Mom On A Mission: Turning Fitness Into A Business

From Member to Owner: Carie’s Burn Boot Camp Journey

In this episode, we dive into Carie’s inspiring journey from being a young mom attending Burn Boot Camp to becoming the owner of her own franchise. After experiencing a life-changing transformation through fitness, Carie moved back to her hometown and, instead of just finding another gym, she built one herself in Chandler, Arizona and later expanded to Gilbert, Arizona. Her mission? To create a space where everyone feels seen, welcomed, and celebrated—no matter where they are in their fitness journey.

Carie’s personal experiences have shaped the way she leads, emphasizing inclusivity so that everyone can move their bodies in a way that feels right for them. Her passion for community and empowerment has impacted countless lives, making her an incredibly loved leader in her fitness community. 

Tune in to hear how Carie turned her personal transformation into a thriving business and a movement of support, strength, and belonging.

Transcript

And gaining a lot of weight, being a mom, not feeling adequate enough to go to the gym, being a stay at home mom, and losing yourself and realizing you don't know who you are anymore, and finding that confidence again in yourself.
We've all lost ourself at some point. Were you afraid I had to hide them from my husband? Really pretty much panic attacks in my closet, because he believed in me, he believed in me and I and then there comes a point where you don't believe in yourself, like, can I really do this? Can I make this happen? But I started it because, like, I found my purpose, and I wanted to do this, and it's looking back. I had no idea I would own two gems, and then year and a half later, I opened my second location to make an impact and change more lives like I had no idea that I would own two businesses years ago. What would you say to the woman that is afraid of pursuing her purpose because she's afraid of feeling that mom guilt, or she's afraid of the commitment not being able to balance pursuing your purpose and being a mom. I think, I think if you know that,
welcome to her purpose. The podcast where together we dive into the inspiring journeys of women who are living out their purpose, not just for themselves, but in a way that serves others and creates lasting impact. I'm your host, Kindra Morse, and I'm here to share stories of women who've discovered their passions, overcome obstacles and found fulfillment in stepping into the work that they know they were meant to do. In each episode, we'll explore what it means to live fully, embrace your unique gifts, discover their purpose and past experiences, often painful ones, and use them to make a difference in the world. So if you're ready to be inspired and empowered to pursue your own path of meaningful purpose, then you're in the right place. Let's get started, and remember, let no one clip your wings
in today's episode, I'm so excited for you to hear Carie Perham's story of turning her passion into purpose, her journey is a true testament to the power of believing yourself and following your gut. Carie started as a member of burn boot camp simply looking to better her health. Little did she know that the experience would spark a fire in her that led her to owning not just one but two burn boot camp locations in Chandler, Arizona, we're diving into her inspiring story of transformation, how she turned her passion for fitness into a thriving business, and what it's like to build a community that empowers others to become their best selves. If you've ever thought about taking a leap into entrepreneurship or wondered how to turn your personal experiences into a business, this episode is for you. I am so excited to be talking to you today. So my friend Jami told me a little bit about your story, and she the main thing that I want to share, that she has said about you before we get into this interview, is that you are a successful business woman, and she loves what you've done with the burn boot camp gym that she goes to, but she said her influence is so far beyond just the gym and the way that she impacts people's lives, and the things that she's passionate about bringing to women's lives, is what stands out to her. So that was I just want to preface this interview with the reason that I wanted to talk to you was the impact that you're making on women around you. So welcome.
So you, I know you you moved to, is it North Carolina at one point? Yeah, so were you from? I am born and raised in Arizona. I'm a native. My husband's a native.
Grew up here my whole entire life. Have three children. Then about nine years ago, my husband's job was relocating to North Carolina, and when we were moving, my kids were heading into kinder, first and third. And then we found out school started a little bit earlier in North Carolina, so the kids and I went out there. Oh, wow, before my husband did. But yeah, we are born and raised here, and just moved across the nation to North Carolina. So I know just a little bit about kind of what sparked your interest in working out. Were you working out before you moved? Were you part of so? No, not really. So in my college days,
I would work out all the time. And then Mom era entered, and I had three kids back to back. My oldest was three and a half, and my third one was being born, so I kind of just banged him out, gained a lot of weight, enjoyed that mom era of just doing life, and
then when I was ready to go back to the gym, I was really embarrassed of where I was at.
Wait, did that came from going to the gym? Did that like, hold you back Absolutely. I felt like I wasn't in shape to go to the gym, and didn't care.
