In this episode from cakes to classroom to worldwide fitness trainer we talk to Kim Kibe about how she built her business and a life she wanted by discovering what her passion is….. With a strong background in English Literature and life long Ozzy Osborne fan Kim Kibe has worked across academia, the public school system, and the business world yet none of it was her true passion.

If you like what you heard on the Bowties and Business Podcast you can listen here each week or subscribe on iTunes and Spotify along with a variety of other podcast applications.

Which led her, as a stay at home mom, to start two companies from her own kitchen in the midwest. Each with a different mission and in different industries. The first, “Kim’s Crazy Cakes” a company that was baking mind-blowing kids party cakes and specialty cookies. The business was booming and growing by word of mouth. As great as it was an ingredient was missing. It wasn’t Kim’s true calling.

Ultimately on a whim with her best friend they decided to train for and run their first half marathon. They joined a running group that neither realized also included a fitness and strength program. That surprise led to her transforming not only her business and but also her life. A journey that countless miles, a few triathlons, and a list of long term far-flung clients that she still serves today fueled her passion.  

Kim Kibe is the founder of Crazy Train Fitness LLC where she has been training and ever-growing set of clients over the web, at their homes, and at hers for more than 5 years.

Tips for Going From at Home Mom to Business Owner

Find Something that YOU Love Doing

Invest yourself in that thing that you love and you will be able to give more.

Define Your Support System

Mentor Family, In Laws and Kids

Welcome Environment

Balancing Home Life and a Business

Know Your Strengths

Try Everything in Business Once Yourself but Hire Experts When you Need them

Kids and Clients – Clients can also be invested in your family.

Clients – Keep the Good Ones and Lose the Ones that Aren’t a Fit  

3 Things Personalizing Each Clients Experience Does to Benefit Them

Accountability – Personal Trainers vs Group Classes

Health History – Injury, Restriction, Realistic Goals

Food Choices – Don’t eat the cupcakes – Lunch Time Temptation

How to Approach General Internet Fitness Resources

In terms of apps – find ones that fit but don’t over do it.

General Online workouts – There are a lot of great people publishing content, ones that really know their stuff. They don’t however know your or your body. Listen to your body it’s your best resource

Again listen to your body more than the app. Learn to know the difference between discomfort and actual injury that needs rest and treatment by a professional

You Tube – Endless options but be selective.

When looking for a Fitness Coach Things You Should Discuss

Your health history

Your goals and make sure they align with the trainer’s philosophy and approach

Medications

Be Honest, open and transparent about your starting point.

How to Find The Best Fit

Pick a place that you are comfortable in

Know what you want in terms of motivation drill I.e. Sargent vs supportive and nurturing

If a class or a coach is not a fit don’t be afraid to have a conversation with them. If nothing else they may be able to help you find something that is a better fit for you.

Transcript from the Episode

Courtney K 0:06
Welcome to bow ties in business, where a fashionable nerd and knowledge me regardless of whether your career is just starting, steady, or stalling,

Unknown Speaker 0:16
join me in a collection of business and thought leaders are experts in their field as they share their decades of firsthand real world experience from the ground floor, the executive suite, and every corner of the business world.

Tim Kubiak 0:30
Thanks for listening today. We appreciate you being here and taking time. I’m your host Tim Kubiak. And today, our topic is going to be building your own business and coaching remote clients. We’ve added helpful links in the show notes so you can find the materials we talked about. And as always, there’s going to be bonus written content available on the podcast section of Tim kubiak.com. That’s t Im k you bees and boy, I aka.com. We hope you like what you hear if so please subscribe the boat as in business on Apple podcasts, Google and Spotify. Plus, you can find us on a host of other podcast applications. If you want more information, or just like the occasional blog picture to go with your business info. You can find us at bow ties in business on Instagram and Facebook. On Twitter. We are bow ties and bi z. And as always, you can find me at Tim Kubiak calm. And as at Tim Kubiak on LinkedIn and Twitter that I’d like to introduce today’s guest, my sister, Kimberly Chi. Kim has a couple of unique businesses. And we’re going to talk about how she’s done that. So Kim, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thanks

Kim Kibe 1:33
for having me. Yeah, no,

Tim Kubiak 1:35
it’s great timing. And thanks for letting us in at the last minute. So to kind of set the set the stage, you’ve actually built your business, the way I see your business, right. So why don’t you talk a little bit about that and how that started and why and then we’ll jump into what you’ve been doing more recently.

