Today we’d like to introduce you to Faith Ellis.
Faith, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
For years I have felt as though I was meant to do something, something meaningful that allowed me to help other people. I didn’t know what that was. I wasn’t interested in being a doctor, or a therapist – those things required skills and subjects I wasn’t the most successful in. I actually went into marketing. But, I was determined to experience different things, take classes, try to find new things I enjoyed because it would have to be something I could be passionate about, right?
As I went through different things over the years, nothing stuck. Nothing felt right and I constantly had this hollow feeling like something was missing. I’d been on my own fitness journey for a while and then considered, maybe it was training. I got certified in personal training and did that for a bit but something about it just wasn’t exciting me. Designing programs, working 1:1, I felt limited and restricted. I found it difficult to stay passionate and only wanted to focus on my own fitness and health. Fast forward, in my 30s I discovered kettlebells. I absolutely loved using them and started to use them as a tool for the majority of my training. My passion grew so much and I loved the results, the confidence they provided me, I began researching and sure enoguh – there were certifications as a kettlebell specialist!
I am now a Level 3 certified kettlebell specialist and have been teaching pop-up classes in Burlington, North Carolina for the past 2 years as well as offer 1:1 coaching for women online through (predominantly) kettlebell training plans and simplifying nutrition. I help women to find the confidence in strength training with kettlebells and overcome the stigma of women lifting weights. My focus is beyond aesthetics and I strive to show people the mental health benefits of consistent exercise and aim to inspire people to have fun with fitness through simiplifying workouts and to release the rigidity that a workout has to look a specific way, or you need to workout for an hour, 6x a week. People are so overwhelmed with the information they find online my goal is to simplify it and get back to most of the basics.
In addition to online fitness coaching for women, I began another side of The KettleBelle that is for other coaches, too. As a marketer and an entrepreneur, I know the work it takes to run your business and it requires you to wear many hats – one of them being a marketing expert. Fitness and health coaches should be helping other people, which is why I offer content marketing services for other coaches. I’m a unique multi-sided business doing what I love and what I’m good at. I get to help women struggling and overwhelmed with their fitness and nutrition goals, and I am helping other coaches help more people by taking over their content and marketing responsibilities. I really feel this is exactly what I was meant to do all along and I am super excited to see the business grow and the reach we achieve.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It certainly has been a bumpy road, mostly in terms of growth. I think there is a lot online regarding coaches where they either aren’t credentialed or they have lied about results and what they do to achieve those. It’s kind of a mess. For me the challenge has been combatting the noise and building trust, which is why I still show up in local events. I also have been looking at getting my business to pull away from social media because it really isn’t where my ideal client is – they aren’t truly searching for a professional on social media, they’re searching for quick tips and tricks and that’s not what I stand for. Real results take real effort and frankly, it takes hard work which is not what social media is dedicated to. Building trust and gaining brand awareness are still two areas we’re working at and probably will for awhile.
We’ve been impressed with The KettleBelle, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The KettleBelle is an online fitness and content marketing brand. I have my college degrees in marketing and have worked in the industry for the past ten years. I am credentialed in kettlebell coaching and have held my personal training certification through ACE, with over 10 years in the fitness industry. It’s been crazy meshing the two worlds and having a multi-business brand, but I love both. I provide marketing services for fitness and health coaches so they can focus on clients, not content. I’ve written and strategized for years and I’m good at it, plus I work in the fitness industry so it just fits flawlessly.
Additionally, I offer 1:1 fitness and health coaching services for women. My goal is to simplify fitness and nutrition for women so they can get real and long-lasting results.
I am never competing with my marketing clients, I want them to succeed and their niche or ideal clients, are very unlikely my own. My clients trust me, their information and clientele stays private. In no way am I ever conflicting with their efforts and vice versa.
I’m really proud of 1) my abilities to be able to offer such a unique business to multiple people and 2) just having an idea and really running with it. Many times we have an idea, but people don’t do anything with it. They’re afraid to fail. Failure is only when you give up and we’re not giving up. There are times we have to pivot, but stopping is never an option.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Growing up I was in a really sad family environment. Our childhood was emotionally and physically abusive and from a really young age we were forced to find our own independence. We would work, cook, clean, go to school, come home, do chores, and repeat – there wasn’t much of a childhood. Around 17, I was forced out of the home and while I was still finishing high school, I was working, sleeping in my car, at friends houses, and ended up renting a room from an elderly lady. I put myself through college and got my Master’s degree, all while working full-time. I think this forced me to become resilient because I wasn’t left with much a choice. It was either that, or give up. And then what? I think now it gives me tenacity to keep pushing even when you feel like you aren’t getting anywhere. It doesn’t make it easier, but instead of looking to give up and quit, I look for ways to redirect myself and my business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thekettlebelle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekettlebelle
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KettlebelleNC
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faithengenellis
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekettlebelle
