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

Alright, Kari 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.

I have been a personal trainer for 11 years now. I love what I do and have learned and grown so much through the many challenges that I have faced. When I started training, I had a 2 and 4 year old and could only train during the hours they were in bed. So, I trained from 5-7am, then again from 7-10pm and on weekends when they were with their dad. I started my own llc and did my own advertising, billing, marketing, and building referrals. I loved all the people I had an opportunity to work with and created a lot of amazing relationships and learned from every client. As my kids got older and were in school, I could expand my working hours. I also expanded my roles and ended up teaching group classes. Next, I was given the opportunity to direct all of the adult classes and trainers at Impact Sports. I took on this role just a year before covid hit and the next few years were pretty tough. In Boulder county, the mask mandates and the fear of covid made training and group classes really tricky. Even though we were trying to build people’s immunity and get them healthy, gyms and fitness centers were closed for a long time and continued to have restrictions for 2 years. The county gave us a lot of citations and fines and we lost over half of our members. It was a hard time to be a small business owner as all of our expenses and overhead remained the same and the revenue dropped in half. No matter how many PPP loans or grants we applied for, we accumulated a lot of debt and didn’t know if we would have to shut our doors. As the world began to come out of the pandemic, I lost two business partners who couldn’t stay in the fitness world with the restrictions and debt we had. One month after the mask mandate was lifted and we were starting to build and get people in the doors, our facility was hit with the Marshall fires. We had to close down for another 2 months while we underwent smoke mitigation and heavy cleaning. Over 25 of our members lost their homes to the fire and almost half of them had to relocate for a time why their homes were cleaned from smoke and ash. We lost a lot of great trainers and staff during this time and those of us that remained had to roll up our sleeves, work lots of extra hours and get creative. We started a virtual school at the facility and took in kids who needed a place to do their online learning. I spent my mornings training and my afternoons teaching 4th graders. After the fires, we spent two weeks wearing N95 masks and safety goggles and we helped to deep clean the facility and scrub all of the ash and smoke away so we could re-open. We have faced a ton of challenges that left us feeling exhausted and defeated at times. However, each obstacle we encountered gave us an opportunity to roll up our sleeves, pull together and create solutions. Those of us who are still standing are very close and have learned a ton. We have kept our lenses focused on the possibilities that we may have in the future if we don’t throw in the towel now.

My advice to any young professional who wants to start or own a gym is to be patient. It takes a long time to build. Create relationships and build trust with your co-workers, members and your clients so you can lean on each other during hard times and draw on everyone’s strengths. Keep your eyes on the horizon and on the future and not on short term profits or pay. Learn to wear A LOT of different hats. Some days, you may need to mop floors and clean toilets. Some days you need to be the marketing and media expert, some days you are a therapist. Other days are spreadsheets, budget and payroll. Some days you coach and teach. Some days, you sit at the front desk. Be willing to learn how to do it all and step in where there is a need. Keep taking continuing education courses and adding to your credentials. Find mentors and those that inspire you and read their books and listen to their podcasts. Build a caring and supportive community that will carry you through the hard times and the lean times. The relationships outweigh a huge paycheck and having a part in building a community and a great team is truly priceless.

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?

My name is Kari Mullen and I am a personal and small group trainer and I am the director of Adult Fitness at Impact. I am a CrossFit coach and the affiliate owner at Coal Creek Crossfit. I am also a co-owner at Impact. I started out personal training and my niche was working with mothers of young children. That role has expanded over the last 11 years. Impact is a large sports performance facility in Superior Colorado and our adult fitness program includes open gym, a full yoga, boxing, strength and conditioning, HIIT, recovery, CrossFit and bootcamp schedule. Our memberships give you access to ALL of our classes. We are a training facility that strives to have every person that walks through our doors- whether they are 8 or 80 years old- to have a connection with a coach or trainer and relationships with others at the gym. Our trainers get to know all of the members and see their needs and meet them where they are at. No matter what peoples’ goals are, our staff can help get them there. Our clients and members become family and are surrounded by a team that truly cares and helps them with their mental and physical health and leaves them feeling energized and empowered.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think the most helpful quality that allows you to succeed in this field is the ability to build relationships and referrals. This requires excellent communication skills and the ability to listen and empathize and put yourself in someone else’s shoes. The ability to earn trust and make members feel comfortable and cared about is essential.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I have followed Ben Bergeron’s podcasts “Chasing Excellence” for the last 6 years and I have read his books and watch his instructional videos. Ben also manages gyms, coaches and has a very positive mindset that I strive to emulate.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.coalcreekcrossfit.com, www.myimpactsports.com
• Instagram: @impactsportsco, @coalcreekcrossfit, @trainerKari

Image Credits
My daughter or I took all of the photos that I submitted