Kim Kibe 1:54
Okay, sounds good. Um, I was a stay at home mom. by choice. I wanted to be home with kids. And I loved it. But I felt like I wanted to do something. And I didn’t know what that looked like I wanted something that I could be available for my family and my kids. And I the workforce wasn’t really for me. I’ve been there. I’ve done that. And I wanted something different once I run something of my own. So I went back to things that I was really good at. And for me, I love baking. I’ve always loved baking. I’m good at it. I got creative with it. So I opened my own cookie and cake business and started doing specialty birthday cakes. I did a few wedding cakes. I gotta be honest, not my thing. brides are really fussy. But you give a kid a cake that looks like a Star Wars character or Steve from Minecraft, and they were thrilled and love it. So that’s where I began.

And you also did cookies, right?

I did cookies as well, um, a lot of like, basic cookies that you would serve, like to your family chocolate chips and snickerdoodles. And I did do some sugar cookie cutouts that looked like things, but I didn’t love doing that as much as I love doing cakes. So it was more along the lines of I need, you know, 14 dozen cookies for a party. Okay, I could do that. But especially cookie cutter ones.

Tim Kubiak 3:39
Okay, cool. You did that you built that business. You were you were in the true Midwest at the time when you did that. And you ran the business four or five years.

Kim Kibe 3:50
Um, it turned out to be about five years in total before I finally called it and wrapped it up. And, um, I just found that it was I loved it. But it wasn’t really what I was supposed to be doing. And like, I’m good at it. It was great. But my heart wasn’t completely into it. So after about five years, I finally kind of said no, that’s that’s not what I’m going to do anymore. And I had found an opportunity to work in the school system and have summers off with my kids in the same days off and so I thought that I would take that opportunity because they were still pretty young. Um, and it was great. If they had a snow day I had a snow day and but then I found that I didn’t love what I was doing there either. I love the kids. I hated the politics behind everything that was happening and didn’t really agree with the education system, which is how I ended up in my business today. Um, I started training for a half marathon with a friend We thought we were taking what was a running class for this half marathon. But it turns out it was a general fitness class that went along with the program. They were offering the with the running program. And I started doing things that got I’d forgotten that I really liked and didn’t know I was capable of I was, I was lifting weights and running sprints and doing all these things. And I thought, Oh, I really like this. So, after about six months, I looked at my husband and I said, I don’t want to work as a teaching assistant anymore. I really want to be a personal trainer. And thank God, my husband supports every crazy idea that I have for the most part. And he said, Great, how do we make that happen? So I ended up going to the guy that had run the classes, who had become a friend of mine, his name is Terry. And I said, Hey, I’d really like to be a personal trainer. How do I do that? So he took me under his wing. And he said, here’s the information, you need to get your certification, you can come and mentor with me, come and watch, come and teach some of my classes, because as long as you’re going through this program, and I’m on site, we can work together with that. And he really gave me my start. So I got my certification and quit my job as a teaching assistant, and really worked for him for about a year and a half. And then it’s hard. He was a small business owner, he did not own a big gym. Sometimes it’s hard being a small business owner, we had smaller classes, he was paying for a facility and not really able to keep it going as well as he wanted. So he ended up beating the selling out his business and going in with another company. And I did not want to follow. So I looked at Brandon again, my husband and I said I don’t know how to do this because I don’t want to stop doing it. And one day, he came home and he said, Well, I’m having your business. Here is Crazy Train LLC, I’ve got all the paperwork, you figure out how to make it work. Okay. But I do what I always do, and I just kind of put my head down and I said, Okay, how do I do this? I still was in touch with a lot of clients that we had had through his business that he did not take with him. And a lot of them said, Well, I had one in particular, he said, Well, Ken, would you like to come to our house? We have some weights. We have floorspace, would you like to come and train us in our home? And I thought, sure, why not? Um, and it started there. So when I was living in Fort Wayne, my business started by me going to see my clients in their own space, which was fantastic. Um, it worked out really well. I did that for almost a year and a half. Before we had another hiccup, my husband’s job was moving, we were moving to a different state. Um, so all my clients looked at me and said, Well, this just isn’t gonna work. Because we love you. We don’t want to stop what we’re doing. How do we, how do we continue this? So we started in FaceTime and Skype, which was the beginning of my online business.

