I’m a health and wellness coach, and for more than almost a decade I’ve had the privilege of helping people transform their health and often, so much more than that. What started as my own personal health journey grew into a business and community I never could have imagined. I began as a client, I struggled my entire adult life to get to a healthy weight. With the help of a simple program and a coach, I lost over 50lbs and gained the tools and habits to keep it off.
Today, much of my work centers around helping people improve their metabolic health through simple, sustainable nutrition, habit transformation, and better understanding the data their own bodies are giving them. I coach clients toward healthier weight, improved body composition, energy, strength, and long-term health, while also mentoring other coaches who want to build businesses that create impact, income, and more freedom in their lives.
As a mom of four and a high school & college athlete mom, my work has also expanded into helping families think differently about nutrition and fueling, especially for growing athletes. I love helping busy moms take the overwhelm out of feeding themselves and their families well so we can eat according to our goals.
The work has evolved over the years, but the heart of it really hasn’t. I’m a junkie for the science of habits. I love helping people believe that change is possible, giving them simple tools to make it doable, and then getting a front-row seat as their health, confidence, and lives begin to change.
AZF: What is your “life motto”?
Live on purpose. For me, that means living a life of peace and alignment, where the way I actually spend my days reflects what I say matters most.
My life really is about faith, family, and freedom, and I run so much through that grid. I believe our habits matter. We can eat according to our goals, spend our time according to our priorities, and build rhythms that move us toward the life we actually want to live.
I also believe every yes is a no to something else. So, while it may look like I do a lot, I actually say NO to a lot. I’ve gotten really clear on what matters to me, which makes it easier to know what doesn’t. If I run an opportunity through my faith, family, freedom grid and it’s not a “heck yes,” it’s usually a pretty easy no. I’m obsessed with teenagers and hospitality so one thing that matters to me is having the space and ability to host tons of teens and athletes in my home and I love that. That’s what living on purpose means to me: creating alignment between what you say matters and the way you actually live.
AZF: Did you always know that you wanted to be an entrepreneur? If not, when did you realize that it was the right path for you?
I come from a family of business owners and entrepreneurs, so creating my own opportunities has always felt pretty natural to me. The path to doing what I do now, though, was totally unexpected.
I graduated with a degree in finance and spent a decade working in commercial real estate. When the market crashed in 2008/09, we started buying residential rental properties, and I managed those on the side. Eventually, that gave me the flexibility to be fully at home after having our fourth baby in eight years, which was exactly where I wanted to be.
Then health coaching came along, and honestly, I thought it would be the LAST thing I’d say yes to. Health had been one of my biggest personal challenges, and I loved being home with my kids. But it turned out that the growth, challenge, connection AND flexibility were exactly what I needed. The fact that an area that was once such a struggle for me has become an area where I’ve found strength and now get to help other people is still WILD to me. And the income has been an incredible blessing to our family. It has given us more choices, more freedom, and opportunities I never anticipated when I first said yes. Good Lord, I love options!
AZF: How do you feel best supported?
By people who believe in me, but also know the real me. I’m incredibly grateful for a husband, family, friends, mentors, and community who cheer me on while also keeping me grounded. And honestly, imposter syndrome is real. Even after more than a decade of coaching thousands of people, building a significant business, creating meaningful income for our family, and seeing real impact in people’s lives, there are still moments when I have to remind myself: Oh wait, this IS a real business. I really did build this.
I think that’s why I feel best supported by people who can see both sides of me. The person who dreams big and works hard AND the person who sometimes questions herself. I need people who will tell me the truth, remind me what I’m capable of, laugh with me, challenge me, and point me back to what actually matters.
I’ve learned that you don’t have to feel confident all the time to keep showing up. Sometimes you borrow a little confidence from the people who know you best until you find your own again.
AZF: What motivates you to keep going amidst the challenges that come with being an entrepreneur?
People. Always people.
There are inevitably seasons when business feels easy and exciting and seasons when it doesn’t. What keeps me going is remembering the individual lives behind the numbers. The client who gets her confidence back. The mom who feels good in her body again. The coach who realizes she can contribute meaningfully to her family financially without giving up being present for them.
To be frank – I also sometimes need to remind myself that work is work. And, it’s a privilege to be able to contribute to my family and (as an enneagram 7) – the fun things we get to do. Connecting income to experiences is always motivating for me!
Plus – my own kids are watching. I hope they see that meaningful things are worth working for, that you can reinvent yourself, and that success doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s version of success.
AZF: Describe your perfect Saturday.
Well… it depends on the season! In the summer, Saturday is a cup of coffee and a long walk and then out on the lake with my family. In this next season, Saturdays are going to look like early morning plane flights to Oregon to watch my 2 college sons play football. I’m a football mom, so Friday night lights will be here in Phoenix at Veritas Prep watching my sophomore son play football and my freshman daughter cheer on the sidelines with the spirit line. Then, we’ll catch a flight Saturday morning to watch the big boys and their team at George Fox University.
AZF: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to a young entrepreneur who is just starting out?
DON’T DO THIS ALONE. AND don’t wait until you feel ready.
Start before you have it perfectly figured out. Be willing to be new at something. Be curious, stay teachable, work hard, and care deeply about the people you serve. What you do SOLVES A PROBLEM for someone. Lean into that and how you can uniquely contribute to that solution and the conversation.
Finally – and maybe first – don’t build a business that looks successful from the outside but requires you to sacrifice the life you wanted the business to create. Decide what matters to you first, and build around that.
AZF: What excites you most about being an entrepreneur?
The freedom to build something that fits around the life I value most. I’m a wife and mom of four, and I never wanted success in one area of my life to require sacrificing another. As a product of the 80’s where “”quality time”” was a thing. I’ve built my family rhythms around the idea of QUANTITY time.
I want to be home and craft my work around my family. Entrepreneurship has allowed me to be incredibly present with my family while also doing meaningful work that challenges me, grows me, and impacts other people. Growing as a human while growing my business has allowed me to show up, not just for my clients, but for my family in a way I never knew possible.
Learn more about Stacy Barrett by visiting www.stacybarrett.com or following along on Instagram @stacy_.barrett
About the Foundress
The Foundress is a creative community of female entrepreneurs established by Coley Arnold. The women-led networking group currently has over 120 members who receive exclusive access to mentorship from experienced female entrepreneurs and industry leaders; community gatherings that feature expert speakers and the opportunity to connect with like-minded women; as well as monthly Mastermind Groups where members can brainstorm and collaborate together. Learn more at foundress.co.
