Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome back to Bodyholic with Dee. I'm your host, dee, and I'm so excited for our conversation today because in the ever-evolving world of health and fitness, it is so rare to encounter someone who really embodies both deep expertise and genuine passion for guiding others. Our guest today is really one such individual Alison Kaczkowski. She isn't just a fitness expert. She is a mentor, a coach and a lifelong enthusiast who has dedicated over three decades to helping people really discover their strength, their resilience, their well-being. And from her early days as a competitive swimmer to her experiences in bodybuilding, allison's journey has been one of continuous growth and learning, and you'll probably feel this as much as I did while talking to her, and so, through CU Fitness and also the Allison K Agency, she's channeling that experience to empower not only individuals but also fellow business owners in the health and wellness space. She understands the challenges, she understands the triumphs in this industry and she is so passionate about helping others build sustainable, sustainable, impactful businesses that prioritize both success and service. Her approach is really rooted in compassion and authenticity and a deep belief in the power of human connection. I feel like I might be giving it all away, so I'll stop soon, but I just want to say this is a wonderful conversation and I hope you join us because Allison is going to share wisdom in creating meaningful client experiences and designing retreats and building a business that truly makes a difference in people's lives. And this conversation, if I'm saying it really honestly, is for every fitness professional who wants to lead with their heart, every fitness professional who wants to elevate their impact and cultivate a business that nourishes both themselves and their clients.

Speaker 1: 2:47

So let's welcome Allison, welcome to Bodyholic with Dee. No fads, just facts. I'm Dee and I'm here to help you ditch the noise and build a life you love. Let's go, oh, but wait, I'm not a doctor, so use your common sense. Now let's dive in, okay. So Alice, the Alison Kay, otherwise known as Alison Kaczkowski, and that which is I have to make the point of of me being half of you, basically because I'm D cats, right, and you're, so I'm half of you. I am so happy that you are on my show and we're going to talk about some things that really resonate deeply within me and, I believe, our listeners as well. So, before we get started because I have a bunch of things I want to ask you, maybe can you give us a few words about yourself and what you do.

Speaker 2: 3:50

Sure, I'm Allison Kaczkowski. I'm excited to be here to chat with you. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2: 3:56

I am a 30-year health and fitness industry veteran, like probably a number of people in your audience, can probably relate. Those of us that have been around the block a few times have seen our industry like come full circle. And I started out I wanted to go to physical therapy school and when that didn't work out, fitness was my plan B. But, as most all of us can relate and understand, sometimes things work out the way that they're supposed to and that's always the way that I felt about my plan B. It's my plan B that became my plan A is what I like to say. And I've worked in corporate fitness, I've worked in rehab. I've worked in the private sector quite a bit. I teach in academia part-time. I pretty much you name it. I've pretty much done it in the industry.

Speaker 2: 4:47

But about 10 years ago I pivoted more into business coaching and consulting and retreats, because I felt like the industry was changing so much with the addition of technology and the online space and I felt like the big box gyms were, you know, continuing to like practice.

Speaker 2: 4:59

All the bro marketing things that you know, as we all know, don't really work long term, and so I saw an opportunity and felt like a lot of entrepreneurs like myself, you know, as we all know don't really work long term, and so I saw an opportunity and felt like a lot of entrepreneurs like myself, you know, like I was doing. I want them to understand and realize that creating multiple ways to work for people to work with you does not mean that you have to work 80 hour work weeks. I bought into that lie for a long time and once I got past that, my business changed and I changed as a result, and I just want to make sure that everyone listening and everyone that I work with and everyone that I talk to understands this is an opportunity that's available for you too.

Speaker 1: 5:34

Beautiful. So that really brings me to the first thing that I have on my mind. There really are so many wellness professionals that are really just so wonderful at what they do and so gifted, but they really do struggle to make good money. They do, and so let's really drill into it. So what are some of the biggest mistakes that you see them making when it comes to their business, and what is the first thing you would tell them to turn to do, to turn it around?

