt it so much this past year as I was depressed and suicidal due to hitting the lowest point of my life! They uplifted me and let me know that people do care and love me despite what my reality was giving me – I wouldn’t have embraced myself and my journey as much as I have without their encouragement. It’s also nice to know that the world loves my babies as much as I do! I love them so much already and I’m excited to show them [my babies] all their mom has accomplished during her pregnancy – though I have had to slow down in so many other ways which is honestly an adjustment for my busy body self lol.
Discipline……Discipline is important in any field of work! It’s definitely about who wants it more. As I mentioned earlier I use to run track! I competed on very many large scales in track and field and was invited to two Junior Olympics in my individual events of the 400m and 800m. I also played soccer – both indoor and outdoor. Both of these sports taught me how to work for what I want, how to train to be the best and how to be a team player. If you give your all in practice then you can give your all on the main stage. So I took this method and applied it to my training style. People always wondered why I worked out so hard, so intensely as if I was training for something – well I wanted to be the best version of myself. So I trained as if I would be tested on my skills. I take discipline and routines very seriously because these paired together equal greatness and success. I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am today without these two concepts.
I believe I solve the problem of you having to look so many places to find out how to transform your body. I made training easier overall because I have done all the research and combined all the knowledge learned into a specific program to make it easy to follow and get a step closer to achieving your body goals. I want my clients to know their goals are achievable. I try to look at things from the perspective of when I first started. How I felt about not having any real role models – how I wanted to change the fitness community and now I try my hardest to provide information and motivation from that place.
Mental health is VERY important to me as well! I try to make the connection through sharing my story or when I respond to DMs from my BBCers when they ask for advice, that if you tie your fitness journey to feeling good on the inside how you have more longevity on your journey because physical looks can vary along your process but mental strength is your real power. If you feel good inside out – it shows in every aspect of your life. You will then want to stay consistent with your eating habits and working out because it’s a gift to yourself – it’s real self-love to carve that time out for you.
I’ve been in fitness and a social media influence for 8 almost 9 years. It’s taken almost the entire time for some things to begin to flourish but I feel like everything is finally aligning. This month I just recently learned that my YouTube channel is monetizing and has been for 3 months now (I was unaware the entire time). My Instagram is also monetized! This is huge for a content creator because we put a lot of effort into our jobs and though I’ve made money from promotions on these platforms and made money from promoting products – this is the first year that I’ve been able to make money from the platform themselves. Something I’ve been trying to do for years!
I am even more proud of all the success Body By Cookie’s programs have had. Turning my passion into a career is major! So it feels different now that Body By Cookie has a fitness app dropping soon. To know all of the hard work of changing the fitness community and uplifting women and men to be the better version of themselves is paying off is beautiful! My personal training packages ranged from $460 – $760 a month, I know financially that’s hard for some people and though I was valuing my worth it was heart breaking hearing how someone couldn’t afford me knowing the reason I started training was to tend to people who felt left out. So the app allows me to be apart of their journey at a much more affordable price than my one on one in person or virtual training The goal is to make me being apart of your journey easier and more accessible. For it to feel like you’re getting the one on one experience daily! This is such a big deal not just for me but for my BBCers! It’s something I’ve been trying to do since 2017! GOD IS SO GOOD! He has answered my prayers and I feel like this is the perfect time for the app to come out. I’m excited for my #BBCers and I to experience this new venture together! It’s just as much of a win for them them as it is for me because without my squad I wouldn’t have achieved any of what I have! I am very aware of that! Which is why I want to make this app the best I possibly can for them! I’ve been working on this app for two years and was on and off due to personal reasons. And after everything that happened we picked back up in February and I’ve been working on this ALL year with my team! I did all the editing for the videos and descriptions and my team built out the app to make it look beautiful and easy to follow for everyone! So I definitely want to take the time to shout my team out for all of their hard work!!!! I appreciate y’all so very much! Thank you thank you THANK YOU! To know it’s almost here feels amazing!
If you would like to join the waitlist for the app you can on BodyByCookie.com or by clicking the link on my Instagram’s page: @Cookieeedough.
