Entrepreneur Archive:
Optimal Lifestyles

Healthful Approaches Can Lead to Improved Results with "Optimal Lifestyles"

Optimal Lifestyles — St. Louis, MO
Assisted by:
Kevin Wilson, St. Louis SBDC

If life is like golf, then Barb Michael is six under par and a putter's length from the cup for birdie on the 18th hole!

Optimal Lifestyles, founded by Barb, is a health and fitness consulting company specializing in general fitness, golf fitness and yoga. The main mission of the company is to help others by providing health information that will improve the quality of their lives.

After founding a health and fitness consulting company, Barb Michael looked to the local SBDC to examine ways to increase sales. A fiscal checkup helped determine critical factors needed for profitability.

Five years ago Barb started her venture as a health and fitness consulting firm in St. Louis. She provided health and fitness coaching, fitness seminars, strength training and yoga classes at local venues.

Barb Michael (right) monitors performance improvements and encourages a client during a strength training session.

Though she was having some success with the company, she couldn't generate the sales volume to make Optimal Lifestyles worthwhile.

At that point she contacted the local Missouri Small Business Development Center and started working with Kevin Wilson, a counselor located in the regional St. Louis office. Barb and Kevin examined the business strategy necessary to make her company stronger and more profitable.

First they started with a fiscal checkup and determined how well the company was doing financially. After that they determined the critical factors that Barb needed for a successful business.

"After a year of counseling sessions Barb is now out of the rough and is playing fairway golf in her business," Wilson metaphorically muses. "In one short year Barb was able to double her sales and show a profit. She now has two employees and will be adding two additional employees by the end of the year."

Currently Barb is also the health and fitness education sponsor for the Gateway PGA. She provided on-site yoga instruction for the LPGA Tour players at the 2001 Michelob Light Classic in St. Louis and the 2001 State Farm Classic in Springfield, Ill.

A big part of Barb's business - Optimal Lifestyles - involves applying the principles of fitness and conditioning to reduce injuries for her golfing clients and help improve their results on the links.

"Through Optimal Lifestyles Barb coordinates seminars and consultations on fitness in many private country clubs in the St. Louis area and has some high-profile clients," Wilson says. "She has worked with individuals and with major local corporations providing information to help their employees make lifestyle decisions and to improve work performance."

As a health and fitness coach, Barb works with people on fitness and strength training. She helps individuals by assessing fitness levels, reviewing training goals, overcoming impediments to success and designing custom-training programs to meet each person's circumstances.

In addition, Barb presents unique golf-fitness clinics that feature a yoga component. This dynamic style of yoga gives her the opportunity to work with golf professionals who understand the importance of fitness and yoga for golfers in helping to reduce risk of injury, improve performance and increase enjoyment of the game. Barb has practiced yoga for 12 years and utilizes a combination of yoga and strength training in her own general fitness and golf game.

Prior to launching Optimal Lifestyles, Barb worked in the healthcare field for more than ten years. Her extensive experience has been focused in fitness, women's health, community health and marketing, Wilson reports.

Along with her graduate degree in health science from Washington University, Barb is certified as a health and fitness instructor with the American College of Sports Medicine and is certified in weight training by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. She also is certified in yoga through Integrative Yoga Therapy and is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance.

And if that weren't enough, Barb also is a member of the St. Louis American Heart Association Women's Heart Health Committee and she is on the Cardiovascular Board of the State of Missouri.

Optimal Lifestyles
136 West Glenwood Lane
St. Louis, Mo. 63122
Phone: 314-984-0592
E-mail: barb@optimallifesyles.com
www.optimallifestyles.com

