Presence Over Hustle: Kristi Chaves on Aligned Business

What if your business didn’t run on hustle—but on presence?

This week, I sat down with Kristi Chaves, a business coach who helps women build successful businesses rooted in alignment and authenticity. Raised in a family of coaches, Kristi brings a unique perspective on leadership, embodiment, and growth.

We covered so much good ground, including:

• The surprising benefits of growing up in a coaching household
• How somatic practices can transform your business
• Why “mom guilt” is a story you don’t have to subscribe to
• What it really means to live—and work—in alignment
• The power of support and community for women entrepreneurs

Key Topics:

• Presence over hustle
• Business and motherhood
• Somatic coaching in entrepreneurship
• Alignment as strategy
• Community and connection

To connect with Kristi, follow her on Instagram @KristiChaves

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Transcript

Presence Over Hustle: Kristi Chaves on Aligned Business

Kristi Chavez grew up in a world most of us can only imagine. Her parents were both coaches who raised her on meditation, embodied leadership, and personal growth. Before it was cool that upbringing shaped the woman she is today, a business coach who helps women build thriving businesses without sacrificing alignment, presence, or peace.

In our conversation, Kristi shares what it was like to be raised in such a unique way, how she brings somatic practices into business coaching, [00:01:00] and why pro. Presence, not hustle is the real key to success. We also talk about mom guilt, living in alignment, and the importance of support and community for women entrepreneurs.

This one is full of wisdom, real talk, and plenty of inspiration. So grab your favorite sip and settle in. Here is Kristi Chavez.

[00:01:21] Kristi Chaves: Hello, Penny Kristi. It's great to meet 

[00:01:24] Penny Fitzgerald: you. 

[00:01:25] Kristi Chaves: You too. 

 I'm so happy to do this with you and connect with you. 

[00:01:28] Penny Fitzgerald: You too. 

[00:01:30] Kristi Chaves: Where are you, uh, located in the world? 

[00:01:34] Penny Fitzgerald: I am in Iowa for the summer. 

[00:01:37] Kristi Chaves: Okay. 

[00:01:38] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, it's uh, the weather's been nice and cool and yeah, it's been lovely lately. 

[00:01:46] Kristi Chaves: That's so nice. Where are you the other time of the year?

[00:01:49] Penny Fitzgerald: Uh, I go to Sarasota, Florida for when it gets cold in Iowa. I am chasing the sun. Okay. 

[00:01:57] Kristi Chaves: You're one of those, what they call 'em, like snowbirds? 

[00:01:59] Penny Fitzgerald: [00:02:00] Yeah. I just, I call myself the sun chaser 'cause it sounds better. Yeah, 

[00:02:04] Kristi Chaves: I get it. I totally get it. How about you? Where are, where are you? I'm in California. Oh, nice. So I'm in like southern California, so yeah, don't, luckily it's sunny all year round.

[00:02:16] Penny Fitzgerald: So beautiful. All the time. Yeah, 

[00:02:18] Kristi Chaves: it's, it's always nice here. So we're always, we're always at the beach, so it makes different. 

[00:02:24] Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, fantastic. Yeah. Love it. Yeah. Well, I was looking a little bit online and I see that, well, you tell me if I'm wrong, but, um, you grew up with parents who are coaches. Is that true? 

[00:02:38] Kristi Chaves: I did.

[00:02:38] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Oh, how fun is that? 

[00:02:40] Kristi Chaves: Yes, it is absolutely fun. It's a very different experience. Yeah. That's why so much of the time people are like, what's your story? I am like, mine's a little different than most people who you probably heard. So yeah. 

[00:02:53] Penny Fitzgerald: Well, tell us a little bit about that. Let my audience know, um, what you do and, um.

How, how you came to it? [00:03:00] I think it came naturally, it sounds like. 

[00:03:02] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. Yeah. So I, um, my, so basically I was raised by two, like both my parents are co were coaches and my mom has a meditation movement and mindset like business for the last 50 years. So I grew up going to meditation workshops when I was.

13 years old for like four hours and embodied leadership trainings where I would have to like learn how to communicate and be in my body and feel, what does it feel like and how do I communicate directly and what's my truth? And so it was just one, just going to the workshops obviously changed my life, but also having two parents who were entrepreneurs and coaches also.

It's just a different experience, you know, like it is just so different to be raised. Like whenever we would have tantrums as kids, my parents would always have us like close our eyes, breathe in our body, you know, and really to like [00:04:00] connect in. So it was just a really different experience. And then. As I got older, I realized, wow, I know who I am.

