Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Herndon.
Jessica, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born and raised in Kennesaw, GA, I grew up in fitness as a gymnast. I competed for 10 years and had to stop when my parents divorced because it became too expensive. I started soccer after my gymnastics career ended and loved being part of a team. When I started college I had no idea what I wanted to do. I began to ask myself what do I love to do? I loved working out and I loved sports and realized that was when I was my happiest. I received my bachelor of science degree in Exercise Science from Kennesaw State University. I then went on and worked at a physical therapy office for 4 years after college to explore becoming a physical therapist. I realized that was not for me. I worked at the Ymca for a few years but was not challenged and then started working in corporate fitness at Coca-Cola’s gym downtown.
The gym was closed for renovations which led to me looking for yet another job. I found Onelife Fitness and began training and fell in love with it. I currently train and teach group classes there and love every minute of it. This career sparked my passion for fitness and helping others. I began to create my blog, website, and brand and called it L3 Fit which meant love, lift, and live. I still like the name but it wasn’t visually appealing and there were so many similar brands with these words. I wanted to create something new. I kept evolving and changing with my brand and eventually created Good Vibe Fit. I am still growing this business and recently established it as an LLC. I have a few clients I meet in private and some that I do online training outside of my training at the gym. I have wrist bands I give out to clients who reach certain turning points in their training. I have one client who sent me a picture wearing her wrist band to her cancer check in to make sure it was all gone. She messaged me that she always is thinking of me while she was there. That’s why I love what I do. I want to create Good Vibes through fitness. I want fitness to be a pleasant experience and not thought of negatively. I also want to contribute a percentage of the proceeds to a different charity each month to give back while helping others get fit. My dream is to grow this business but not just to make more money, I want to help others and give back by doing what I love. I want to make a difference and be a positive force in this world. Good Vibes Only!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Coming from a broken family threw some challenges at me during my life. Gymnastics was my life, I wanted to be the best and go to the Olympics one day. When my family was going through the divorce, my performance suffered. Gymnastics is a sport you have to have a ton of focus and trust with. It is a total mental sport. My focus was not there and I fell doing a back tuck one day on my neck at practice. This led to me being afraid to try anything. It took me a year but I got my back tuck back at least, but was too afraid and lacked trust to try anything new. Not only that but it became too expensive for my family to afford.
Along the way of my fitness career, I struggled with getting enough clients when I first started training. I worked part time in retail and was also going back to school for my master’s degree in exercise science. I was struggling and working long hours but somehow managed to live off of four hours of sleep, work two jobs, and go to school. I wanted to quit everything so many times. I broke down a few times, but I kept going. I paused my master’s degree and dedicated time to training. I had a few side training jobs along the way for different companies but they were always little pay for a lot of work. I finally was able to quit the side jobs and had enough clients to get by and eventually enough to even have more time off. I began to brainstorm and created a website that eventually turned into Good Vibe FIt. It still has a long way to go but it has taken me 4 years to get it together and make moves with it.
Tell us more about the business.
Good Vibe FIt is an online training program that I have created. The purpose of this business is to spread good vibes through Fitness by being good, being fit, and being you! I have a few clients I meet in private and some that I do online training outside of my training at the gym. Along the years of training, I have worked with so many different people. I started realizing how many people struggle with fitness and think of it negatively. It can be intimidating and mentally tough sometimes. So I hope to create a safe and positive place for people to workout. I have created wrist bands that I give out to clients who reach a certain turning point during their training. I have one client who sent me a picture wearing her wrist band to her cancer check in to make sure it was all gone. She messaged me that she always is thinking of me while she’s there. That’s why I love what I do. That’s what gives me a passion to get up and do this every day. I want to create Good Vibes through fitness. I want fitness to be a pleasant experience and not thought of negatively. I also want to contribute a percentage of the proceeds to a different charity each month to give back while helping others get fit. My dream is to grow this business but not just to make more money, I want to help others and give back by doing what I love. I want to make a difference and be a positive force in this world. Good Vibes Only!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I believe the role of luck to success is dependent on your dedication and persistence to keep going no matter what the obstacle. I am lucky to have had all of the events that have happened in my life to lead me to this exact spot of doing what I love, I am lucky to have the opportunity to create and be a part of something greater. I am so happy that I am working for my passion. I couldn’t imagine working a 9 to 5, following corporate rules and being micromanaged. I am so happy that I always followed my gut and never settled for anything but happiness. Many days I wanted to quit or take an easy and safe 9 to 5 job with benefits. I never quit though and kept going until I finally made my way. I believe that luck has some role in succeeding, but I also believe in hard work and persistence.
Contact Info:
- Website: Goodvibefit.com
- Email: goodvibefit@gmail.com
- Instagram: @goodvibefit
Image Credit:
Andrew Burn
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