Michelle Bridges has built a strong personal brand on the back of #JFDI | #418

 

Michelle

­­Well it is. Now that we hit that milestone I guess it was about the middle of this year that milestone was hit with my 12-week body transformation online program. It was a big moment for all of us, all the team. We’ve worked so hard to do so much and that was kind of a lot of fun to sort of put out there because we really do know that we are making a difference. But you know when I think of that along with all of my books that are being in the market and all the other things that I kind of happening outside of my online program, I can’t really believe that I’ve made a pretty big impact in the waistline of Australians. So, it’s something I’m extremely proud of.

 

Tim

You should be. You know we talk a lot about pricing on this show and I say this sort of half tongue in cheek but it would have been an interesting pricing model. Did you ever wish you’d been given 100 bucks for every kilogram that you lost from people?

 

Michelle

You know it’s funny. You know there is so many people that go out there and they had an office challenge where you put 100 dollars into a hat and go okay, whoever loses the most weight gets the money or whoever, to the finish line of the business charity fund run that gets the money and I guess for some people that can be an incentive I suppose.

 

Tim

Absolutely. And I do say that tongue in cheek, your 12-week body transformation which I want to talk about shortly. I mean it’s incredibly well priced and it’s just an amazing online business so we’ll come to that. But you know maybe reconsider how you price it next time and go for the hundred dollars per kilogram lost. Where would you be you know. Let’s go back, as I said to you before you record. What it to break it up into wealth and health. It’s just the way you’ve built your personal brand is so amazing. And I know you are looking at your bio you started at 14 training the kids at school who didn’t do sport. And by 18 you had this certified fitness instructor license

 

Michelle

A license to kick butt basically.

 

Tim

You do that pretty well. But at what point did you decide you were going to turn that license to kick butt into an empire.

 

Michelle

I didn’t. That’s never been my ambition. And I think you know that’s part of the success. In a strange way my. I’ve never had an ambition of having an empire. I never had an ambition of actually being on television. And I think that’s part of the reason why I ended up on TV because I wasn’t pushing for it. What I have had an ambition for though was to inspire as many Australians and even now the world, to get their act together and look after themselves better. To inspire them, to want to be more active, to eat better and look after themselves and their family. And that has been my ambition. And so, with that in mind, everything that I’ve set out to do and everything that I set out to achieve has been with that at the forefront because it’s real it resonates from within. It’s not that I wanted to make money or have businesses or have staff or have all of the things that come along with having several businesses. It’s always been that I wanted to make it my mission to help people.

 

Tim

I’m just listening to you say that from the heart and it’s such a common thread about you’ll be the two hundredth and 15th successful business that I’ve had on the show. And from Bryan Singer at Rip Curl, Geoff Harris at Flight Centre all the way through to a lady Melissa Maker who’s kind of like the most famous home cleaner in Canada. At the heart of what you guys do is to make a difference and then you look behind you and the empire is building itself.

 

Michelle

Yeah, I know it sounds in a way as you say that it kind of sounds a bit cliché but it’s got to come from a place of realness. It’s got to come from a real place. If you’re only reason to do something is to make money then you might get lucky but I highly doubt it.

 

Tim

Yeah there’s a passion there and I saw it when we were at that conference on the Gold Coast recently where people were coming up to you and you could see you were excited by the difference. You must get so many stories shared with you every day of the difference you’ve made.

 

Michelle

I literally I absolutely get at least between three to five a day and I’m not even joking. And that’s not even on email that’s actually on the street on the street, in the supermarket, at a petrol station, in the reception of a building that I’m going into a meeting, in the car park, in restaurants, walking my dog. It literally is between three to five those a day in the flesh and then hundreds of e-mails daily. So, it’s unreal.

 

Tim

It’s very cool and a personal question. Often the question I ask for my benefit anyway but I know the listeners want to hear as well but I get e-mails not a percent of what you get but I get emails saying I’ve made a difference to people’s business and thank you and sometimes I don’t know what to do with that information. It’s very humbling and it makes you feel good. What’s the question there it’s humbling I suppose.

