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This week me and my business tag team partner for the last 19 years Natasha, are going our separate ways working on different projects, for me in a bid to get a healthier work life balance.
We first met in 2005 when we were both working for LA Fitness clubs in London. I was coordinating a group fitness studio timetable in the Highgate branch and Natasha was a trainer from head office leading a stability ball course I was sent on.
We instantly became connected when we met and a few weeks later we both attended an industry awards night in Blackpool. I won UK group exercise manager of the year and Natasha’s excitement for me winning secured our friendship.
Later in the year we both left the company but kept in touch. Natasha started managing a private health club in Kent and approached me to join her team to improve the club's fitness class offerings.
Our success at this club made us best friends. “Oh yay, the happy crew are here!” the management of the golf club - that the gym was within - would say negatively as we both skipped in at 9am on a Monday morning. It’s amazing how things going right professionally can bring the people working within it close personally.
From this first experience of working with Natasha for 6 months, and becoming real friends outside of working, meeting her partner and staying over at her house, I did start to feel I overworked myself, and this is why I was single, because I had no time to find a man.
The fun and achievement kept me going on a day to day basis, but deep down I knew the work life balance was not enjoyable. I was talking to Natasha about work from the minute we woke up to the minute we went to bed. And for most people working 9 to 5 weekdays that’s fine, but when you worked 7 days like I was, plus from early morning before 6am to staying up after 10pm to get jobs done, it was just too much.
The ironic thing is I'd just qualified as a holistic lifestyle coach, yet my lifestyle were not holistic at all, and I knew things had to change. I took my first break from working with Natasha in 2007, when I went back out to Egypt to work in a more balanced environment.
Natasha's drive to work hard and not stop until the goal has been achieved has to be admired. There are so few people these days that have this drive in life, it is something I respected and was drawn to. She got this trait from her father who worked in the city within financial institutions. Sadly her dad died early in life due to the stresses from work.
The problem is Natasha’s vision for what could be, draws you back in, and she does try and make work fun and enjoyable when she is around.
After a year in Egypt I came back to work with her at the same health club. Our success this time exploded onto a national scale. We created the Fat Factor weight loss program and it featured on TV's BBC The One Show.
After 6 months of riding the wave of success (still long hours) Natasha made plans to leave the gym and set up her own business running slimming courses under a new concept in her home town in Essex. I tried working with her on this but soon knew our goals where we saw this going were in different directions.
In 2009 I moved back to Derby and launched my own health project, Slim Brother, which I am proud to say is still running successfully today as an online weight loss coaching service.
In 2015 Natasha approached me about a new business, she has started working with a network marketing company and it's protein shakes. I was surprised at first as because of our holistic training we were both very much anti synthetic nutrients and all about whole foods (later I learnt modern foods are so denatured these days that synthetic nourishment is often more beneficial, especially when it comes to quality, cost, convenience and sustainability of achieving our health goals).
I tried the chocolate shake, and wow, it tasted so good, plus it hit all the nutritional goals and avoided the ingredients we had been trained to avoid such as hazadas artificial sweeteners.
I went on to try their full 30 day plan health protocol and I was shocked how good I looked and felt, so I started to promote the products with Natasha.
After a few months I started to notice again the workload became out of balance and started to look for escape plans.
You could say why did I keep going back? I love change, so I was always attracted by her new creative ideas. But my own creativity and freedom can’t be contained, so I always end up wanting to be alone to focus on my path and my goals.
Last year Easter 2023. My daughter had moved to Poole on the south coast and as I went to visit her I’d noticed on Facebook Natasha had moved to this city, so arranged to pop in and see her.
Again I was drawn back into Natasha’s world, but this time I was about to discover the gift that is Network Marketing, as she was still working with that same company, but knew more this time.
I loved the products, yes. Did I understand the business side, no. In the last 18 months I have thrown myself into learning and developing my understanding of multi level marketing businesses.
You may call them pyramid schemes, but pyramids are illegal, so they are certainly NOT them as the authorities would have shut them down. However they are recommending to your friends and family, products and a business model. Many people just don’t like doing this, even though ironically they do it anyway by telling friends about great things they brought at the shops, or forwarding job adverts to family members. This is actually just network marketing.
The best thing about marketers is they push you to help yourself. Read self development books. Listen to positive music. Be around people who are successful.
Last year I was the most successful newcomer in the UK company and together me and Natasha created quite an enjoyable storm earning their incentive trip in just 2 months. But again I remind you we worked so hard, from morning to night, 7 days, most weeks. It was too much. Tens of messages a day in multiple WhatsApp and Facebook groups, the phone was ping ping ping all day and night.