Tim Kubiak 8:38
How many years ago because that’s the key point here.

Kim Kibe 8:41
I mean, I, I’ve been doing this now for five and a half, almost six years. So when I started my business really, about four years ago, and when we moved, we’ve lived here, it’ll be for four years this summer. Um, I I’ve been doing this for a while now. I’ve been online for four years. And, honestly, it I have quite a great solid client base from my original people. I have lost a few here and there. I’ve gained a few here and there because of word of mouth because someone will say, Hey, I work with this trainer. I want you to work with her. I I have clients all over the United States. I have a couple people that I have done some running plans and other things for that are in other countries. But right now, I also see local clients well, or I was up until this past week when the shelter effect took place. But it’s been four solid years of me starting my online business and running with it.

Tim Kubiak 9:53
Yeah. And so part of the beauty here is you built your business. Right? And certainly this is a podcast You know, in our audience, our business people, but you also did some other things along the way, and you really transformed your own body and your own lifestyle as part of my talking about that.

Kim Kibe 10:12
No, not at all. Um, yeah, I really didn’t realize, at the beginning of this whole crazy notion of I’m going to run a half marathon with my best friends, just how just how out of shape I was, physically, mentally, I was really, you get to a place, I think sometimes where you don’t know how bad you feel. Because you are a little bit overweight, or because you don’t use your body on a regular basis. And I am not, I am by no means a skinny person. I lost some weight, I put some muscle on. And we’ve made some major lifestyle changes. But I am not one of those people who thinks that you need to be a size zero. And I think everybody healthy for everyone looks a little different. And as long as you’re active and moving, I think that’s great. But I wasn’t happy where I was. And that really kind of hit home when I started this. And I think my turning point was, during these fitness classes, we had to do a BMI test. And the woman who was doing it, I’m five, two, at the time, I weigh 145 pounds. She looks at me and says you are obese, you need to come and talk to me about what you can do to change that. I have never been so devastated in my life. I’m running, I’m working out. I’m making changes in my body. But you’re telling me I’m obese. And in in our society. obese is this horrible word, or at least it was to me? I don’t think it has positive connotations. And I can remember sitting down on the gym floor that night before class, tears rolling down my face. And my trainer coming over and going why it happened, what’s going on? And I said, Terry, they told me I’m obese. And he said, Oh, well, I’m now Terry is so fit and bodybuilder like status. I mean, he is runner, three, muscular build, and he looked at me and he said, I need to tell you something. He said, If I got on there, they would tell me, I’m obese. didn’t put it into perspective. For me, I was just so upset. Um, so I spent about a month being really mad about it, like really mad about it. And then I thought, well, this is pretty stupid, I can be mad about or I can make changes. I’m in control of it. So what am I going to do? Well, up until that point, I’ve been running and exercising, but I have not been paying attention to the way that I was eating. And I started using an app to track my calorie intake. And for the first week that I did it, I just put things in to see where I was at, because I just needed a starting point. And it’s funny because sometimes what we think is healthy, or that you’re not overeating, or the your calories are at a certain level, when you really have that information in front of you, it kind of opens your eyes a little bit. Um, so I started making some big changes, I started really paying attention to what I was eating and how it made me feel and I lost weight, I gained muscle. And I still maintain that today, I will tell you that I am back at 145 pounds. But it’s a different builds I am muscle more than I am, or ever have been in my life. But muscle weighs more. It’s not incorrect when they tell you that. And I’ve worked really hard to put that muscle there. So I’m pretty proud of that number now instead of going in every year to my doctor, and they say Yeah, well, you know, according to the charts, you’re still in the obese range. He now looks at me and says yeah, it still says that you know you’re 142 pounds and is that you’re overweight, but I don’t see it. And I was like Yeah, well, I could pick you up and squat. Yeah, I agree. So