 

Michelle

I know what you’re just saying to me now and when I first started particularly on television because that’s when people really got to know me like I was very well-known in the fitness industry. Very well-known in fitness industry. But no general public unless they came to my classes or came to my gym, knew me. And so, when TV started suddenly everybody was recognising me and I felt completely and utterly embarrassed. Mortified especially if I was with friends like so embarrassed because I didn’t want to be seen as good old Australian terms as a wanker. So, people come up to me and ask for a photograph. How embarrassing. Okay sure. And anyway, a good friend of mine said, Michelle I know you and so I know that this embarrasses you but you need to take stock because you come across as aloof like you don’t care and I was like are you serious and he said to me yeah so you need to embrace this otherwise you’re going to end up coming across to people like you’re above them or better than that or whatever. I was like Oh my God. Okay. So slowly but surely if someone said to me oh you that girl on a TV show instead of like cringing with embarrassment. I’d be like yeah, I am that girl. And they said Can we get a photo. Sure. Let’s Get a photo and that’s not always easy because you turn to groceries or whatever. But I let it flow through me rather than fight it. And it’s been a little bit easier to accept that way.

 

Tim

What a great bit of advice from your friend because for someone to tap you on the shoulder and say hey you’re coming as aloof.

 

Michelle

I have really friends in my life and they keep me very well grounded. And they were like you needed to work this out Michelle because you don’t look good. I know that you’re embarrassed but other people don’t know that. They don’t know you. So, I thought yeah it was good advice.

 

Tim

What was the point then in your career Michelle where you look back and you go. That was the turning point. Cause you’ve got books. You’ve got the biggest loser since 2007. You obviously were highly regarded within the fitness industry. You speak from stage. You do so many things can you look back and go you know what it was that moment when it all changed.

 

Michelle

No, I wouldn’t say that there was one big moment and I think that’s been turned of events over a period of time. The fact that I got in my car at the age of 26 with 300 bucks in the bank and the second hand beat up holden barina with all of my worldly possessions and decided to drive to Sydney and give my career a red-hot go. I mean that was a turn of events. I had nothing I knew no one and I had no job prospects. Well the plan is to get there and see what happens. Not much of a plan and I am a bit of a one for a planner. That bit of a plan to myself but sometimes the most important plans are often the best. Or it could be that when I pitched in I did it mornings with Kerry Anne to do a fitness segment and finally after chasing her around the gym with this idea and beating down her producer’s doors I got that over the line and then there was a moment where I won the Australian Fitness leader of the year within the fitness industry it was a really big thing for me and a shot in the arm for my career. I guess everybody says well it must be when land the gig on The Biggest Loser and I’ll certainly say that was a big event. It was a big turning point because it allows me to amplify everything that I’d already been doing in the background. It gave me the ability to springboard all of those ideas and concepts forward. That being said though it certainly didn’t mean everything was a walk in the park. It was all just landing on my lap. You know when the opportunity turns up you have to hone it. You have to polish it. You have to create even more in order to amplify that opportunity. One opportunity does not necessarily mean that the next one will arrive and the next will arrive and the next one will arrive. You’ve just got to keep being creative and looking being a bit of a lateral thinker.

 

Tim

Well good on you for not becoming complacent because I imagine where you’ve got to now in your career. Complacency could set in. I’m sure it said in and other people who have got to your level. Where they go you know what

 

Michelle

I just land myself gig on TV. Cool. Jobs done let’s sit back and reap the rewards. One could do that but that’s kind of not my style anyway. I actually get quite excited by the prospect of new ideas and new opportunities and new projects and the cut and thrust of business as hard as it is. When you get knock back after knock back after knock back a no no no no no it’s still exciting when you can see a project get up off the ground and sort of see it through to fruition.

 

Tim

Okay here’s the thing you love ideas you’re looking for the next thing. I’ve got a 14-year-old daughter Stephanie. Kids don’t watch telly anymore and you’re in the mass media. The Biggest Loser is one of those programs that does have an outrageously big audience numbers but that’s uncommon these days and Stephanie keeps on coming to me and saying Hey Dad check out these YouTubers right so I have been checking out these YouTubers of recent months and there’s one in particular that Steph follows a girl called Zoella and Zoella has got six and a half million followers on her YouTube channel right. It’s amazing. One of these girls I think she’s 18-19. She reviews make up. She talks about her anxiety. She talks about this and that. So, I go and watch Zoella alright and she’s fantastic. Production is off the charts. Stephanie actually said to watch a particular episode. In walks Jamie Oliver. Right. So now I’m going ha. So, TV celebrities are now looking at people like Zoella who have these massive multimillion amount of followers on YouTube channel and getting exposure that way. Are you sniffing an opportunity online? You already got 12-week body transformation. But can you see yourself going that way of Zoella.

 

Michelle

Of course. That projects are already underway.

 

Tim

That’s going nuts isn’t it. Because I was even reading an article with actually the boss of YouTube who’s just saying this is the future where stars are being born on YouTube and not on the TV screen anymore.