After some personal challenges this time last year Natasha has been amazing getting me to just focus on work and bettering myself.
At the start of this year when I moved to Morocco with the new boyfriend to get away from it all, Natasha recommended some audio books, and instead of putting them on the bottom of my to-do list like I had done before, I started to listen to them.
As I walked up and down the beach for two hours everyday my mind was being filled with positivity and ideas that motivated me. Every 5 minutes I had to get my phone out of my pocket to write down some ideas. Everything from something small for my to do list, to massive new concepts and ideas I had.
Out of this was born my new shakes plan which has transformed my life, and many of my clients lives this year.
The huge problem with self development and network marketing is that it’s fluid, everything is changing. People outgrow people and if you are not growing - for whatever reason - the people you brought in can take your place. It’s pretty harsh.
The other issue is the person who introduced you is making a small amount of money and benefits from your work. So it’s a bit like a manager or owner of a “normal” job, if you don’t like them or what they believe in, it de-motivates you to work.
So I’ve learnt that to be a professional network marketer you have to be there for your team. Help them, support them, coach them and most importantly enjoy the journey with them.
This year I’ve personally developed myself so much - and reached my health goals that I’ve struggled with for 20 years - that I’m ready to start my own big project alone (my own club Nutrition Star Derby).
Whatever level you are at in life, I’ve learnt the hard way, you sometimes have to go back to basics and work on your self worth. Do you love yourself? What do you want out of life? Who and what are really important to you? Are your daily habits taking you towards these goals?
Another friend of mine, and author of 'My Fat Mad Teenage Diary' Rae Earl, once said about me "you fall out with people left, right and centre" on air when we worked together on a local radio station breakfast show, and she's right.
I believe friendships and relationships are fluid and always changing. Sometimes we are good together, other times we are best apart and others can support us better.
You have to keep your eyes and ears (& heart!) open and go gravitate to what's working and what feels right for you at that time.
Since getting to my goal weight and feeling the best I have in my life, happiness wise, I've even questioned my relationship with the Fiancee, is he the one, he is enough. Can I give him what he needs? I don't know the answer just yet, but I will continue to go with what feels right.
One of the biggest game changers for me over the last few months has been the audio book 'No more mr nice guy' by Robert Glover. It's basically saying being nice to everyone and suppressing your own needs is a mental health issue and you will implode at some point. This is exactly what has been happening when I have been working with Natasha. I've been so nice to her and everyone around us that eventually I just have to cut off to get my own needs met.
So the point of this post is to own up to what I've been doing, the thoughts and feelings I have been suppressing, and stating I will not repeat these actions again. The best thing about the mentioned audio is that it tells you how to be a good person, not just a yes guy. Start telling people personally and professionally how you feel, and anyone who doesn't listen, move away from them.
Business wise this year the development has opened my eyes to more Network Marketing opportunities and how I can gain more success and happiness from it. The key to this is to simply help those around you.
I looked into the an aloe vera company as they operate in Morocco, and could provide solutions for people I know there, plus provide Med with an insight into marketing.
Natasha discovered a testing company who gives people health protocols to follow after finding out issues they have through blood analais.
From within my own Slim Brothers and sisters community (thanks Christina!) I had my eyes opened to Herbalife and the new Nutrition Clubs that are experiencing huge growth in the UK right now helping hundreds and thousands of people improve their health by improving their daily habits when it comes to nutrition.
The local club to me in Derby, Nutrition Angel, is run by Matt Elliott (a former group fitness manager like myself), is amazing! Their concept of the breakfast club is not only everything I've ever wanted to do to help people, but it is also compounding all my experience and knowledge.
I shared with Natasha this concept and even we went on the training course to set up our own clubs, but Natasha has chosen to create her own project, so business wise this really is what has led us to this point of going in different directions.
Spiritually and life balance wise I know it's good to focus on one thing, and I know my main focus will now be opening my own club locally next year (Nutrition Star Derby! - open online now and temporarily inside Nutrition Angel Derby from Jan 13th!).
My mission is simple, to help people do what I did, lose weight and feel happy. My eyes and ears are open, I am listening to my clients and you, my followers, and watching what's happening in the wellbeing industry (note, community and nature is where it's going right now!). I am following the path that I am finding is successful for most people, and that we can enjoy together a hop, skip and jump on the way!
Thank you Natasha for making me a better person x
Thank you everyone as always for your support and I hope I can help you feel as good as I feel right now in life x
- If you'd like to find out more about the nutrition club and how the community can help you, visit this site and get a free wellness evaluation booked in with me... https://www.loseitwithjody.com/
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