I know what I want. In my life, I've connected to myself. Like I didn't have this whole like experience and honestly like so much of, you know, becoming a coach was at 21. I got married when I was 24. Like so many of my things happen honestly in alignment faster just because I didn't go through. I feel like that like twenties of like I'm discovering myself and who am I, what do I do in the world?

So, um, yeah, so it was, um, it was absolutely amazing. It's been an amazing experience. 

[00:04:40] Penny Fitzgerald: Wow. That's that's fantastic. I just put, I believe, you know, you, having gone through all of that, it feels very much like you're a step ahead earlier and able to like, regulate, not necessarily regulate, but understand what's happening.

Yeah. And [00:05:00] feel that, yeah. Totally. Did you grow up with other people who were. I mean, do you know any friends who had coaches for parents or did 

[00:05:10] Kristi Chaves: I really don't, honestly, it's so rare. And also because, you know, back then when my mom started her business and what my parents were doing, you know, it's, it's actually really funny.

People all the time will say, talk to me about like spirituality and personal growth. And for so long I would always think. That's so weird that they're using these words like spirituality and personal growth because in my household it was just a part of life. Like you just always looked at how you could be connected to yourself, how you could grow, how you could see, like, there's always an opportunity in situations, and so I really don't, I don't have exposure to really anyone who's grown up with that, that background.

Wow. It was very good. 

[00:05:56] Penny Fitzgerald: Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Do you have siblings? 

[00:05:59] Kristi Chaves: I do, I [00:06:00] have two older brothers. 

[00:06:01] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Have you talked to them about it at all? I mean, how they, their experience? Oh, yeah. 

[00:06:06] Kristi Chaves: Well, well, so my, one of my brothers and I and my mom, we actually co-facilitate embodied leadership training workshops together.

So we are always jamming on everything. Personal growth, you know, just like we teach it. And honestly, it's amazing, but also with my other brother who's an accountant, but it's like his job as an accountant, but he is. A different person, you know, and we all kind of have that, and we, and we all know, like it's, it's almost like an unspoken but spoken thing of 

[00:06:40] Penny Fitzgerald: mm-hmm.

[00:06:40] Kristi Chaves: We didn't grow up your typical way. And we know that. And everyone always, whenever they meet us, whenever they see us, you know, also my parents, when. We were younger, they did things obviously very differently than the norm, and they didn't get obvi very much praise for it at all. They got [00:07:00] a lot of pushback from family, from friends, from different people, of just like, why are you having your kids drink green juice and go to workshops and take and like pause and like work things through and communicate?

And a lot of people didn't understand it. And then as we got older. So many people go turn around and go, wow, all three of your kids are so successful. Like we are all like, have great careers married with kids. Like just all happy as people and like connected. And that's when everybody really started to turn their head and go, what did you do?

It's 

[00:07:36] Penny Fitzgerald: like this living experiment, right? 

[00:07:38] Kristi Chaves: Exactly. 

[00:07:39] Penny Fitzgerald: Yes. Yes. Wow. Did, did you have, um, okay, so I think of the tradi traditional family, you know, growing up you have rules and boundaries and there were consequences and that sort of thing. Totally. Did you, did you, you weren't living in a void of that. No, 

[00:07:57] Kristi Chaves: absolutely not.

My parents were very big [00:08:00] about having rewards and consequences, and actually something I talk a lot about in my own business these days and with my clients is I think the reason why I'm so successful in business is because my parents really had me earn everything. They didn't just like give us things and they didn't just.

We had to work for everything and not like work hard, but earn it, you know, even, mm-hmm. Even whatever it would be, we want money for something or, you know, whatever. It was like they really had us earn and absolutely have consequences and boundaries, but I think it's the way that they did it, the way that they communicated it was not in a punitive, like, you're doing something wrong.

It was just this behavior is not okay and here's what you, 

[00:08:47] Penny Fitzgerald: mm-hmm. Wow, that's so great. Yeah. Have they written a book and when will they, 

[00:08:55] Kristi Chaves: right? I know, not yet. But my mom, uh, my mom [00:09:00] teaches, my dad actually passed away a few years ago, so, oh, I'm sorry. He is writing his book from the other side. Okay. Um, my mom is still teaches her work and it comes through in everything that she teaches.

She's like a living, breathing example of all of this. 

[00:09:17] Penny Fitzgerald: Nice. Yeah. That's so fantastic. 

[00:09:19] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. 

[00:09:20] Penny Fitzgerald: Oh wow. And so of course your kids are then. Learning too. 

