We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katie Skipper a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Katie , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Telling the story of finding my purpose dates back to one of the most challenging seasons of my life. I was a single mom for the first 8 years of my oldest daughter’s life, and being the sole provider. I was working at a church in children’s and youth ministry, as well as cleaning houses and doing landscape work on the side. One spring, a friend and I were forcibly volunteered (lol) by her mom to run a 5K that she organized, and as 2 former athletes, we thought nothing of jumping in on this race. Talk about bruised egos. We struggled to finish the 3 miles and were faced with the reality of how out of shape we have become. We vowed to join a gym together the following Monday, which we did, and we started taking a spin class together. After a few months of taking the spin class, I got certified as a spin instructor and taught classes for about a year.
My husband, who is an active duty Marine, and I married in 2015, and my daughter and I moved to North Carolina on New Years Day in 2016. I went from working multiple jobs 6-7 days per week to doing NOTHING. It was both decompressing and depressing at the same time. I had a lot of anxiety about doing nothing, and it was such a major change to go from the breadwinner to being supported. I started watching kids at home to pass time and make money, until an opportunity to pursue a personal training certification presented itself. I passed the test, but once again, I found myself out of shape and weighing more than ever before. I decided to make myself my first client, and I started another chapter of my fitness journey. While still living in North Carolina, I trained friends for free out of my garage, traveled to others’ homes for sessions, and worked in a gym for a year.
We left North Carolina at the end of 2018 to move to Illinois, and I found out I was pregnant with our second daughter in February. I spent a lot of time in 2019 soul searching and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Up to that point, I was allowing the influence of others to dictate my attitudes, perceptions, and choices, and I spent many hours exploring what I actually wanted and who I was. At the same time, my PT certification was due for renewal, and I told my husband I was considering letting it lapse. Thankfully, he talked me into keeping it active, even though I wasn’t sure at the time I would use it ever again.
We moved again at the end of 2019 (when I was 8 months pregnant) from Illinois to Virginia, our baby was born, my certification was renewed, and I was open to what was next for me. We knew we would be moving again within the next year, and having that knowledge determines the depth of the roots you plant in a place. My husband was there for a 6 month long training, and I had the fortune of meeting a group of fellow wives whose husbands were in the same training class. Those ladies and I were all in a group chat together, and they played an integral role in the beginning of my business as it exists today!
Covid began, and fear and confusion were running at all time highs. Concurrently, I had this crazy experience that inevitably makes me sound insane when I re-tell it. The only way to describe what happened is that it felt as though I underwent a brain download. This personal development program was essentially revealed to me, and I grabbed a notebook and a pen and began to furiously scribble out the details. The next urging I felt was to ask the fellow military spouses in the group chat if they would be a beta group for me and test out this program. I was SO nervous to ask, but I did, and they were more than happy to play along. We had the most incredible month of executing the program, and after some time went by, we all decided to start working out together in my garage. That first group of women to run through my program and workout in my garage highlighted the importance of pursuing health and personal excellence. I also began to understand the absolute necessity of community, especially since we were living through a period of extreme isolation.
We moved once again, in 2020, from Virginia to California, and on my birthday in August, I started running small group personal training sessions out of my garage. Little by little, I started building out the business, eventually deciding to name my company Wholly You Fitness. I worked out of my garage for over 2 years before having the opportunity to open the actual studio that I’m working from today! I have massive aspirations for Wholly You Fitness, and I love that it started in a tiny garage in a townhouse in Virginia with an amazing group of willing military spouses.
The path of discovering my purpose has come about through the support of others, listening to and acting on those internal nudges, and failing forward. I often think about how devastating it would have been to let my certification lapse, and I’m forever grateful to have a partner who helped push me past my own insecurities and fears. Additionally, businesses, to my knowledge, can not be built alone. It takes support, encouragement, participation, and feedback from others, whether clients, customers, friends, or family to launch and run a business. While it can’t be rationally explained, the journey of discovering my purpose has always been marked by these internal urgings and sometimes outward signs or instances of confirmation. Listening to those promptings has made all the difference for me. Finally, failing forward is integral to finding my purpose because failure always tempts me to throw in the towel and retreat. Refusing to quit, learning from the mistakes, and continuing to move forward regardless continues to help me delve deeper into what I believe I’m here to do!
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am currently running a personal training studio in Fallbrook, California. As I mentioned before, Wholly You Fitness started in my garages and now exists in its own brick and mortar location. I offer small group personal training, one-on-one personal training, and nutrition coaching with big plans for expansion in 2024!
I named the business Wholly You Fitness for a couple of reasons. One idea behind the name is that a person is more than a physical body: there are mental, emotional, and spiritual components of health that deserve recognition in creating a plan for one’s fitness. Additionally, the name was chosen to leave room for future expansion to potentially include fellow health practitioners.
My. vision for clients is to connect more deeply and authentically with their unique purpose because of their increased strength, resilience, discipline, and confidence. Physical fitness has been my catalyst for personal growth and development, and it is my mission to share that hunger for excellence with as many people as possible.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
My early journey in business was marked by a reliance on the support of others. I needed people around me, namely my husband, to encourage me to get in the arena. Looking back over my few years of building this business, I have always had a small circle friends that have helped me push through hard times, and I think we all need at least one person in our corner to dust us off when we fall, share ideas and feedback, deliver encouraging words, and that we can be accountable to especially in those times that we want to quit. Presently, I still rely on my circle, and this need for support has now shifted to me seeking support through education and in the development of other areas of the business like content funnels, marketing, and financial planning.
Learning from mistakes and working diligently to not repeat them have also been impactful in my journey. Undoubtedly, there will be situations that are fudged and fuddled through, and that’s ok. Pride will take a hit, but it’s been critical to both chalk it up to being human and not make too many excuses. I think the optimal stance is somewhere between giving yourself grace and being extremely accountable for your actions.
Lastly, time management is a game changer. I’m still learning, but applying methods like time blocking have become essential to maximizing productivity as my business grows and personal demands increase. I tried several methods, planners, and calendars (both paper and digital) until I finally found what worked best for my style and the rhythms of my business.
My advice for anyone early in their journey is this:
Decide early that you will never quit and hold yourself to it. Learn from others who have paved the way by reading their books, listening to their podcasts, and generally consuming their content. Remember that these are actually the “good ol’ days.” People who have built incredible companies commonly look back on their building days with fondness. They wish they had documented the process more thoroughly, and they realize that they were actually their happiest when they were striving toward such a big goal.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
Without my husband, I would not be where I am today, and there have been several phases of him being the reason I have continued on this path. In the beginning of our marriage, I watched him strive toward goals within his career, and I was inspired by his commitment and diligence to have the same thing for myself. Furthermore, he has always pushed me to go for it, no matter what “it” was. From the beginning, if I wanted to do something, he invested time, money, support, encouragement, accountability, and help. He has sacrificed alongside me every step of the way. Additionally, he’s been a voice of reason and truth, sometimes delivering what I do not want to but need to hear, and he’s also helped me nurse my wounds when things have not gone well. His belief in me has carried me through this journey more than anything, and I know without a doubt that I could not be typing this today had I not chosen him to be my partner in this life.
Contact Info:
- Website: whollyyoufitness.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/wholly_you_fitness
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/whollyyoufitness
Image Credits
Niki Bradley Photography Sierra Tate Photography
