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

Kylie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I have always known that I wanted to help people, and believed one of my strengths was the ability to teach. I actually received a Bachelor’s degree, and a Master’s Degree, with the intent to become an English instructor, and I actually taught at a college-level for several years prior to starting my own business. The struggle with that career choice is that I just didn’t feel passionate about what I was teaching, and I felt like there was a bigger way for me to make an impact that was more in alignment.

I personally struggled with body image, and keeping my weight and health under control for a very long time. I am not a naturally athletic, thin, or “metabolically gifted” person. All through my early twenties, I felt constantly at war with my body and it took a huge toll on my self-esteem, and the way I carried myself in the world. To add to my frustration, trying to make a change always felt so overwhelming due to the vast amounts of varying information available at our fingertips regarding diet and exercise. I tried so many different avenues, and would either see short-term success, or no success at all.

I really felt hopeless until I received guidance from a male friend to start weight-lifting, and I absolutely fell in love with it. My body started changing in some positive ways, but mostly, my mind did. I started caring less about what my body looked like, and started getting excited about what my body could do. I started competitively powerlifting, and felt so empowered as a woman through this process.

It saddened me, though, that there was such little rhetoric at the time about this available for women. Everything that had targeted me as a young girl, and young woman, revolved solely around shrinking down. It was about eating less, doing more cardio, and doing it FAST. All the things that had failed me, and left me even more miserable than I started. I was feeling pretty disconnected to my teaching career, and decided to pursue my passion of strength training by becoming a certified personal trainer, and during that process, I hired my own online health and fitness coach so I could start learning more about how to make nutrition work for me, too.

Once I was certified, I started taking in-person clients at local gyms, and launched my online business, Kylie UpLifts Fitness. I knew from day one I wanted to make a much bigger impact than simply helping women lose weight — I wanted to uplift them to be their best selves, and that’s where the name comes from (as well as creating a pun with lifting weights). I went on to obtain a nutrition coaching certification, and slowly started building online clientele on the side while working as a college English instructor, working retail for extra money, and training clients in the gym.

Toward the end of 2018, I went all in on Kylie UpLifts and got out of teaching and retail. By the end of 2019, I was successfully running a business entirely online, and I had launched my signature 1:1 coaching program, The ConFITdent 180 Blueprint. My vision with this program was to create an experience that differed from everything I had been pitched in the past — one that helped women do a 180 in EVERY area of their lives, not just with their physique. I am a huge advocate for mental health, and believe that the external transformation has to begin internally, and that’s an integral part of how we navigate our clients’ journeys.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Kylie, and I am 31-years old. I am an online health and fitness coach for women, and the owner of Kylie UpLifts Fitness, LLC. I also co-host a health and wellness podcast, The Not Your Quick Fix Podcast, alongside a registered dietitian. I competed as a powerlifter within the Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate (RPS) from 2016 – 2017, and then transitioned into bodybuilding and competed as a bikini athlete with the National Physique Committee (NPC) from 2018 – 2021.

I went through my own trials and tribulations with health and fitness that eventually led me to getting my own guidance and coaching from people who were doing it right, and had credentials and experience. Having someone to not only sift through all of the information out there, but create a plan that was individualized to me, and hold me accountable to it made a world of difference for me and my results. Hiring a coach changed my life in ways I did not expect that far exceeded a physical transformation, and I realized that THIS was my calling and the way that I could make the big impact I’d always desired to make on the world. So, I went on to obtain certifications in personal training and nutrition coaching as well as immersing myself into as much education and mentorships as I could find from other experienced coaches and health/fitness professionals.

At Kylie UpLifts Fitness, we help our clients find health and happiness. Our entire mission is to lessen the overwhelm of embarking on a health and fitness journey, and create a true lifestyle. We want our clients to be able to not JUST get results, but be able to still enjoy their lives while they do. We don’t do restrictive dieting, we don’t do “no days off” training plans….we work 1:1 with each individual to create a plan that truly fits into your lifestyle, and allows you to have balance. This approach increases the likelihood that you will stay consistent, and be able to keep your results long after your time with us is done.