[00:09:25] Kristi Chaves: Yes. I just have one right now, and she's, she's young. I have a what, actually, literally a 1-year-old today. Today is her 1-year-old birthday. Oh, congratulations.

And happy birthday to 

[00:09:34] Penny Fitzgerald: your little. 

[00:09:35] Kristi Chaves: Yeah, thank you. Thank you. But absolutely, it's a, it's funny, people are already, are like, wow, I can see it in just the way you are with her like that I'm mm-hmm. Present and that I'm clear and also just not, you know, even when I say no to her, when she's. Throwing her cauliflower across the floor, you know, I'm like doing it with kindness, not with like, no, she can't.

Or she can just do whatever she wants. Right. 

[00:09:59] Penny Fitzgerald: [00:10:00] Uhhuh. Yeah. So, 

[00:10:01] Kristi Chaves: yeah. 

[00:10:02] Penny Fitzgerald: Oh wow. You know, I think feel like that's the greatest gift we can give another human is to be present with them. 

[00:10:08] Kristi Chaves: Absolutely. 

[00:10:09] Penny Fitzgerald: Make them feel seen and heard. 

[00:10:11] Kristi Chaves: Absolutely. And it's been, you know, I will say that this year alone, especially, you know, obviously going from like the loss of my dad and then.

Having a business that you're running and then a year later, I got pregnant and had a child. It, I've, I've been saying this so much, but I've never felt so much peace in my entire life. I've never felt just every day waking up feeling so peaceful, feeling so in alignment, just. Everything in life. Not that there's not challenges, there's 

[00:10:42] Penny Fitzgerald: mm-hmm.

[00:10:42] Kristi Chaves: Sure. It's life. Right? But it's not shaking me. Nothing is like shaking me. Mm-hmm. And I feel so good. But I will say, I think like that's one of the greatest things is that it's brought, that piece is presence. Is that slowing down to really be present, [00:11:00] you know, when I'm with my daughter, when I'm working to be really present when I'm working.

Mm-hmm. When I'm doing other things, be present with what it is that I'm actually doing. 

[00:11:08] Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. And that brings peace. 

[00:11:10] Kristi Chaves: Yes. For me it has. Mm-hmm. It's brought a lot of peace for me. 

[00:11:15] Penny Fitzgerald: Wow. Yeah. How do you focus on that or how do you practice that so that it stays top of mind so that you can be present? 

[00:11:22] Kristi Chaves: Yeah.

Well, I think that there's a few things, so I think that when you are living your life in alignment and you really are doing what you wanna be doing, I think that that's, that is number one. You know, it's funny, especially being a new mom, so many people would say, oh, do you have mom guilt about this? And mom, I'm like, no.

Mm-hmm. How do I have mom guilt when I feel good about what I'm doing? Because I know what I want and I'm gonna do what I want and it may. Be what you think or not what you think. And I don't care. I'm living, I do mom for me. I mom how I want a mother, you know? Mm-hmm. So I think that the biggest thing is one, is when you live [00:12:00] your life in alignment and really attuned to who you are and really true to what you want.

I don't think that. I think it's a lot easier to be present with what you're doing, and I honestly think a lot of people's lack of presence is this constant trying to chase something because they're not in alignment and things don't feel good. So you're always thinking about the future. You're always thinking about what's next.

You're always thinking about the next thing or how things could be different. And I think when you're really living in alignment. And you're really doing what you wanna be doing. You're really putting your energy towards, and again, don't get me wrong, that's it's work. Life is work, but it's the way you do the work and the way you show up for it and that you're really.

When you're in alignment, it's a lot easier, I think, to focus on like what you have and what's right in front of you. And I will say also, I think, you know, losing my dad made me really recognize like life is precious. And like these moments that 

[00:12:59] Penny Fitzgerald: you 

[00:12:59] Kristi Chaves: have [00:13:00] with yourself, with going on a walk, with eating, with sleeping, with the people you love, with working, they, they don't last forever.

Mm-hmm. And so I think it really put me on this like. Be here now with whatever it is that I'm doing, and that has brought me a lot of peace. 

[00:13:18] Penny Fitzgerald: Nice. It's, it's a gratitude thing. It feels like too. You're grateful for this moment that's in front of you when you're present. Yeah, 

[00:13:26] Kristi Chaves: absolutely. Absolutely. Yes. Well, and every day I say that, I'm like, I think life for like, I think life for what I have.

And I also say like, I trust life. Like I trust life will will give me what I need. 

[00:13:39] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Oh, that's beautiful. 

[00:13:41] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. 

