Episode 153: How to Build a Values-Based Business, with WeShape’s Katie Bramlett

I had a very successful fitness business, but I had to get away from the toxic expectations of the fitness industry. I couldn't sell six pack ab products anymore. I had to shut it down. ~ Katie Bramlett Have you ever had something that's supposed to be good for you end up feeling bad for you? Many of us feel that way about exercise. We know it's good for us, but it doesn't always feel that way.  Katie Bramlett, this week's guest on the Brilliantly Resilient podcast is a fitness guru. But even Katie knew, despite having great success in the fitness industry, that the traditional view of exercise and fitness had become toxic.  Realizing that the key to fitness was more about intentional movement connected to self-care than endless crunches, squats and striving for unattainable physiques, Katie closed down her businesses and started WeShape–intending to build a community focused on a shift away from a number on the scale. By focusing on movement as a self-care practice and adjustable programs to help all users achieve success, Katie built a company based on shared values and gratitude for what any body is capable of doing. When we live a values-based life, we often find that our work and personal lives reach out to each other, allowing us to be true to what we believe and to find ways to incorporate those beliefs into our actions. To hear more from Katie, tune into this episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast and be sure to listen for these additional bits of brilliance: The idea of fitting in jeans will not be a sustainable reason to keep up with an exercise program. I hated exercise because I was doing it for the wrong reasons.  It has to be an act of self-care. If we focus on a number on the scale, even if we get to that number, it's fake fulfillment. It's external fulfillment. We can't have a belief that our worth comes from a number on a scale. We have to understand that with 8 billion people in the world, we all can't have the same body type. Feel gratitude for what your body can do. I had to fight my own mindset of "I'm not an expert." I just knew this was so important, so I did it despite the internal and external negativity against making fitness about connecting to the self. WeShape is based on a meaningful shift away from the number on the scale to movement and connection with self and community. Our program is based on movement we can scale up or down depending on what the user needs. ~ Katie Bramlett Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together! Mary Fran & Kristin