To go to the gym, so I kind of hired a personal trainer to come to my house to make me feel that I could be in a place to go to the gym that is so not being sad that I think that's a common belief. I think a lot very common. You it's very common. Fast forward to present day, like, I know that women are scared to come into the gym because they don't feel like they can do it right. They feel like everyone there is probably thinking, why are you? You don't belong here because you don't look like we look.
Yeah, and then you do finally, maybe shed some pounds. I I ended my pregnancies at 236 pounds when I decided to do something, I was 209 pounds. Finally lost some weight, went to the gym and didn't feel like I even had the outfits that women were wearing at the gym. And that's all my problem, that this is in my mind, this is how I was feeling. But mind games are real. Mind strength is a completely different muzzle that that also needs to be built and needs to get strong as well, absolutely. And we forget that, that we need strength mentally as well. And then I would lug my three kids to the gym, and the big box gyms were big and crowded and sick, and it just felt like it just kind of wasn't that phase of my life right now. So I was still periodically going, but I wasn't like a an avid gym goer, per se, and that's when you lived in Arizona, or after you had moved to North Carolina, when I lived in Arizona. So then we had relocated to North Carolina, and my kids and I were living in a hotel, and we moved on a Thursday, and my youngest started kindergarten on that Monday, I registered them for school, I filled out the emergency contact forms, and I left the emergency contact to be determined I knew no one. Wow. And then I'm thinking, this is a really bad situation that I didn't really think through. Like, if something were to happen to be during the day, no one would know, and who would call for my kids? Looking back, I didn't think some of these things through. So then after I dropped them off, I would just go to the hotel and sit there and kind of cry, because mom dating in your 40s is really hard. Where do you meet people when you don't have your kids at home with you? You're at such an advantage when you have your kids at home, because having kids is a new transition in life. Anyways, if you are a stay at home mom or a working mom, you're just in a different phase of life, and you're looking to surround people who are in that same phase of life with you. And so then when they started school, I'm like, how do you Mom date? How do you meet people you can't just go to the park with a bag of goldfish, and eat people are gonna think you're crazy. You can't go to Chick fil A. I mean, you can, but at least when you have your kids with you, you can just talk to a stranger.
So I was it was really hard
just socializing and being around people. We are not meant to live life alone. We are meant for connection. We are meant for community. And
so then I joined a big box gym, which is, they're fine, it just was another day in, day out. And then a local burn boot camp was opening in my hometown for a free 30 days, and I signed up for it. I wanted to vomit pulling up. I'm like, I can't do this. But I took that step, and I walked through those doors and you So you started your finished journey. How, yes, how Go ahead. So I found myself going back for more, for various reasons, a the community and connection being amongst like minded women for 45 minutes, everyone dropped their kids off at school, or everyone left their kids in date, in the child watch, so you all had 45 minutes, and you would give each other high five and just feel somewhat inspired by others. So the community and the connection was important to me. And then I fell in love with the workouts as well. And then I also suffer from an autoimmune I have rheumatoid arthritis. So for those of you who aren't aware of rheumatoid arthritis, it's an autoimmune that your insides attack each other because they think there's a foreign object in your body. So when you have inflammation, it's not inflammation from just eating a cheeseburger. It's an inflammation because your body is attacking the tissue so my wrist would flare up,
and so the trainers would modify my workouts for me. So then I fell in love with something that I knew I needed in my life. Was there a period of time. So for me, my own I want to ask a little bit about like helping women just get on the journey of physical fitness. For me, most of my life, I've resented working out, and I've had this resistance to working out, and I had this big shift of going from I'm working out because I hate something about my body to I'm working out because I love my body. So it is a big shift. It is a mind shift. Workout is working out is not a pun.
Punishment for what you did last night, working out is not a punishment for celebrating a girls weekend. Working working out is not saying you shouldn't have had that today we are going to go to the gym. Working out is to celebrate what your body can do and all that it's worth and all that it's capable of. Working out is good for your mind. Working out is good for your long longevity of life, to live a longer life, to be able to run around with your kids, to be able to see your grandchildren one day. Working out is not just for building muscle. Working out is also good for your bone strength, and we need our bones for the rest of our lives. Working out is good for your mental state. There are so many benefits of working out it's not just for building muscle. At what point in your own personal journey, did you decide this is something that I want to share with other women and like, did you know you were going to run a burn boot camp one day? No, so. So I graduated from Arizona State University, and which is look crazy, looking back in Recreation Management and Tourism. And I was an event planner for years for a major oil company, and then I was a planner for the Gilbert for a local Chamber of Commerce. Then I stayed home for 10 to 12 years and had kids. I didn't know what my next phase of life was going to be, but I knew that I was meant for more, but I didn't know what it was.