Tim Kubiak 14:33
it’s funny. I have a similar conversation by Dr. Wright. I lovingly called doc mode because she reminds me of Edna mode from the incredible movies. Every year I go in and they do my blood work and they do this and he did that my resting heart rate when it’s high is it 60 to a minute my normal resting heart rate is 50. Right so i can i can tell my fitness level from there and I’m not low, right and I do wait So could take off. And every year I get the phone call from the nurse who just gets the results. And based on your weight, you need to exercise more you need to do this, you need to do that you need to do this. And they finally put a note in my chart to stop calling me after this year, because I would always call the doctor back and go, What do you mean, I’m doing yoga? Two, four times a week, I’m doing this many miles a week, you know, I’m doing this, okay, I’m, I’m back fit. I get it, you know, but I’m never gonna be I’m never gonna be tiny. And she’s like, yeah, they just look at the charts. We got to fix that, in that. That is I never knew that with your story. So that’s actually interesting. We’ve had similarities.

Kim Kibe 15:40
Yes, every year I dread it every year I we have to do the bloodwork. And we go in and I i thankfully, since we have moved to Ohio, and even before but our doctor here looks at me and goes, Yeah, we’re just moving on. Yeah. Um, so but in the changes that I started making, um, then my husband, and kids kind of jumped in on the journey. Um, so I had lost some weight was running, I ran the half marathon was really going good with it. My husband was like, well, she can do this, why can’t I now bless his heart, he spent all summer that year riding his bike next to me while I was training to run, but it made him mad just like the woman telling me that I was obese. And he was like, That’s it, I’m, I want to I want to be able to do these things with you. So that fall, he and I started a couch to five k program. And I we went out every morning at like four in the morning, three days a week and went together and did the couch to five k program and started eating the way that we currently eat most of the time, really, you know, more fruits and veggies less processed food. When you just a little better choices, we don’t actually give everything up. I mean, I if I want a cookie, I’m gonna eat it. I’m not that kind of person. Um, because I think when you deprive yourself, it makes it that much worse, you might as well eat the cookie, I’ve just learned that I can’t eat the entire batter of cookies, I can have one or two. And that has to be it. So it’s limiting my choices, just not the quantity that I used. So it really did affect Brandon, he’s lost quite a bit of weight. And now is an avid cyclist and we wrote 100 miles for a fundraiser last year, which is something I would have never thought that either of us would have ever been interested in doing. He’s training for a half marathon yet another one we’ve done quite a few in the past few years. And I’m training for my first full marathon. I’ve done sprint triathlons. Yeah, I it’s nice to have options and find different things and ways to challenge myself. So I think I found what I’m supposed to be doing.