Speaker 2: 6:21

What I really see in the majority of my conversations that I have, not just with my clients, but with people that I talk with online every day, part of my strategy, part of what I believe in and I do it myself, and everything I teach are things that I do is I think every day in your business, you should have a period of time devoted to outreach, and what I see a lot of business owners do is they get so busy seeing their clients. They get busy with all the deliverable stuff because you know and I get it because I used to do it too because they say, well, this is how the money comes in. But the bottom line is is that you, literally, if you want to be able to create multiple streams of revenue in your business, then you have to have dedicated time every week to what I call outreach. It's part of my the process that I call the rule of three and this is what I teach into helping you build an online footprint that goes with your business.

Speaker 2: 7:19

And what I see so many entrepreneurs do is they don't do that or they're not consistent doing it, and the reason they're not consistent is I mentioned one they get too saddled with client delivery stuff, seeing clients doing all the things that go with that and that all needs to be done.

Speaker 2: 7:35

I'm not saying don't stop, you know, stop doing that. But the other thing I see is a really what I call limited vision. It's really like being able to see you've got your big picture out here in front of where you want to go, and you're looking at it through one lens and you're making all your decisions through that one lens and you know we don't. We don't get to the future that we want by operating the way we are now. The way we operate now should be a vehicle to get us to the next phase, in which we should start thinking about how we want to make things change, and so that's one of the biggest things that I see entrepreneurs do, and so what I always say is where can you start with a 30 minute window in your calendar every day?

Speaker 2: 8:21

to just focus on outreach, and it's a strategy that I call the power 20. And I teach this to my mastermind, to all of my private clients. This is a way that we build connections with people that will help us build our business, because relationships are the cornerstone to any successful business. It's not funnels, it's not Facebook ads, it's not let's get a hundred people in the DMs and talk to them every day. There are coaches out there that teach that, and I'm just like that does not work, because what is that? What are you doing is you're being hustly and grindy, and anyone that you teach is going to try to do that too. So, so that's one of the big things that I see a lot of people do wrong, and one of the ways that I say this is how we fix that.

Speaker 1: 9:09

And so I'm really curious what do those 30 minutes of outreach look like if it's not spending time on the funnels and the DMs and everything you mentioned?

Speaker 2: 9:22

It's, but rather than saying, talking about this is exactly how that 30 minutes should look like, and that's a good question. What I would like to reframe that question into is is how can you best spend that 30 minutes so that you will actually move your business forward? Okay, and this is one of the things that I teach with the rule of three and the power 20. And let me just give you what what I call the rule of three is.

Speaker 1: 9:44

First, yeah, I would love that.

Speaker 2: 9:45

Three pieces to that. Now, these are gonna vary depending on the person and depending on their business and what they do, and one of the things that I do really well is that I can look at what you do in your business and see where the gaping holes are and where that rule of three needs to be practiced. So the first thing is you're copying your content because you have to be on social media and sending emails if you want to be growing your business. I mean, social media, to some degree, is rented space. It can go away tomorrow, right?

Speaker 1: 10:13

You don't own your social media.

Speaker 2: 10:15

This is why you want to be working an email list at the same time.

Speaker 1: 10:18

And why do we?

Speaker 2: 10:19

want to do this. We do this because we want to be nurturing our audience all the time, we want to be communicating with them, we want to be sharing value, we want to be dripping on them, whatever it is language that you want to use, because the worst thing in the world you can do as a business owner is communicate with your audience when you're selling something. You want to be building relationships with people all year long.

Speaker 2: 10:41

So, that's number one. Number two is doing. What you and I are doing right now is getting yourself on podcasts and talking about yourself and what you do, and for some people. If they'd rather start their own show, then that's an option too. I do both. I started with being a guest. I loved it. I had an opportunity to be a guest on radio shows and I love that, and that's what made me decide to start my show.

Speaker 1: 11:05

And so.

Speaker 2: 11:05

I've been on over a hundred different podcasts. I have almost 300 episodes in the queue of my own show, because it's such a great way to talk to people and start conversations and see how you can help each other, because that is how you build a successful business, right, I love this, yep. And then the third thing with the rule of three is thinking about how you can collaborate with other people. It's the networking and collaborating piece. Now, when I say networking, people probably have and I know I was used, I used to be one of them People sort of people sort of like cringe a little bit. They think of the business functions where you go to and the giant room and everyone's passing business cards, and then you get home and you've got this stack of cards and you're like what the hell is this and what do I do with it?

