Today we’d like to introduce you to Jana Seitz.
Hi Jana, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I became a stay-at-home mom after having my son and twin girls. As you can imagine, I kept very busy chasing after 3 little ones. I wasn’t physically fit though, I was underweight with no muscle and it left me tired and often sick, I started running and that became my time alone and to think. It soon evolved into a passion. I eventually became a member of the Twin Lakes YMCA and from there I got into strength training and fell in love with it, I felt great for the first time in a very long time. I was much healthier and had more energy. It was also a great stress reliever, once the kids were a bit older I had a little more time to work while they were in school. Personal training was the perfect opportunity to combine what I loved with a paycheck and the ability to set my own schedule, I trained in small group classes, TRX and did personal training. I was building a name for myself at the gym and then Covid hit. The gym shuts down and my opportunity to make money. My biggest fear was my clients losing all of the progress they had made, I had been training a couple of my good friends at the time and they begged me to figure out some way they could continue being stuck at home. I reluctantly decided to do zoom classes. It was so foreign to me at first. I’m a people person and love being face-to-face. It improved every time as I learned better techniques for communicating via zoom and engaging my clients, My zoom classes ended up taking off. Meanwhile, I went from having a few dumbbells and a resistance band at home to a fully converted garage gym in a couple of years. Once the pandemic slowed and everything opened back up, I still found I had clients that wanted to come train with me at my home and a group that still really loved the convenience of doing zoom from home. I now offer personal training and small group classes in addition to zoom, My next big goal is to reach clients virtually by customizing workouts they can do on their own time from home or in their local gym. I love learning about my clients and what really motivates them; my training is not one size fits all. I love to come up with creative and fun workouts that keep people moving while also using their minds.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I didn’t know anything about how to run a business, I wasn’t sure what to charge, how to collect money or exactly what I needed to do to safeguard myself, I referred back to my training as a personal trainer, Part of that does give a small bit on starting your own business, I am also blessed with a very creative friend that helped me set up a website and created a logo for me, You can find a lot of helpful resources, but you just have to be willing to invest the time snd energy to find it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I would say I’m probably known for creating very fun and interactive group workouts. I believe that keeping it fun keeps people engaged and coming back, I’ve created tons of themed workouts such as wheel of fortune, poker, scrabble, etc. It takes a lot of planning and practice to make sure it goes smoothly and will actually give my clients a great workout, I think it’s important to still exercise the mind, When your clients are concentrating on a goal and having fun, it usually distracts them from how hard they are actually working, I would say another thing I’m known for is my personality, I keep it fun, you will often catch me dancing and singing off key while training. I want people to feel comfortable like they are working out with that “crazy” friend. I’ve found my clients appreciate my realness.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Don’t panic and take it slow. You don’t have to figure it all out overnight, Do your research and figure out what direction you want to take your business. Find someone doing something similar that has had success and seek them as a mentor.
Pricing:
- Personal training $35 on site
- Personal training $40 and up to travel to you
- Zoom $65 per 4 weeks (Tue/Thur classes)
- Small group training $10-15
- Buddy training $40 on site
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.jdstrengthstudio.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jds_strengthstudio?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jdsstrengthstudio
Image Credits
Tracy Dell (Tank top photos)
