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8 Nov

Ep. 74 – Nikki Warren – Co-Owner of Kaia FIT

“When you take the time to truly connect to somebody else, you realize this world is not as scary as maybe it may seem and that you realize your full potential. We take the community aspect and weave it into everything we do, be it our training for our coaches and our owners, our marketing, our social media.

Nikki Warren – Co-Owner of Kaia FIT;Understanding women’s needs in physical activity; Inspiring women to “play”; Being service minded; Physical fitness.

Segment 1: (Length :04:00) – General Updates; Introduction to Nikki Warren and her journey as an entrepreneur;  Raising her daughter through coaching sports; Starting Kaia FIT; Understanding women’s needs in physical activity.

Nikki’s finer points:

I think really where it became my path was figuring out that I was meant to be a coach.

“I had my daughter, Coral, really young. I had her at sixteen. I love to get a look back at the journey or the path that I was guided on because she was this extremely athletic very young and vibrant young girl that wanted to be in a lot of different sports.”

“In order for me to afford these different sports, I needed to coach them. As I was coaching, it started out in skiing then snowboarding, gymnastics and went through all of her different paths in athletics, I found that I was blessed to have the talent to help people, not just children, but people realize their full potential.”

“Through fitness and through athletics, and then also through mental training, I became very passionate about being in service to others and helping in all different areas.”

I saved my money. Back then, I saved about ten thousand dollars. I was working three different jobs, and I was bound and determined to open up my own little gymnastics facility.

“It was about twelve thousand square feet. I got some mats and a bar and I just opened up.”

“Coral and I started running our own business. What I found is that it was just growing naturally by me giving my all to all of these little athletes. My gymnastics business had grown significantly.”

I went and found me a fifteen thousand square foot building. I opened my second gymnastics business and then from there, I just couldn't keep my eyes off these moms that were sitting on the bench. I kept realizing over and over, why and when did women stop wanting to play?

“When did we realize that exercise was something that you had to do, be it a treadmill or … Where did the fun go?”

“I started that idea of, ‘Okay. I’m going to build a women’s fitness program that incorporates everything that I love about gymnastics. It’s going to be safe and progression. Everybody is going to be included. It doesn’t matter what your athletic ability is.'”

“Then what happened is, all of these women started coming in and what I found is that the real need of women … and I don’t think it’s just women, I think it’s human beings in general, needed a sense of community, need to have that team where you belong no matter what.”

The focus may be exercise which I think is a keystone behavior that helps with everything else in your life, but then the outcome became we found our strength in relying and building relationships with others.

“I opened up my second Kaia and that’s where I brought on my partner, Sharon Kassity. We decided together, ‘Let’s venture out. Let’s franchise.’ It just has grown organically ever since. Now we have fifty eight locations and around ten thousand women and their families that are part of our program.”

Segment 2: (Length :08:00) – Talking with Nikki Warren; Inspiring women to “play” again; Forming a community around your customer’s needs.

Nikki’s finer points:

“When you look at women in general, there’s a very small percentage that play on athletic teams. You usually don’t make the team or you are told not to try out. You go from the idea of loving recess and loving jumping rope and playing as a child to, all of the sudden, maybe in your teen years told you’re not talented by whatever, hand eye coordination or different things like that.”

“I found a very big percentage of women found it to be a scary space that maybe they had been told that was not for them and maybe hadn’t been able to experience what it is to be on a team.”

“When women are given that opportunity to be in a community where the hub is centered around fitness, feeling good, pushing yourself but not only are they finding the strength and results they are looking for but they are finding that security.”

Community is always our biggest focus. It's our ultimate why. We're continually building what it would be like our wheel of priorities in our business. Always on the top is community.

“When you take the time to truly connect to somebody else, you realize this world is not as scary as maybe it may seem and that you realize your full potential. We take the community aspect and weave it into everything we do, be it our training for our coaches and our owners, our marketing, our social media.”

“Everything that we do is always on a grassroots level with the idea of how can we connect to one another to create a stronger foundation or base.”

“Originally, my focus was, ‘Okay. I want to train women to be athletes because our sport is life. I want everybody to realize that they have this opportunity. I built that opportunity through what I was well versed on, which was training athletes.”

“As my community was growing in Kaia, through the first six months I was very focused on making every workout different and muscle confusion and all of these type of things. Then I just stood back and started to watch and really listen. I think that’s really been where Kaia has been founded.”

It's not necessarily founded by me, it's by really listening and looking and watching as these women are high-fiving each other and smiling and coming in at 5am and maybe feeling dark or insecure, not sure that they should be there then leaving laughing.

Segment 3: (Length :10:00) – Being service minded; The benefits of physical fitness; having a great life.

Nikki’s finer points:

I believe, with all my heart, when you come into any type of business or even a job or a career, if you are service-minded and that means that you're a good listener, then you realize what this community that you're trying to build, what they need.

“Then you can take what your attributes, what are great about you and about your personality and what you want to give to the world, and build on to what this potential community will need. Then it just grows naturally.”

“I’m a firm believer that in physical fitness and having a strong body, you are able to accomplish great things in life. Your body can either be your greatest asset or your biggest liability. It can take you to the craziest, best dreams or it can hold you back like an anchor.”

“When you have the gift of, not just health but vitality, that strength that fitness, then everything else in your life becomes so incredibly clear.”

Segment 4: (Length :03:00) – Hustler Thought of the Day:

“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” - JFK

GENERAL NOTES:

Nikki Warren – Co-Owner of Kaia FIT

  • Nikki Warren, alongside her business partners Sharon Kassity and Kristen Loos, developed Kaia FIT on the premise of functional fitness.
  • The all-encompassing lifestyle program stems from Nikki’s 20+ years’ experience in the fitness and nutrition field. She has held certifications in Core Power Yoga, USA Triathlon, USA Track and Field, Cross Fit, American Council on Exercise (ACE) and National Exercise and Sports Trainers Association (NESTA).
  • Nikki is an advanced Kaia FIT coach, training hundreds of fitness professionals annually to bring her functional program to women across the country. Designed by women, for women, Kaia FIT gyms offer themed muscle confusion workouts, nutritional guidance, a dedicated community of like-minded women, and constant support from Kaia FIT coaches.
  • Nikki’s passion is coaching, and helping people find their happy, their thrive, and their sense of fulfillment whether in business development, health, or love. Nikki shares her experience and knowledge with businesses and philanthropist groups across the country through her “Thrive for Life: Beyond Surviving, Enjoy Thriving” speaking platform.
  • She has presented to organizations such as IDEA World Fitness, Western Industrial Nevada, Barton Memorial Hospital of South Lake Tahoe, Women As Change Makers by Zawadisha, Whole Foods Markets, and Vistage International among many others.
  • Nikki and her family enjoy an active lifestyle in South Lake, Tahoe. Whether on the slopes or on the water, they bring the Kaia FIT spirit and passion to life.

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Matt Gottesman

Matt Gottesman is a global digital strategist and technology advisor, creator and editor-in-chief of Hustle & Deal Flow™ - an online magazine dedicated to the world's entrepreneurs, creators and makers, a Social Media Influencer and a consultant on New Media and go-to-market strategies for investments in digital marketing, technology, websites, mobile applications, eCommerce, social media and content.

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