 

Michelle

That’s right. That’s right. It’s just the way it is. You know the world is moving and shifting and its exciting time. It means that the world isn’t ruled by television anymore. And some people would see that as a good thing and other people would see that as a bad thing and I just see it as well it’s change. Change is inevitable. It’s one thing you can’t stop and there’s always going to be change in every industry. And I guess being someone in business, change is hard because it’s sort of like oh god really, we just got this up and rolling in now you told me it was going to be something else. That’s just that’s the law of the land. You got to be ready for those changes and it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be across on how it all work because who could be and who can be. What it does mean that when you can see change within whatever business you’re in occurring you need to just stop and listen and maybe get some sound advice from people who are involved with about that change.

 

Tim

Well you make a great point Michel because you don’t have to be across how it works like I’m not that technical but I’ve been podcasting for six years. I’m going to guess you’re not the most technically minded either.

 

Michelle

I don’t know why you said what are you talking about.

 

Tim

I was like my point here. For listeners, for small business owners listening is like focus on the content. Like be Michelle you know your fitness. I know marketing. I want to share it. How you get a podcast together or let’s talk about the 12-week body transformation. You had the content, you were the one who wanted to get in front of the camera and motivate hundreds of thousands of Australians and people to lose weight. But what did you do. Did you then go and find the people who could do the technical stuff?

 

Michelle

Yeah.

 

Tim

That easy.

 

Michelle

Absolutely. Absolutely. You know I had people that were close to me that were very IT savvy and you know it was like the worlds collided. We had the perfect storm and we had myself who had the content and the ideas and the understanding of the landscape in the reader. And then I had people who knew IT and who understood how to make it all happen online so you can’t be everything to all people. So that’s when it’s smart to get people around you, surround yourself with people who understand those different parts of your business that can be grown. I’ve got an amazing team with my Michelle Bridges team. I’ve a great marketing girl, I have so much confidence in her ability to have an amazing research product development. A lady who happens to be a dear friend of mine as well but knows the industry inside and out when it comes to clothing apparel and hardgoods. So, it is being able to release some control and being able to put some faith in in others rather than thinking that you’ve got to be pulling all the levers at all time. You just can’t.

 

Tim

What’s your marketing girl name?

 

Michelle

Vanessa.

 

Tim

What’s her role?

 

Michelle

She is Head of Marketing for Team MB. She’s sort of within team, I have a small team which is called team MB. Basically, what that team looks after is the brand and all the different verticals that sit underneath that brand. So those verticals are publishing books etc. Writing, retail as far as apparel and hard goods and when I talk about apparel I took from shoes right through to clothing not only for women with sizes of 26 which no fitness apparel actually does. I’m the only one in the country that does that, shoes as well as girls wear now to young girls and then hardgoods from water bottles all the way through the treadmills and then also that sits underneath that is kitchen utensils, vitamins supplement range with Blackmores sits underneath that and also 12-week body transformation program.

 

Tim

Can I ask Michelle, I did some work with Michael Klim a few years ago to help him with his brand strategy for milk. For his and I remember talking to Klim at the time and we were talking about Ian Thorpe and how Thorpe had gone and he went around and pretty much put his name to anything anyone put to him and some of those things didn’t work. I think at one point he had Ian Thorpe diamonds or pearls.

 

Michelle

You bring up a very good point and that it needs to be on brand and I can’t begin to tell you how many things I’ve said no to. You had to say no to a lot of things. It’s got to be real. It’s got to feel that it resonates within you.

 

Tim

You got it in one and it for you that’s just a gut feeling because it is it’s like team Michelle Bridges is reviewing something that they are wanting or thinking of putting your name to. Is it as simple as you go yes or no. Or is there some more strategy to it?

 

Michelle

There is a little a lot of thinking around many of the things. A lot of the stuff actually that we do, we actually go out and chase it because it feels like we’re so passionate about it like I was so passionate about doing a fitness line that was inclusive of all financial demographics that people could feel good and look good while they’re training that they could afford it. That was just so inside of me I was bursting so we went and chased that one out. The same with kitchen utensils and cookware, I preach about taking back the control in your kitchen and taking back the responsibility and accountability of the food that goes in your mouth. I wanted to do that. Some things get put across the table that we think that there’s actually quite a good idea but it’s not often most things that come across my table, I’m like no that doesn’t fit for me it doesn’t work. I’ve even had junk food giant come to me, I was like are you kidding. Are you kidding me. And the thing is the general public are smart. They will give you permission to do certain things and they will give it. They will not give you permission to do other things.