I think what sets me apart is how honest and real I am about my journey. I don’t sugarcoat anything! When I fall off I tell my squad, when I feel depressed I tell my squad, when I learn a new technique I tell my squad. My transparency with my #BBCers is what has allowed us to be and feel so close to each other over these 8 almost 9 years. We truly are like family. I love them feeling involved in all that I do because it isn’t just about me. I love seeing their progress! It’s the best feeling in the world knowing that my legacy is impacting people’s lives in such a transformative way. Like my job is to help people feel confident in themselves and their bodies – THAT’S AMAZING!!! I truly want everyone to love what they see in the mirror!
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start?
For my website the backstory is pretty funny. A college friend of mine worked for a website company and after she completed her work assignment (which is what she needed the site for she was doing a project on Beyoncé because I mean who doesn’t live Beyoncé!) she reached out to me and said that I could takeover the website and change the domain because she didn’t have a business at the time. She knew a website would be a great benefit to me and my business. I do have to take a moment to say thank you to Nicolette because having the website changed my life! The website gave me the ability to sell programs that I had created using different softwares. I would use some of my income from training my clients to pay the monthly fee for my website.
From the revenue made from my site probed the interest to expand my brand. I was always interested in doing so and always wanted fitness accessories since they were so pivotal in my training. I did a lot of groundwork of finding items I liked fo mry brand @TheCookieeeShop. At the time I wore hats a lot to the gym to 1) soak up the sweat to stop it from running down my face and 2) well dad hats are stylish lol. So I created a hat with my logo (the half eaten cookie) and had it embroidered. I was able to pay for these items from money I was making from both in person and online cliente. I have ran my own business with no investors for 8 years. Not a flex but a fact. It was very hard trying to find resources while also growing your brand at the same time doing everything by yourself. Sometimes I did too much making it hard to pay the bills but I knew eventually it would pay off. I am thankful for all that I have learned on the business end. It taught me how to grow up in business. Truly taking it from a hobby to a career.
I do wish sometimes I asked for help more because it was so hard doing everything by myself. It was hard tending to clients while also promoting on instagram, creating content, adding everyone to their members pages, looking for resources to build my apparel line, create content for YouTube and so much more. There were times were too much was on my plate causing me to feel like I slacked in areas that I really shouldn’t have. I needed/need an assistant. It would truly be life changing for me.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
If I could go back would I chose the same profession? Most definitely! My profession has helped shaped me into the woman I am today. It helped me step outside of my comfort zone and be comfortable with sharing my story and journey. It helped me look deep inside myself on how to be better in every way possible. My profession groomed me in every aspect of my life. It helped me be confident in not only my body but my mind as well. Without training I honestly don’t know where I would be or who I would be. It’s such an important part of my life. I love like absolutely love what I do. The consistency of showing up every day and training from 7 am – 11 pm Monday – Friday and from 9-11 am on some Saturdays made me hungry enough to try to find ways that I could have more free time while still doing what I love. That’s how my fitness programs came about because in person training was so hard physically (because some days I didn’t even have time for my own workout and this made me sad due to remembering why I even started) and so limiting to all of who I could positively impact. Once I made it a point to make myself a priority so that I can be the best me for my clients is when things really took off for me.
Now my profession has granted me the freedom to do things when and how I want. The time freedom I have allows me to find ways to be more creative and connect with my #BBCers more. This same time freedom is going to allow me to be at home with my children and be a present mother – which is something I’ve always wanted.
I’m thankful and grateful to have found my calling so young because it allowed me time to hustle and grow. Now that I am at a place of wanting to settle down I feel like I can have both my business and a family, something I didn’t always think was possible. I have done the groundwork to achieve more freedom and I’m at a place where I would like to enjoy it more.
I know I already talked about this but if you’re just starting out don’t give up when times get hard. If you stay faithful and consistent your hard work will reward you!
I also have a book coming out soon which will allow people to truly get to know me, my journey and story more. So be sure to stay connected with me so you know when it comes out!
Thank you so much for reach out to me to do this interview! It’s been a true pleasure!
Contact Info:
- Website: BodyByCookie.com
- Instagram: @Cookieeedough
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/555256243091096/)
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cashawnsims/
- Youtube: YouTube.com/BodyByCookie
Image Credits
Moun Photography Jhoward Photos