What I wish I knew sooner that 39 years has taught me.

1) It's about them not about you. 

Marketing, emails, speaking would have gone so much better so much sooner had I realized this. Heck, teaching at the university would have gone better because that too is selling from the minute they step foot in that classroom to the minute they turn in the final exam. 

2) As soon as you start listening to your heart, things will fall into place much faster and doors will open for you that wouldn't open for anyone else.

Connecting your mind and heart, or your “gut” are big keys to success in business. You know the right thing to do.. Just remind yourself of that. 

3) When you are triggered by people or circumstances, or you're uncomfortable... what it means is you recognize parts of yourself that you don’t like. There’s a measure of truth to it for you that hits too close to home. 

4) When you have things you just "have" to do... "have to eat" "have to exercise" .... they are running the show and not you. 

5) There will always be hard things, if you build it that way. 

If you don't start with the idea that there are things only you can do and identify them, you're identifying the things you can first hand off to someone else. For the freedom you want this is a must.

6) Consistently -doing the right thing - pays off. 

Do any of these things I wish I knew sooner resonate with you? I have one last one to share. 

7) You truly have to be willing to invest in yourself for anyone to invest in you. 

Resources: 

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard 

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/copywriting-course

Write me! What are your personal “things I wish I knew sooner”? 

Other Episodes You Might Like: 

Recession-Proof Your Business: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/fitness-marketing-secrets/

Stop Overworking and Under Earning: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/overworking-and-under-earning/

What if every workout you created for yourself or clients got even better results? 

Should Trainers Suggest Supplements? 

What’s your stance on that? I believe that in 2023, it’s still and has always will be food first. Yet, I find it almost impossible for even me who I’d say is incredibly conscious of what I will and refuse to put in my mouth to eat enough and enough diversity on a consistent basis, or to eat all that I would need to in order to make the nutritional needs I have. 

It’s going to take more to compensate for depleted and overworked soil, sabotaged by pesticides and fertilizer. 

And as new discoveries are made, about molecules we didn’t know could support human health, do you ignore them or are you curious about how they can help you and your clients? 

Brought to you by the Flipping50® Menopause FItness Specialist 

My Guest: 

Jennifer Scheinman, MS, RDN, LDN, completed her dietetic internship at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and went on to complete her master's degree in Integrative and Functional Nutrition at Saybrook University. Over the past 20 years she has worked at some of the country’s leading institutions for health and wellness, including Hospital for Special Surgery and Optum, where she led the creation of nutrition and health education programs that positively impacted thousands of people's lives. Jen is currently the Senior Manager of Nutrition Affairs at Timeline Nutrition, educating healthcare practitioners and consumers on the latest scientific breakthroughs in healthy aging.

Questions We Answer in this Short Episode:

1. Why would trainers want to bring up supplements to support mitochondria production? Including Urolithin A/Mitopure

2. Support with Exercise Intolerance and menopausal symptoms 

3. Has there been testing on athletes? And on bedridden subjects alike? (asked on Flippingfifty.com/healthy-aging) 

Try It For Yourself:

https://www.flippingfifty.com/mitopure 

Code: Flipping50

on Social:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/timelinenutrition

Other Episodes You May Like: 

With Jenn Scheinman on Mitopure: https://www.flippingfifty.com/healthy-aging

Resources: 

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard 

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/copywriting-course

 

How would you like to reach more people for free, or potentially get paid for it? Book more interviews. You have to be seen and heard across platforms, in person and digitally. Being visible is a must for growing your business. 

 

This is about doing more of what you love. 

 

To make these steps really valuable, start a spreadsheet. 

 

Before you start reaching out to people, create a one-sheet for the topic you’re pitching. Include the science, statistics, a quote, and bullet points for your hosts. Your name and title and contact information should appear at the top. 

 

First know what you can talk about. 

Answer some questions about topics you want to talk about: 

How is it tied to this season?

How is it tied to something in the news? 

How is it tied to recent science?
How does it directly benefit the audience you want to speak in front of? 

How does it make the host of the show or meeting look good? (do ratings go up? Does the boss love it when employees or sales reps have a good meeting experience or end up more productive and more satisfied with their job?) 

 

Think specific to your audience. Businesses need to hear about outcomes that businesses measure. 

 

Call every friend you have. Ask her/him for every group they’re in. Ask for the meeting planner’s name and contact information (hint: it’s often the vice president that does the program planning).

Ask for an introduction via email or coffee. 

 

Call the local radio and news stations. Ask for the producer. Which producer? The one that books guests. 

Start contacting people and recording the dates and details. 

Do you need to follow up? 

