It was love at first sight when Katherine Roberts became acquainted with yoga.
She was first introduced to yoga while playing a round of golf in 1999. Her playing partner was a low handicap golfer, and when Katherine inquired about her ability, she found out she was a yoga instructor.
Katherine became enamored with the process, methodology, physical demands, and mental discipline of yoga. She decided she needed to know more and became a devoted practitioner, learning everything possible about the discipline.
Less than one year after being introduced to this ancient practice, she left a high-paying corporate position to take a giant leap of faith and pursue her passion. She told us,
“In hindsight it was a pretty dumb move. I had a great salary, wasn’t married, lived in an exclusive gated community and tooled around Scottsdale in my BMW convertible. I followed my passion but didn’t have any income. Although, my golf handicap did drop by 12 strokes, so that was a good thing.”
Katherine was teaching traditional yoga concepts primarily to a male clientele that were also golfers. After a few yoga lessons, they were more flexible, could turn without back pain, and their balance and mental focus improved, which resulted in better scores.
From this success with her golf clients, she developed her first commercial effort, Katherine Roberts’ Yoga for Golfers®.
To differentiate herself, ‘Yoga for Golfers’ was taught as part of player development in golf facilities. The results were consistently positive with golfers lowering their scores, so Katherine decided to expand into certifying other yoga instructors in her methods. Using her yoga training and practical knowledge of teaching golfers, Katherine developed a new curriculum for yoga instructors that included language that golfers could understand as well as the basic kinetic sequence used in a golf swing. Her ‘Yoga for Golfers’ teaching program gave her certified yoga instructors another product to drive more clients to their studios. Today, her program has two levels with hundreds of Katherine Roberts Certified ‘Yoga for Golfers’ instructors in 40 countries around the world.
“We have been able to bring the benefits of yoga to a demographic of people that frankly would never have walked into a yoga studio. That’s really the guiding principle of why I created that business.”
Katherine added that the mindfulness part of yoga helps to separate the great from the good. Her ‘Yoga for Golfers’ methodology worked so well, she realized that it would also transfer to other sports. In 2004, she founded Katherine Roberts’ Human Performance for Athletes™ to help all athletes with improved training methods to enhance performance.
Katherine’s programs have been very well received and she now works with 13 Major League Baseball teams for fitness and performance improvement and has certification programs in both ‘Yoga for Golfers’ and ‘Human Performance for Athletes.’
One of Katherine’s basic business principles is, “Connection before Direction.”
“I need to develop a connection with every one of my athletes, whether a 77-year old golfer, a 24-year-old Major League Baseball player, an MMA boxer, or an Olympic athlete. I need to establish that individual connection before I can provide the correct direction.”
She learned that important concept as a 23-year-old sales trainer in the corporate world.
“In my old corporate job, I sold to 23 dealerships and I was tasked to train their salespeople. I believe the number one mistake unsuccessful salespeople make is that they don’t know when to stop talking. They want to tell the potential customer every feature and benefit, without first finding out what the client really needed.”
Through that experience, Katherine learned the importance of asking the right questions to gain trust and better understand the needs of potential clients.
“To be successful in business, you have to make the connection from one human being to another.”
Katherine encourages other small business owners to spend the time and financial resources needed to become known in their industry, by attending trade shows and building relationships. That is how she has built a successful fitness business, through sharing her passion and purpose, which is to help people improve their physical well-being or become better athletes, with her connections.
It wasn’t always easy though; she took a huge leap of faith in the beginning.
Before cell phones with high quality cameras and inexpensive printing capability were readily available, she needed attractive handouts for a large sports convention and she ordered $1,500 worth of printing, with payment due on delivery. When the printer came to the door, her checking account was down to $1,500, but in addition to the printing bill, she had to make her mortgage payment, which was also exactly $1,500.
“I gave him the check and took the brochures. I closed the door and immediately grabbed my throat and let out a deep breath. What did I just do?”
A few days later she received a check for $1,500 from the IRS. Her accountant had overpaid her taxes by the exact amount she needed. A crisis was averted, and she was able to pay the mortgage.
That story illustrates how she took a huge leap of faith, that was backed by her belief in herself and her growing business.
Katherine shared,
“When I’ve made my greatest mistakes is when I have reacted out of fear. I thought maybe I should go in a different direction or I was worried about my program. These are reactions born out of fear, not out of planning, or experience. What I have found, not just in business, but in life, is when I react out of fear, it’s always been a mistake.”
Even today Katherine continually looks to expand her business and realizes every business must adapt and stay current to survive and flourish.
“The challenge for entrepreneurs is that you live in a job with no boundaries. There are few off days. Your mind is always turning. I’m always excited to consider new practices or to learn something new to grow or improve my business.”
Improving Her Business During Covid-19
Spring training for Major League Baseball is a very busy time for Katherine. This year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, spring training was shut down and everyone was sent home. Katherine and her dogs headed to her home in British Columbia.
However, Katherine didn’t let this pandemic keep her from living her passion. She proceeded to develop virtual and online programs that has worked perfectly throughout this self-quarantining period, because the baseball teams know they need to continue training.
“I have one team that has four sessions a week for the players. Plus, coaches are joining in, as well as, the front office staff. They are all realizing that everyone needs this, not just from the physical standpoint from the training as it relates to the athletes, but from a movement, breathing and psychological standpoint. Physical activity, especially yoga is the perfect deterrent for depression.”
Katherine is busier than ever right now, with her certification programs, virtual and online trainings and just bringing her certified instructors together for connection and support.
Katherine Roberts continues to adapt, and her business continues to ‘Soar to Success.’ She has been featured on the Golf Channel, sought out as a speaker for large gatherings, authored books and has become one of the main experts in the use of Pilates and yoga to explain the biomechanics necessary to become a better athlete.
Find out more information about Katherine at her websites YogaForGolfers.com and HumanPerformanceforSports.com. She is also on Twitter, @RobertsYoga, on Instagram, @Human_Performance_For_Sports, or on LinkedIn.
We enjoyed our conversation with Katherine that formed the basis for this article. You’ll discover additional great information and business advice on our podcast that you’ll find on iTunes.
