SpotLight on a Local Mompreneur

In this month's Mompreneur feature, Wichita Family Magazine introduces you to Tonya Wells, a Wichita mom who is helping many other local moms get in shape through her business, Mommy Movement Fitness. Actually, to say her training is limited to moms is misleading, Tonya works with the whole family and is passionate about helping others lead an active lifestyle. Read the following conversation with Tonya to find out about her business and how it serves local families.

When did you start your business, who does it serve and what are some other important details about its formation.

I purchased a franchise two and a half years ago called StrollerFit. My daughter was only 5 months old at the time. StrollerFit was bought out in May 2010 and that is when I went out on my own and created Mommy Movement Fitness. I love to think of it as a fun and healthy community for women to come and get fit plus meet new friends, be with their children and for their children to meet friends.

I pretty much work with the whole family. Not just the moms but the dads as well. We have what is called Dad’s Workout Day with my Stroller class (called Strollers In Motion) once a month so the dad’s can come and see what we do! I also have grandmas take so me of my class formats and right now we even have a grandpa that takes StrollerFit with his daughter and grandkids!

All of these classes are tailored for your own fitness level so anybody can do them. I have different host site locations around the city so it is good for moms no matter what side of town they live on.

The classes offered are: Strollers in Motion (during the day with kids); Fit & Tone (a resistance training class at night without kids); CoreFusion (a core class at night without kids); Momsinmotion Running Club (Ladies only running club - strollers welcome); We just got done offering Zumba but are taking a break right now; Yogamotion will start soon (at night without kids); Train Like A Mother Bootcamp this summer (no kids); F.I.T. (Forever In Training) Challenges (to keep you on track and motivated); MommyConnection (A play group that has over 200 moms in it); Tri Academy starting soon (for anyone who is interested in training for a triathlon).

What made you decide to start this business and what were you doing before you started this venture?

I actually had been looking to buy a StrollerFit franchise back in 1999 but the timing wasn’t right. I have been in the fitness industry for 14 years and knew someday I wanted to work with moms and kids.

So 3 years ago when my husband and I moved here from Dallas (I was 8 months pregnant with our first) I knew this was the perfect time to start it! Both my husband and I grew up in Wichita.

I had been a personal trainer in Chicago and Dallas prior. I have had many different clients from pro athletes to seniors needing to walk better. I love being a trainer and a group fitness instructor. To motivate and encourage people to live longer healthier lives is very rewarding.

I am a firm believer that we need to be F.I.T. (Forever In Training). Exercise and eating healthy is not something we will do just for a little bit. We have to continue it throughout our lives. We are only given one body here on earth and what we do with it is up to us, nobody else!

Tell us about your family.

My husband, Justin, and I have been married for 4 years and we have a 3-year-old little girl who keeps us very busy! I like to think right now that my second child is my business but we also have two dogs.

What are the different options that your business offers locals moms?

With MommyConnection (the play group we have) we like to try to have a play date once a week then we have a Moms Night Out once a month. This is a free service and is a lot of fun. We try to get every age of kids involved and do things for working moms as well. For example, we are going to have a Family Night and go to a Thunder game!

Do you teach/lead all of the classes or do you have other employees?

I pretty much teach all of the classes. I do have one other instructor who subs for me when I can’t be there. She will also be teaching the Yogamotion for me. I did have a certified Zumba teach Zumba for me though. My instructor will also be leading the Tri Academy as well. She is also the race director for the race that we are hosting this May 15th at 3pm. It is called F.I.T. Family Run. It is a 5K and will be benefitting the YWCA Women’s Crisis Center (this is the charity we support with our Helping Others program we have in place) and a little girl named Paxten (she is 10 months and has Leukemia).

I also have what I call board members. They are in charge of different areas in my company. There is a lot that goes into this business every day! It keeps me on my toes!

How has being a Mompreneur changed the day-to-day life in your own family?

Well, since I started my first class when my daughter was only 5 months old, I guess my family and I don’t know any different.

It takes a lot of planning and great time management skills! It is very nice to work from home most of the time but there are some days that I am really busy that I wish I did have an office to go to for a few hours so I could do some uninterrupted work! But I am very blessed to have my mom live 3 miles from me. My dad and mom watch my daughter a lot and that helps out! We are pretty much always on the go!

What do you think your business offers the community and how have you seen it affect the women you serve?

I think my business offers a fun and different way to work out. It is for anybody and can be for any fitness level. I have moms that had never done a push up a day in their life and now they are doing 60 push-ups up on their toes. Or moms that say they want to start running but don’t know how to get started and 6 months later are running a marathon! It gives ladies more self esteem and confidence.

We have to take care of ourselves because if we don’t and we break down (get sick or injured) then who is going to take care of the family? I don’t care if you are a working mom or a stay at home mom. Majority of the time women ‘take care’ of the family! We can’t afford to be sick, tired, moody, etc. all the time.

I have seen many lives change for the better throughout these 2 1/2 years! It is fun to hear stories about how they love to workout as a family or that a mom had postpartum depression with their first child but with their second they joined MMF and they feel much better (oh yeah, I have about 10 pregnant moms that do my classes right now)! And of course to hear all the weight loss success stories is amazing. But I don’t like to focus on the number on the scale. Just that my moms are healthy and feel good!

It is very important for our kids to see us exercise! It is proven that if our kids see us exercise they are 80% more likely to exercise as adults! That is awesome since the obesity rate in America is 63% and rising.

It is wonderful to see the kids in Strollers In Motion do the exercises that we do at the end of class. At the end of this format we let the kids get out and play with toys while we continue to do abs and stretching. The kiddos grab the bands and tubes and start singing (like we do during class. As we do exercises we sing songs to them or count).

While moms are off running or doing stairs I stay back with the kids and we do a little preschool (called minimuscle). I send out a minimuscle newsletter each month with a different theme, letter, number, shape, animal, songs, that we will talk about that month! The kids love it plus it is education for them and keeps them occupied in their stroller.