Speaker 1: 11:52

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 11:52

What I'm talking about. This is why what I teach in my Power 20, it's being strategic about who you talk with online and having a purpose for wanting to build a relationship with somebody. So it's knowing who are those people that can help you get visibility, who are those people that can help you promote yourself and your offers, who are those people that can get you in front of different audiences and I can say this with every bone in my body and I believe this because I practice this too. You don't need hundreds of people to be able to do that in your business. You just need solid connections that you work, that you nurture, that you work on building relationships with and when you do that. And, of course, we evaluate that.

Speaker 2: 12:36

And, after a period of time, if a relationship has run its course, then you know what. You move on to somebody else, right? I'm not suggesting that you get 20 and you're like well, only 15 works, so I'm just not going to do this. Don't do that. You always have to be planting those seeds. And you asked about the 30 minutes. This is how we spend your 30 minutes. It's identifying who those 20 people are and strategically reaching out and communicating with people every single day in your business. I don't care how busy you are. You've got 30 minutes that you can devote to this every day.

Speaker 1: 13:10

No-transcript wow, just saying no, no, no, no, no. You're, this is this is this is really the way you're describing it. The way you've got it down is what it feels like you've been doing this for a long time and it's kind of like when what you just said, where you just took a take a look at what someone is doing and can already see, like where the, where the gaps are.

Speaker 2: 13:39

Yeah, because a lot of a lot of people who operate and I probably see this more with people who operate primarily in person than primarily online, but I do see it with both kinds of people but the the in-person people are hesitant to really spend time online and what they say is well, I'm not good at it, nobody's going to notice me, I don't have a big enough audience, I can't make the same money, et cetera, et cetera.

Speaker 2: 14:03

And so my argument to that is you don't have to settle for one or the other. You can have both. I'm not asking you to get rid of what's made you successful. What I am saying is, if you want to be relevant for the future, you have to be thinking outside the box, right? So think in terms of having both, not just settling for one.

Speaker 1: 14:26

And and so if we look at it, if we kind of flip that, a lot of wellness businesses live online nowadays, and so if we're looking at the people who have those businesses who live online, what can I hear and sometimes I actually have an aversion to it myself, because I have a business that's online and what are some of the most practical ways that you would suggest regarding people connecting with their community that is online and not feeling like you're constantly selling, like I feel like?

Speaker 2: 15:11

Good question.

Speaker 1: 15:11

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 15:12

Good question. There are a lot of. You know a lot of people in marketing will tell you always be asking people to work with you, and that is true. I can get behind that and I because. But I think there are any number of ways that you can do that. I think you what? It's what I call selling and indirect selling.

Speaker 2: 15:29

So I feel like there is a place always for a call to action if you're online, and you absolutely should be making clear call to action if you're online, and you absolutely should be making clear call to actions when you have an open cart or when you're selling a program, when you've got a retreat, when you've got open spaces in your calendar for private coaching. If that's what you do, you should be making asks for that.

Speaker 1: 15:48

Hey.

Speaker 2: 15:48

I've got one space open now for private coaching. Dm me if you're interested. Hey, I've got three spots left for my upcoming retreat. Our program starts next week and there's only five days left. I mean, you need to be clear about what you want people to know, right? But in between all that, what I see a lot of business owners do is they're always asking for people to sign up, and this is what sort of starts to feel slimy and grow marketing a little bit, if you will.

Speaker 2: 16:17

Slimy all of that, right? So instead, what I recommend is that you this is why the copy and content is part of my rule of three because you want to be telling stories, you want to be sharing the behind the scenes of what you do. You want to be sharing success stories, but you can do that without saying, hey, this person made a lot of money because she worked with me. It's not that. What you're doing is. You're taking people through your process. You're saying here's where we started, here's what we learned and here's where we are now. And what we learned in this process is this.

Speaker 2: 16:52

What we got rid of is this You're telling people, you're giving people, like, the whole story, and that's how people look for themselves in your stories, right? You also want to be sharing what I call value content, which are the statistics and the facts and everything, because that positions you as an expert, right, but you don't want to. What I also see a lot of business owners do with their copy is they're trying to convince people how smart they are. People don't buy because they think you're smart. People buy because they think you can fix their problem, right? So you have to appeal to people on a human level. So that's what I call indirect selling. It's doing all of those things, but in a way that helps share value and shed light on who you are and what you do.

