We were lucky to catch up with Kristin Gaspar recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kristin, appreciate you joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?
I started to get the idea of having my own business when I was pregnant with my first child. I was a teacher and loved it but knew it would be hard to go back and be away from son. I decided over the summer of 2018 that I would not be returning to my classroom. It was such a hard decision because that was all I knew for years but I knew I would love being home with my baby boy. I liked working out a lot and helping people so I thought of what else could I do that is flexible but ties in two of the things I really enjoy. So, I figured I would try to become a personal trainer and perinatal fitness instructor. I had a difficult birth and recovery with my first born so, I wanted to be able to help other moms during their pregnancy and postpartum journey. That summer, I started working on a few certifications to get started. I am glad I started when I did because I truly did enjoy teaching. It was so fun and I loved getting to help my students learn and grow. I’m glad I switched careers after having kids because I wanted something more flexible where being a mom was my first priority. My first goal is always to be a mom; owning my own business and setting up my own schedule and clients definitely helps me with my priorities. It isn’t always easy but it is worth it.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
For those of you that don’t know me or what I do, I am a perinatal fitness instructor and certified personal trainer. I am a 4th Trimester Fitness®️ Instructor and teach pregnancy, postpartum and pelvic floor classes to help women during pregnancy and beyond. I had a difficult postpartum experience with my first child and knew I wanted to learn more about how I could help women recover during that time. For me, it took a while to feel good again after dealing with a lot of symptoms and pain post-birth all while trying to care for a newborn. I am an ACE Personal Trainer and 4th Trimester Fitness®️ Instructor. I have my Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification and my Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism Coach certification. I offer one-on-one personal training as well as small group training. I also offer virtual fitness classes as well as in person pregnancy, postpartum and pelvic floor classes. I love helping everyone but especially women who have babies. It can be a difficult life stage especially for new moms and I love being a sounding board and support system for them.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
For me, anyone working with women on their health, especially moms and of course, word of mouth have been a great source of getting new clients. I try to work with OBGYN practices and doulas because they are already working with pregnant women. They know the importance of prepping for labor and the postpartum period. I also really love working with chiropractors. Again, they see a wide range of clients including women and pregnant / postpartum moms. They can help shift a baby to help him or her get into a better position for birth. Word of mouth honestly goes such a long way these days that I really try to create good relationships with the women that take my classes and the people that support the classes. I appreciate anyone that can help support women and am always open to make new connections.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When Covid hit in 2020, that was an extremely difficult time for most businesses, including mine. I was actually pregnant with our second at the time when everything basically shut down. This alone was super stressful because doctors’ visits were cancelled and we didn’t even know how labor in a hospital setting would be. I had a bunch of questions; would I have to labor in a mask? Would my husband be let in the room? Would my doula still be there? What will I do with my baby after? Would she be safe? I had a million thoughts running through my mind about my own birth all while trying to still be a safe place and help women during their own pregnancy and postpartum journeys.
Before Covid, I was teaching all my classes and personal training in person. So when Covid hit, I had to come up with a different solution. I got a Zoom account and was able to set up virtual sessions for my classes and training sessions. Now, everyone had their older kids home with them so that was another challenge. We had to teach a class with our newborns but also with toddlers or older kids walking around and needing attention from the mamas. This made it challenging for moms to focus on themselves as they had other priorities they had to deal with during the class. I also wasn’t able to help take care of the babies during class to allow the moms to focus when practicing new exercises, which is what I would normally do during an in-person class.
Many moms take the class to also build relationships with other moms going through similar stages in life. During Covid we could not meet in person, I spent a significant amount of time building the community online to help strengthen those relationships in a virtual world. Although, it was something different and new for me, I am glad I did it. Post the Covid shut down, I had the opportunity to meet some of the amazing women that took my virtual classes in person, which was such a fun thing to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fitwithkg.com
- Instagram: @fitwithkg_
- Facebook: Fit with KG
Image Credits
Dallas Arthur