Meet Paola Marquez, a Venezuelan native and a certified personal trainer and fitness style blogger. But what you probably didn’t know about her is that she holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a certified personal trainer. You’re probably wondering how one goes from the corporate engineering world to the online world of fitness and daily lifestyle coaching.
Back in 2012, Marquez and her husband, Andy, had just gotten married, with very demanding careers. Health and fitness were the last things on their minds. Seven years ago, they moved to the United States from Venezuela, leaving the corporate world behind them.
Why? To pursue Paola’s passion for fitness and healthy living. While this was a tough discussion to have in the beginning, both agreed to take a chance and take Paola’s love for fitness and transform it from a hobby into a business. And that’s what she did—three years ago, taking it to the next level and exposing herself to the fitness world under the business moniker, Paos Fit World.
Now, you’re probably thinking what sets Paola and her business apart from every other fitness personality and lifestyle coach out there? Well, that’s just it—it’s a saturated market, and Paola and Andy understood that. The difference here is that they weren’t just ‘talking the talk,’—they were walking the walk, for miles and miles.
I spoke with Marquez and syndicated an edited part of our interview here that was featured in The NY Weekly.
From the ‘Gram to Your Home
Three years ago, if you were to ask any millennial about Instagram, you would have a very different answer than you would today. That’s because Instagram was just beginning to set itself out as a market leader for what we are now seeing to be a platform for expression and entrepreneurship on an entirely new playing field. It’s a one-stop-shop resource for distributing, reading, watching, and picking up new information within a 60-120 second time-frame.
With the little business reputation and little financial backing to get her dream off the ground, in less than six months, Paola and her brand have scaled the business to six-figures, now mentoring other fitness coaches and a range of over 6,000 clients across the world—all online.
“It started as a hobby,” Paola shared with us. “When I realized how I felt when helping others and how happy it made me, I knew that I had to switch careers and devote my life to this amazing career. Nothing makes me feel better than helping others achieve their goals and feel better about themselves.”
Paola’s biggest strength is that she’s a female fitness personality. Targeting females aged 25 years to 45 years old, her demographic is extremely diverse—with clients from all over the world such as Europe, Asia, and Latin America. However, the majority of her clients reside within the United States.
Paola’s 3 Pillars of Success
In Paola’s world of fitness, there are three pillars of success, which she has designed and crafted herself.
“You’ve probably tried your fair share of fitness programs,” Paola inserted, “and most of them probably included some of what you will hear from me, but nobody else gives you 120 HD videos combined with pairing custom macros that are specifically calculated for your goals.”
And as she emphasized, no matter how “good” a program is, it’s not going to “do” itself—it requires a secret ingredient—YOU!
“People need a structured, dynamic, and effective workout plan that helps them stay active and motivated at the same time,” Paola explained. “Over the years, I’ve continued to receive questions on the best methods of exercising and achieving tailored fitness goals. Those questions led me to the realization that there was certainly a gap in this niche that needed filling and answering. This led to the development of my first pillar, ‘Strong & Sexy Body Method’ (SSBM).”
#1 –The ‘Strong & Sexy Body Method’ (SSBM)
The ‘Strong & Sexy Body Method’ (SSBM) is an online program developed to help women feel great in their own skin. It’s an online workout guide, offering over 120 different exercises to tone every muscle, including weights and plyometrics, as well as powerful cardio workouts that can all be done from home, at the gym, or wherever you may be. The best part about the program is that dieting is flexible, where Paola has provided a custom-built breakdown of each macronutrient her client needs to meet their goals.
#2—The Macro Consultation and Coaching Accelerator
The Macros Consultation and Coaching Accelerator is a nutrition-coaching program, where Paola teaches an accelerated version of the Macro Consultation, going into practical dieting and nutrition. It includes a customized set of macros (carbs, proteins, and fat intake), a flexible dieting intro guide, 72-hour email support, access to a certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist, and access to a private Facebook support group.
#3—The Master Coaching Academy
The Master Coaching Academy is a customized business coaching program tailored to online coaches to help them build and scale their online coaching business to 6-figures.
“We developed this program because we wanted to teach other coaches how they can become successful online with no magic tricks,” Marquez explained.
“This program teaches them the exact same things that we do in our business. We help them pick the best business model to follow depending on how experienced they are, how to select a profitable niche for their business, how to craft and validate their offers, how to find the right clients and give them a 6-star experience so they keep coming back, how to build a growing and engaged community on social media, how to work with brands to diversify their income, and how to sell their programs and services with confidence and authenticity.”
According to Marquez, this program isn’t a ‘here’s the information and good luck,’ rather, it’s a personalized on-demand coaching program to turn coaches into leaders.
At the end of the day, there are two things to keep in mind—don’t neglect your competition and always believe in yourself.
#1 –Don’t Neglect Your Competition. Use Them.
One of the biggest challenges right now, according to Paola is market saturation.
“There are many people promising and offering so many results, and unfortunately, they just haven’t walked the walk,” he explained. “Right now, we have a very good copyrighting program and great utilization of Facebook Ads. You can do some damage here. But, for us, people come back to Paola, because she takes care of her clients. She doesn’t just provide information and send them on their way—it’s a personalized approach and a very in-depth relationship that works for both parties. It’s not something many people do these days unless you’re connected to the right people.”
They referenced to me that in the past, business competitors would be willing to help one another. No longer is that the case.
“Now, everyone wants to be their own star—refusing to share or collaborate. It’s the wrong way to do business. If we help each other, we all grow together, which is a win-win for everyone. It’s very competitive in an unhealthy way.”
#2 –Believe In Yourself. Self-Confidence Is Key to Client Retention.
Teaching your clients what you know so they can be successful is the ultimate reward in any business relationship.
For Paola, the most valuable lesson she has learned has been to believe in herself, no matter what.
“This entire project has taught me, that no matter how big your dreams may be, you will conquer them if you continue to work hard and set your mind to achieving them. It’s so important to stay true to yourself and do what you really love to do. Helping others is my passion and I’m now super happy that I listened to my heart and followed my dreams.”
As for her clients, Paola’s main goal is to help them regain confidence in themselves, which will allow them to feel great in their own skin.
“I want people to know that they have what they need to be happy and shine brightly. They only have to believe in themselves!”