Meet Jenni Tarma

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jenni Tarma a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jenni, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

My mission with Kaari is to help people feel and move their best, throughout their entire lifespan. I firmly believe that everyone can enjoy a much better quality of life when they are physically fit and healthy, and that this is achievable at any age when people receive the right guidance and support.

This idea is really rooted in my own experience: I’m 42, have been physically active my whole life, and have felt first-hand the benefits of exercise, not just physically but also in terms of mental health. In my professional life, endurance sports have massively helped me to manage stress, and have consistently motivated and challenged me to grow as a person. As I’ve transitioned to team sports later in life, I’ve also found supportive communities with like-minded people. It feels like a no-brainer to me to provide the same benefits to others!

As a coach and injury prevention and rehab specialist, I’ve also worked with hundreds of clients and witnessed the incredible impact of high quality, individualized care: athletes are overjoyed when they successfully recover from injury or improve their performance, people in chronic pain can re-engage with activities they love when they’re empowered with the right tools, and EVERYONE feels better when they’re stronger and more in tune with their bodies.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

At Kaari, our motto is “let’s move better, together.” We offer a wide range of specialized programs to help people overcome injury and pain, whether it’s post-surgery recovery, strength training to improve bone density, postpartum pelvic floor rehab, or tools for managing chronic pain. We pride ourselves on providing individualized, supportive and interactive programs- we want people to be able to access high quality care, designed specifically around their unique needs. All of our programs are delivered digitally, which not only makes them more widely accessible, but also allows people to work with highly trained specialists that might not be available to them locally.

We’ve also made it our mission to help populations who are typically underserved by the traditional medical system, which often relies on a cookie-cutter approach and thus fails people with more complex or nuanced needs. One of our flagship products is our Strength Training & Yoga for Osteoporosis program. Typically, people with low bone density have no options outside of pharmaceuticals. However, osteoporosis drugs tend to come with side effects and aren’t suitable for everyone, so our program provides an evidence-based alternative for those who prefer to improve their bone health with movement-based therapy.

Similarly, many women struggle with pelvic floor dysfunction, high stress levels, and low back pain after giving birth- all symptoms that are exacerbated by lack of sleep and the demands of motherhood. We created a program that not only provides PT-validated exercises to restore function in the core and pelvic floor, but also includes research-backed tools to down-regulate the nervous system, reduce stress, and manage pain.

Since our company is 100% owned and operated by women, we have an organic focus on women’s wellbeing and health. Considering that women make up half the world’s population, it’s incredible that there’s relatively little emphasis on providing comprehensive care around women’s health issues like menopause and postpartum recovery! There’s huge momentum around prioritizing and funding women’s health initiatives right now. Our ultimate goal is to become a one-stop shop of resources for women to support their wellbeing at any phase of life, and in areas that are currently overlooked by the traditional medical system.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Tenacity
I had a successful career as a professional musician before I became an entrepreneur, and being self-employed in a notoriously difficult and fickle industry definitely taught me the kind of grit that’s needed as a founder and CEO. You’re going to face rejection, failure and adversity constantly, and you simply have to learn to set it aside, grow some thick skin, pivot as needed, and keep going.

2. Flexibility
Most people that start their own business have a Type A personality to some degree, because building a company from scratch is a huge amount of work, and requires you to be relentlessly energetic, motivated and organized. All that being said, you also quickly learn that it’s impossible to control everything, stuff takes way longer than you’d like it to, and things definitely don’t always go the route that you’d planned. So, you have to learn to go with the flow, or you end up fighting the current and burning out. Building and running your own business requires a really odd mix of being hyper-proactive and making things happen, while also accepting that you have to constantly adapt, evolve and reiterate, often in unexpected directions.

3. Keep learning!
This has been crucial for me! Even though my business keeps me really busy, it’s a non-negotiable for me to participate in at least a couple of continuing education programs or trainings every year. As a movement professional, I’m rightly expected to stay up to date on the latest research and techniques, and studying with my mentors allows me to connect with a like-minded community and be a student. Attending workshops and conferences is also a lovely change of pace from my daily routine as a CEO, because I can take a break from being in charge and needing to make decisions. Getting to simply show up and learn from others feels like a vacation, and hearing new perspectives is inspiring and refreshing.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

I think overwhelm is probably an issue for every business owner! For me, it’s helpful to break tasks into smaller chunks, rather than looking at a giant to-do list- the mentality is that you’re chipping away at it, and often I surprise myself when things actually don’t take as long as I thought they would.

I’ve also had to learn to delegate more effectively. This did NOT come naturally to me, as I like to control things and doing everything myself had become a habit. Ultimately, delegating becomes necessary, otherwise you’re stuck simply operating the business but can never break away to deal with big-picture strategy.

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Image Credits

All images by Mick Schulte

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