Meghan Meredith is the founder of HomeBodySoul, a lifestyle wellness brand for women. Meghan currently resides in sunny Los Angeles with her husband and pup. Meghan is a Certified Health/Wellness Coach, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Group Exercise Instructor, and the creator of Whole Body Fitness: A Self-Guided Fitness Planner. Meghan loves sipping on green tea in her favorite wingback chair, slow mornings, fresh air, and driving around in her yellow Jeep!
Meghan began HomeBodySoul because she desired to inspire women to create a place where their homes, wellness, and stories could intersect. Meghan saw the effects our home environments can have on our wellness as she grew up in an unhealthy home environment. She now desires to educate and inspire women to create a place of rest, healing, and rejuvenation for themselves and their families. Meghan believes our wellness is rooted in our home environments and how we care for ourselves. Meghan is passionate about helping and inspiring women to be their best self and how to practice self-care.
What motivated and inspired you to start your own business?
My business bloomed out of failure, or so I thought I had “failed”. I spent my entire college career studying and preparing to be a Physician Assistant and go to PA school post-college. This was the dream I’d had since I was a little girl – to be a doctor. When I wasn’t accepted, I began to reconsider my life’s purpose and what my next steps would be. I had recently married my Air Force husband when I found out I wasn’t accepted to PA school.
My options included;
- Apply again, get in, and live apart from my husband for 2-3 years OR
- Go a different direction entirely and let the dream of being a Physician Assistant go
It was during this time that God gave me a new dream – His dream. Starting my own business made the most sense given my passion for health and wellness, my ever-changing and transient life as a Military wife, and my deep desire to be a leader and influencer. And this is when HomeBodySoul was born. What I thought was a failure turned out to be one of my biggest blessings and successes. A setback isn’t a step back, but really a step-up and a step-forward into your ultimate God-given purpose.
Tell us about your business.
HomeBodySoul is a lifestyle wellness brand for women. I offer services in in-home personal training, health/wellness and lifestyle coaching, and I teach several group exercise classes around the South Bay area of Los Angeles. I also just launched my first product under my brand, a comprehensive fitness planner for women.
HomeBodySoul exists to help women, like yourself, become the best woman they were created to be! Through the integration of home, body, and soul, my heart is to help each woman learn to live a holistically well lifestyle that is cultivated intentionally and with love. My goal is to help each woman design a life she loves; a life full of purpose, meaning, and joy so that she can impact and love herself, her family, community, and others more authentically and wholly.
Are you currently running any promos/contests/giveaways that you would like our readers to know about?
I just launched my newest endeavor and first product under the HomeBodySoul brand, a comprehensive undated 6-month fitness planner for women. “Whole Body Fitness: A Self-Guided Fitness Planner” is now live on Kickstarter! I’d love it if you’d head over to Kickstarter and search for Whole Body Fitness and back/pledge this comprehensive fitness planner for women. Whole Body Fitness will be delivered in time for Christmas and your New Year’s Resolution!
List awards/certifications/accomplishments.
- ACE Certified Personal Trainer
- Emory University Certified Health and Wellness Coach
- NETA Certified Group Exercise Instructor
- Les Mills Body Pump instructor
I can now say that I am a published author, which is such a huge accomplishment! I never thought I would create a fitness planner. Creating this comprehensive planner has taken a lot of hard work, but I am thrilled to be able to offer a product that is so in-depth, inspiring, and brings a refreshing take on fitness and health. I feel so honored and blessed to be able to come alongside of women in their own wellness journey through this planner.
Where is your business based?
My business is a home-based business, but I am currently based out of Los Angeles… until the Military takes us elsewhere! Then I’ll pick up and re-root at our next station, all while maintaining my online tribe and business.
What were the first few steps you took to get your business up and running?
My very first step was beginning a blog! This was a huge step for this tech challenged lady. After I began the blog and gained more clarity on my vision and mission for my business, I continued my education and went to Emory University in Atlanta to obtain my Health Coaching certification.
To be completely honest, it took over two years to make a single dime off of my business. Growing a “grassroots” kind of brand and business is slow at the beginning but worthwhile in the long run. Now, three years after posting my very first blog post, I’ve written and created my first product, a comprehensive fitness planner for women. It takes time, but I promise it’s worth it to grow slow!
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?
The most effective way to raise awareness about HomeBodySoul and grow my brand and client base has been word of mouth. It’s been really organic and slow in the beginning, but I know I am developing a loyal tribe and that simply takes time.
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
My biggest challenges definitely have been in the realm of technology and social media. I am not the most tech savvy individual and I feel like that has been my biggest setback. I’ve struggled to grow my following simply because I really don’t know how and I am not into all of the social media strategies and techniques. I also have struggled with photography.
