2024 Women to Watch
This year we showcase over 80 South Australian women to watch throughout the year. From business, to careers, arts to science. This year’s selected women highlight the depth and diversity of the women in our state and also the vast array of opportunities to develop a business or career in South Australia. Find our more about our inaugural Women to Watch initiative here.
My name is Angela Jarvis and I’m passionate about helping women understand their body doesn’t need fixing, just tweaking! As a Movement Coach with a passion for exposing the lies the fitness industry has fed women for years, I’m on a mission to empower women to care for themselves, blending exercise science with wellbeing practices, and re-defining the way we exercise as we age gracefully.
// Favourite inspirational quote
This quote from Brene Brown resonates so much with me at the moment “The truth is that falling hurts. The dare is to keep being brave and feel your way back up”
// Let’s get to know you
From an overweight teenager extremely self conscious about her body, to becoming a Personal Trainer 18 years ago, I’ve had my own fair share of body image struggles. I’ve done extreme diets and workouts, I’ve punished my body and cried when it continued to fail me. Early on in my career, I worked as a Personal Trainer in a gym – for many reasons that did not work out and left me with a lot of debt to pay off. For 12 years I went back to office work and for a while I tried to start a fitness business again on the side. It never came to fruition, being too scared to fail again kept me in full time work with a series of health issues that had me struggling with day to day life. I always kept learning about the body, it continues to fascinate me.
After the birth of my daughter, I struggled to lose weight and regain my fitness, but I was also determined to get my business up and running. I sustained some very painful injuries as I continued to push my body too hard, feeling deflated and unhappy with myself. It was during this time I stumbled across an educator talking about weird things, I took one of his courses and started following his work. 6 months later I saw the most incredible video of someone using his method to heal themselves after a significant fall. I was sold. I signed up to the Movement Mentorship in 2021 and my poor brain could not keep up with what I was learning. I too experienced something so incredible in my body I knew this was the way forward. I then completed the Next Level Advanced Mentorship in 2022 where we delved into more movement, performance and the emotional and mental factors that contribute to physical pain and ailments. 2023 saw me experience it all. Unexplained knee pain for 7 months that was caused by me not feeling valued (leaving my passion and my daughter to re-enter paid employment) then plantar fasciitis that was triggered by emotional burnout and sitting for too many hours. I also became a Foam Roller SMR coach and completed From The Ground Up a foot course – both of these have revolutionised my approach with clients.
Today I feel confident that the business model I am creating is exactly what women need, to reverse the effects of aging, which has nothing to do with getting older, just that we are not moving in ways our body is designed to move, so we can get off the floor without a sore back.
// What makes you a Woman to Watch for 2024?
My new found sass! The personal growth I have experienced over the last 3 years has been extraordinary. Today I feel certain about who I am, what I do and how I can serve women to shine their light and feel great about themselves. The success stories I have and continue to have still surprise me as I keep bringing new skills to my sessions. Recently in a class I helped a woman regain movement and reduce pain in her knee. I know how incredible this is and whilst I’m torn between needing people to see me so I can get paid, I am passionate about empowering women to learn these skills so they can take back their power. My confidence to break down the traditional stereotypes around what exercise is. We do not need to exercise a certain way to look a certain way, we need to move our bodies, our way! No 2 bodies move the same, look the same or respond the same way, so let’s stop focusing on the influencers and start noticing what our body needs, and give it that instead.
// What is your goal or intention for the year ahead? And how are you going to achieve it?
My business goal is very aligned to my personal goal – to have the freedom to do school drop off and pick up, to spend time with my daughter and get involved in the school community – to do that I need to earn money from my business, I need to work school hours and I need to make this happen for my emotional and mental wellbeing. My intention for this year is to finally have my Zoom classes full in the morning (30 people at $32 per week) and break into the Corporate world with my Corporate Wellbeing Programs. My plan is to hit as many councils and medium – large organisations who have a budget to pay for my services. Ideally I will use this as an opportunity to generate leads whilst providing an outstanding service that I get paid for. There will be a lot of door knocking, phone calls, and throwing stats at these organisations around the importance of employee wellbeing and the savings involved with the investment that comes from helping people move more.
I will continue to work with the WEA as a lead generator and get paid for my services and I will continue to build my classes and utilise other opportunities with the Largs Bay Health and Yoga Studio to build my reputation. I will also continue to look for referral partners – I still believe if I can get in with a couple of Chiros as their preferred exercise provider, that will be quite lucrative. I have a solid workshop that I can offer people as an entry point to getting to know me and it’s something I’ve realised I have been under valuing. I’ve also come out of 2023 with a whole lot of sass and have already been brave enough to offer help to someone, without giving too much away but enough that they feel a difference, and following up with a gentle message about playing in my world when they are ready. 3 months ago I would never have even done that.
// What are you most looking forward to in 2024?
Already I am happier and healthier working on my business, making the hard phone calls, re-evaluating my elevator pitch, and feeling the power that comes from knowing my value and not compromising it. I’m looking forward to finally breaking through and earning enough money to cover the bills and put food on the table. I’m not interested in scaling, making $10k months or world domination like I’ve continued to be sold for years. I’m interested in having balance in life where I enjoy what I do to make a living, empowering women to find themselves again through movement and having the time and energy to be mum and look after my family.
// What would you like to see for the future of South Australian women and girls?
I think women need to take a step back and evaluate what they want in life, how to blend career/business with kids and/or home and create their own unique ideal. For too long society has told us we can have it all, but at what cost? Much like the fitness industry telling us we need to exercise and diet a certain way to look a certain way, which is completely untrue, Women need to work out what is right for them and their families. I had felt conflicted for so long, being sold the idea I needed $10k months to be successful, and there is nothing wrong with that, except $10k months and being there for my daughter and running the house was not in alignment. Instead of feeling guilty because we are failing in one area of our life and don’t “have it together” let’s encourage women to carve their own way, with a life that has them feeling fulfilled in all areas, not sacrificing one area to succeed in another.
Let’s find a way for women to feel supported, whether that’s having the courage to ask for help, or providing accessible services to assist women. I think together we can stop comparing our journey with someone else’s journey or definition of success and celebrate each other’s uniqueness to create a life we want, that is aligned with our goals and values. Whilst we all need cheerleaders to help pick us up when things are getting tough, I’d like to see some accountability support groups too. Women calling each other out on their crap, in a loving way (we don’t need women being nasty and dragging us down with their insecurities). I know for myself, I get so caught up in my own story, in my own way of how things should be done, that I need someone to break me out of that pattern. I might not like it at the time, but afterwards I appreciate the feedback because I now have a different point of view that will help move me forward.
Get in touch with Angela:
LinkedIn: Angela Jarvis
Website: Angela Jarvis Coaching
Check out all of the incredible Women to Watch for 2024 here as their profiles are uploaded throughout the year.
To become an SA Woman Member, check out our Membership Options here.
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