As a gym instructor and personal trainer, Natalie Dale has found her solace and strength in movement.
“For the first time, I got up, and instead of fighting me, I fought for me. I acknowledged that I deserved a better life and another chance. This helped me to discover that I wanted to share my passion for exercise and movement.
I wanted to share the benefits of exercise not just for the body, but more so, for the mind. My goal was to make sure no other woman felt powerless in their lives, but instead empowered, strong & capable. So Blade Active was born.”
What motivated and inspired you to start your own business?
I had owned a business before so I was used to working for myself.
I did have to close the doors to my previous business when our little mining community got closed down in 2013 due to the financial crisis.
This made me really lose all my confidence and I felt like a failure. But I took time the time to heal, recover and slowly rediscovered my purpose.
My therapy and escape have always been movement. It has helped me just as much mentally as it has physically. It’s this unique and undervalued part of an exercise I wanted to share.
Tell us about your business.
I wanted to create a program that was fun and exhilarating. One that made people enjoy and want to get active. Fitness and exercise should be the best part of everyone’s day and the only way to get people active daily is by making it fun, addictive and exhilarating.
I wanted a complete training system that could be done in the comfort of your own home that was unique and addictive. One that engaged both body and mind. Cardio and strength training in one functional tool with workouts that are unique, empowering and effective.
Are you currently running any promos/contests/giveaways that you would like our readers to know about?
At the moment we are running our #righttostripe campaign. We know all women ARE warriors and we want to celebrate them.
BLADE ACTIVE is all about empowering women – supporting and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. We are asking all women to stripe up and post on social media #righttostripe, #crowdfundme, #stripeby2. (Check out our Facebook page or Instagram to see how you can join the movement).
If you sign up for our mailing list, you get entered into the drawing to win an Apple Watch series 3 while keeping up to date with news, tips and exclusive pre-launch offers. Sign up here.
We also have a transform competition going at the moment. It includes a Fitbit, $100 Lorna Jane activewear voucher and access to our 30-day Warrior Woman way online program so you have everything you need to transform your body, mind, and life now. Enter here.
We have partnered with G-Loves, the ultimate in workout gloves in the US. Their motto is ‘Soft Hands, Hard Body’. These gloves are the ultimate in hand protection and grip with so many styles to choose from to accessorize your workout and mood.
You can see my ‘Born to be Wild’ pair in my videos. All Blade Active Tribe members get 10% off and free shipping to OZ. All you have to do is enter “blade active” in the promo code at checkout.
List awards/certifications/accomplishments.
- Gym Instructor
- Personal trainer
- Aqua, Pump, Bootcamp, Suspension, Kettlebells, Battle Ropes, Boxing, Metafit, and Meta Power Instructor
- 2015 shortlisted for the Shell Innovation Competition (Backyard Inventor category)
- 2017 accepted into Split Spaces Mackay (Business Boosters program)
Where is your business based?
Beautiful sunny Mackay Queensland, Australia.
What were the first few steps you took to get your business up and running?
Lots of brainstorming with my partner, then we decided to patent the idea first. This ended up costing us as once we developed the product since the original patent no longer covered the product.
We had to get another patent, then it was the development of a concept, prototyping, and researching in the background.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?
Gosh… marketing and social media is a jungle! At the moment I have enlisted the help of a great local agency, Red Hot Blue in Mackay and they just know their stuff. Straight away they were getting better results in the first week then what I did in 3 months.
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
ME! Lol. I think this is the hardest part for all women in business.
We seem to be our biggest enemy and our hardest critic.
As well as the fact of putting yourself out there can be really terrifying. Everyone will judge and give you their opinion, so you have to be ok with that and understand its just part of it and not take it personally.
Lastly, lots of self-care. You are the captain so look after yourself or the ship will sink. Get a good group of people around you, those who will support you and believe in you and that you can lean on.
How did you overcome these challenges?
Lot’s of mindset work and just taking the steps no matter how hard I literally wanted to stop and run.
I experienced my first bit of severe anxiety during this process because of my insecurities and fear. It was at this point I had to see someone who did NLP as it was debilitating.