[00:13:41] Penny Fitzgerald: You know, going back a little bit, the mom guilt thing, I feel like, you know, people, we worry too much about what other people think and, and people try and put on you, they're, they project onto us Sure.

What they're afraid of or what they're struggling [00:14:00] with. Those projections of the mom guilt. So a lot of people feel. Live in that chasing, trying to be the perfect mom or the perfect this, or trying to do this because that's what everybody else does or that's the way that it's supposed to be. But when you're living in the present moment, when you're focused on who is in front of you and grateful for that, it takes away that need to be something else that you're not.

[00:14:26] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. A thousand percent. Yeah. And I think, I think that's again, where there's, there's not a rule book on how to do motherhood or business. 

[00:14:35] Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

[00:14:35] Kristi Chaves: Or life like, it just is what feels right for you. And, and listening to that, because I had, I will be the first to say that I had so many moments in those early stages of motherhood in that first, you know, few months of just like, oh my gosh, I.

Don't know, you know, I have, yeah, so much experience with kids, but nothing prepares you like having your own. Yeah, 

[00:14:58] Penny Fitzgerald: baby. 

[00:14:59] Kristi Chaves: And [00:15:00] I did have that like, and I also felt guilty of like, but I wanna work in my business and I don't need this typical like maternity leave that people like desire. I'm like, she sleeps all the time.

I wanna like do something. So, um. You know, I, but ultimately when I just got really clear on myself of what do I really want? Mm-hmm. What feels good to me, it became super clear and there was no longer like a push and a pull of what I want and what I think I should want. 

[00:15:34] Penny Fitzgerald: Nice. How did you, how did you get that clarity?

How did you find that? 

[00:15:38] Kristi Chaves: I mean, one, one thing is I have beautiful support around me. Um, I would say people who can like, hold space and ref, you know, just be like, what do you want? Just, that's one thing my mom has always done my whole life is I would call her for advice or questions or this, and she always would say.

What do you want? What's true for you? [00:16:00] And I think it really taught me to like source of, well, what do I feel good about? Right? Mm-hmm. What, what it does feel right for me, and this is where it really comes down to also like really being attuned to your own body and somatically and 'cause the truth is you're knowing.

Lives in your body, lives in your physical body. And if you're only in your mind and trying to like think your way through life, you're going to not fully have decisions and things that you're doing that are really in alignment with who you are. 

[00:16:32] Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

[00:16:34] Kristi Chaves: So, 

[00:16:34] Penny Fitzgerald: wow. How do you, when, when I describe it to people, I feel like it's your older, wiser self knowing.

And coming to you to bring you towards her, you know, what can you do to walk towards your older, wiser self and what would she want for you? Kinda like what we would want for our younger selves. You know, we want all the best for our, our little person, you know, that we were, so, [00:17:00] yeah, I, that's kind of the way I describe it, but how do you, how would you describe finding your truth or finding what you want?

How, what you want to do? What you do day to day, how do you, how do you source that? 

[00:17:16] Kristi Chaves: I think of it as if you thought about yourself as you were never disconnected. Like you're never disconnected from it. So I think that one of the biggest illusions is thinking that you have to get to your truth instead of realizing the truth of what you want is already in you.

[00:17:35] Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

[00:17:36] Kristi Chaves: You just gotta get outta the way. 

[00:17:38] Penny Fitzgerald: So 

[00:17:38] Kristi Chaves: it's not actually about trying to source something that doesn't exist or that's mm-hmm. In the future or, or wherever it is. I think of it as my job is to slow down enough. Mm-hmm. To cut out the noise, to look at all the places where I'm blocking hearing myself because I think, I don't know, or [00:18:00] I think that there's a right way, or I want things to be perfect and I wanna guarantee on life that doesn't exist.

Right. You have to face, so to really live a life of truth mm-hmm. You have to face everywhere where you're, you are in the way of accessing it. And I think that that's really the biggest thing is to think about, like, if I was al, if I, if I had a belief system that I'm already connected to my truth mm-hmm.

That I already know, what would I know? And that's a great question to start with. Like what, that's a beautiful 

[00:18:32] Penny Fitzgerald: question. Mm-hmm. But if you did know what to 

[00:18:36] Kristi Chaves: exactly. I do it all the time with clients when they say, mm-hmm. Well, I don't know this. And I go, but if you did know what would, you know, Uhhuh. And ironically, they know.

They know. We just need the belief and the invitation to go there. 

[00:18:51] Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. It's scary. There's so many, there are so many li limiting beliefs we put on ourselves. We stay busy to keep ourselves safe. [00:19:00] So that we don't have to step outta that comfort zone, but really the comfort is in living our truth and in work working towards our higher purpose.