And then I joined burn, and I absolutely fell in love with it for so many reasons. It got burn got me through some really tough times, physically and mentally, and I knew that we were moving back to Arizona. So we were there for two years, and I told my husband, I said, I cannot, not have this in my life. And I said, I know how many women at that time, it was women only. We are now co Ed like I know how many women this would benefit. How many women would benefit from this. We have child watch and just being amongst the community who inspires, empowers and transforms everyone in all shapes and walks of life, all ages, all stages. We are so welcoming at any phase, come as you are. And I convinced my husband and called and inquired about the franchise, got all the statistics, and he said, Let's do it. And then I'm like,
right? But it was something I was passionate about, and it was something that I believed in, and I knew that it could make an impact, and I knew it was going to be work, brand awareness, building a brand. I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew that I believed in it, right? Did you? So I love speaking to that drive of pursuing a passion and turning that into a business. And the journey, I think a lot of people have things are passionate about, but the journey of getting there, like, what did that look like for you? So, like, I'm gonna backtrack a little, I think, like my my personal journey of a gaining a lot of weight, being a mom, not feeling adequate enough to go to the gym, being a stay at home mom, and losing yourself and not fine and and realizing you don't know who you are anymore, and finding that confidence again in yourself, then relocating to another state, not knowing anyone. I felt like that put me in so many different walks of life that I that I experienced like this was part of the path that I was meant to be on, and I had no idea there was something greater waiting for me.
So then we my husband agreed, like, let's do this. And
what was your question? There's so many things that I'm like, Oh my gosh, I listening to you talk about being a mom whose children are growing up and wondering, where, where am I? Where's my place? Now, that's so relatable, as your kids get when they're little. I mean, we could just talk about all the different avenues that different faucets. I feel like there's, there's a certain period in a woman's life where their purpose completely changes. And that's what this is all about, helping women find their purpose, and that for most women in their 40s is going to be entirely different than it has been for the last 15 years, 10 or 15 years. So we're still moms. You're never going to not be a mom. But like, how can you turn a passion into a purpose? How can you turn your past experiences, your past pain points of struggling with your self identity and struggling with your self worth, and obviously working out like for me, working out has become I work out to make me feel good, not so much to like have a certain body. It's like more for my mind even than it is for my body now, but helping women find a way to make an impact and help people through a passion. So when you got you started to do this burn thing, were you afraid? Were you like did you have fears that it wouldn't work or that you would have a hard time?
Million fears. In fact, I had to hide them from my husband. Really pretty much panic attacks in my closet.
Because he believed in me, he believed in me and I and then there comes a point where you don't believe in yourself, like, can I really do this? Can I make this happen? And then it's almost like, wake up. Let's go like, you are going to pound the pavement, you are going to work hard, and you are going, you are not going to hit rock bottom. You are going to make this happen, and you will work hard, and you will get your message out there, and and you will find your way. And it's a lot of perseverance, and it's a lot of hard work. And I think the hardest thing is, and this, this is all aspects of life. The hardest thing is, is believing in yourself, absolutely, absolutely, especially, that it just goes anywhere in life is Believing in yourself is the hardest thing. Yeah, all of the days that you experienced that self doubt, like, what was it that helped you get past that? On those days that you were in the closet,
I think it was mainly my my husband believed in me, yeah? And thought I could do this. And I'm like, you know when, when you are opening a business or going a different route,
there is a financial obligation associated with it. I wouldn't say obligation, but I mean, you're signing leases, you're putting money down. Like, wow. Like, he, he believes in me. Like, I've gotta, I've gotta get my mind right, and then, you know, we have a family, we have kids and but it's also so exciting too. It's so exciting. Like, that's part of it. Like,
I want to change. Change is really scary, but change is really hard. If you do the same thing, you're going to get the same results. Doing different things, gets different results. I want to ask that you, when you said, I want to get my message out there. What do you believe is your message to women?