From there I started delving into how the brain works and how just like physical health, it needs awareness, care, and training. We need to understand how habits, patterns, and our own self-awareness can either help us or hinder us.
Since then I realized I was excellent at looking after myself physically but had a lot of catching up to do in the mental strength and skills part. Ever since I have passionately worked on mindset and mental health. Self-talk, mantra’s, meditate, gratefulness and self-development. I listen to anyone and everyone and I am in love with Audible.
That is why I am so passionate about promoting the benefits of exercise for the mind. I worked with these through my own challenges with depression and my own mental health and story.
Exercise is proven to release feel-good hormones which immediately make us feel better and more confident as it improves the function of our brain. We need to start teaching and talking about how and why we need to learn and look after our mental health just as much as our physical health and why they go hand-in-hand.
It should not be taboo anymore. Suicide and depression are a result of lack of skills and knowledge. Let’s turn that around.
How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
Time… lol. Deadlines. Necessity.
I do really love what I do. Even though there are still lots of times I am fearful of failing or am scared to be laughed at, there are more times when I know with all my soul that what I have and what I am doing is impressive and can help change lives.
That’s what we all want to do really; we want to help where we can and give what we can.
How do you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
We are a complete training system. The ultimate training tool for busy women that can be done in the ease and comfort of your own home.
Blade Active is the next generation in fitness with a patented blade, weight locking system, and extendable handles that give you the power to change your workout.
Perfect for in-home cardio, resistance, and weight training, this multi-purpose training tool is low impact, easy and fun to use and delivers impressive results.
Blade Active is more than meets the eye. To help you get the most out of your new secret weapon, we have created training programs to suit all levels, workouts with hot music tracks you’ll love, and ongoing dedicated support in our online community.
We connect mind and body and are a holistic approach. Our hope is for women to love themselves and their bodies for everybody is unique, powerful, and beautiful, and we should not hate them just because they don’t fit in a culturally expected size and look.
We should aim for self-love, self-care, and enjoy movement and exercise. This is where we can change the growing rate of obesity. From positive feelings, not self-loathing. We aim to promote that a lot; we aim for strong.
What is the best advice you have received recently?
There will always be someone who doesn’t like you, what you do, what you stand for, anything. Do it anyway.
A quote I came up with recently. “Don’t worry about what others think of or are saying about you. Worry about what you are thinking or saying to you.”
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Don’t do it… lol.
Just kidding, I think it would be to get help and support straight away!
- Join a local co-working space or entrepreneurs group.
- Start being involved in the ecosystem, learning from others who are already doing it.
- Get yourself a business coach! It’s essential.
- You have to be self-motivated and driven so a coach will help you stay on track and accountable to your dreams and goals.
- Be prepared to make mistakes, lots of them.
- Be kind to yourself and take things one step at a time.
- Never give up and start self-development NOW.
What are your favorite business tools/resources and why?
Active campaign and click funnels. The active campaign makes email easy and I am IT challenged so that’s saying something.
Click funnels is excellent too. They’re user-friendly and it’s easy to build your own online program and websites and manage them. Audible, cause I love to listen to my books.
What is a good article or book you have read recently?
Oh, just one… I am so in love with Brene Brown. She is gorgeous and I love her work. Just finished Braving the Wilderness and it’s incredible.
I listen to lots of audio as I find it so convenient for me. Audiobooks make it easy to listen in the car, when traveling, or even when on a run. I love You Can Heal Your Life by Loise L. Hay, The Secret by Rhonda Bryne, and a bit of Oprah. Anyone who can inspire me or open my mind to new idea’s.
What are you currently learning about for your business or looking for help with?
Agh, funding or investment. In the future, this is a goal and it’s a big concept with a whole other language and skills needed.
What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?
- Launch my crowdfunding campaign and have a super successful campaign.
- Get my first order from the campaign to begin manufacturing.
- Seek investment and partners to help me drive Blade Actives growth globally.
What social media outlets do you use? List them below.
Website www.bladeactive.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/bladeactive
Instagram www.instagram.com/bladeactive1
Twitter www.twitter.com/Blade_Active
Email natalie@bladeactive.com
Hashtags #bladeactive #righttostripe #crowdfundme #stripeby2