Other Episodes You May Like: 

Stop Boring Introductions | Bio Makeovers: https://www.flippingfifty.com/bio-makeovers

Get Interviews and Get Asked Back: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/get-interviews

If you want more interviews this is for you. What you really want is to give interviews and get invited back. But wait… if you’re scared to death about an interview.. This is still for you! Because girl there’s no better, faster way to increase your reach than an interview. Whether local, regional or national media or a podcast to your niche, interviews are gold. 

This episode is essentially part 2 though of a two-parter, maybe 3, because what you really need to know is how to get booked more often so you can show off these new skills. 

So we just did it. Gave me a little homework for an additional episode. But this.. Is how to interview and get invited back! 

Or have someone listening invite you to speak at their event or on their podcast. 

Part 1 was all about your introduction or bio. It’s not the first time I’ve shared this type of content. In fact I have an entire worksheet and other episode that deep dives into how to stop being boring and stand out! 

And I’ll tell you this… it’s not just because you’re new at it, experienced professionals make this mistake too. Doctors have never been taught this. Some of the weakest introductions I’ve had are among fitness professionals who are solo entrepreneurs and doctors who are new to PR and marketing to promote themselves.

Give me a shout out if you’d like some live training on this. I’m considering doing a half day interview session. We’ll include hot seats where you actually would not just write your bio but you’d have the opportunity to be interviewed and apply your soundbites. Just add a note in the comments at fitnessmarketingmastery.com/give-interviews 

Part II is this one, about how to be in the interview with your interviewee having such a good time that they want to have you back before you’ve even left. 

Part III I’ll talk about how to get invited in the first place. Like you’re not going to get asked to dance unless you get dressed and go to the dance, you’re not going to get asked unless you’re finding ways to tell people you have something to talk about. 

Be Memorable

Be remarkable! Or better yet, retweetable, at one point was the word, but seriously who is on twitter today? You must be able to talk in what we call sound bytes. It’s great for you to be able to embellish on an answer. Definitely no one wants a “yes” or “no” response. That’s not much of a conversation. 

Resource: POP! 

Soundbites

Soundbytes allow you to be both retweetable (so you’ll be remembered) and to pause. Most likey, your host will repeat your soundbyte. Then your audience hears it again. Win! These are things that become the best social memes too. 

What are your soundbytes? Try to write some down. Maybe you mythbust things like:

No pain no gain as I do. My sound bite was no pain, no gain, no way/no brain.

I don’t like SMART goals. I call SMART goals DUMB. 

They don’t have to rhyme but it’s nice. They could just be rhythmic. They could have alliteration. I have 10 Tenets of Flipping50® I teach to our students and to our professional students of the Flipping50 Menopause Fitness Specialist course. For instance, Intense Early, Light Late or Restore Before More. 

(If you’d like, lmk and I’ll teach you the rest and why we do it. We share these regularly and they’re a part of our core values or tenets like 10 commandments.) 

Keep a list of subjects/titles and soundbites you can use so you’re ready at a moment’s notice. PLUS… these are your treasure chest of social media lives when it’s just you! 

For great examples of great interviews, register for the What, When & Why to Exercise for Women 40+ summit. Not only will you get nearly 40 examples of how to knock it out of the park on your next interview you’ll get insight into how to help women in midlife balance their hormones with your help. 

https://www.flippingfifty.com/womensexercise 

Pause 

Truly, if you get anything right get this right. I have had two guests on my podcast during 10 years of hosting 2 unique podcasts that have published at least 1 and currently 2 a week…. That’s a lot of podcasts. Two guests stand out as I cringe when one comes on because she’s a runaway horse. She’ll start talking and not pause. The interview was an hour and didn’t need to be. There was too much information, too much overwhelm, and it just wasn’t fun to have a guest come on and rant. No matter how good her content is, and how much I want to have her again, twice might be enough because though warned, she did it again the second time. 

The second guest was not even an acquaintance and did something similar. I didn’t air it. It just was a waste of preparation time and recording time for us both. 

Remember you’re there to serve. First, the host. Second, The audience. And sometimes there’s a third party depending on who booked you. That could be a PR agency who booked you that you’re paying to do so however, if you do a bad job here it makes their job like starting at square one every time. If you do a good job, every interview you have can help you leverage a bigger interview. 

Let me give you an example of wearing different hats in an interview or presentation. Say you are booked for a panel interview. There is an organization paying for the event somehow. There may be a meeting planner who’s job hinges on you making them look good for her boss. And there are audience members, that everyone wants to benefit but your consideration has to be… who hired me and what is the outcome they want for this event? 

Then deliver. 