Tim Kubiak 18:10
That’s really cool. So if we can shift how does that translate to how you work with your clients, but your in person and your remote clients,

Kim Kibe 18:18
um, great relationships with my clients. And I think that’s so important. I’m, I don’t think that you can walk in and train someone the same way you would train anyone, I we all different, we all have restrictions, we all have things we excel at. We all have different mindsets. So by me getting to know my clients. Um, and I really am able to number one, customize a plan for them workout wise, sometimes I can advise how you should eat, I am not a nutritionist. So I can’t say that or a dietitian, you should eat this. This is how you need to eat, but I can help make recommendations. And when I look at what you’re eating, if you’re tracking and I’m, you know, we all have different goals, most of my clients are general fitness, they want to be healthy enough to be able to stay mobile and do what they want to do active to keep up with their kids, their grandkids. I’m not training bodybuilders right now. Um, and that’s I don’t know that I’m interested in doing that I want people to feel good about themselves and feel healthy. And that is always my goal. So by me having a get to know you relationship, I’m pretty close with my people. So I know what’s going on. I know aches and pains, I know challenges. And that allows me to be even better at my job because I understand their situation.

Tim Kubiak 19:53
That’s really cool. Um, you know, in that hands on approach and that customized approach, I think is what makes visitors handout? Absolutely. If you go back and you look at whether we should cookie business, or your transformation into the fitness business, or your transformation from in persons of London in person or remote clients, in somebody’s thinking about starting a business, maybe secondary income, maybe as a stay at home mom to have extra cash or bills, what advice would you get?

Kim Kibe 20:27
Find something that you love doing. Because in doing that, you’re more willing to invest yourself, so that you are able to give more, I felt like there have been times in my life where I did things a couple jobs, because I had to, cuz we, you know, it was a good fit at the time. But I feel like I’ve succeeded in this, because it’s something that I really care about, and I want others to succeed. And I think when you go in with that attitude, you bring more to the table, and you have more to offer.

Tim Kubiak 21:06
And talk about how that allows you to balance your life with your husband and with your clients. Um,

Kim Kibe 21:16
so when I first started the training business, I have to be honest, I have a really good support system at home. And Terry, my mentor, was also very family oriented. So when I first started Personal Training, it was great, my husband would come home from work and he could have the kids in the evening and my mother in law should she need to could drive them back and forth to lacrosse or whatever was going on. And so Brandon could get there. But there were also a lot of times where I could take them with me. And they would be in the gym while I was teaching a class or they were taking my class because I was teaching the class. Um, so it helped me have a nice jumble medium where I had a lot of support. But I also I, I still my kids come and go, I work from home a lot. I’m online a lot. My kids come through and they are in their teenage years now I have a senior and a sophomore. And they will come through and say Hi, Mom, at the end of the day, the school day. And Hi, Miss Susan, whoever I’m training. Because my clients understand that I, I have a family. And they know it’s important. And they’ve gotten to know my family as well. So as much as I’m invested in my family, they also are too and they like seeing that. And I have great clients who it should be lacrosse fees. And this year is a little different. We are not in the middle of lacrosse season, it’s been put on hold. But there have been times where I’m like, Hey, I can’t train tonight boys have a lacrosse game I need to switch you around or your you know, when can we do that. My claims are amazing with that they’re very flexible. And they understand that I tried to change things for them when they have family things going on or something going on in their life. So it’s that give and take. I have amazing people in my life. I’m really lucky that way. But I think that when you’re flexible with people, you tend to attract what you put out there. So if you and there have been a few clients that I haven’t stuck with, because of certain things, or lack of flexibility, but for the most part, my core people are amazing.

Tim Kubiak 23:37
Beauty doing your own thing, right? Um, you can decide who you want to work with. And it’s funny I read so many of the books I read, you know about starting a business, growing a business, everything else. And that’s one of the key points, like the corporate world and not and I know when I was a corporate guy, I was one if you guys would walk away from backplane deals, right and I had a boss working for that. My boss, Simon, when I work globally, he would always say we don’t want the rough with the we’re off we went the route of in being your own business owner, you can decide where you want to do business where you don’t and make those calls. Your own pocketbook insurance vision. That’s a beautiful thing.

