Julie Hodge of Julie Hodge Fitness
Background Story
I'm Julie Hodge and I've been running my homebased personal training business Julie Hodge Fitness in Okotoks for a few years now, providing private and partner training exclusively to women. I fell in love with movement as a teenager being influenced by the works of Joseph Pilates and Callan Pinkney and have been helping women move and live better - from the inside out – ever since!
I've been a certified personal trainer for almost 33 years and have always had a determined entrepreneurial spirit... so when we moved to Okotoks and had our baby daughter (at the young age of 43!), I knew that I wanted to do something that would give me more flexibility to support my family and my daughter while being true to my skills and abilities and continue to support other women.
1. Why did you choose Okotoks to start your business?
It chose us you could say... we were expecting our child, seven and half years ago, and visited Okotoks one weekend together and fell in love with the smaller town vibe and quieter neighbourhoods and pace of life. I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart, doing my own thing for most of my career and knew that I didn’t want to work full time out of the house for anybody else. So a few years after my daughter was born (and my early years “mom fog” dissipated) I decided to build out my own private “boutique” fitness studio in the basement, got my business license and the rest is history!
2. What challenges did you encounter while growing your business and how did you overcome them?
I feel very blessed being a homebased business. I don’t feel I’ve had to overcome any challenges per se. I’ve had great dealings with the Town when it comes to renewing my business license and with their support overall. The one thing that is more of a self-created challenge was trying to nail down what my personal training rates would be, so that I could be fair and make personal training options more accessible to women.
3. What is it like being a female entrepreneur?
Being a female entrepreneur is fulfilling to me. I love being able to work from home and for myself and mostly I love the flexibility of being able to schedule my business around school pick ups and drop offs.
4. Who are your biggest supporters?
My biggest supporters are my clients and my partner who has been so wonderful in supporting my goals!
5. What advice would you give to a new entrepreneur just starting out on their own entrepreneurial journey?
One piece of advice I have for aspiring entrepreneurs is to follow your heart and that voice that whispers to you how best you can be a blessing to the world around you. And then create your life around THAT! Show up as your true self, not what you think people want you to be, but who you are, and that vibe will attract your true tribe.
CONTACT INFO:
Julie Hodge, PTS, NASM-CN
Advanced Hormone-Based Exercise Coach
Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach
Website: https://www.balanceyourhormones.online
Call: 403-651-1088
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