When you do give interviews with someone if you run right over the host without doing your homework and knowing what do they promote and what do they stand against, what do they want you to talk about during this interview and what do they not want to talk about during this interview, you won’t be asked again and the interview may never air. 

Provide suggested questions 

Help your host look good. Confirm you’re on the same page. Don’t give generic questions if you’ve talked about doing something very specific. 

I can go anywhere, ask me anything - is one of the least-helpful things you can do to a show host. Yes, they ideally have done their homework. The bigger you are the more that’s true. But if you’re interviewing up, so to speak, then it’s your job to hand the speaker questions that may be good to ask. 

When I ask someone for an interview as a host, I have seen them post about something I know my audience needs. Or I’ve heard them speak on  content I have questions to ask on my audience’ behalf. I’m going to suggest very clearly THIS is what I want to talk about. I’ll begin drafting the show notes based on that. 

I did this for my summit. However, the EA of a speaker may be the one filling out the summit forms and put in standard content answers. If so, I won’t accept and I’ll email back, “Hey, this isn’t quite what we agreed to discuss, this is what we’re talking about, is XXX still okay with that?”

Do your homework. Listen to previous episodes. If I’ve done a Thousand podcast episodes there’s a good chance I’ve talked about or interviewed someone on your topic. Is your angle different? How? Tell me that in your application. 

Go give interviews and get asked back! 

Resources: 

Health & Fitness Business Scorecard: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard

POP! By Sam Horn 

Tongue Fu By Sam Horn 

Other Episodes You May Like: 

Stop Boring Introductions | Bio Makeovers: https://www.flippingfifty.com/bio-makeovers

Stop those boring introductions and settle into this bio makeovers episode that’s going to play like a masterclass. 

 

Your audience is screaming, get my attention! Wake me up from this bad dream of messages that are the same from everyone! 

 

There are trainers and coaches and podcasters that are pining for invites to speak on podcasts or appear in the news. When you get the chance, don’t blow it with a wimpy introduction. 

 

If your host isn’t excited to read it, re do it!

If there is nothing to tell your listener that you are an expert, re do it! 

If you cringe when it’s read, re do it! 

If there aren’t at least 6 notable things someone learns about you in that introduction, re do it!

 

If there isn’t some unique, distinct description of you that no one else can insert their name into, 

If there isn’t something in the bio that makes people sit up and smile, bio makeover coming up. 

Mistake #1: 

Providing information that is subjective. 

Andrea’s programs are …….. And instead of …… do …………….. 

 

If I have to read that, it implies that I the host think it. Rarely have I got enough background to have that kind of an impression with a guest. 

 

If you’re a bestselling author, or just an author. I can say that. 

If you have created a program intended for xyz based on principles of abc, I can say that too because it’s fact. 

 

But if you have just soft information that sounds like opinion and the news wouldn’t publish it, you have bio makeovers 101. 

 

Include Facts: 

Certifications

Degrees

Authored Books

Appeared in magazines 

Awards 

Published in: (authored) 

Medium 

Frequent contributor to: 

Frequent speaker at: 

Have spoken at women’s events (locally? Regionally? Or nationally) 

 

As seen in: (were written in and quoted) 

Why are you the expert? 

 

Without telling someone you’re the expert, how do you tell them? 

Instead of just hormone balancing fitness expert or menopause fitness expert… I tell them I’m the TEDx speaker and the Flipping50 Menopause Fitness Specialist course creator. 

 

Why should they listen with a dozen other things to do and 100 other podcasts to tune in for? 

State your full name

If you have a business, or a title associated with your business, include that. 

• Hormone balancing fitness expert 

• Fitness business marketing surgeon 

 

Pack 3 credentials into your name. 

Hormone balancing fitness expert and best-selling author, Debra Atkinson is a 39-year full time international fitness professional 

Functional health coach and TEDx speaker, Debra Atkinson is the founder of Flipping50® and creator of the Flipping50® Menopause Fitness Specialist 

 

Start Now

 

Yes, you can start before you have a book, a podcast with 3 million downloads, and a TEDx talk. 

Yes, you can start without 4 decades of experience. 

 

An article, an award, blended a 20 year teaching career with a passion for exercise and advocacy for midlife women? 

 

A 20 year career as an engineer? Lead with that? 

 

Lost weight yourself - how much- at what age? Kept it off for how long- taught how many others do do the same? 

 

Resources: 

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/betterbio

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard 

https://www.flippingfifty.com/womensexercise

Coming up:

Tune into the next episode where we talk about using sound bytes in your interviews, or your own podcasts, videos, and lives. 

 

Success leaves clues and successful health & fitness entrepreneurs are no different. Some of these will surprise you though. 