Kim Kibe 24:18
And and it is, but it took me it took me a long time to learn that. And that was a learning curve. Because my general personality is one that I want you to succeed. And I want you to do well and I want you but it was very hard for me to learn that I had to set boundaries. And I could say no. And there’s not very often times where I feel like I need to, but there have been and those have been struggled times for me. Because that’s not a place that I normally come from where I have to to look at it and say no and I think sometimes I’ve undervalued my time and it’s taken me a long time and a lot of conversations with my husband, who is my business partner in this that my time is valuable. And who I spend my time on is my choice. And at first, I felt like I had to say yes to everyone, or anyone, because I was trying to make money or, but it turns out in the long run, sometimes even when you pick up someone, and it doesn’t work, it’s better to turn it away, because it takes away from who you really are and what you’re trying to do. And it took me a long time to learn that so and I think I’m still learning it, you have to be, you have to be in charge of your yourself and your business. And it’s okay to say no, sometimes.

Tim Kubiak 25:50
So if we look at your clients, what what are three things that they come to you with? Generally speaking, not play that they want to address? And I guess, how do you tailor your offers? Those three things, depending on the person? Because you talked about the customization, right? And you don’t have to give away secret sauce, but just in a general sense, what problems do they come to you with? And how do you approach solving?

Kim Kibe 26:19
Um, so three things that people usually come to me with is lack of motivation. There’s a reason that people go to group classes, there is a reason that people go to personal trainers. It’s because without it, you’re not going to do it on your own. It’s so they need the accountability. That’s always the first factor, which is great. Some of us are really self motivated when it comes to certain things, and sometimes not I absolutely understand that. So it’s that accountability. And usually, that’s the first thing that they’re looking for. The second thing is sometimes people come with health histories. And, you know, I mean, we all have things that we need to work on, whether it’s because of a health history, or we’ve had an injury. But it’s one of those things that in looking at that they’ll say I have this restriction, how can we work? How can I still work out. So that makes it easier, much easier for me going in, I have to know your health history needs to know if you have restrictions. And I have quite a few clients who do have health problems, or have in the past, but we can work around that you know, your limitations, you know, what’s going to be helpful, and not hurtful. Whereas if you go into a big makeup class like that, like you know, just a, I’m going to a CrossFit class. Well, I can’t, I can’t always modify if I don’t know who you are and what your history is. And the third thing falls into the first one is much it’s um, I need someone to hold me accountable for how I’m eating because I’m putting the work in. And I need to know that it’s, I shouldn’t need six cupcakes. So it’s I do have clients who occasionally will text me, uh, you know, I’m, I’m in a bakery, and I’m picking up my lunch, tell me not to get the cupcake. Don’t get cupcake, you know, I so you need to be able to customize how you approach what my clients are looking for. And but those you absolutely need to know who you’re working with.

Tim Kubiak 28:43
Right? Since everybody’s talking about apps, and fitness and everything else, are there tools that the average person in general can use it have more benefit than others? Um,

Kim Kibe 28:58
I think there are a lot of really great apps out there right now. And I would say more than anything, pay attention to what your body’s saying. It’s really easy to find YouTube videos and apps and things. Yes, you you want to gain strength and mobility and and, but I feel like you also need to really pay attention. It’s not okay to always push through when something hurts, you need to know the difference between the burn in the muscle and I’ve actually injured myself. Um, just be mindful. I think almost all the apps out there are really great. And I think there’s a lot of people who know what they’re doing on YouTube. But I would say it’s more important for the person using them to be mindful.

