Meet Suzanne Barker

We were lucky to catch up with Suzanne Barker recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Suzanne, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My parents showed me what resilience looks like and as I continue “becoming” I make it all my own based on my experiences. My dad grew up so poor, he had an outhouse for a bathroom and ended up getting a PhD in computer science! He never felt like a natural academic and had to work hard to get those degrees and acquired them slowly as finances allowed while raising a family. My mom married at 19, had 3 kids, 2 miscarriages (one at 6 months) all in her 20’s, completed college at 39, started teaching, completed her masters at 49 and became a principal. Resilient.

I think this has helped me as I’ve navigated being a mom, experiencing miscarriages, and being a business-owner since 2010 and sticking with it through the up’s and down’s. What’s my big picture? When I’m 80, what do I want to see that I’ve done in life when I look back and reflect on it? That keeps me going.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I acquired my masters in seminary and as I walked the stage to get my diploma (and pregnant), I was really struggling with where I stood spiritually so I decided to take a break on that and in the meantime I got my certification to be a personal trainer. That was almost 15 years ago and here I am still doing it! I’m in the process of earning my MA in psychology with the goal of using that knowledge to lead wellness retreats for women in leadership–physical AND mental wellness.

I love the training and have taught at The Four Seasons, led many bootcamps and other classes, as well as maintained my individual clients. But I have a growing desire to bridge the physical and the mental spaces with my clients as they’re intricately connected. My brand is called “Just Beet It” which is a cheeky way to promote nutrition (“beet”) and a mentality of taking control of your health and wellness and “just beet” the stress, the fatigue, the [fill-in-the-blank]. So many times when I get my body moving, my thoughts become clearer and what was bothering me before now seems a bit lighter. I find that’s true with my clients as well when they’re done with the workout. It’s a lifestyle and a journey, not a destination.

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?

1) Believe in what you do – Would I buy what I’m selling? For me, it’s been important to do something I really believe in. If I’m going to be an entrepreneur, that means I have to do sales. It is a whole lot easier for me to sell something I truly believe in. It’s also nice to have science back me up.

2) Customer service – I LOVE attentive and quality customer service and I strive to provide that for my clients–ease of scheduling (I use Calendly), consistency, birthday gift recognition when I deliver (or mail) a gift to them each year, recognizing and documenting milestones (1st workout, 25, 50, 100, etc.), and occasional swag (branded hats, t-shirts) and mobile workout equipment like resistance bands. And/or rewarding them when they give me a referral. Referrals are where it’s at! I’ve taught myself not to be afraid to ask!

3) Stick-to-itiveness – there are highs and lows in this business, like most areas of life. I think it’s been important for me during those low times to give myself grace and time to reflect and re-evaluate if I still want to do this, what I need to change or update, or pursue something else. For me, my answer has been to stick to it and, so far, it has always come back around and made me glad I stuck to it. Summers especially can be hard in this business. Giving clients the option to do virtual from wherever they are has been a game-changer. I didn’t think I’d ever be okay with virtual workouts with clients but I was forced to give it a shot and now I can train clients from anywhere they travel OR wherever they live! I have learned to be willing to change if needed and in ways that don’t break my core values and boundaries.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

As I embark on creating retreat experiences for women in leadership, I would love to have a partner to collaborate with on this. She needs to be someone who compliments what I do so that we are a great team. I have LOTS of great ideas and can eventually execute some of them, but I do get distracted and bogged down by the details so having someone great at all the “back office” work would be a huge relief!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.justbeetitfitness.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justbeetitfitness/

Image Credits

Lynn Gavin