Interview with Entrepreneur and Badass Chic, Natalie Dreger

One of my favorite things to do is to interview other women in the entrepreneurial space who really overcame mountains to get themselves and their business to where it is today. I’m so excited to share with you my latest interview with fitness entrepreneur, the Badass Chic, Natalie Dreger. Natalie has been a certified fitness professional for 16 years now, she was a single mom for almost 20 years, and now has been happily married for just over 11 years. Natalie started in the fitness industry because of her own health and wellness journey which led her to her healthiest self yet. She has a passion for connecting with other single moms who don’t have family support and lead them to their goal body and establish healthy habits. Her driving force for starting her fitness business was to be in the best shape possible to take care of her kids.

KO: How did you learn to stick to your goals and lose the weight for yourself?

ND: Honestly – I picked up a magazine, back when those were popular, and read it cover-to-cover and found it in myself to say, “I want to be as healthy as I can possibly be to take care of my kids and be an active, healthy mom.” I had a dream planted in my heart, I joined a gym, I had NO idea what I was doing, but I had determination.

KO: Did you start training part time?

ND: I started training part-time while I was still working full-time at my corporate job. I would train people on my lunch hour and work my group bootcamp class a couple of nights a week. Juggling all of it, I learned very quickly how important it was to get organized. I didn’t really have a choice…if I wanted to leave my job, I needed to get my side hustle on track to be my main hustle.

KO: Did your business grow or did you maintain it on the side?

ND: It definitely started growing. It was a pivotal point in my life where I could either continue working corporate and have a side hustle or I could lean more into my health and wellness business. So I decided to start doing group coaching. I wanted to be different and not be “just another trainer” at a gym so I took the leap and leaned into my passion.

KO: How long did it take you to find and hold a studio?

ND: I had a small studio for several years and then when my husband and I got married, we decided to sell our house and our belongings and move to another state.

KO: After you moved, how did you make the pivot to promoting your business online?

ND: Making that move was very challenging. I had lived in a town with a small community and everyone knew me and wanted to support me. Not only that, but my baby was going to college and, if you’re a parent, you know how challenging that is. But, I knew I still had that dream planted in my heart so I learned how to use Facebook and set up my own website. I learned how to do my own email marketing. I learned how to accept payments, do a group bootcamp online, film a video and put it on Facebook. When a dream weighs so heavy on your heart, you figure it out.

KO: What’s the mental story you tell yourself when you get stuck on something?

ND: It’s really easy to sit in your comfort zone, right? For me, I had to revisit my ‘why’ many times. I needed to remember why I started my business and think about how many other people I could help by getting outside of my comfort zone. I didn’t want to go back to the corporate jungle and so I fought hard to get my business off the ground and learn how to grow every single day.

KO: What have you noticed working with your clients who aren’t following through like they thought they would?

ND: They came to me for a reason, so I always ask them, “Why did you decide to do this?”. I give them a moment to feel sorry for themselves and then I tell them to pick themselves up and try again.

KO: So what does your coaching biz offer?

ND: I have a private 1-1 coaching program and I have a group coaching option. I want to help women achieve their goals and see their potential.

If you’re interested in learning more about Natalie Dreger’s fitness program, visit www.NatalieDreger.com OR get into her Facebook community!!

If you want to watch my latest interview with Natalie Dreger, watch my latest #getLIT episode!