And to be To be present for others. To serve others. 

[00:19:16] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. 

[00:19:18] Penny Fitzgerald: Wow. Okay. Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. So tell us a little bit about your business. How are you, how are you serving your people? 

[00:19:26] Kristi Chaves: Aw, I, so I do business coaching and I help a lot of women in being able to grow and create these beautiful businesses that they love, that make them great money, that are scalable.

But really that allow them to live their life. So my big passion is really building a business that gives you the life wealth that you want. Not just financial wealth, but bigger than that. Mm-hmm. And this really came out of my dad passing away of realizing, you know, anyone can make money. Anyone can have a business, [00:20:00] anyone can have clients, that's great.

But if it's not giving you the type of lifestyle you want, if it's not giving you the, if you are not being the type of person mm-hmm. You are proud to be not for me. Mm-hmm. So I really help women in how to actually, you know, do the sales, do the marketing, set it up, look at the model. Do it in a way, but something I'm very big about is making sure that you're also doing it in a way that your unique genius is coming through.

Because I think so much of the time, especially in business and especially women, they try to create businesses or marketing off of a mold, off of this five step process, off of this framework, and then they resist it. They don't do it, and then they think something's wrong with them. Why they couldn't do the thing that they paid for.

[00:20:44] Penny Fitzgerald: Right, exactly. 

[00:20:44] Kristi Chaves: Instead of actually. Oh, it wasn't the thing. It's that the way you're trying to do the thing is not meant. Yeah. And so that I'm very big about, you know, really honing in on like, what is your genius? What are you an embodiment of? And crafting [00:21:00] everything from there. 

[00:21:01] Penny Fitzgerald: I love it. That is so aligned.

You know, women, we, we try and, um, you know, do we look at the way business has been done traditionally, a patriarchal. Set up system. Yeah. Where you're, they're, they're on a 24 hour cycle. We're on a 28 day cycle, you know? Yeah. I mean all the whole, all the things, it's just, it fights with our body. Totally.

The bro marketing the push, push, push the hustle, culture it, that doesn't work for women. 

[00:21:32] Kristi Chaves: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

[00:21:34] Penny Fitzgerald: We have to be in alignment. We have to be in our purpose. Yes. 

[00:21:40] Kristi Chaves: Absolutely. Wow. Absolutely. And I also think it's also, you know, business is an opportunity to also really get to know your knowing and your truth and what you want.

Mm-hmm. And what you're good at. And if you are stuck in it needs to be a certain way, you're gonna miss those breadcrumbs of opportunities within [00:22:00] yourself. Mm-hmm. And a lot of the time you, I found this very true for myself in growing and scaling my own business is. When I stop thinking that there was the right way to do it, and instead I go, okay, business is simple.

If I actually understand the simplicity of business now I just get to find my way of how I wanna do it. And everything just started clicking when I started. 

[00:22:28] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. That's in alignment. 

[00:22:30] Kristi Chaves: Exactly. That's in alignment because at the end of the day. My, my time. I want, for me personally, I want everything that I do with my time, going towards what I want and that I'm doing the work.

And I think that's the thing that, you know, when I have my daughter and many people take a certain amount of maternity leave. I did, I, I think of it as like, I never took a maternity leave. I don't need a maternity leave. 'cause I built a business that I got on all the time that like mm-hmm. I, I did for sure take a lot of space [00:23:00] and, you know, had a lot of limited things.

But when I, I didn't like come back at a certain time I didn't do these things 'cause it was just. I didn't need to, my business is built to be the mom that I wanna be, where I get to be home and I get to be around like all these things that I value. I build a business to be able to do that. 

[00:23:21] Penny Fitzgerald: That's important.

[00:23:22] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. 

[00:23:23] Penny Fitzgerald: Yes. Yeah. So yeah, you're, you're not traveling with your business, so you didn't have to put anything on hold there. 

[00:23:33] Kristi Chaves: Yes. Well, I, I do, I have done a few different things and I've been away Yeah. For business. Absolutely. Um, but obviously I think that's one thing about having a baby is it really prioritizes your time mm-hmm.

And 

[00:23:47] Penny Fitzgerald: where you wanna 

[00:23:47] Kristi Chaves: go and that, and that's the great thing, right. My entire business before I had my, my daughter was traveling around the world going Costa Rica. Oh, 

[00:23:56] Penny Fitzgerald: wow. 

[00:23:56] Kristi Chaves: Going Hawaii, taking my laptop and my business with me. [00:24:00] And I'd go for like a few weeks or a month and I'd come home obviously because my husband.