Tim Kubiak 29:51
If a person is starting to look for, whether it’s a personal trainer or a training program, any tips for them there

Kim Kibe 30:01
Sure, I think um, I think if you’re looking for a personal trainer, you should be looking at whether someone asks you about your health histories, what your goals are, do you have, what medications Do you take all of these things really affects how your training is going to go and work. Sometimes medic medications can work against you when you’re trying to start a health program like this. So it’s important for the person that you’re talking to, to make sure that you’re honest with them, and they’re aware of your entire situation, we’re not going to judge you, but you want someone who you can be honest with. I also think that it’s really important for you to be comfortable. If you go somewhere and you are the kind of person who wants someone to yell at you. Go, go, go, go, go, please, by all means, find that fitness class, if you are someone who needs a little more support, and someone who can tell you, you’re doing a great job, instead of the more drill sergeant approach, please look for that to kind of know what you’re, you respond well to. Because some people love to be told to go harder to go faster, and other people are just turned off by that. So you really need to have an idea before you walk in. If you you know, that’s what you want. And if you walk out of the class or the the training session, and it isn’t what you want. It’s okay to either talk to that person about it. We’re professionals, we want your feedback, we want to know what you need. If it’s not the right fit, it’s okay to look somewhere else.

Tim Kubiak 31:45
So what’s the hardest?

Kim Kibe 31:50
I’m sorry, can you say that, again?

Tim Kubiak 31:53
Everything you’ve had to deal with?

Kim Kibe 31:56
Um, I think the hardest thing that I deal with I wish I were better at wanting to do the bookkeeping. I love my job. I don’t like the back end business part of it as much as I probably should. And for me, that’s, that’s a challenge. And I’m working at getting better at that. Yeah, that would definitely.

Tim Kubiak 32:28
So So I subscribed the philosophy of proof what I need to prove and pay experts to do everything else. Right. Right. So yeah, I definitely. Were there because we’re from the face of it rather not. And it’s not my strong. Right, right. I mean, I’m not great at making this thing, graded delivery piece. And, you know, pretty good. It’s been in the middle. But I don’t want to chase it. Right. So I figured that out the West, you know, I’ve got really good people that are my target. And, you know, I can handle the marketing, they handle the technical in my partner, Steve, and does a lot of the content development with me and for me, and it’s a great match. Because I can come in and say, Okay, this is this, this is my experience, this is that he’s got his own for you. You know, and he says, Okay, well, this is a beautiful marriage. So I don’t I don’t have the luxury of having different people. And, for example, Courtney does all my social media, she produced podcast, she does all the online advertising, all of that. And I can get right. And what I did is I actually, we can run with a piece of the action, and we may actually get why you’re Susan, I’m a sales guy. I understand how to pay like that, right? So why don’t we get out of this, we pay why, you know, this, I pay extra why to get it done. Because otherwise, like I spent should admit this, but I actually spent nine hours editing video on Saturday, but my strong suit, I probably could have paid a pro 150 or $200 and just had been done. You know, so yeah, we don’t make those mistakes.

Kim Kibe 34:17
Exactly. And it’s, again, it’s a learning curve. And so you start to figure out, okay, really don’t want to spend my time doing this. It is worth it to have someone else do it for me.

Tim Kubiak 34:28
Yeah, it really is. You know,

Kim Kibe 34:32
don’t be afraid. I mean, try it, but don’t be afraid to make changes and accept help.

Tim Kubiak 34:40
Absolutely. You know, that’s, I used to tell people, you know, you don’t go to a barber for brain surgery. You go to specialists when you need special things.

Kim Kibe 34:50
Exactly. I think I’m still learning that and that’s okay. But I’m working on it.

Tim Kubiak 34:57
You know, and that’s, that is part of just growing and running your own business, I think

Kim Kibe 35:02
it really is, um, you know, sometimes things come at you that you completely didn’t expect. And you’re like, well, I don’t know what to do with this. And sometimes you have to go, Okay, well, I need help. Like, for me, that’s a hard thing to admit I’m not good at saying, Oh, I’m like, I need some help. But I’ve gotten better at it over the years. And it really, it really is okay to admit that it’s not your strong suit, because somebody else is good at that. And it’s okay to ask for help and look for different solutions.

