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

Marisa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

I’ve always been a creative person, and YouTube had been a platform I loved even before I ever thought about making a career out of it. When I started my fitness journey, it felt natural to document my progress and share what I was learning. I had been inspired by other female fitness content creators, and I wanted to pay it forward—hoping that my journey would inspire others to start their own.

At first, my channel, MissFitAndNerdy, was purely a passion project. I didn’t treat it as a business because I never expected it to turn into one. But as my audience grew, people started reaching out, asking for advice. I responded to as many people as I could, but as the volume of messages increased, I realized I needed a more structured way to help people. That’s when I decided to put my personal training certification to use and start offering coaching.

My first steps toward turning this into a real business were setting up a website and launching my first product—an ebook that included an option for coaching. From there, I expanded into more ebooks and courses while also offering 1-on-1 coaching. The first clients came naturally—they were people already seeking my advice, and I offered them a more structured way to work with me.

One of the biggest challenges I faced was time management. Content creation itself is a full-time job, and suddenly I was adding product development, marketing, and client management on top of it. Learning how to divide my time between these different aspects of the business was a steep learning curve.

Looking back, I wish I had approached my coaching and business as more than just an extension of my content creation. At the time, I didn’t recognize the momentum I had. My channel was growing rapidly, and I had a unique opportunity to build something much bigger, much faster. But I was still focused on other career goals, so I didn’t take full advantage of that momentum. If I had structured my business earlier, I could have scaled my offerings, built a team, and expanded my impact much sooner.

For anyone considering starting their own business—especially in content creation or coaching—my biggest advice is to treat it like a business from day one. Even if it starts as a passion project, having systems in place early on (like a website, structured offerings, and automation tools) will make it much easier to scale later.

Another key lesson is learning how to prioritize your time. When you’re running a business and creating content at the same time, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Setting clear priorities and focusing on high-impact tasks will help you avoid burnout and actually grow.

Finally, don’t wait for the perfect moment to start. You’ll never feel 100% ready, and the sooner you take action, the sooner you’ll learn, adapt, and build something meaningful.

Marisa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Marisa Chaela, a creator, entrepreneur, and wellness advocate with a deep passion for health, personal growth, and intentional living. My journey began with a personal fitness transformation, which I documented on my YouTube channel, MissFitAndNerdy. Originally, it was just a way to share my experiences and hopefully inspire others. But over time, my content resonated with a growing audience, and I realized I had the opportunity to make a real impact.

I started getting questions—lots of them. People wanted to know how to train, what to eat, and how to build sustainable health habits. At first, I answered as many messages as I could for free, but as the demand grew, I saw an opportunity to turn my expertise into a business. I became a certified personal trainer and began offering coaching, eventually expanding into ebooks and courses such as Fat Loss 101 and Reverse Dieting 101 to help people take control of their health in a structured, accessible way. This grew into Holistic Fitness Labs.

At Holistic Fitness Labs, we offer a fat loss and reverse dieting courses, along with personalized holistic fitness coaching. Our mission is to shift the narrative around modern fitness culture, which often feels like a battleground of constant hunger, exhausting workouts, and self-sabotage. We prioritize our clients’ health and well-being over quick fixes, empowering our clients to transform not just their bodies, but their overall lives in a sustainable way. By combining modern science with years of practical experience, we guide our clients toward achieving lasting results while feeling good throughout the journey.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

For most of my life, I’ve had perfectionistic tendencies—always striving to be the A++ student, the person who goes above and beyond to make everything flawless. While this mindset served me well academically, I eventually realized it was holding me back in business.

One of the biggest wake-up calls came when I spent months perfecting a small product that realistically should have taken me only a week or two to launch. I kept tweaking, refining, and second-guessing every detail, convinced it needed to be perfect before I put it out into the world. But in doing so, I lost valuable momentum and slowed my business growth.

Thankfully, my business coach and therapist helped me recognize these perfectionistic patterns and gave me strategies to work through them. One of the biggest mindset shifts for me was embracing the idea that done is better than perfect. I reframed my thinking: instead of striving for A++, I reminded myself that an A is still great—and, more importantly, that getting things out into the world allows for progress, feedback, and growth.

Since making this shift, I’ve been able to move forward with much more ease, rebuild my momentum, and continue growing my business in a way that feels both productive and sustainable. Perfectionism may feel like a strength, but in reality, it often leads to stagnation. Now, I focus on consistent progress over unattainable perfection, and it’s been a game-changer.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

In the fitness space, quick fixes dominate the market—programs promising “2-week abs” or rapid weight loss prey on people’s insecurities, despite being unsustainable and often harmful. From the start, I took a different approach. Instead of selling unrealistic results, I focused on science-backed fitness and sustainable health strategies, emphasizing that true progress takes time.

One of the key ways I built my reputation was by breaking down actual studies in my content. Rather than relying on trends or hype, I provide evidence-based insights that help people understand how fitness and nutrition truly work. I also make a point to empathize with the struggle of yo-yo dieting—I know how frustrating it is to keep trying quick fixes, only to end up back at square one. My goal is to help people escape that cycle by offering an honest, effective alternative.

Over time, I’ve had countless messages from people saying they appreciate my approach and that my content has helped them develop a healthier relationship with their body and weight loss. These messages mean everything to me because they confirm that people are looking for real, sustainable solutions—not just flashy gimmicks.

I believe what sets me apart is my commitment to truth over trends. While the “slow and steady” method isn’t as flashy, it’s what actually works, and people are starting to recognize that. By consistently providing honest, science-backed advice with an empathetic approach, I’ve been able to build a reputation as a trusted voice in the industry—one that people turn to when they’re ready for real, lasting change.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.holisticfitnesslabs.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missfitandnerdy/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/missfitandnerdy
• Other: https://www.missfitandnerdy.com/

Image Credits

JRR Images