41073717•05/25/12
Natalee Bauman
After trying a couple of programs at Victoria’s Comosun College — criminal justice and personal training — Bauman decided to come to Medicine Hat to attend the college here.
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Often times the best business ideas come from necessity.
Natalee Bauman has had a crash course in that fact ever since she started a little business called Family Physique Studio in the fall of 2010. With two children to take care of and a desire to get back into shape, all Bauman was really trying to do was combine the two for her own convenience, while maybe helping a few other moms do the same.
“I just developed a pre-and post-natal fitness program and it took off,” Bauman says. “It’s turned into something a lot bigger than I ever thought. I never did it for the money; I did it because I love it.
“I worked my butt off and then sort of turned around and (the business) was really profitable.”
That business is now into its third location because it’s growing faster than previous venues could handle. What began as a small space at the college where she volunteered her time has become a lucrative business with seemingly limitless potential.
At just 29 years old, getting to this point has not been easy for Bauman. She grew up in Victoria, B.C. but unfortunate circumstance had her into foster care by the age of 12, and eventually into an independent living program before her 15th birthday.
A dedicated track athlete, Bauman used her passion for sport to keep her focus on school. Not only did she stick through school, Bauman excelled in both the classroom and in athletics, even competing for Team B.C. at the junior nationals.
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Bauman’s calling began to unfold for her after she had her first son, Jeylen. Enrolled in the fitness and lifestyles promotions program at
the college and wanting to get back into shape after having a child, Bauman began teaching fitness classes at the YMCA.
Unfortunately her program was cancelled but instead of being discouraged, Bauman just transferred to the massage therapy program, to which she completed her diploma in 2007. Meanwhile, Bauman had met the love of her life and in the summer after graduation the couple was married.
A year later, Bauman gave birth to her second son, Jaxen. This is when Bauman had her original idea of pre - and post-natal fitness, and she was able to corral that small space at the college.
But before she was even off maternity leave with Jaxen, her little program had grown so much that she was already far too big for the college. With support from her husband, Bauman decided to give the program a try as an actual business and in September 2010, Family Physique Studio opened its doors.
“It’s something Medicine Hat obviously needed,” says Bauman. “There’s no gym like this one anywhere, I don’t think. Just the fact that you can work out with your kids, as well as having that pre-natal program training to give birth, it’s just made us really popular.”
Bauman’s little business that began as more of a hobby than anything else, now has more than 200 members, a staff of seven, three subleases and — most importantly — is making the kind of money she never thought it could.
“Every month it just gets better and better,” she says. “It was just something I was meant to do, I think.”
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