Tim Kubiak 35:33
Final question. Okay. If you had to do one thing over again, in building your business, what would you change? Oh, wow. Um, I am tracking list five. Now,

Kim Kibe 35:51
I can’t I really I don’t know. I’m having a hard time thinking of one, I think I would let my husband play a bigger role in the business. I think I’ve very much tried to take it on, when he was more than willing to help with some of the bookkeeping and things like that, that he is good at. I would definitely go back at the beginning until stupid younger me, just let him help because it will save so much time and energy. But I felt for whatever reason that I needed to kind of prove myself that I could do it all. And sometimes it’s just better to focus on what you’re really good at, like you said before. And I think I would just tell tell myself, that it’s okay to let my husband helped me more.

Tim Kubiak 36:43
Yeah, you know, that’s always a fine line.

Kim Kibe 36:47
It is. And he’s, he’s great at that stuff. And I know that, but there was a part of me that felt like I really needed to be able to do it all. And I, okay, I’ve gotten through it. He’s helped with some of it. I’ve done a lot of it on my own. And I think now I realize I can do it if I need to, but I don’t want to.

Tim Kubiak 37:07
Important thing to know, too.

Kim Kibe 37:09
It is. Absolutely. And it’s okay to try things and know that you’re, maybe you’re not the best. I think it’s okay to admit that. We have, you know, shortcomings it’s just sometimes that’s the way things work. And I’m not an all around business person. I am great with my clients. I’m great at my training and great at what I do, but I struggle with some of the other pieces of it and it’s that’s okay.

Tim Kubiak 37:36
That’s good. That’s good advice. So if people want to find you they want to talk to you know, they want to find out about your services or your experiences. Where should they reach out to you

Kim Kibe 37:48
through my email I do not have a website I am a word of mouth kind of girl. I picked up clients through people passing it on, and I have thought about expanding into that kind of thing but haven’t needed it. So if anyone needs to reach me has questions love to chat with you. You can always email me it is kim k i m dot Crazy Train llc@gmail.com.

Tim Kubiak 38:18
And you know what? We didn’t talk about how you named your company?

Kim Kibe 38:23
No, we didn’t.

Tim Kubiak 38:25
You want to tell the story before we go?

Kim Kibe 38:27
Sure. Um, so I have always, always always loved Ozzy Osborne and heavy metal and kind of grew up with it in my life. And growing up and coming into some of these things, a lot of people would look at me, my cookie company was also had crazy in the name, Kim’s crazy cookie creations. Because people would look at me and think you’re crazy. Well, yeah, I am. And the Ozzy Osborne song Crazy Train really fits my personality. So when it came down to it, I had been talking to my husband. I’ve been working for my mentor, Terry, and I said, you know, someday I want my own business. I wouldn’t name it Crazy Train. Isn’t that just perfect? And he was like, yeah, that’s a really, you know, that really fits. So yeah. Ozzy Osborne is, you know, near and dear to my heart and that song and it just absolutely fits my business and my personality. And that’s where my name came from. So

Tim Kubiak 39:31
I know, we all know Ozzy, but you don’t have smiley faces tattooed on your knee. So it’s all good.

Kim Kibe 39:38
That’s true. That’s very

Tim Kubiak 39:43
good. Thanks for being here today.

Kim Kibe 39:45
Thanks for having me. It’s been great.

Courtney K 39:49
Thanks again for listening. And we hope you’ve enjoyed this episode. We put out fresh content every Tuesday. If you liked what you heard, please subscribe. Tell your friends and sharing on social media. Want us to see what you have to say? It’s a BYOB kind of party. Bring Your Own bow tie. So hashtag, bring your own bow tie. our listeners are important to us. After all that you would create this content for. With that in mind, we’re doing a mailbag episode once a quarter. If you have suggestions, ideas or questions you’d like answered, email us at mailbag at bow ties in business.com. This show is produced, edited and research by Courtney Kubiak with the help of her rescue dogs tequila rose and Roni