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

Melissa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The development of this business came from my personal experience as a 2x business owner and Entrepreneur of 11 years.

For almost a decade I served in the Wellness Industry as a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutritionist. My first business was a privately owned Fitness Studio in the heart of downtown West Chester, PA. I specialized in Weight Loss for Women as well as teaching women how to properly and confidently lift weights. The business then evolved into business number 2; a fully operable online business which focused on serving women in Overcoming their Emotional Eating Behaviors.

Both businesses served the clientele they were meant to serve, but the businesses didn’t serve me as the business owner.

I lost myself, my needs, and my sanity in the building and operating of both businesses. I was choosing to honor the needs of others plus the needs of the business over my personal needs. Eventually, this led me to burnout, self-destruction, and the closing down of both businesses. Who I was and how I was behaving as a leader and business owner wasn’t sustainable.

Along my entrepreneurial journey, I learned there are many other business owners who have had this same experience; placing the needs of others as well as the needs of the business above their very own.

After being in my own experiences and observing the experiences of other business owners, my curiosity began to spark; Are we as business owners truly in service to another human heart if we’re neglecting our very own?

In my perspective, no. This is exactly what led me to the creation of my 3rd business in Self-Leadership; helping other business owners build a sustainable foundation through the choices they make regarding their mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health.

Melissa, 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?

Hi, my name is Melissa Boleslawski; an 11 year entrepreneur and 3x business owner. I spent most of my career serving in the Wellness Industry as a Nutritionist and Certified Personal Trainer.

I started my career as a front counter smoothie girl in a local hometown gym while obtaining my Nutrition degree at University of Delaware. Watching and admiring the certified fitness trainers in the gym, it wasn’t long before my curiosity peaked and my interest grew in becoming one myself.

Once I was certified to take on clients, I served for a few years as an Independently Contracted Fitness Trainer at a few local gyms. I specifically helped clients with weight loss through effective workout & nutrition regimens.

Eventually, one of those opportunities led me to being asked in helping a friend open a brand new gym as their lead Fitness Trainer. It was smooth sailing until I began to notice a gap in serving the specific needs of women in these gyms.

Women were mostly uncomfortable maneuvering around the weight lifting areas. They wanted to learn how to properly lift weights (ya know, the weights the big boys were using), but didn’t want to feel judged while doing so.

I immediately saw an opportunity and built my first business, Grind Athletics. Grind Athletics was a small private studio serving women who wanted to focus on weight loss and learn how to properly lift weights.

As time went on and 100’s of conversations were had with clients, I saw another gap; my clients were distracted by the shiny fun fitness equipment and neglected their emotional behaviors with food.

This led the creation of my second business where I helped women overcoming their emotional eating behaviors.

It wasn’t soon after this business was up and running, I noticed something about myself — I placed the needs of others and my businesses above my very own needs.

I lost myself, the fulfillment of my needs, and my sanity in the building and operating of both businesses. I was choosing to honor the needs of others plus the needs of the business over my personal needs. Eventually, this led me to burnout, self-destruction, and the closing down of both businesses. Who I was and how I was behaving as a leader and business owner wasn’t sustainable.

Along my entrepreneurial journey, I learned there were also many other business owners who had this same experience; placing the needs of others as well as the needs of the business above their very own.

After being in my own experiences and observing the experiences of other business owners, my curiosity began to spark; Are we as business owners truly in service to another human heart if we’re neglecting our very own?

This is exactly what led me to the creation of my 3rd business which is teaching & educating on Self-Leadership; helping other business owners build a sustainable personal foundation through the choices they make regarding their mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health.

I help Entrepreneurs and High-Performing Women become aware of their limiting behaviors, subconscious patterns, and stuck energy in order to equip them with the necessary tools to lead & nourish themselves before sitting down to lead & nourish another human.

I facilitate this work while in community vs. 1:1 work. What I’ve come to find — when you get in a room with community and listen to the stories of other hearts, you begin to notice — your suffering is not unique to you. Sharing challenges in the face of community assists in dropping any shame, guilt, or fear you may be feeling and facilitates a sense of belonging.

My work is unique because I take a bottom-up approach; this means I facilitate healing through the body and on a somatic experience level first before addressing the complexity of the mind.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for recently growing clientele has been going back to the basics; as much in-person // face-to-face connection as possible. Another effective strategy for growing clientele has been gathering in community and dropping into real conversations.

After the experience humanity has been through the past 2 years, we’re seeing a strong desire for deep connection again.

Honestly, my heart is happy about this because I am an old soul. My favorite form of connection is depth and being in community :)

Any advice for managing a team?

The advice I have for managing a team and maintaining high morale is Open Communication. Our business is one big relationship and the best way to keep a relationship thriving at it’s highest capacity for the highest good of all is through Communication.

Each of your team members have their own way of communicating (as do you being the business owner) and it’s best to learn the different communication styles of each team member. Once you know this information, you can learn and implement a communication style for everyone who is a part of the business as well as communication practices that bridge the gap between any communication differences.

The less conflict and miscommunication happening, the more ease and flow everyone gets to experience.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_melissa_boleslawski_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissaboleslawski/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfaKeGwk35F7AMq0YR_lNYA
• Other: Email: [email protected]