We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaori Noguchi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaori, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The birth of my business – Daily Flex – from the initial idea to making it into a reality was a slow-brew process.

I worked in events and catering industry as a planner for well over 15 years and, while there were aspects of that career that I truly enjoyed and loved, I was burned out of working long hours, late nights, and frequently working on holidays and weekends.

I began dreaming constantly about making a career-pivot ‘one of these days,’ but had no idea how to transfer my skillset into anything other than the very industry that I yearned to leave behind. I also felt like I had no other career-making skillset; I felt stuck and resigned.

Then, on a personal front, I made one of the biggest achievements back around 2015: With a help of a personal trainer, I shed 40+ lbs of excess weight that was impacting my severely arthritic hips, and physically transformed through strength training, and put an end to my lifelong desperate cycle of yo-yo dieting. It changed my life on so many levels, and recall thinking how rewarding it must be to inspire and guide other women as a personal trainer, like mine did to me.

In 2019, I had a rare opportunity to take a leave of absence from my catering job for 2 months because of my second hip replacement surgery. Encouraged by my husband who knew of my passion for strength training – and my desire to help other women in a similar situation as I once found myself – I began studying online to become a certified personal trainer while recovering from my surgery. Back then I still didn’t know if I can ‘pull the plug’ from my same ol’ career and steady paycheques, but I had to use this opportunity of time to deepen my knowledge about personal training. I still didn’t know if I can make this into my career, let alone my own business as a sole proprietor; I thought that maybe I can start training a handful of clients on weekends as my “side gig”.

Then, just as I was readying myself to write my final certification exam, the covid pandemic lockdown happened in March of 2020. I was laid off from my event job after 3 weeks of lockdown. After I arranged to write my exam online with a live proctor supervising me, I became a NASM Certified Personal Trainer in April of 2020.

I was a spanking brand-new personal trainer with no prior experience at other locations. I was suffering from a bout of imposter syndrome. But I was frightened, having lost my job and a paycheque. It was out of this desperation that my business, a remote online fitness coaching service delivered via Zoom was born.

What should our readers know about your business?
Daily Flex – a Personal Fitness Company – is my business. As a sole proprietor, I offer one-on-one strength training sessions via Zoom, whereby each client’s training program is customized based on their starting-point fitness level and their fitness goals.

I specialize in working with midlife women ages 30 and up, the demographic that seem to feel most lost when it comes to ones’ fitness. With my personal experience of finally losing weight in my mid-40s and getting into the best shape of my life while going through perimenopause, I designed a training system with “women like me” in mind.

This service consists of no more than 30 minutes of succinct yet effective strength training programs, custom-designed based on equipment that the client owns (or doesn’t), and they can train from the comfort and privacy of their own home. I also offer recordings of workouts they do, so they can download to review their forms to that of mine and also revisit these recordings as their own ‘Train-Along Workout video” in the future.

I am most proud of the fact that I can somehow inspire my clients through my own tribulations and triumphs experienced in my own fitness journey. It’s truly a gift when I get to celebrate my client’s fitness wins – and even better, when I get to celebrate with my clients their RESTORED FAITH IN THEIR OWN HEALTH AND STRENGTH!

From what my clients past and present have said to me, what sets me apart from others is that I take my time coaching on their forms, and a personalized coaching methods that vary from client to client. Some clients come to me because they are inspired by the fact that I successfully shed my unhealthy extra weights IN SPITE OF suffering from the congenital hip dysplasia and a severe osteoarthritis, which required me to walk around with a cane until I finally received my surgeries in 2018 and 2019.

I am so thankful that my appointment slots have been about 95% full since Q3 of 2021. But my business wasn’t an overnight success. I first began by recruiting family and friends to be my volunteer-trainees so I can improve my coaching technique and also garner testimonials. I also had to become my own overnight copywriter to advertise my services on social media platforms. Even just learning how to use various business-related apps like Linktree, Calendly, and even Instagram or TikTok were hard for this 51 year old! There were many sleepless nights marred with depression and anxiety, not knowing if I can EVER make enough income again, at my age.

I really don’t know how I ‘overcame the challenges’. Overwhelmed with WHAT I wanted to see in my business (healthy revenue and PROFIT!), I came up with very simple mantra, which was:

Be a constant gardener to grow this business. Keep showing up for those who I’d want to serve, and generously share valuable insights to solve their fitness challenges, so they will come to trust me to guide them out of their challenges. Being generous with my sincere care – not just for my clients but for my prospects – have nurtured valuable connections and brought in clients.

The lessons I learned and continue to learn to this day is to SLAY MY FEAR daily. When I first started out, my biggest fear was my Imposter Syndrome. My current fear is to take that courageous next steps to GROW my business. I know this growth takes another chapter of heavy investment in my effort, marketing and monetary investment. It’s an exhausting and scary prospect but I know it has to get done if I want to thrive in the career I love, this business of mine!

Through the birth of Daily Flex, I look at my life as a testament to the power to transform and thrive, in the phase when one might be expected to ‘slow down’ – whether in fitness, or career. Through Daily Flex, I am fortunate to have helped numerous women find the fitness strength they once thought was impossible at their age, and with some of them, their fitness success and confidence they gained transpired into a similar transformation in their personal and professional lives.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Interesting question! Itinerary may vary depending on which of my best friends come to visit, but the first thing I’d do is to take them to the restaurant that my husband co-owns with his chef partner – a celebrated Toronto restaurant called Antler Kitchen & Bar. I’d also take them to the iconic Kensington Market – a vibrant and diverse cultural hub in my hometown – to soak up a bit of bohemian ambience. I’d also take them to the upscale neighbourhood of Yorkville for all things haute-cuisine and haute-fashion. The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) are both architectural marvels, on top of each exhibiting amazing collections of works and artifacts, respectively.

I’d also take them out a couple of hours north of Toronto to visit the Muskoka area for some woodland hikes, lake swim or snowshoeing, if we are to visit during the winter.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Absolutely, without a doubt, my personal trainer and mentor-in-business, Ashley Cormier! Even after our client-trainer business relationship ceased, we stayed in touch and, she was the first person who gave me words of support and encouragement for my pursuing a career-pivot!

I must also thank my mother-in-law and stepmother-in-law for being among the first “test” clients – without their agreeing to be trained by me, I would never have had a chance to develop and improve my service offering.

Lastly, I owe a lifelong gratitude to my husband Jody, who literally had my back as I lost my job, then went on to build a business of my own amidst the financial precarity during the pandemic lockdown.

When I struggled to keep faith in myself and my skillset, these are the people who believed in me. I can’t thank them enough.

Website: dailyflex.ca

Instagram: dailyflexfit

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyflexfit?show_switched_toast=0&show_invite_to_follow=0&show_switched_tooltip=0&show_podcast_settings=0&show_community_transition=0&show_community_review_changes=0&show_follower_visibility_disclosure=0

Other: TikTok: @dailyflexfit

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