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From the time Kristy Cronister was a young girl, she felt a strong calling to work in the medical profession, so it’s no surprise she graduated from the University of Iowa in 2007 with a nursing degree. She then began her career in the Neurosurgery Intensive Care patient population, which took her to various cities including Madison, Las Vegas and Denver.
Cronister was so passionate about nursing, she began working on her master’s degree but slowly the emotional strain of seeing so many people suffering took its toll. “At that point, I began to feel helpless, so I decided to do something to impact people’s health from a preventative standpoint,” Cronister said. “In 2015, I dove head first into my physical fitness journey and competed in my first women’s figure competition. The weight room allowed me to turn off the stress and anxiety I felt and focus on one rep at a time.”
This shift in focus allowed her to change course in life. In 2016, she took a leap of faith and left the nursing profession to become a certified personal trainer. She took her first personal training job in Olathe, KS, and never looked back. “I genuinely felt that I was improving the health and lives of my clients which was an incredibly rewarding experience,” Cronister said.
While working 12-to-16-hour days each week to build her clientele base, she met her husband Nathan who was a fellow personal trainer at the same gym. In 2020, in the midst of the chaos of COVID-19, her gym was bought by a large corporate fitness company days before their first son was born. By September of that year, her and her husband left the gym to start their own personal training studio. “Kansas Built Fitness was born out of our passion for helping others, our love for each other and our new family, and our desire to have the freedom to do things our own way,” Cronister said. “We are celebrating our first year in business this November. We employ five other personal trainers who are equally as passionate as we are about helping the community take control of their health. It’s truly been a dream come true, and I wake up grateful every single day for the opportunity to own my own business.”
Taking the leap of faith to start a new business is exciting, but is not without many unforeseen challenges. “As a new entrepreneur, I was very intimidated to sit down and pitch the business idea to a loan officer, but I cannot say enough about how amazing the experience was with Commercial Loan Officer Steve Fleishaker and CapFed®,” said Cronister. “Steve talked to me like we were old friends and gave me an opportunity to just be myself and truly shine light on how my business would positively impact the community. He made the loan application process so easy and helped me feel confident and comfortable the whole way through. If I ever have a question or concern, I can reach out to him and he is always helpful and prompt in his responses.”
“I believe that the biggest challenge facing women today is being able to prioritize quality parenting while being able to own a business,” said Cronister. “I have several female friends who are successful business owners with families, and I believe it’s important to recognize the entrepreneurial spirit of women throughout the country during National Women in Small Business Month,” she said. “Owning my business has allowed me to spend more time with my family. Being able to have our son Atreyu come to work with us four days a week while pursuing a career I am incredible passionate about is extremely rewarding.”
Cronister stresses that it’s never too late to prioritize your health and change your life. “Our health is our responsibility and our responsibility alone, but that doesn’t mean we have to do it alone,”she said. “Resources like personal training are an investment in a future self you will be proud of. Living a healthy lifestyle is the single most important thing we can do to improve every aspect of our lives and anyone, no matter their circumstances, can be successful.”
If you would like to know more about Kansas Built Fitness, visit the website here.
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