We recently connected with Meg Yvonne and have shared our conversation below.

Meg, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’ve all been there before where things are tight financially and we start asking ourselves in the small/simple joys like a cup of coffee is worth it. Have you had an experience like this and if so how did you think about this sort of spending?

Finance! One of my favorite topics.

Personal training is a surprisingly seasonal profession. It slows down drastically during winter months and floods with leads and clients during the summer.
Which can be great for taking a mental break, but less so for making wise and consistent financial decisions.

One thing over the years that I’ve learned as a personal trainer, and now personal training studio owner, is to nail down your monthly expenses. Knowing your baseline cost will be helpful in planning for slower months.

Meg, 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?

As most personal trainer stories go, I started working out at the local Golds gym and fell in love with it. Through the years my goals, mindset, opinions, etc. has changed dramatically.

I had been working in banks, and while I loved it, I couldn’t picture myself there for 30 years. I started thinking on what I should do and settled on personal training.
It was a “temporary” job change while I figured out what I wanted to do. This “temporary” shift is 8 years in and still going.

I love it. I love seeing people fall in love with their bodies, lift more than they ever thought they could, move past injuries, and overcome years of negative self talk. To see someone fall in love with working out and have success in their nutrition habits is one of the most rewarding feelings.
There is so much misinformation that we see on a daily basis about health and fitness. To break the cycle of just one person’s way of moving and thinking could affect generations to come. THAT makes it worth it.

Now the business side, that’s my other passion. I missed banking and the monotony that came with it. Starting a personal training studio and bringing other personal trainers onto my team scratched my itch to work on the computer and balance checkbooks.

That brings things full circle to our name… Counterculture Coaching. A different way of thinking, moving, and eating.
Working out and moving our bodies CAN be fun. Eating well and fueling our bodies should NOT be hard. It should come without stress and feelings of failure.

This brings me to my last point… Timeline. This is probably the biggest obstacle that we have to overcome as trainers. Taking things slow, creating healthy habits, and learning to love working out takes time. Media, people, etc. have trained us to think that we can accomplish losing 100lbs, eating vegan, and deadlifting 500lbs in 30 days, and that if we don’t, we’re failures. Breaking that pattern of thinking is hard. But… We wouldn’t have the name Counterculture Coaching if we weren’t ready for the challenge.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Transparency. I grew up in a very close-lipped family around finances. Now I am not saying that I share every last detail with my employees. However, I am much more open about how the business is doing, where our funds are being allocated, etc. It seems to have built a lot more trust as a team.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Therapy. Not quite a book, but many have been recommended to me through it. Therapy keeps me sane, helps me learn how to be a better communicator, and holds me accountable to the things that I need to do to be a better person… And in turn, a better boss and business owner.

Contact Info:

• Website: Counterculturecoaching.com
• Instagram: Counterculturecoaching
• Facebook: Counterculturecoaching

Image Credits
@ Kelsey Halm Photography