We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Imani Whitfield a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Imani, appreciate you joining us today. One of the toughest things about entrepreneurship is that there is almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

There have been a few experiences that were unexpected along my journey as a business owner such as: COVID-19, transitioning from in person training to online coaching, and the impact of AI on client/coach relationships. I will elaborate on COVID-19 a little more because I feel like a lot of business owners can relate to the impact that it had and the fact that it was unexpected for us all.

Towards the end of 2019, I was coaching in person at the gym and seeing numbers as if I were working 9 to 5, so everything is picking up at this time. I was establishing a good solid relationship with not only the women I trained, but with the community around me as well. A couple of months in, COVID-19 started to gradually impact the world around us, resulting in quarantine for an extended period of time.

During Covid 19 businesses were either forced to close down or to limit their hours of services, which ultimately caused a shift in women’s daily wellness routines. While it may seem at that moment, one’s health is more important than anything, it did raise awareness, but it also forced women to prioritize their daily activities and finances a lot differently (especially women with children). The gym doesn’t seem as important when your time and basic living necessities are limited. So as a business owner providing services to women in a gym, you could imagine the step back that I had to take in order to provide some type of valuable service and make it a priority to women whose lives were quickly changed in many ways. I was forced to address the challenges Covid presented not only to my company, but the many women I desire to serve. This was obviously not something I had considered at the start of my career in 2018.

I had to shift my mindset and create an experience that was valuable to women and also recession proof. I then began to create my women’s lifestyle coaching App to help women prioritize their health in a way that is more convenient, accessible, and intentional! I am focused on establishing a tool that considers the busy everyday life of young women seeking balance, and the unexpected circumstances that life may present. Going through this experience definitely showed me that I am capable of creating an online presence to scale my business and establish staying power. Although Covid-19 was unexpected, it actually exposed a different purpose and angle within my business. It has been an unexpected but rewarding journey!

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?

Of course! I began playing organized sports at the age of 6 up till I graduated high school. I was accustomed to having a coach and a structured routine for a long time. Going into college I made the life changing decision to not proceed with playing any organized sports. As I went through my freshman year I began to realize the lack of discipline creeped in slowly without the accountability and structure from a coach. I was on my own.

I started to get curious about the journey of learning how to become my own coach. I started creating workouts and going into the school gym to test them out while becoming more intentional with what worked and did not work for me. I then began expanding my knowledge and obtained a degree in Sports medicine and fitness technology, along with multiple Training certs.!

My career started by creating personalized workout guides for friends, family, and college athletes. I then began to branch into personal and group training! After about 2 years of coaching with an inclusive mindset, I began to focus more on what I desired to have to help me become my best self. I like to focus on my habits, I believe they hold the power! How do I nourish myself each day with each choice I make? How do I practice making it a habit?

A lot of women are looking for convenient ways to stay fit, and do so by relying on external motivators. Learning what a healthy lifestyle looks like for yourself as an individual, and not what it looks like for someone else, requires soul work + a healthy daily routine.

The R&R Fitness App blossomed as I began to fixate on the desire to help young women obtain optimal wellness by establishing consistent intentional habits, and routines. My desire to want change in myself opened up a lot of self awareness in healthy ways, and I believe every woman deserves to feel that type of freedom.

With R&R Fitness, It’s a self-learning process, It’s much deeper than just workouts, and healthy food. R&R Fitness provides guidance to women seeking self-discovery and self-development with no limits! Women learn to become their own coach by utilizing the app to help establish consistent positive habits. It is a source full of nourishment to continuously grow and explore self.

The R&R Fitness App Experience:
Exposes women to a variety of workout types to establish physical resilience
Provides basic nutritional guidance to explore the best routine & meals for women
Supplies women with book, podcast, meditation and research recommendations to encourage healthy habits + knowledge (in all 8 dimensions of wellness)
Allows women to track their daily/monthly health habits to visualize and understand their body’s development process

When you click on the R&R Fitness App you KNOW you are about to pour into yourself!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

For me, two things that have contributed to my reputation would have to be expanding my knowledge through experience, and always showing up as my authentic self! There’s no sustainable value if you lack self-awareness and knowledge. Experience is a great teacher, it opens up the opportunity to learn every time. Knowing who you are and your purpose takes you way farther than just being good at something. Those aspects of my journey I would say are the most consistent at each stage!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve always believed my life pivoted when I lost my father to suicide, my sophomore year of high school. It made me realize the perception I had of life and the value of it was completely different to me. Through this experience I gained a spark of purpose in my life. The older I got the more I realized how it affected my ability to remain resilient and practice intent in everything I encounter. I began to give more thought towards my desires, and go after what truly made me happy, in a natural sense! Something I did not see much of growing up.

R&R Fitness is actually named after my father! R&R is his artist name. For my business, it stands for RESPECTED & RESILIENT! My fathers life and legacy inspire me to be just that, respected for my resilience in this lifetime. Pivots can produce liberation and change if you open up to the journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rrfitnessonline.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rrfitness_online/?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM%3D
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/respectedfitness/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rrfitness1845