Angie Bellemare

Angie Bellemare has built a hugely successful lifestyle brand and business by helping women (and some men!) achieve their health & fitness goals. Over the past seven and a half years, Angie has built the largest Beachbody Team in all of Canada and the 4th largest team worldwide. “Team Uproar” currently has approximately 8,500 coaches. But Angie has developed much more than a winning brand. She has become a successful lifestyle influencer. “Donuts, Dumbbells and Dreams” focuses on helping people “dream grander and smile bigger.” Angie uses YouTube (318,000 followers) and Instagram (nearly 67,000 followers) to share content that encourages people to live their best life, both personally and professionally. Topics featured on these platforms include health and fitness, goal setting and planning, motivation, decorating, routines, work-life balance, and her extreme love of all things Disney. Angie invites her followers into her own life on these social media platforms, which has resulted in her husband Andre and her dog Carl becoming fan favorites. www.AngieBellemare.com. @AngieBellemare

Where did the idea for your career come from?

The first rendition of my business involved selling at-home health & fitness programs and creating community groups to hold each other accountable. The idea simply came about when I participated in a similar group with an at-home fitness program, and I wanted to pay forward that experience to others, with my own twist. My ultimate goal all along has been, and continues to be, to help people live their life with the confidence they need to see through to their potential!

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I always start my day with a focus on ME. Meaning, I attend to my personal health and fitness by working out, having a morning smoothie, stretching, breathing, hydrating and so forth. I follow that up by attending to my mental health by reading a few pages from a personal growth book, writing in my journal, and ultimately planning my day. From there, I typically go into “customer service mode,” where I respond to messages, e-mails, attend to my existing customers and answer questions from prospective customers. I then go into “mentor mode” where I go live for my team in our private Facebook community group and execute calls and create content and resources for my teammates. Finally, I go into “branding mode.” I work on creating YouTube videos, Instagram posts, reels and execute tasks that grow my brand. Oh, and of course sprinkled into that is relationship and family time.

How do you bring ideas to life?

To be honest, I don’t struggle with overthinking things. I usually come up with an idea and it’ll be executed and off the ground relatively quickly. My process is not fancy … identify a need or a shortfall in my business, create a game plan for fulfilling or improving the business and then execute. The good thing about being in business for yourself and not having a huge corporate structure is that you can remain nimble and don’t need to bring tons of people into the loop when you have an idea. If I need help executing, there are so many amazing resources available that allow you to hire independent contractors for short-term support.

What’s one trend that excites you?

At home fitness. I like the idea of making your home a hub for health & fitness; it’s also a huge part of my business. The trend is growing at an amazing rate, and being there to provide people with a sustainable solution for accomplishing their health & fitness goals is an awesome position to be in.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Structure. Embracing structure in a way that allows me to switch hats quickly and swiftly ensures I can be productive the vast majority of the time. I reference this specifically because I use to struggle switching hats. It would be hard for me to go from “leisure mode” to “work mode” mainly because I wasn’t really sure what to focus on first. As I noted in how my typical day looks like, it’s very easy for me to know what mode I need to go in next and what I need to do specifically, so there’s very little down time in between “modes.” I equate that clarity to how structured my days have become.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Don’t let people who don’t live your ideal life dictate the path of yours. Be clear on what you want to pursuit and aggressively take the steps to getting there.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

You don’t need as much as you think you need to feel fulfilled and free. I speak to people with grand ambitions who think they need to have a multi-million, or even billion-dollar businesses to achieve a successful and fulfilling life. This hasn’t been my experience and despite sharing my experience with people, this idea is consistently met with a “yeah, but…”.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Self-assess. It’s easy to blame external factors when you aren’t seeing the results you want in your business. I encourage everybody to not default to this idea that something else caused your failed attempt, but rather look inward to see what could have been done differently to create a different result. Self-assess your strategy, your effort, your commitment, your decisions and so forth.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Creating content that adds value to peoples lives. Whether I’m looking to grow my customer base, my audience, or my influence, creating valuable content accomplishes that. When I detach myself from the desire to create immediate results in my business, and I focus on delivering free value, it always results in a positive outcome in the long run.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

I once created a free clean eating challenge based on the philosophies we advocate for in our programs. I successfully added nearly 800 people to this clean eating challenge, and my goal was to get these prospective customers invested in my paid program. At the end of the week-long challenge, I successfully recruited ZERO customers. On that day, I learned the importance of transparency and to not overpromise. In self-assessing, I recognized that the challenge was an elaborate sales pitch with limited value and an ulterior motive. Despite the failed attempt, I still believed in the purpose I was serving and I reminded myself of that purpose so that I was able to find the motivation to carry on with a different strategy. I feel when you’re clear on what you’re looking to accomplish and the purpose you’re looking to serve, it is easier to overcome failed attempts at growing your business.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

In your area of expertise, what are the 10 most common questions you get? Answer those 10 questions, hire an editor on Fiverr or Upworks, and sell an e-book on your website related to those questions using Shopify or another comparable online store hosting service.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

My juicer. I am not a huge lover of veggies, so with my juicer and my morning shake, I get a pretty substantial dose of nutrients that helps my day get started on the right foot.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Fiverr or Upwork. You can find somebody to execute just about anything for you there at a reasonable price.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

If you’re looking to build a social media audience, Content Machine is a book I wrote with my best tips and tricks for doing so. If you’re simply looking to be a more productive human being, 12 Week Year is an outstanding book that enforces urgency and gives tangible tips and tricks on how to accomplish your goals fast.

What is your favorite quote?

First, think. Second, dream. Third, believe. And finally, dare. – Walt Disney

Key Learnings:

• When you’re clear on what you’re looking to accomplish and the purpose you’re looking to serve, it is easier to overcome failed attempts at growing your business.
• Embracing structure will help you be more productive in your life.
• Get in the habit of self-assessing, rather than looking at external factors for diagnosing failed attempts, or even successes.