The Ground Floor: Entrepreneur finds physical training more fulfilling

During the 17 years she spent in an office job in Cedar Rapids, Kristy Butterfield never felt as if she belonged. The college art major chalked it up to being right-brained while her colleagues tended to be left-brained.

So she signed up to teach a hula hoop class at her company's recreation center.

“I got a lot more enjoyment out of that half-hour a week than doing what I did 40 hours a week behind a computer,” she recalled.

Butterfield completed an online program to become a certified personal trainer and then became a certified wellness coach. She also went back to school to obtain her M.B.A.

She did all of this while continuing to work full time at Rockwell Collins.

“I was filling my toolbox,” she said.

In January, she started her own personal training and wellness coaching business on the side, working with clients in their homes two times a week. She asked her employer if she could go part-time but did not receive an immediate response.

Then in March Butterfield reached out to wellness coach Kylie Helgens, whom she discovered through Helgens's “Commit to Be Fit” column in The Gazette.

“It made sense to network with her,” Butterfield said. “There aren't a lot of wellness coaches in the area.”

Butterfield met with Helgens and her mother, Mary Beth, who co-owned Sisters Health Club in Cedar Rapids. It turned out they were planning to sell the business and wanted to find the right buyer.

“It was a divine meeting that happened,” Butterfield said.

Butterfield left her job on May 31 and took over as the new owner of Sisters on June 1.

Sisters is a fitness facility for women - and women-only, Butterfield emphasized - with circuit training, cardio equipment, weight training, fitness classes and an infrared sauna. It also offers yoga, personal training and wellness services.

“I didn't walk into it planning to buy a gym, but I had set myself up for something. I just didn't know what it was.”

• Owner: Kristy Butterfield
• Company: Sisters Health Club
• Address: 4333 Czech Lane NE, Cedar Rapids
• Phone: (319) 261-2610
• Website: www.sistershealthclub.com

Know company in business for less than a year that'd be great for “The Ground Floor”? Contact business editor Michael Chevy Castranova at michael.castranova@sourcemedia.net