I fell in love with Pop Pilates and PHIIT workouts. Moving my body helped me look after my own wellbeing and the wellbeing of my family. My company is just over a year old and it’s still all very new to me and it’s all very scary.
For a long time, I held onto all my early childhood resources: appraisals, paperwork, professional development I had attended and presented. This box of paperwork represented my escape ‘boat’, my excuse for giving up on my new business. Finally, I stopped resisting and I faced this box/life boat and emptied years and years of hard work, self-development and learning. It was one of the scariest and most confronting things I had done as it meant there was no going back. I was letting go of something which meant a lot to me for a very long time. But by closing one door I was allowing another to open. By letting go of this stagnant energy which was holding me back, I was able to jump two feet forward into my future of where I wanted to go. By getting clear, getting rid of the old there was now space for my new adventure.
I want to turn my thoughts and efforts to helping others find joy in working out and find that inner strength, mental strength and physical strength. I want to help others fall back in love with themselves and to be happy in themselves.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
One of the reasons why I left a full-time job was so I could be home more for the family and to create that balance we all so desperately needed. I am now more available for my children and can attend school functions and get them to their after-school activities. Most of my work is completed during the day when my children are at school and my husband is at work (as a high school teacher). I make my studio sessions as child-friendly as possible and many of my clients bring their children or babies and all the kids play together. My children love the extra play-dates in the evenings.
My change in work has had a real positive effect on the whole family. Not only do we have more time together but my business has left a real impression on my children. My daughters both want to now own and run their own businesses, one a dance school and the other wants to help the less fortunate.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
One of the biggest challenges I have had to overcome was imposter’s syndrome. As I mentioned above, I had to let go of the past and label of being an ECE teacher and own my new role of being a Pop Pilates instructor.
Another challenge was to not take things personally. This was really difficult, especially when it’s your dream you are putting out there for everyone to see. I have learnt that people are busy and when they get busier, the first thing they stop doing is taking care of their own wellbeing. Not everyone makes themselves a priority. This is something I am trying to change: to help others see that when you have filled your bucket up, you can then be the best you for others.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
One of the pros of running your own business is you have full control. You get to decide how and what and when. You set your own hours and can have the flexibility that works so well with a young family. But what is most exciting about running you own business is you can fully express who you are and what you stand for through your business. Now that’s pretty awesome!
The con of running your own business is the pressure on you to make it work. There isn’t that steady income all of the time (especially when you are first starting out.) The constant doubt in your mind and feeling of being overwhelmed can wash over you like a wave. When this happens, I go back to my ‘why’. Why do I want to do this? What outcomes did I want for myself, for my family and for others? This helps me to refocus and take each day step by step.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
I would love to work with high school students and bring Pop Pilates into the physical activity curriculum. I naturally gravitate to children and I would love to bring my two passions together and teach teenage girls that exercise can be fun; it can inspire, motivate, and especially empower you. I would like to help teenage girls balance self-acceptance with self-improvement. To show them that although it may be difficult, they can still strive to become better. The EMpowered Tribe encourages people to try new things, to challenge themselves and to help them grow in confidence.
Visit Emily’s website to learn more about EMpowered and join the EMpowered Tribe on Facebook and Instagram or visit her Pop Pilates Facebook page.
