We recently connected with KARLA SALINAS and have shared our conversation below.
Hi KARLA, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I grew up in a household with siblings who played sports and so did I. Basketball was my outlet in life until I became a young adult. Basketball taught me various lessons in life, but most importantly it helped me develop the values of grit and perseverance. With these two values along with the sacrifice and risks I saw my mother display as a small business owner with little education, helped provide me a clear vision that I too want to follow that plan.
I knew my purpose since the age 12 was to one day open a business of my own. After I graduated from college, my purpose was to open a gym in the Northside area of Houston because it was needed. This is an area of low income, Hispanic and African American individuals. This is also an area with no local gyms or group training studios. Since 2017, I’ve been living my purpose. I trusted God throughout the process and remained focused on my dream. Surely, I didn’t know my journey would begin in my home garage.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a Latina entrepreneur woman who started Faith Fitness HTX. I wanted to create a space where all individuals can come in to reach new levels in their personal lives. We accept and see everyone as equally important from the moment they become part of our team. We are here to serve people in the Houston community and we do this by providing personal Group Training. We focus on strength and conditioning training. Our goal is to give each member the most effective core, functional training and strength building workout. We offer classes for beginners to advanced individuals and in each class is capped between 6-12 people. This helps so everyone can get the 1 on 1 attention they need and deserve along with the benefit of improving one’s personal health and lifestyle. It is an exciting and beautiful feeling to be able to help individuals in their daily lives as a fitness trainer. I am able to see changes in their bodies to most importantly changes in their mood and confidence. I hope with this article readers may reach out to us and check us out on Instagram for future announcements and our website to sign up and join our team.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three tips I can give to other small business owners and especially individuals who are looking into becoming a fitness trainer is to first get certified in becoming a personal trainer or whichever specific style of training you’re interested in doing. Second, get your DBA and LLC as your business starts to grow. Third, start your website and social media platforms to have a foundation where individuals can learn more about your business, contact you, and where you can show what your business is about by posting pictures and videos. A final tip I can give is to start small. We all have to start somewhere, just never forget your end goal and put God first in everything you do.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
A challenge I am currently facing is that I am out growing my home business gym and not being able to find a location at the moment. Even though I am outgrowing my small business gym the positive effect is I am receiving more clientele. In the meantime, I’ve learned to be patient and trust the process in finding a location. These challenges are part of doing business. I believe the best thing to do is when you see a good opportunity, have faith and jump on the opportunity. If you plan on going big. No matter if going small or big, I encourage others to have a good support team along the process. Doing things on your own, can be challenging at times, and having friends or family as my support group can help remind me I’m not alone during this process.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.faithfitnesshtx.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faithfitnesshtx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kmsalinas13