 

Tim

So True so true and not easy to say no. I mean you’re at a point now where saying no is easy you’ve got the cash flow and the empire is building as a result of not looking at it.

 

Michelle

It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter whether you are down to your last dollar or you’re fine and you don’t need it. It’s got to be true to your core values. It’s got to be true to your core values. I stand by that 100 percent.

 

Tim

Now just to wrap up the business discussion, but I notice you’ve done and I haven’t had this discussion on the show before. Guinness world record attempts. You’ve got two Guinness World Records and I love it. Largest circuit training class.

 

Michelle

I never in my wildest imaginings ever thought that those words would ever come out of my mouth. I actually have not one but two Guinness World Records. I mean this stuff kids dream of. I want to be in the Guinness World Record Book. Like really isn’t going to happen in my lifetime. It’s quite funny.

 

Tim

It is crazy. So how did that first one. You got larger circuit training class. And then I think that was followed by largest exercise ball work out and I’d watch that.

 

Michelle

When I was in New York it was pretty mind blowing and quite an out of body experience. In fact, I think it was right at the front of the Today Show. Like the Rockefeller Center. It’s exactly where we were in a sea of blue balls. And I thought, What on earth. Really, Michelle?

 

Tim

I got a sense even watching you on that. Our bodies are a good way of putting it. It was like little bit out of your comfort zone.

 

Michelle

Well I know I was well and truly in my comfort zone I had a whole bunch of people besides me. It was quite surreal that I was doing a Guinness world record not only was it a Guinness world record but actually doing it in the Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

 

Tim

Great way to get that coverage and get your brand out into one of the world’s biggest marketplaces. How did the idea come about?

 

Michelle

I had a crazy guy that I was working with in state who was a TV producer and he’d been a producer with the Today Show but several other different companies as well. He was freelance but he said I’ve got this genius idea and I reckon we can make it work. I was like, are you serious. Don’t get me wrong he took a lot to make that happen. So much went into making that happened. Just try to imagine how do you get nearly 400 big balls into New York City in the Rockefeller Center. Get them all pumped up and then get that many people in there you would think that would be easier actually not. To actually then have all of those balls moved out of that area. And then and then not only that whole. All the logistics of trying to make it all happen but then actually trying to get that pitch over the line to a TV show like The Today Show and makes me laugh when I think about it like there was tears, there was sweat, blood, anguish, anxiety, kids going through all different emotions of depression. And I remember thinking Gosh if we get it and then we actually break the record I will literally just fall over which I did.

 

Tim

You know from a marketing point of view and I’m sorry to bring it back to that but it’s a brilliant marketing play and it got you. I think it’s 12 minutes. Was that the YouTube video of coverage on the Today show across America. I mean it’s good it’s smart.

 

Michelle

I kind of it was pretty fun. I have to say.

 

Tim

I just want to wrap things up. I so appreciate you. And by the way just going back to that whole the world is changing and YouTube is all that well done for you for coming on a little podcast like this. You know I’ve got a loyal audience they love what we share on this show. But thank you for that. OK. I want to finish with a lovely acronym that you share from stage and I’m sure you share it in other places. Michelle, JFDI.

 

Michelle

It works for everything. It works for everything. It works for putting clothes away it works and getting your car serviced. It works having to go to your bank manager. It works the getting up off the couch and going and doing some exercise. It just works for everything. It works for everything. JFDI.

 

Tim

Is it really as simple as just doing it?

 

Michelle

It really is that simple. It’s for all the thinkers. All the procrastinators. Everybody that suffers by paralysis. It’s just like no, get over it. Get this get up and do it. Just shut up and do it.

 

Tim

Because I guess as a personal trainer. One of the things that you would get a lot is excuses.

 

Michelle

Yeah I mean we all used them. We all got plenty of them. Some of us polish those excuses to within an inch of their life and they actually become true after a while. You end up cutting through all the b.s. with my beautiful JFDI statement.

 

Tim

Love it. Is team Bridges got a JFDI T-shirt?

 

Michelle

We’ve got the T-shirt. We’ve got the hat and got the bags.

 

Tim

I love it. Well I’m about to do the great Vic bike ride with my daughter. We’re about to drive five hundred kilometres so I’m looking for an excuse at the moment but I think I know what you’re going to tell me. Australia’s most influential personal trainer Michelle Bridges. Thanks so much for taking us inside team Bridges. Team M.B. and getting us up off our arses and JDFI it.

 

Michelle

Thank you. Have a lovely day. Thank you so much.