What started with a blog to document her own health and fitness journey, led Jill Lister-Martin to start up her own fitness and nutrition coaching business. With the launch of Fit Chick Chronicles she was inspired to help mums on their individual health and fitness journeys.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I owned a dance school for 8 years which I sold to move to New Zealand from Melbourne. Food as fuel has always interested me, and is something I used to talk to my students about. Rather than talk about good and bad food, I’d encourage eating food that would give them energy, or fuel their bodies the way they wanted to.
I got drawn into the health and fitness industry once I moved to Wellington. It was a pretty logical progression and became a way to help my students and clients here. I also have 2 amazing boys and I wanted to have the flexibility to pick them up from school, which I discovered was a privilege when I sold the ballet school. I also started moving more of my work online so I can work from anywhere and help more women, no matter where they are.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
It really began with a blog where I documented my own journey with food, fitness and juggling life: www.fitchickchronicles.com
The actual business side began with coaching fitness classes, which I’ve done for years. I then started to move into more one on one, before getting certified in nutrition coaching. One of my earlier focuses was on Vegetarian Keto because it’s a way of eating I had a lot of success with. Though these days I’m mainly focused on developing habits and creating sustainable change and weight loss.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Discovering who I really wanted to help.
They say in business you need to listen to what your clients need. In the space of 2 days I heard 3 client conversations, not necessarily just mums either, talking about pelvic floor issues. Not wanting to do particular classes or movements because they are worried about wetting themselves. I signed up to do a pre- and post-natal exercise accreditation with Jen Dugards, Body Beyond Baby, primarily with pelvic floor health in mind. I also went back and did a pregnancy nutrition specialty and the ball has just been rolling from there.
