The Blair Badenhop Show

Heidi Kristoffer is an award-winning actress turned yoga revolutionary. She's a mom of three, the mastermind behind CrossFlowX™, the creator and producer of Microsoft Bing Fitness Yoga & MSN Yoga, a National Athleta Ambassador, and wellness expert for and contributor to multiple publications and platforms. Her goal is to make yoga, inversions, health, strength, and whole, happy living accessible to everyone. She is excited to continue this mission with her most recent baby, CrossFlow: Yoga with Heidi Kristoffer, an app and online forum that allows everyone around the world, from yoga newbie to seasoned pro, to practice with Heidi's healing-centered yoga methods. She's been rated one of the Hottest Trainers in America by Shape Magazine, one of the most inspiring yoga teachers in the world by DoYouYoga, and one of the most popular instructors in NYC by RateYourBurn and ClassPass. In our conversation, we chat about why leaning more into her love for yoga from day one created serendipitous opportunities—like befriending the founders of MindBodyGreen, why saying yes to every opportunity and doing things for free in the early stages of her yoga career was so key to building momentum and becoming known in the industry, how giving herself permission to be herself as a yoga teacher and bring levity to her classes was when everything started to grow and blossom for her, the moment she turned down an audition for a major role on the show 30 Rock, left behind her 10-year career as an actress and went all in as a yoga teacher, why she still experiences imposter syndrome even though she wrote the encyclopedia on yoga for one of the biggest companies in the world, Microsoft, and so much more! To learn more about Heidi Kristoffer and the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Follow Me On: Facebook Instagram

Welcome back to another episode of my mini-series, #OnTheRise, where I feature an entrepreneur in the early stages of business building to give you insight into how they achieved significant growth and success. And today we have the amazing Jess Suchan joining us. Jess is a Holistic Health & Wellness Coach who guides her clients to find a life of bliss, free from fad diets, over-exercising, and burnout. She believes that in order to change our habits we must address the "holistic picture" and compassionately investigate how all areas of our lives are interconnected. Jess spent over a decade yo-yo dieting, exercising for punishment and ignoring the messages her body was sending her. This lifestyle coupled with a slew of stressful jobs, led her to develop debilitating migraines which she eventually cured with a holistic approach. When she discovered the power of food and lifestyle as medicine, she decided to become a health coach via the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and dedicate her time to helping others find the 2.0 version of themselves! Today, she coaches clients privately and works in partnership with her mom Candace Burch who is a hormone health educator. She also leads a virtual group coaching course, hosts events and retreats and is the creator of the Sexy Sugar Cleanse, a 20-day system reboot for weight release, increased energy levels, and hormone balance! So, as you'll hear in the episode, Jess and I get pretty fired up in when it comes to things like social media, authenticity, and more. To learn more about Jessica Suchan and the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Follow Me On: Facebook Instagram

Sarah Larson & Mason Levey are the co-founders of the New York-based fitness hot spot, Y7 Studio which has 13 locations around the country. After many years of struggling to find a yoga class that she loved, these two put their heads together and decided to invent a fitness experience that broke down the traditional barriers of yoga. Their classes combine 60-minutes of intensity with heat and strength, complemented by deep breathing to calm the mind--all while set to the latest beats (think A Tribe Called Quest, Cardi B, Frank Ocean). The other element making it accessible and inclusive? All classes take place in a dark room with zero mirrors to eliminate the distraction of physical comparison. Because of their devotion to a great customer experience, these two have built a multi-million dollar company that has been called one of the fastest-growing fitness boutiques in the country and ranked in the top 100 of Inc's annual 5000 list. They've also gotten press from Forbes, Vogue, Bazaar, Shape, InStyle, Refinery29, Women's Health and more. To learn more about Sarah Larson & Mason Levey and the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Follow Me On: Facebook Instagram

Cameron Rogers is a very freckled 28-year-old living in NYC with a big appetite for all things food. After working on Wall Street for 5 years, she decided it was time to wave goodbye to the corporate world and pursue her blog, Freckled Foodie full-time. Since then, she's worked with notable companies on creating content, dozens of individuals to achieve a healthier and more balanced lifestyle and developed her personality as a podcast host on Freckled Foodie & Friends. She was named one of the five entrepreneurs changing New York's wellness scene by Forbes. On her website, Instagram, and podcast (Freckled Foodie & Friends), Cameron makes a conscious effort to show you the truth of her health journey, without a filtered lens. In a world that often feels too curated and inauthentic, she is challenging the status quo that people need a pristine kitchen or a perfect blowout to make a delicious meal. All you need is your precious time, fresh ingredients, and the determination to feed your body what it deserves. What I love about Cameron is how unfiltered she is. She is one of the most authentic wellness influencers I've come across and, as you'll hear in our conversation, that has played a huge role in how quickly her business has grown. In this episode, Cameron shares the life-altering moment that made her reevaluate her career and ultimately leave behind a high-paying salary and job in finance, all of the strategic steps she took before giving her notice and why she was able to monetize her business almost immediately, how her business evolved from 1:1 service offerings primarily earning income through content and brand partnerships, why authenticity has ALWAYS been something she's been conscious of and how she's kept it really real with her audience every step of the way, what she's done in order to boost engagement on social media, why she says it's so much more important than follower count, and so much more. To learn more about Cameron Rogers and the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Follow Me On: Facebook Instagram