---

Featured Entrepreneurs and Client Showcase Archive

Manufacturer Able Products of Joplin - furniture manufacturer Billy Goat Industries of Lee's Summit - manufacturer of outdoor power equipment Dynamic Industrial Services of St. Joseph - rebuilder of electric motors Eyes of the World of Rolla - manufacturer of high-quality intraocular lenses for humans and animals Eygon Enterprises of Lee's Summit - manufacturer of a special tool for truckers Feather Light Lamp Manufacturing of Kennett - maker of high-quality lighting H2OVER Beverage Company of Columbia - canned drinking water distributor ISW Group, Inc., of St. Louis - manufacturer of a skin-care product for African Americans suffering with dermatological problems Mo-Sci Corporation of Rolla - specialized glass manufacturer The Newberry Group of St. Louis - developer of computer security systems Paper Petals of Fenton - printing and custom design of note cards and invitations Patric Chocolate of Columbia - gourmet chocolate maker Pogue Label and Screen of St. Louis - a specialist in printing labels on plastic containers Premier Foods of Milan - poultry processing plant Renewable Alternatives of Columbia - specializing in the engineering of phase change materials to ensure consistent temperatures sComm, Inc., of Kansas City - developer of devices to assist the deaf and hearing impaired Sigma Aldrich of St. Louis - chemical manufacturer TechGuard Security of Chesterfield - provider of information network security products ValRich Foods of Jefferson City - produces and distributes La Casita salsas X-Com, Inc. of Warrensburg, - produces digital communications hardware and software for the Navy and other commercial applications and products Professional, Scientific and Technical Service Aegis Business Solutions LLC of Kansas City - offers solutions to business problems in information technology Big Vision Design, LLC of Platte Woods - web site designer/developer Brick City Custom Works of Mexico - custom motorcycle repair and service shop Flexible Staffing of Chillicothe - provider of temporary workers Fundraiser Software of West Plains - a developer of donor management computer programs Gaskin, Hill, Norcross of Springfield - developer of a text messaging system Global Solutions Group of Fenton - network solutions, IT telephone and systems management firm H2O Technical Services, Inc., of Springfield, a provider of integrated water treatment services and applications Lee Marketing Group of Joplin - marketing firm Logistical Resource Solutions of St. Louis - storage and inventory control Lytmos Group LLC of Lee's Summit - provides peer review and grants management support to organizations that sponsor high technology R&D Mail Boxes Etc of Leawood, KS - mailing/shipping services franchise Mobile Media Technologies, LLC of Kansas Ciy - wireless communications Moresource, Inc. of Columbia - professional employer organization NEMS/MEMS Works LLC of Columbia - engineering researchers developing early-stage prototypes of nanotechnology delivery devices to target drug applications in patients with life-threatening conditions OsteoGeneX of Kansas City - drug research and biotech commercialization Paragon Business Solutions of Nixa - consulting firm specializing in building performance driven business systems Paternity Testing Corporation of Columbia - forensic investigations, DNA profiling and parental identification P/Strada, LLC, of Kansas City - a consultant in bio-terrorism and homeland security Technology and Networking of Cape Girardeau - computer technology and telecommunications sales and services The Vacation Channel of Branson - independent TV station providing tourism info Westinn Kennels of St. Charles - canine boarding and training facility Wren Associates, Ltd. of Jefferson City - provider of retail fraud detection systems Starred clients were a part of the 2008 Client Showcase [more] Starred clients were a part of the 2006 Client Showcase [more] Starred clients were a part of the 2005 Client Showcase [more]

Accommodation & Food Services Bucks and Spurs Guest Ranch of Ava - working guest ranch Custard Caravan of Eureka - mobile frozen custard parlor Gatherings Cafe of Cape Girardeau - restaurant, bakery and catering establishment Nature's Window of Gladstone - catering Uncle D's Sports Bar and Grill of St. Joseph - dining establishment Retail Trade Arvin's Appliance and Furniture of Wellston - furniture and appliance store Crafter's Cabin of Kirksville - craft supply store Digital Technology and Surveillance of Nixa - security systems for schools and businesses Furniture Gourmet of Springfield - internet-based retailer of decorative home accessories Great Expectations of Joplin - Christian bookstore Gray's Jewelry and Gifts of Maryville - jewelry repair and sales The Herb Shop of Branson West - nutritional and supplement store Hensley Technologies, Inc. of Kansas City - supplying government agencies with high-tech electronic equipment The Home Center of Clinton - lumber, hardware and home improvement store Just For You of Joplin - store offering wigs and mastectomy products Lee J. of St. Louis - fine men and women's clothing Pricemonk.com of Festus - online textbook sales Scootermania of Kirksville - motor scooter sales Specialty Merchandise Sales of Branson - importer/seller of women's fashion costume jewelry Warrensburg Hydraulics of Warrensburg - sales and service for construction, agricultural and industrial equipment Educational Services Columbia's Finest Child Development Center of Columbia - day care center Developmental Depot of Joplin - offering child care services during nontraditional hours Kim's Kids of St. Louis - day care/learning centers OCCU-TEC, Inc., of Kansas City - firm specializing in safety and environmental training Health & Social Services BENE-FIT Health and Fitness of Kansas City - fitness and health center Forum Home Health of St. Louis - in-home health care services Grace Weekend Clinic of Chillicothe - health clinic KC Clippers Styling Salon of Kimberling City - salon Luminomics of St. Louis - firm developing regenerative treatments for neurological diseases Miller Family Hairstyling of St. Joseph - salon Optimal Lifestyles - of St. Louis - health/fitness consulting company My Zoo Animal Hospital of Columbia - veterinarian Construction Anderson Backhoe of Riverside - plumbing and site utility contractor BRK Electric of St. Louis - an electrical contractor DGR Associates of Belton - supplier of facility and housing maintenance Shaffer's Substation of Ellsinore - electrical substation construction business Agriculture Oswald Ag of Tarkio - custom agricultural spraying service

Visit the current Featured Entrepreneur