So I was just like a single woman going around and, um. And now I'm just so clear on my, where my time goes, right? Mm-hmm. And so for me, I'm, yes, I love being with my daughter. I don't desire to be traveling a ton and being away. Mm-hmm. But I have, you know, like when she was. Five months old. I was at a retreat for a couple days, you know, and different things like that.

Mm-hmm. But I think that the biggest thing is it's like finding what feels right for you and that mm-hmm. You have to find what season of life are you in. Yes. And where do you wanna put your time at that season of life and knowing, I think the biggest thing for me was knowing. My business can scale to whatever I want it to, no matter what I do.

And however. Mm-hmm. Like it really can. And it's just a choice. Like you can have a business where you're out and about traveling and doing a lot of things in person. Like for me, I don't do many things in person at all. Um, [00:25:00] but that works for me. Mm-hmm. And I like 

[00:25:01] Penny Fitzgerald: that. 

[00:25:02] Kristi Chaves: So, you know, everything works essentially.

Yeah. 

[00:25:06] Penny Fitzgerald: Well, and the you mentioned too, you know, getting out there and doing it, so the action brings clarity. 

[00:25:12] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. 

[00:25:13] Penny Fitzgerald: You wouldn't know what works until you try it. And I think people get stuck. Women especially, we get stuck in, well, I don't know if that's gonna work, so I'm not gonna try That. Doesn't make any sense.

[00:25:23] Kristi Chaves: Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. You don't know until you do it. 

[00:25:27] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Right. Until you 

[00:25:28] Kristi Chaves: explore it. Absolutely. 

[00:25:30] Penny Fitzgerald: Wow. Absolutely. Okay. So do you work with um, clients one-on-one, or are you in a group setting? How do you, how do you do that? I, yeah, 

[00:25:37] Kristi Chaves: so I do both. My main programs are groups because I really do believe that, you know, especially women in business, I think being with other women, I've just seen such an absolute difference of success.

With business because it is so easy in business, especially as women, to get stuck in your head, to get to not know [00:26:00] and to feel very alone in your business journey. Mm-hmm. And so the reason I've designed like my group programs and my masterminds, like I've actually been running. Technically the same one for the last few years, but I've reiterated it a zillion times and I have women who resign and resign and resign and resign, so it is not the same.

[00:26:21] Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

[00:26:22] Kristi Chaves: Um, but I do really believe that there is something we create as women and hearing different ideas of what women are doing and seeing other women, like there's actually. Psychology shows that when you see someone do something that you also wanna be doing, it shows you that it's possible. Exactly.

And I think sometimes in a one-on-one setting. You know, for, with my one-on-one clients, sometimes it's like I'm so far ahead of where they are. Mm-hmm. So it's like they may see me or know me. Right. But it's so far from where they are in their business that it's actually, you need to be with people who are far enough, but [00:27:00] mm-hmm.

Close enough to where you are, to see like, oh, I can do that. Yeah. And I will do that. And hearing other women also go through what they go through is just, it's priceless. 

[00:27:10] Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. Yeah. The, well, yeah, the friendship. The, the, the collaboration. Yes. The doing it together spirit is so helpful for people. 

[00:27:21] Kristi Chaves: Yes. 

[00:27:21] Penny Fitzgerald: And the accountability, because you know, if you've got a new friend that is counting on, you know, you've said, I'm gonna do this and she's gonna do that, and then keeping each other accountable, I feel is really helpful too.

[00:27:31] Kristi Chaves: Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Accountable. And I mean I have a lot of infrastructure of how I design my programs very 

[00:27:38] Penny Fitzgerald: specifically 

[00:27:39] Kristi Chaves: and uniquely so that there is that accountability and support so that you know, women can grow. And I also really focus a lot on embodiment and like the somatic work within business.

Oh, nice. Because I think a lot of people, you can learn the strategies. That's great. And I'm here and I will help everyone to find their unique strategy. [00:28:00] Mm-hmm. But if you are not embodied in what you are saying and doing and selling, it does not matter what you learn. 

[00:28:06] Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

[00:28:07] Kristi Chaves: It's only, you're always gonna hit a certain wall.

'cause you will only sell to the level of embodiment that you are in it. 

[00:28:13] Penny Fitzgerald: Exactly, exactly. Your business only grows at the speed that you do. 

[00:28:17] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. 

[00:28:18] Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. Exactly. 

[00:28:19] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. 

[00:28:20] Penny Fitzgerald: Wow. 

[00:28:21] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. 