Speaker 1: 17:43

Yes, amen, yep, I really do actually struggle with the whole CTA, the call to action, and I actually have a team that just helps me with that, because I really don't want to deal with it. I really want to kind of tell a story, I want to get on, I want to help people. That's what I want to do, but it's an issue.

Speaker 2: 18:14

It's an issue especially in the wellness world, but there are a lot of ways to make calls to action that can feel good. The way I always like to think of it is you know you can't help anybody if you don't ask, and so what I think of it is, when you make a call to action, it is an act of service. You're doing it because you want to help somebody get somewhere that they're having trouble getting. And here's another truth bomb for your audience. Money is just a byproduct of that.

Speaker 2: 18:42

So if you're good at doing that with people, you can learn to be good doing that with people, even if you don't think you're a natural salesperson Because I hate to break the news to anybody listening but if you're a business owner you're selling yourself every day, whether you realize it or not.

Speaker 2: 18:56

And so if you can make a call to action in a way that feels good to you, think of it as an act of service, think of it as a way that you can help somebody. Right, I always lead with that first. Anytime I'm doing a sales conversation, it's always tell me what you need, tell me where you are, tell me what the problem is. Let me understand more about where you are. It's all you're doing, is you're getting information? Then you can say OK. So here is what I think I'm hearing you say, and here's how I can help you.

Speaker 1: 19:30

Would you like to?

Speaker 2: 19:31

hear more. Look, some people may say, no, I'm good. Okay, fine, you've still helped them. That's my point. So we have to understand that asking people to work with us isn't always about asking for the sale. We want to be asking for the sale, but our first priority should be to try to help somebody get where they need to go.

Speaker 1: 19:50

Right, yes, yes, yes, right, yes, yes. And so the wellness world and I feel this regularly feels really crowded.

Speaker 2: 20:04

Yeah. And you probably feel that too ways, a creative person who's in the wellness sphere what way can they help themselves?

Speaker 1: 20:29

stand out, show what makes them different. And you know, we want, we want people to pay a premium for what these wellness people have to offer. So what? What are? What are they missing?

Speaker 2: 20:41

This is where I like to say. This is another reason why it's so important to have multiple ways that people can work with you because not everybody is going to be a fit for your top tier elite coaching.

Speaker 2: 20:51

If that's your, your high tier offer. Personally, I think every health, fitness and wellness entrepreneur needs a high level offer of some kind, whether it's private coaching, whether it's a retreat, whether it's a group, but you need to have at least one high level, high access way to you, right, and then the other ways are really dependent on the areas of expertise that you're the most excited about. Ok, so what I would encourage anyone listening to do and this is where I always tell people to start take out a sheet of paper and write down five things right now that people ask you about the most. Right. I don't know about you, but people ask me all the time about workouts. Where are you going on your next retreat?

Speaker 1: 21:32

Hey, how do you?

Speaker 2: 21:33

make money doing that. You know what. I'm having a pain right here and I need some exercises that are good. I can go down the list of what people are going to ask me when I see them.

Speaker 1: 21:41

Right.

Speaker 2: 21:42

Right, those are areas that I consider myself an expert in. So when you stop and think about that, those are the areas that it would behoove me, as a business owner, to say how can I monetize this better? So, for wellness entrepreneurs, what is it, number one, that you're truly excited about helping people do? And my guess is is there are probably two or three different ways that you can at least do that right? Number two what do people ask you about all the time? Hey, I'm having this really tricky, limiting thought and it's like stopping me. I just can't seem to get to where I need to be. So if you're a mindset coach, that might be something you want to look at. Hey, you know what? I just I can't seem to lose the stubborn 10 pounds. I've tried everything. So people are always asking you that you got to look at that, right? Yes, so you got to think about that too. And then the third piece that I would ask you to do is what are the ways of delivering something that get you excited? And I'll give you some examples.

Speaker 2: 22:40

So if you're a teacher at heart, like me, I can create PDFs, I can create a mini course, I can do a masterclass.