Satya Scainetti is the founder and designer of the global wellness brand, Satya Jewelry. As a philanthropist, yoga teacher, and Reiki healer, she's has integrated her three loves--spirituality, yoga, and giving back--into one beautiful business. What started as a jewelry company, has grown into a multi-million dollar consciousness-raising empire that creates adornments and experiences that connect people with their truth, and makes the world a better place. Her background in social work and her passion for early childhood education sparked the creation of the Satya Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides children all over the world with hope, change and the opportunity to fulfill their destinies. So, if you couldn't already tell, Satya is an incredible human. Not only has she been an entrepreneur for two decades, but she created the very first yoga-inspired jewelry line in the U.S. And continues to build her business with so much wisdom and instinct. I've admired her from afar for years and am so excited to share our conversation with you today. In this episode, Satya shares the moment she dreamt up the idea of creating a jewelry company devoted to truth and what it looked like to turn it into a business back in 2000, why referrals and word of mouth were the keys to her customers initially finding her and continue to be a core piece of building brand awareness, the big break moment that put Satya jewelry on the map and how it led to many collaborations with celebrities and mission-driven brands, why she recommends getting quiet and tuning inward to find clarity around the direction of your business, and how her spiritual practice has been THE biggest source of inspiration for everything she's created, her incredible business wisdom from two decades as a business owner and her best advice about getting your business off the ground, and so much more! To learn more about Satya Scainetti and the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Follow Me On: Facebook Instagram

Alison Wu is the stylist, recipe developer and lifestyle blogger behind Wu Haus. Since starting her blog in 2016 as an outlet to share her passions, she has received international recognition for her vibrant dishes and warm aesthetic. Named by Well + Good as one of the next gen of wellness, Alison also loves to curate and host national and international events, retreats and experiences that promote wellness in mind, body and spirit. She frequently partners with creatives and companies whose values align with her own and has collaborated with brands like Williams Sonoma, HAY Design, Anthropologie, Mountain Rose Herbs and Sustain. In the episode, she shares the moment she got the idea for a green ombre smoothie and how her gorgeous layered creations made her an instant IG star, how she turned her blog and IG following into her full-time gig—something that wasn't as linear as it might've looked, her current thoughts on social media, why she thinks it's so important to create healthy boundaries, and how she does that for herself, the truth about the unpredictability of entrepreneurship and her honest experience with earning an often-unpredictable income, why she says it's sooo important to find trust within yourself as an entrepreneur; the the secret to building resiliency and more, why she's always allowed her intuition to lead her vs. having a strategy for everything and how that's worked well for her, and so much more! To learn more about Alison Wu and the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Follow Me On: Facebook Instagram

After years of using severe prescription acne treatments, Priscilla Tsai realized that traditional approaches to fighting skin concerns were unsustainable, unhealthy, and stigmatizing. Instead, she wanted to find a solution that would create long-term yet gentle results for her skin, mind, and body. After tackling her hormonal acne with superfoods instead of chemicals, she quite literally made her own solution and left her job on Wall Street. Cocokind was then born in 2015. In the episode, Priscilla shares why her struggle with acne from her teenage years to her early 20's prompted her to start making her own skincare products, her experience with imposter syndrome and why she didn't let it stop her from launching her skincare brand, which is now a multi-million dollar company, what it was like to leave behind her high-paying job on Wall Street and move to San Francisco to start bootstrapping Cocokind, why she says nurturing and loving up her customers and audience is the number one reason she's been able to build such a trusted product line and profitable business, her top 3 pieces of advice for anyone starting a product-based business in the wellness industry (not what you might think!), the massive role old school marketing played in the first 2 years of business, and why she recommends making in-person relationship building a priority, and so much more! To learn more about Priscilla Tsai and the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Follow Me On: Facebook Instagram

Natalie Zises is a Binge & Diet Recovery Coach who specializes in helping women let go of the diet-binge cycle and find peace around food for life. I've had the pleasure of knowing Natalie since 2017 when she enrolled in my business mentorship program Your Wellness Brand. In this episode, we chat about how she's worked with over 40 clients in just the first year and a half in business—and how she's hit 6 figures in 2019, she shares why she shifted from a career as a chef to a coach and the role her own struggles with her body played in that decision, the many wise investments she made along the way in mentors, coaches, education and more to build her business, how she dealt with her family's disapproval when she started being more vulnerable online and why standing strong in her vision for her brand was key to moving past their push back, the ways she continues to stay true to herself and why owning her style is what makes her brand magnetic and relatable to her target audience, and so much more! To learn more about Natalie Zises and the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Follow Me On: Facebook Instagram

McKel Hill Kooienga is the Founder and CEO of Nutrition Stripped, a trailblazing mind-body health company that supports the well-being of people around the world. In this episode, she shares what it was like to take Nutrition Stripped from passion project to full-time business, why she makes it a priority to understand what her audience wants, the key steps she took along the way to grow a social media following of over 300,000, and land lots of press, and so much more! To learn more about McKel Hill Kooienga and the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Follow Me On: Facebook Instagram

Dr. Nicole LePera is a Holistic Psychologist who views mental and physical struggles from a whole person perspective and works to identify the underlying physical and emotional causes. In the episode, Dr. LePera shares how her own dark night of the soul inspired her to shift her practice to incorporate the mind, body, and spirit, the role sharing her story of healing has played in her becoming a huge success story in just 5 years, why she followed her intuition to create her online community, and more! To learn more about Dr. Nicole LePera and the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Follow Me On: Facebook Instagram