[00:28:22] Penny Fitzgerald: How do you do that? How, how do you, um. Coach, your coach, your groups, through learning about your nervous system, and I mean, do you, do you do exercises with people?

How do you about that? I do a lot of 

[00:28:34] Kristi Chaves: somatic work. So my background is, obviously in my mom's work, it's up all somatic based. So it's really about coming into your body and that is through breath, through movement, through moving through all different types of things. So. What I've done, which is so cool, is inside of my group sessions, not all of them, they're all, I have different calls for different, different things that we work on, Uhhuh, but some of them [00:29:00] are, and normally I start the calls, some of them this way, where I really have people not just like meditate, not just go into your body, but really learn how I guide them through a very specific experience to really be able to access their body.

Access their truth, access, their knowing, and then we apply it to what we're doing in business, whether that's content and sales and messaging. But the reason that is so powerful is because so much of the time people are approaching business from their minds, right? Mm-hmm. How do I get this content right?

How do I sell, right? How do I set this up instead of wow. When they connect in, you see it in 10 minutes on the call, you're looking at a different woman on the other side of the screen and they're like, oh, I know this is what my thing is. This is what I wanna say. And I'm like, exactly, exactly. It just, and that's why somatically, you can get there so much faster than you can just talking about it or writing in a journal, or even sometimes meditating, right?

Mm-hmm. It limits [00:30:00] what's really available to you. 

[00:30:02] Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

[00:30:02] Kristi Chaves: Yeah, 

[00:30:03] Penny Fitzgerald: I, I work with a lot of women who. Who believe they don't need that. Yeah. Yes. Um, who, who believe? They just, I just need the system. Show me how to work this, how to do this system, how to step by step. Yeah. Things. That's great. But I hear you saying some things that make me believe that maybe you're a little bit, you've got a block there.

[00:30:28] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. Well, and the, and here's the thing I will say, so. So much of the time, women come into my world and they go, when, when you first put on that song, Kristi, and you said, we need to move our bodies, I was like, what did I sign up for? Right? And don't get me wrong, it's not every session Uhhuh at all, but it is incorporated in because I can tell you anything.

But you're going to learn it more if you're connected to your body and you're gonna get creative answers, which is what entrepreneurship is about anyways. 

[00:30:59] Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

[00:30:59] Kristi Chaves: [00:31:00] So. I, I absolutely would. People would always say like, what is this? And I will tell you, hands down everybody, it goes, that movement stuff is the jam.

They're like, that's why I love it. I just had someone just last this week resign again for 12 months inside of my program after already being in it for a year with me now, and she's going on her third round and she's like. It's just the way you teach business. It's just not out there. It's just not out there this 

[00:31:30] Penny Fitzgerald: way.

Mm-hmm. 

[00:31:30] Kristi Chaves: You know, you see business, business, business. You see mindset work and you see strategy. Mm-hmm. But the truth is, it's like they all interweave together. Oh, for sure. And that's where the dance is. And I will just say for anyone who thinks they don't have a block, if you didn't have a block, you'd already be there.

Exactly. Straight up you would. 

[00:31:49] Penny Fitzgerald: Exactly. 

[00:31:50] Kristi Chaves: You have the block and the sooner you learn to go face all the places that you're in resistance to growth, you're gonna get there so much faster. 

[00:31:59] Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. [00:32:00] 

[00:32:00] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. 

[00:32:00] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, yeah. You can work on yourself by yourself. Yeah. But will you and have you 

[00:32:07] Kristi Chaves: Yes. Exactly. 

[00:32:09] Penny Fitzgerald: And how long is it gonna take you?

Yeah, 

[00:32:11] Kristi Chaves: yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:32:14] Penny Fitzgerald: Oh my gosh. That's fun. Yeah. So, um, I, what, what have I not asked you that you wanna share? 

[00:32:23] Kristi Chaves: I mean, I would just say that for, you know, anyone who is on their journey of growth business, any of it is just how, you know, speaking of getting in rooms, how important it is of getting that support, you know, and I think it's just not normalized.

And I, I really talk about this a lot because a lot of people, I was on a call with, even just someone yesterday and she said, mm-hmm. I asked her, what do you want in your business and your life? And she goes, I want what you have. And I see such a gap between I want what that person has, but I, [00:33:00] I don't realize how much support that person got to get there.

And I think that I should be able to do it on my own or just with this like one thing. And that's what I really wanna name is like. As women, we are designed, especially as women. As humans. Mm-hmm. But especially as women, we are designed to live in support, to get support. I remember coming home from the hospital with my daughter, my mom, and my mother-in-law, and I looked at both of them.