Speaker 2: 22:49

There's any number of ways that I can do that, because I'm I like to teach, I'm good at it, I've been doing it a long time. It's not something I have to go and learn, right? I like talking to people, so being on podcast is a no brainer for me, right? I'm here talking to you so, but if that's not your jam, then let's look at something that you're good at, that you're excited about, that plays to your skillset, because what I don't want anyone thinking is well, shit, now I got to go sign up for this course over here and learn a whole new skill set. That's not what I'm telling you to do. Let's look at what you're good at doing, let's look at what your skills are and, most importantly, let's look at what you're really excited about and let's break that down. I'd be willing to bet there's at least five or things for anyone listening that you can make money doing that you're probably not doing now.

Speaker 1: 23:47

Wow, this is so fascinating. Yep, I'm just I mean, in case you're only listening and not watching, I'm like taking notes, I'm sitting here and taking notes.

Speaker 2: 23:52

You know you can reach out to me anytime, anytime, so you have an open line to me so thank you and actually we're we're going to link also um your podcast and what.

Speaker 1: 24:04

What other ways? Also instagram, right? What other ways can people reach you?

Speaker 2: 24:11

you can find me on facebook um I have a business oriented facebook community. It's a small, but I'm in there every week doing a weekly training, because you know me and, being a teacher, I want to be able to give you something every week that you can work on, so come over and join me there. The name of that group is Borderless Hybrid Innovators. On.

Speaker 1: 24:30

Facebook Hybrid Love it.

Speaker 2: 24:34

Borderless hybrid innovators because, I believe your business should fit around your life. You should be able to work from anywhere, ideally, and you shouldn't be limited by four walls to help you make money in your business right. Find me on Instagram. I'm the Alison Kay. I'm also on LinkedIn. I'm on X and thread some, but not super active. I'm more there just to kind of keep up with what's going on. But those are the three main ways that you can communicate with me.

Speaker 1: 25:05

That's, that's amazing and I will link that I I also just want to say that I want to ask you about you just for a moment. So what is the most exciting way for you right now, in terms of someone who really is in the wellness and fitness world, for you to make money? And I'm guessing that it has to do with what you're talking about now and the way and the way you've been coaching me and my listeners right now, because I'm only guessing that, because you're just really so good at it. But that and then like, what do you see maybe in your future?

Speaker 2: 25:54

Okay, I am super passionate about what I'm talking about with you today because you know, I've been an entrepreneur for almost 30 years now. I mean, honestly, if you think about it, I had a lemonade stand when I was eight years old and that was my first business, right? So it's like I've always known that I was an entrepreneur and a business owner. I never fit into the corporate mold working for working for anyone.

Speaker 2: 26:18

But my, not only am I super passionate about what I've been talking about, it's really, it's meaningful and emotional for me on a deeper level, because not only did I build a very successful business and then lose it in the pandemic and I had to start over business and then lose it in the pandemic and I had to start over, but I saw what was happening to people who were used to operating one way and they didn't have anything to fall back on. And I vowed at that point that not only was that never going to happen to me again, but that I was going to make sure that everybody out there in my industry was going to have a future-proof path forward so that we can all thrive in the future, because there's never been a time in the world today that I can remember in my adult life, when we need health and fitness and wellness more than anything, and it takes having people who are willing to think out of the box.

Speaker 2: 27:09

It takes solutions that aren't simply just textbook or your traditional business type things right it takes approaches that are really innovative and creative, that really help people make those behavior changes that they've never been able to make in their life, and that's what the world needs now more than anything. And so not only am I passionate about this subject, but I'm determined, because not only do I want to build an amazing future for myself, but I'm determined because not only do I want to build an amazing future for myself, but I want to know that anyone out there that's hearing this, that you, can have the same thing, and so that's what I'm really truly excited about today, and as far as my future goes, I feel like I'm already living part of my future Now, if I'm being honest, I get to travel throughout the year and deliver amazing retreats. I get to talk to super amazing successful entrepreneurs like you on my show and be guests on other people's shows, and every day I feel like I get to use my creative genius, and I don't want people listening to think that I'm just like pie in the sky all the time. It's not like that. There are plenty of weeks where things are slow and things aren't working, but that is what drives me and that's what got me out of the black hole that I went into in 2020, like a lot of people that I know, and brought me to now, to where I'm operating and having the business model now that I've literally always dreamed of, and so I am proof that this can happen, that you can lose it all in an instant, but that you can start over tomorrow If you have the true mindset of an entrepreneur.