I think that we, every woman, is made for more, and like we had touched on, there are so many different journeys and and stages of women's life, and we all lost ourselves. We've all lost ourselves at some point, whether whatever stage it is, and it's like you are there, you can find it, you can dig deep. You are beautiful, you are worthy, you are strong. I mean, you are seen. So many women and men just want to be seen, and we make sure that you're seen at the at your gym. You mean, as far as, like, for the members, yeah, how many? Because you you never know someone's day they're having they chose to come here. We're giving them that high five and and that good vibe. No matter what business you're in, they're choosing to come to you. They're choosing to buy the product from you. They're they're they're choosing to work out with you, like I am very grateful for that. There's a million other places someone could go to, there's a million other products someone could buy, but they chose you, and I welcome that, and I am excited that that that, that they chose me absolutely when you so when you started the gym, were you doing that because you felt like I need to find a way to make money? Or was it I have been
it wasn't necessarily a find, find a way to make money. My husband's like, you're like, starting a glorified mom's club. That's awesome, right? I did it because I believed in it. I knew it would be work. Yes, there is some reward with it, obviously.
But I started it because, like, I found my purpose, and I wanted to do this, and it's looking back, I had no idea I would own two gems, and then year and a half later, I opened my second location to make an impact and change more lives. Like I had no idea that I would own two businesses years ago, right prior to you, had no business background, no, no. I mean, I was an event planner, that's pretty much it which an event planner takes a lot stronger
Exactly. I think that's where I get a lot of my multitasking, a lot of my ideas, a lot of the things that happen in the gym. But, you know, I find my way, and I rely on my team. I empower my team, and I believe in my team, and I let them grow in, in to the leaders that they are meant to be as well. How big is your team? How big is the gym? Um, I have between the two gyms. I have about 32 staff members, wow. Child watch, I have a team of like 11 or 12 trainers. I've got six or seven front desk workers, about 12 or so, child watch workers, and then between the two gyms,
mid 700 members. Wow, that was my next question is, how many people? How many people's lives have you impacted? Do you believe, since you've started it in their health and wellness or fitness journey?
1000s? Yeah, and it's.
It's the most rewarding, like,
just the stories they share. Like, I didn't know that maybe I needed a counseling degree to do this. Like I am sometimes the first person they they tell when they find out they have cancer, or when their spouse passed away, or when they're going through a hard time, and they're telling me that they can't afford to come to burn anymore. And I'm like, don't even worry about this. I'm going to take care of it until you're in a place where where you can contribute. But right now, I know that you need this in your life, because you need the community and you need your friends that I'm not going to take that away from you right now, so you keep doing it and worry about that later, like it's such an honor and it's such a privilege, and both gyms were open during COVID In 2020 and if it weren't for my members and it weren't for our community, we wouldn't be here, right? So what year did your first gym open?
My South Chandler location opened in 20, 2018 and then my Gilbert East location opened in 2019 so they were a baby. They were only open nine months before we had to shut down. So when the shutdown happened, what did you do through that first period? So we pivoted. I had a team meeting that night, and the very next day, I chose to close our gyms on our own without being told to close, because I could see where it was going, and I knew, like for the community, it was the right thing to do. And then the very next day, we pivoted to Facebook Live workouts. And it was so funny, because my team, none of us, we're not virtual. We don't do we have no idea. We set up our iPad, flip reverse, and then I said, talk to the iPad like it's a member, train them, and we were all in the background working out, and we had never done anything like this before. My trainers weren't
online trainers, but we did it. We did it day in and day up, day in and day out. And our members say, tell us to this day, thank you for getting us through that time. Because they came in every day
virtually to see us. That's so amazing. At what point did you go back to it opening up? How long were you like that? I think we were closed for probably like, what, three months. Then they reopened again, and then we closed down again, and then we switched it immediately to parking lot camps, because it was probably starting to cool down a little bit, because we're in Arizona, and it's awful, right? And then we switched to parking lot camps ended, like, two a day, and then I would sell, like, protein and retail outside, and people would just swing by and just want a connection and to talk to someone, right? And all of this stems from how you felt as a mom. I love how you said, What did you say? Mom dating, I've never heard that before, Yeah, mom dating, it's so true. But you knew what it was like to be a mom and not know anybody, not know how to social, like, not socialize. So make friends, yeah? How is it moving to a new place? So many things, yeah. So how was it for you? Like, at what point did you
I guess, where did you identify that to be your purpose? Like, at what point were you like? This is why I'm here. And how did that?
How did that period of time transition, I guess, how? How was that for you?
So
when I first open the gyms. I think I might answer this in a roundabout way. I'm not sure we have to circle back
that answer of how I knew this was my purpose. I would say has accumulated over time. I didn't really know how many purposes there would be. At first, when you open a new business, you work day and night. I didn't really have much staff because I didn't trust anyone else to work the work their front desk, but me. So I probably worked 17 hours a day, because you got one shot at this. So let's go. So I
I forgot it was my husband's birthday, like, I mean, it was awful, and he did the Christmas shopping, as I was too busy opening a gym and like, my kids didn't see me for how long?
