We recently connected with Tina Holder and have shared our conversation below.
Tina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
Growing up, I watched my mom try all the different diets, supplements, and exercise programs in an effort to lose weight. I watched her lose it, then gain it back, lose it, gain it back over and over. As I got older, I noticed how many other women (including myself) were stuck in this same pattern. I knew there had to be a better way to achieve weight loss (but also be able to sustain it), so that’s what I went to school for.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a recovering emotional eater, perfectionist, and fitness junkie. For a really long time, I constantly worried about my weight and appearance. I have struggled with body dysmorphia, and often compared myself to others. Once I became a mom, I started to realize how none of it actually mattered, and that I didn’t want these thoughts/feelings to trickle down to my daughter. I want her to strive to be strong, healthy, and happy.
So many women spend their entire lives trying to lose weight. My mission is to be their last stop on that journey. My clients learn what it looks like to eat a balanced diet, while still incorporating the foods they love. Never again will they need a gimmicky cleanse, detox, fat burner, or restrictive weight loss system, because they know exactly what it takes to achieve their goals in a sustainable manner.
Currently, I coach my clients 1:1 via phone or zoom. We chat weekly to make small tweaks to their habits, and discuss any obstacles or challenges they’ve faced. We set a short term goal for them to work toward every time we chat.
I take a lot of pride in providing a solution to women so they can finally reach their goals, without their entire life having to revolve around diet and exercise.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I started a side hustle of Personal Training shortly after I was hired on as a virtual health coach with a well known weight loss app. I loved being a health coach, but it wasn’t quite enough to pay the bills, so I juggled coaching and personal training for almost 4 years.
In April of this year, the company I worked for unfortunately had to lay off several coaches, and explained to the rest of the coaching staff that they needed 360 more volunteers to leave.
I’d already discussed closing this chapter of my career with my husband, and had been working behind the scenes to eventually launch my own coaching business. He agreed that if I could save up 3 months worth of expenses, I could leave my full time job to “do my own thing.” At this point, I’d saved up one month, and the voluntary severance with the company was 2 months pay, so that’s when I knew it was time to make the leap. It felt like divine timing.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to learn that investing in yourself is the best investment you can make.
This was a hard one for me, because I come from a family where money was always tight. My mom and stepdad had 3 kids to support, and I remember them working tirelessly… 12-14 hour days just to get by.
It was difficult for me to feel ok with spending money on ME because I could think of about a million other things to use that money for.
I’ve learned that investing in yourself is not frivolous, it’s smart. Especially if you are investing in a coach, personal development, or your health.
The most recent example is from February this year, I hired a company to help me take my part time fitness business online. They gave me everything I needed to know to set up my business and business systems, which likely would have taken me YEARS to figure out on my own.
Because I took that leap of faith, when April came, and the company I worked for was laying folks off, I had a PLAN. I knew I was set up to take my business full time if needed, and that brought me a tremendous amount of comfort.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tribefittraining.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinalholder/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tribefittraining
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-holder-039b2866/
Image Credits
Cody Woodside and Katrina Roberts