Fitness Enthusiast & Graphic Designer

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and fitness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Rica Manalo, Founder of Mamá Rix, located in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines.

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

I help people get started with fitness and make exercising a habit through Tabata workouts. I mainly produce workout videos that are being monetized on Facebook and YouTube. I also run my own website where my exclusive fitness courses are published. My main customers/ audience are people who are strong advocates of health and wellness, including beginners in terms of fitness.

Tell us about yourself

I'm a person who loves learning and exploring new things, which led me to build my business. It all started during the heat of the pandemic. I enrolled in an online freelancing course with the intent of quitting my 9-5 day job. I got interested in social media management, and I attempted to look for clients, but then I realized why not be my first own client. I was making lots of trial and error alongside my 9-5 day job until I ended up with a project to challenge myself where the main task was to create 30 workout videos in 30 days. The idea was inspired by Nuseir of Nas Daily. He created 1000 videos in 1000 days. I wasn't truly expecting anything out of the project aside from improving my video editing skills, my consistency, and my confidence in front of the camera. On my Project's Day 4, the video was luckily picked up by the algorithm and hit 1 million views. The 30-day project got extended, and on the 40th day, I was able to afford to quit my day job, Day 60, I was able to move out and get a place for my daughter and me. Fast forward to today, and as of this writing, we're on Day 250 with 532,857 followers on Facebook and 11,629 subscribers on YouTube. If there's something that motivates me each day, it's the notion of making a difference in the world and being able to change people's lives for the better.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishments as a business owner include reaching people worldwide unexpectedly. Being able to share useful knowledge that can help them transform their lives into better ones.

Secondly, finally accomplishing financial freedom, I work whenever and wherever I want, in short, being my own boss. Most importantly, the freedom to do what I truly love and enjoy!

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

In my case, one of the hardest things is working as a one-woman production. I literally do all the work on my platforms; from filming, I'm the one in front of the camera, and at the same time, I am the director and cameraman. I also do the editing and social media management; I write articles and all the other things I need to keep my business running. It seems like a lot to take, but on the other hand, I'm involved in all aspects of my business, so that makes me gain a deep understanding of how every body part of my business works. One instance, when I was just starting out with building my community, I didn't have a website, and I did not know how to create one; I was considering hiring a website builder, but then I thought, why not do it myself, it took some time for me to learn, but in the end, I was able to build my website by myself, and it is very rewarding.

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

My first tip would be to understand yourself as a business owner. There's a unique method I learned which helped me get started and keeps me going. "Ikigai" it's a Japanese concept that means reason for being. Carefully identify:

What you love
What you're good / best at
What you can be paid for
What the world needs

Second tip, running a business needs organized systems. Regardless of your industry, running a business comes with a lot of ups and downs, so you have to be equipped to alleviate problems by having developed systems.

Lastly, to grow a business, one of the most important things is customer experience and building trust / strong relationships with your customers. You need to bring value to the table constantly. Count on quality control and innovation. These are the core concepts I abide by in order to run and grow my business toward success.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.mamarix.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamarix/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mama_rix/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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