1. Get a morning routine

Complete this sentence: __________ first. 

You know what it is. There is something that has to happen for you to be productive. Is it meditation, exercise, or is it that you have to “eat the frog first” - in other words do the things you don’t like? 

2. Get an evening routine

How you end the day determines how you start. Stephen Covey’s principles are still in circulation today because they work. The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People is a book … or audible book - worth listening to and yet it won’t be news. 

With a recent contractor I asked that each day we touch base with priorities for her to work on and at the end of the day with where those tasks were. Knowing a contractor has more clients than just you, yet to you, your business can’t wait it’s easy to know exactly what the next task is, keep on schedule with mini deadlines and avoid stress of last minute items. 

3. Surround yourself with successful people

Often, but not always, this involves paying to be around people smarter, with more experience and expertise than you. From someone who has done it… not too long ago, and or is doing it successfully right now, you can learn how to avoid mistakes and how to benefit from their mistakes. 

It’s easy to be shortsighted here. If you feel like you don’t quite belong in the room, you’re probably in the right place. If you’re around people exactly like you, you’ll find it hard to learn from each other without a mentor of some kind helping you to see where you’re spending time on things that will keep you stuck. 

4. Build a life you love while you’re building a business

There are a lot of successful people who are lonely. They’ve built a business. And had the discipline to do it but at the expense of family and friends. 

Decide what kind of life, and health, and friends and family you want. Be careful about spending too much time alone, especially if you work online a significant amount of time. 

5. Be Unapologetically You

The reason you will be successful is because of your uniqueness not your sameness. What makes you different? What do you love to do? What are you good at? Blend those two and add your personal stories. Nothing else will cut it today. People love transparency, honesty, and an approachable personality.

6. Be Unapologetic About Committing to Growth 

While having a personal life you love is important, you will make sacrifices. You’ll miss parties, vacations, events. You’ll skip meeting friends or girl’s weekends. 

When I was working a ton and my son was golfing in highschool, I had three things in my life. I worked. I watched golf. And I trained for triathlons. If one suffered, it was triathlon training. At least I have an excuse for being so slow. 

I missed a lot of meetings and dinners and hanging out with friends. I went to bed early, got up early and wouldn’t have changed that. 

But not everyone is willing to do it. Growth will take this. It’s a part of the reason 9/10 businesses fail in the first 10 years. 

You’re halfway through the 12 habits of successful health & fitness entrepreneurs list. I want you to come back to me if you’re multitasking. And ask this… if you had breast cancer … this year and recovered would this list have more meaning? Listen to these last 6 habits as if that were true.

If fitness and health are absolutely your passion, it will be clear this is true if you want to come back after something like this. Or an emotional divorce or family tragedy. 

Ask yourself if you’re taking for granted your potential or if you’re really using it. 

7. Grow Personally 

This one… is a given. If you buy in to everything I’ve said so far and do it, growing a business is the fastest route to personal growth. Life happens when you’re growing a business. How you handle that is a big part of your growth. 

During mine… I got divorced without it being public. At the brink of starting Flipping 50, my life literally fell apart or so I thought. Then we experienced a truly terrible family tragedy. 

I’ve hired people wrong for the job- lovely people - but wrong for the job and tried to make it right only to be sorry later. I’ve waited too long for people to do the right thing and then behaved with a level of integrity I’m embarrassed about. 

Now, it’s easier to watch in amazement at the struggle of finding support. 

8. Stop Pretending Busy is Productive

This one is hard. But it's easy to spin.

9. Believe It's Doable.

10. 1. Try meditation, manifesting and whatever you need to do to put yourself in the future vision you see for yourself. 

10. Confirm the Actions Then do Them

We often lie to ourselves. 

11. Stop Exchanging Dollars for Hours 

Initially, you must do this. You have to have a proof of concept. Posting on Instagram and TikTok is not proof of concept. Concept comes from a unique set of steps laid out to get predictable results. That can’t be “meet with me 3 times a week.” You have to have something unique and methodical so you could teach 10 other coaches to do it and it would work with their clients. 

12. Exchange Overwork for Important work. 

The last of 12 habits of successful health & fitness pros is this. It echoes the busy and productive distinction. However, this means you do stop working. You have discipline… and discipline not to drive yourself into the ground. If you tend to judge your worth by achievement, accomplishments, you may struggle to pull away. 

Resources: 

Health & Fitness Business Scorecard: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard

Other Episodes You Might Like: 
Identify and Stop Overworking: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/overworking-and-under-earning/

3 Reasons Your Fitness Clients Aren't Getting Results: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/female-fitness-client/