Speaker 2: 28:38

There's opportunity everywhere, and that is my mission. I want anybody that has a business to know that you can have multiple ways to work with people without killing yourself. You can create multiple streams of revenue without living on the computer. You can have the life that you want. It's truly possible.

Speaker 1: 28:58

You know the way you describe that, the way you said that it could sound kind of cheesy, like you can have the life that you, but you just are so not cheesy, I get it, but but you just are, so not cheesy.

Speaker 2: 29:17

Well, look, I get it.

Speaker 1: 29:18

People listening are like well, that's easy for you to say Well no, but I have to say like I don't know if it comes across in the voice, but definitely whoever's watching will will understand what I'm saying that there is that you are very like real, very down to earth, and you're actually saying listen, it's, it's work. You have to, you've got to do the work and and then you know it, it happens, but you've got to keep working.

Speaker 2: 29:49

And I'm not kidding. There have been months where things have been slower than you know, molasses right. Right, but. But I but after what I went through in 2020, and look, I know that there are a lot of people who suffered tremendous loss in 2020. There, are a lot of people who lost way more than I did.

Speaker 2: 30:09

There are and there are people who prospered and thrived in 2020. And I get that. But what I'm saying is the world is different now. The business world is different now, and you have to. You have to be willing to be flexible and adaptable and you know, dig into the ground to what you're super excited about and what you're passionate about, because that is what will set you apart from everybody else that's out there trying to make a living today.

Speaker 1: 30:33

Right, I couldn't agree more. It's also, you know, the fact. I think both you and I are very passionate about what we do. I would, I would actually I don't want to speak for you, but I would say that I'm kind of like obsessed with what I do and so I think about it a lot and it's like, if you're, if you're not, and it's like if you're not, it's really a hustle.

Speaker 2: 30:57

It really becomes a it can be, but I guess what I would say to that is that if you're truly excited about what you do, you have a calm confidence about you almost, and that takes time to develop. It's a skillset that you that I'm not saying isn't available to everybody but if you don't feel like you're a confident person to start with, then imagine how people that you talk to are going to feel.

Speaker 2: 31:22

And that's not, it's not to say that you can't work on that, but when you finally understand and you get what you're here to do, what you're on this planet to do and we're only on this planet in physical form for a very short period of time, Right, you know. So for people out there that say I don't have time, it's going to have to wait, I'm just going to call BS on that too Cause none of us know when our number is going to get called Right.

Speaker 2: 31:46

And that's all the more reason today why I'm just like. You know what. I'm going to go do it and if I fail, whatever, I'll figure it out, I'll do something else. But that's what being an entrepreneur is about, right. And to be perfectly honest with you and you know I'm always going to be perfectly honest with you I'm unemployable.

Speaker 2: 32:05

I don't know that I could ever go work for anyone else at this point in my career. You know, because I think you have to really have those hard conversations with yourself and when, when I sat there in 2020 and thought you know what, if I'm just sitting out here in a cardboard box and this is what I got, I'm going to figure it out and I think we have to. We have to get to that point where we feel okay with things being scary.

Speaker 2: 32:29

And that's when we figure out that you know what. There are all of these things over here that I can do.

Speaker 1: 32:35

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 32:36

I just want everyone listening to know that if you're going to be successful in the future, you can have what you want, but you got to think out of the box. That's my biggest piece of advice Think out of the box.

Speaker 1: 32:49

Right, you are such a pleasure and and you're so smart and anyone who is being guided by you and you're advising, I have to say they probably feel like so secure and held and really, you, you really are just super, super great. Thank you so much for being on the on the show.

Speaker 2: 33:14

Of course. Thank you so much for being on the show, of course, thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 1: 33:17

It's a pleasure. Hey, thanks so much for tuning in and if this hit home, please share it with your crew. Likes, comments, shares. Show your loved ones you care.