I would say two to three months, probably because you're you're all in and it's, you're tired, you're working, and you're also like, Why did I do this? Like, I don't even see my family. But then you start getting staff, and then you start getting processed. Because if you've ever opened a business or whatever, you're like, changing processes all the time because you don't know what you're doing, so you're finally starting to calm. And then
I'm loving what I'm doing. And then members are sharing their stories, and I'm seeing them transform, and I'm seeing them find their confidence in them smile, and seeing a member wear a tank top for the first time, and I'm like, I just am addicted to it. I love it. I love it so much. And I'm like, This is my purpose. And then as a mom, you have that mom guilt for years, and my youngest is my daughter, and then I have two boys and a daughter. And I think as a mom, no matter what you do in life, even.
And just being a stay at home mom or working mom taking time for you, you feel guilty, even if it's 45 minutes in a camp. You feel guilty. You feel like you shouldn't be doing this, because that's not your place right now, but it is your place. And then when I see my daughter's confidence in certain things in life that I knew I didn't have that confidence back then, and I'm just so proud of her that I feel like,
you know what? I all that mom guilt I had was an amazing and phenomenal example to my children that you don't realize it till years later. So would you say, actually, one of the things that my friend Jamie told me about you is that you are very good at balancing your business and your family life and your kids. You're super involved with your kids. They're very big into sports. Your oldest is playing football, right?
My oldest is varsity football. My I have three kids in high school. I have a senior, sophomore and freshman. My oldest is varsity football, my sophomores JV football, and my daughter is freshman volleyball, and I am also the football booster president,
so I am wildly involved in their lives. But those are times that you can't get back and you learn over like to prioritize. Like,
no matter what you do, it's still going to be there tomorrow, that work is still going to be there, that problem that needs to be taken care of tonight, it's probably still going to be a problem tomorrow. You have to learn to breathe, you have to learn to prioritize, and you have to learn to let go, knowing everything's going to be okay. Because when I'm with my kids or I'm at the school, I'm with my kids, and about the school, what would you, yeah, there's something to be said about being 100% where you are 100% of the time. That doesn't mean you're anywhere 100% of the time. It just means that you are 100% present wherever your presence is.
But how would you what would you say to the woman that is afraid of pursuing her purpose because she's afraid of feeling that mom guilt, or she's afraid of the commitment and balancing it, fear of not being able to balance pursuing your purpose and being a mom. I think, I think if you know that that that fear is real and common amongst everyone, that helps so much when you feel like you're not alone, the only one feeling that way, like it is a valid feeling. It is a real feeling. It's almost like a mandatory feeling to have those feelings like there'd be something wrong with you if you didn't. Yeah, it's like when you have your first kid and then you're pregnant with your second, you feel guilty because you don't know if you can love that second child as much as your first, but you don't really want to say that. But then when you feel like other like other moms feel that way, you're like, oh my god, I'm human, I'm normal. This is so I think, like, if you realize like, that is like a passage way of womanhood, like, who doesn't feel that way, and lean into that, like, recognize those feelings and feel those feelings, but also learning to give yourself grace and allow yourself that transition period too, right? What is on? What is at stake if you what does life look like? If you are not pursuing your purpose, you have nothing to lose in everything to gain. These conversations show us that living with purpose is so not about perfection. It's about trusting the whispers of your heart, embracing what is probably going to feel like a mess, and having the courage to take that first or next step when you probably won't feel ready. I do believe that every woman has a story that's unfolding, and every story can become a spark of inspiration for someone else. So if today's episode has touched you in any way, my ask is this, share it with a woman you love who might need a reminder that she's not alone, and those whispers she's feeling, they're there for a reason. Alright, let's get back to the episode.
Was there ever a period of time where you felt like you didn't, weren't living in your purpose, and you were wondering, like, why am I here? Or what, what is the point?
No, I think, like, that's a really tough question. I think we are all in different phases of life. I mean, I you have your your young teenage years that are completely different than your college years. And then you have your, you know, stay up mom era or your working mom era. I would never say, like, there, there was a purpose to all of that, right? There was when I don't have, like, that's just everyone's part of everyone's life and everyone's journey that leads them to where they are today, I speak to a lot of women that do live in that space where they're wondering, what is my purpose now? What is where am I supposed to go now? What am I supposed to do now? And one of the biggest things that I always encourage is lean into the pain points you've experienced. What What has your journey? What things about your journey have led you to where you.