I go, how does anyone do this? Like, how do you know what to, like, how do you deal with this? Like the food? Mm-hmm. And the breastfeeding and taking care of yourself and all of it. And, and my mom turned to me and she goes. Back in the day you live with your grandparents, you had your neighbors or your family.

Right. And so, and I, it really makes me think of also business and life is like we're designed to do this with other people to get help with other people. And I think that it, like it just needs to be the non-negotiable that you get that support. So I just [00:34:00] really wanna emphasize that because I think that that's what we're here to do.

[00:34:05] Penny Fitzgerald: That's beautiful. Live in community, in support of each other? 

[00:34:08] Kristi Chaves: Yes, absolutely. Mm-hmm. 

[00:34:10] Penny Fitzgerald: Yes. Preach. Yeah. 

[00:34:14] Kristi Chaves: Yeah. 

[00:34:14] Penny Fitzgerald: Gosh. Okay. Fun. Okay, so how can people work with you? 

[00:34:18] Kristi Chaves: You can come find me, come over on Instagram, it is me there and you can come, just say hello, say you listen to the podcast and I have lots of different things there for you that you can dive into.

And, um, yeah, and if you're a good fit for any of my programs, I'm happy to have you. It is my wonderful, my greatest pleasure doing the work that I do, so. 

[00:34:38] Penny Fitzgerald: Awesome. And that's just Kristi, K-R-I-S-T-I and Chavez. C-H-A-V-E-S. Um, that's it at Instagram. I'll put the, put your links in my show notes too for everybody.

Okay. So, okay, so at the end of my episodes, I love to bring it around to cocktails because that's what I do. So, yeah. So do you have a favorite cocktail or beverage or glass of [00:35:00] wine? 

[00:35:01] Kristi Chaves: I would say I used my favorite, used to be a Sauvignon Blanc. Mm-hmm. Um, that used to be my favorite glass of wine. I'm currently not having any, anything these days.

Yeah. Um, just loving not having it, but that, that used to be my absolute favorite. 

[00:35:18] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, I love that. Um, I just had a Sauvignon Blanc last night and um, one of the things that I do is called Wine Camp. So fun. A yearly retreat for, for ladies in a, in wine country. That's not, typically, not that they may not have been to before.

So like, not Napa or, um, son. Yeah, but more like, last year was Virginia wine country. 

[00:35:42] Kristi Chaves: So fun 

[00:35:43] Penny Fitzgerald: coming year will be in the Finger Lakes region of New York. But we learned this year at Wine Camp that if you slice, um, jalapeno and put it in Sauvignon Blanc, it is delightful. 

[00:35:57] Kristi Chaves: Wow. 

[00:35:59] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Did we do it [00:36:00] last night? I did because we have jalapenos in our garden and they're, they're going crazy right now.

So we're looking for a reasons to use jalapeno. 

[00:36:10] Kristi Chaves: I love that. That sounds like such a n what a nice little spice to get there. 

[00:36:15] Penny Fitzgerald: Just a little bit of something. Something. Yeah. 

[00:36:19] Kristi Chaves: Oh my gosh. 

[00:36:20] Penny Fitzgerald: So what's a favorite memory, um, with girlfriends? Do you have a favorite time? Oh my god, I have so 

[00:36:26] Kristi Chaves: many. 

[00:36:27] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Uh, 

[00:36:27] Kristi Chaves: I have a incredible friend group, um, that I actually met through a coaching program and we, every year we get together and we, we actually like make our own little retreat together.

And a year and a half ago, we all went to Costa Rica and it was so fun. And we had a retreat. We had this like five bedroom villa and Jeff and. Just so much precious girl time. So much precious. I love precious connection, [00:37:00] realness, depth, vulnerability, all of it. It was just, it was amazing. 

[00:37:04] Penny Fitzgerald: There's nothing like that.

[00:37:06] Kristi Chaves: Nothing. Nothing at all. Yeah, no, it was absolutely precious. So, 

[00:37:11] Penny Fitzgerald: yeah. Oh, it gives me goosebumps. Kristi, this has been amazing. I just enjoy talking to you so much. I feel like we're right in line with each other and I love what you're doing. It's fantastic. 

[00:37:24] Kristi Chaves: Thank you, Penny. It's such a pleasure to do this with you.

Thank you for having me. It's 

[00:37:28] Penny Fitzgerald: great to meet you. 

 have a wonderful rest of your day. 

[00:37:31] Kristi Chaves: Okay. Thanks so much, Penny. 

[00:37:33] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, bye.

[00:38:00]