We achieve this through 1:1 online coaching services, which include individualized nutrition guidance, workout plans, check-ins with your coach, access to educational materials, lab work assessment (if needed), and an incredibly supportive community of like-minded women.

I am most proud of the mindset shift that I have been a part of creating for so many women. One of the biggest pieces of feedback we often receive from our clients is that they have improved their relationships with food, or with exercise, and most importantly, with their bodies and themselves. We help women stop obsessing over the scale, and stop placing their worth within the size that they wear. We empower women to want to prioritize being strong and healthy, and the approach that we take ensures that all health markers are in check first and foremost before we even consider approaching “dieting.” So many women that we work with say that they feel like an entirely different person, INSIDE as well as out, by the time they finish working with us, and nothing makes me more proud than that.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is always such an interesting battle to fight because it is ever-changing, and I think as a small-business owner, it is one of the biggest things you underestimate. I don’t have an incredibly large audience, but I grew the one I do have very organically and I am proud of that. To get the audience that I do have, my strategies were pretty simple: show up consistently, create content that speaks to my ideal clients and targeted audience, and don’t be afraid to be authentic and raw.

I think one of my personal strengths on social media is that I am a very open person, and I don’t try to pretend to be something that I am not. Enough of that exists on social media, and we already have generations of women who are stretching themselves thin trying to look or live like models and celebrities, and now social media influencers, too. I think showing people the messy parts of your journey is important, and I’ve actually had A LOT of women tell me they hired me specifically because of my vulnerability and honesty when I was going through something difficult, or when I shared something that related to them personally. I am a fitness and health coach, but I share a lot about myself as an individual outside of fitness, too….because my targeted message is that you can reach your health and fitness goals without it having to consume your entire life. What kind of message would I be sending if I was preaching that, but then my whole life appeared to be health and fitness only?

So, my advice to those trying to build a social media presence, is to be in alignment not only with your messaging and your intended audience, but with yourself. I know this varies depending on what it is you are promoting, or what your intention of social media is, but personally, this has been crucial for me and my business. People can tell when you’re faking it, or when you don’t really care about what you’re doing, and you’re also human if you have a bad day or you’re not passionate every single minute. The thing people underestimate about working in social media is that it can feel really daunting, or put a lot of pressure on you, to “show up” when you feel like that….so I’ve just made a habit of A) showing up in that state, or B) being honest with my audience about not feeling like showing up. It’s a lesson I’ve learned that this does better than when I try to curate something inauthentically.

Other than that, be consistent and don’t give up, and don’t assume something isn’t working right away. People need to build trust in you/your offer/your product, and that can take awhile. Don’t base your success or whether something is working immediately on likes, comments, etc….sometimes people watch you silently, and become a client. Sometimes people follow you for two years before they decide to take a leap. Just like with a health and fitness goal, ditching the need for instant gratification is one of the hardest but most important things to do.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

A tough lesson I think a lot of entrepreneurs learn the hard way, myself included, is that your customer experience should receive more focus than your marketing does. I have found the most success from putting the majority of my energy into making sure my clients get results, but also just making sure they are heard. I make sure that the approach is tailored to their needs, and I really create a safe space for them to communicate with me openly and honestly.

When you create happy clients, they tell people about you. They send their friends, their family, their co-workers, etc. They post about you on social media. I have received the most clients from referrals, and I typically receive clients who are the best fit that way, too.

You can talk all you want about the services you provide, and how well you’re going to deliver, but nothing sells for you like someone who HAS bought into your service backing that talk up.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kylieuplifts.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/kylie_uplifts
• Facebook: facebook.com/groups/liftuplift
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-your-quick-fix/id1553806008

Image Credits
Competition photo by Mdoza Photography