Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and fitness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Samantha Costello, founder and CEO of CoreFit, located in Oceanside, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Our mission at CoreFit is to teach our clients how to take ownership of their wellness so they can thrive through sustainable fitness and nutrition. We work with our clients to help them lose weight, tone up, and build confidence without spending hours in the gym or restricting themselves from all the foods they love! There is no doubt when we feel our best; we can thrive in every aspect of our lives. When we feel our best, we can thrive in every aspect of our lives!!

Tell us about yourself

I am a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, founder of CoreFit, have multiple fitness certifications, and am a fitness nutrition specialist. I am also a mom of two daughters and a proud military spouse! My 'story' that brought me to where I am today truly started before I even realized it, but there was a defining moment in May 2016 that really kicked off the process of getting me to where I am today– coaching people on how to lose weight, feel more confident, and let go of the struggle around diets and health.

I was living in a small town in North Carolina. I had moved there from D.C. after years of long-distance dating with my boyfriend (now husband). The company I was working for let me work remotely, but unfortunately, shortly after I moved, the company was bought out, which left me jobless and searching for work in this tiny military town. There were no opportunities that really excited me, and I knew this was the perfect time to start my own business!

There was one thing I was truly passionate about, that got me up in the mornings and kept me up late at night – health and fitness – so I started a business centered around that. Health and fitness have always been important to me since middle school. My family has always gone to the gym together, and I have always loved running with my dad and taking family walks - even to this day.

There was only one problem. As a middle schooler, I was an average student. I played sports and was active, but I never felt like I was that good at anything. The gym was where I could excel, be consistent and see change. Unfortunately, the gym is where I ended up finding a lot of my self-worth as a young girl.

Friends, family, and even strangers often complimented me on my physical looks and fit physique. People often questioned why I worked out so often and why I was so focused on eating healthy. They couldn't see how much I was struggling internally with my confidence and self-esteem. No matter how many hours I spent or how ragged I ran myself in the gym, nothing was ever good enough. When I looked into the mirror, I saw a young woman who could never get the results she wanted - this ideal physique I had in my head. I was stuck. I was also so frustrated and confused by all the information out there. I literally thought going to the gym every day and trying to eat perfectly healthy was the only thing I could do well and the only thing I could do to get closer to my ideal. Sadly, I also thought how I looked was the only thing I brought to the table.

This continued through high school, college, and into my young adult years. To the outside world, it looked like I had everything. I was working in a corporate job making great money; I had an amazing support system - both friends and family, was dating an amazing guy, and I had a body most women would probably be excited about. I finally got sick and tired of chasing this ideal that was truly unattainable as I realized no matter what I did, I never felt like it was enough. But mostly, I was exhausted from constantly looking for my self-worth in all the wrong places and tired of feeling confused.

I truly loved exercise and all the benefits it brought, but I also recognized that a portion of my habit was negative - and fueled by our culture and the diet industry. I wanted to dig in, fix myself, and finally figure out the fitness industry, what actually works and learn everything I could. I vowed to myself if I ever figured it all out, I would share it with every woman, so they never had to feel like I did – stuck, confused, and lacking confidence! I became a certified trainer and learned EXACTLY how to train to get results without being in the gym every day and running myself ragged. Most importantly, I made huge internal shifts. By examining and reprogramming my disordered thinking (I was only good if I worked out every day), I changed my mindset. My self-worth is no longer measured by how I look but by the impact I can make in others' lives.

After becoming certified, I launched CoreFit and started teaching women how they could do the same: get fit and lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way, learn proper nutrition, shift their mindset, skyrocket their confidence, and feel incredible; about their bodies! Women who are confused, hate the gym, are overweight, and feel awful about themselves finally break through their internal struggles with me, lose the weight (once and for all) and for the first time in their lives are proud of who they are and what they can accomplish! Similarly, women who lack self-esteem work out constantly but never feel happy work with me to shift their mindset and learn effective strategies to get the results they want in half the time. I vowed to share my methods with every woman who needed the help. I made a commitment to dedicate the rest of my professional life to helping other women who have lost their sense of self or hate looking in the mirror get unstuck so they can shift their mindset about exercise and nutrition to get amazing results and truly love their bodies.

Since then, I've worked with many private clients, group fitness classes, virtual boot camps and have spoken in front of countless groups. I lived my dream of opening up my own business and earning an income providing fitness and health coaching from anywhere in the world as a military spouse. And now, years later, being a mom to a girl, I am so thankful I made this shift because I never want my daughters to see me obsess over my weight or what I eat, or worse, think their self-worth is dependent on what they look like.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment is hearing success stories from our clients beyond the scale! Nothing is more gratifying than hearing from clients how working together not only helped them build confidence and love the way they look and feel - but has helped them to thrive in other areas of their life too! When we have confidence, we show up to the world differently and can attract back that same confidence that we put out! We demand more of ourselves and from others, and we start to see big differences - from improved relationships to being able to accomplish big goals!

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The most challenging piece of owning a business is that there is no one to tell you what your role is within a pretty job description and exactly what tasks or steps are needed to reach a goal. Not only do you set the goals, but you have to figure out how to get there - YOU are entirely responsible for the framework and its success or failure!

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Identify who your ideal client is. Really get to know them. What do they struggle with? This way, everything you say or write is aligned with their needs, and you are truly 'speaking' to them. When a potential client sees or hears you, they will think, "Ah yes!! She gets my struggle and knows how to help me fix it. I need to work with her!"
  2. Do one thing and do it well. Stay away from shiny object syndrome, bouncing from one fun idea to the next. Focus on one product or skill and master it before diversifying.
  3. Work on your mindset right away! Even if you are a positive person and mindset work feels fluffy, I promise you are owning a business will challenge you mentally, and doing mindset work will not only help to keep you grounded and sane - but it will propel your business to the next level!

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I truly believe if there is something you feel passionate about - that keeps you up at night and gets you out of bed in the morning, you should make something of it! You will not know HOW to do it all, but there is a WHO that does, and if you keep pushing forward relentlessly and get connected with the right WHO's, you can learn anything and make it happen!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.corefitfix.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corefitfix
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samcorefit/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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