I’d love to hire someone to do all of my photography and follow me around every day so that I always have beautifully curated photos for my social media, but unfortunately that isn’t exactly feasible. I am sure all of us entrepreneurs wish we had a photographer to follow us around each day! HA!
How did you overcome these challenges?
To be honest, I haven’t fully overcome these challenges. I am very much still figuring it out. I’ve learned a lot, but I still have a long way to go. One way I have tried to overcome these challenges or get better at these weak areas is to learn from others, model after them, and seek advice/help from other entrepreneurs in my community.
How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
- My faith is the grounding motivation for me to keep going. I’ve had many difficult times over the last three years of trying to grow my brand and business. The life of an entrepreneur is never easy; there are days that seem like I am a rollercoaster of emotions. Knowing that God has called me to this and that He Himself has laid this unique message on my heart is what keeps me going on the days I want to quit or I feel like I am not making any progress.
- I love engaging with other entrepreneurs and hearing their stories and how far they have come – that is incredibly motivating and encouraging!
- Last but not least, my clients and the ladies in my tribe motivate me and are such an inspiration to me. They are precisely why I do what I do! I love seeing the transformation not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. These women are strong in every sense of the word!
How do you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
Well, my red hair is pretty distinguishable. 😉 I think the main thing that distinguishes me from my competitors is my story and why I do what I do. Everyone has his or her own unique story and that can’t be competed against or taken away from you. Yes, there are a multitude of other personal trainers out there, especially in the LA area, but my approach is unique and rooted in my story and where I came from. I view health and fitness through the lens of my story and that lens will look different for each and every trainer and health coach.
What is the best advice you have received recently?
I’d be lost without my mentor, Toni! She is literally the BIGGEST answer to prayer! She has offered me constant advice and encouragement over the last year. I love all of her advice! But one of the best pieces of advice I received from her, which honestly served as a turning point for my brand, was to stick to what you are good at and what you are educated in/expert in.
Once you are established, then you can branch out and expand your brand, but it’s crucial to begin with what you are educated in and become a voice of authority in that topic or area. And of course, we must always keep learning and growing in our area of expertise to stay current!
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming” as Dory says in Finding Nemo. There will be days where you want to pull your hair out, scream, and cry all at the same time. There will also be days where you feel like the most productive and intelligent businesswoman out there. Don’t give up when the going gets tough. We can’t let our moments of weakness or discouragement cloud our dreams and vision for our future.
If you feel passionately about what you are doing, let that passion be your fire, your fuel to push you through the good and bad days. And don’t be afraid to put yourself out there! People will believe in your message and vision if YOU believe it and live it yourself!
What are your favorite business tools/resources and why?
I’ve recently gotten in to listening to podcasts. This style of speaking and storytelling is unique and unintimidating. As someone who someday hopes to do more speaking engagements, I’ve learned a lot by listening to other interviews on podcasts and I am excited to venture into that arena next, hopefully. Standing in front of a large crowd seems daunting right now, which is why I love the medium of podcasts!
Another “resource” that I believe is crucial is finding a mentor! Again, my mentor has changed the way I view every aspect of my business and brand. She has pushed me outside of my comfort zone and without her, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Find an older woman who has been where you’ve been and learn from her, invite her in to your entrepreneurial journey… I promise you will be so grateful for the encouragement, camaraderie, and likely excellent advice and direction.
What is a good article or book you have read recently?
I am almost finished with Lara Casey’s first book, “Make It Happen”. If you aren’t familiar with Lara Casey, she is a fellow redhead and I absolutely have a friend crush on her. She is the creator of the Cultivate What Matters brand and the Powersheets – a goal planning workbook/planner. I love the Powersheets and I love her heart and message.
“Make It Happen” is a book all about going after those crazy goals and dreams and praying for the impossible. Her story is one of hope, triumph, and perseverance. She is a total woman boss and I’ve learned so much from her simply by following her. She’s encouraged me to step out and take big leaps of faith. She’s also helped me understand that growing slow is ok!
What are you currently learning about for your business or looking for help with?
Like I said before, I’d definitely love some help in the photography arena. But what I’m most currently researching and focusing on is learning more about social media strategy and how to best run a successful Kickstarter campaign. There is so much great information out there!
What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?
My goal for October and November is to run a successful Kickstarter campaign for my fitness planner. I’ve worked really hard to put together a social media and marketing strategy to promote the Kickstarter campaign. After the campaign, my next goal is to begin hosting more in-person workshops and begin doing speaking engagements and corporate workplace wellness workshops around the planner.
What social media outlets do you use? List them below.
Instagram @homebodysoul
Twitter @homebodysoul
Facebook www.facebook.com/homebodysoul
Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/wholebodyfitness
Website www.homebodysoul.com
Email hello@homebodysoul.com
Pinterest www.pinterest.com/meghanmeredith7
Hashtags #homebodysoul #wholebodyplanner #movementmovement