Boss Lady Spotlight: Margie Clegg
At Armoire, we’re casting a spotlight on some of the notable, powerful boss ladies in our community, and what being a boss lady means to them. Read on to learn all about Armoire member Margie Clegg.
Her Life:
Past:
I am a Chemical and Materials Engineer by trade who always had a passion for fitness. I discovered my passion while I was in graduate school and looking for a way to alleviate the stress of writing my dissertation. I started taking group fitness classes and soon became a group fitness instructor myself. After graduate school I stayed on my career path in engineering, but never felt fulfilled. Two years ago I had a cancer scare that made me re-think what was important to me. I decided life is too short to stay in a job that made me unhappy and so I got my personal training and nutrition certifications.
Present:
These days I’m a lifestyle coach who helps women over 45 to look and feel their best through fitness and nutrition.
Future:
In the future I see myself continuing to serve other women my age and reaching a wider audience with my writing.
Her Career:
How she’s redefining women who work:
I think I represent the non-traditional path. Rather than traveling to an office daily I work out of my home, client’s homes, and the occasional coffee shop.
Her biggest challenge:
I think the most challenging part of my work is getting women to have the faith in themselves to take the first step in taking care of themselves. I think as many of us get older we lose faith in our abilities and become a bit complacent. I believe we can and should be living our best lives at this time.
Her secret to a work/life balance:
It is pretty difficult because I do primarily work out of the home and my work doesn’t really feel like work. But I do try to take at least an hour a day to work out and walk my dog, Jax. He lets me know when I’ve been working too much and not paying enough attention to him, so he’s an important part of making sure I take those breaks from work
What she wishes she knew 5 years ago:
I wish I had known how much happier I am pursuing what I am passionate about rather than chasing a paycheck. I get to go to bed at night knowing I’ve helped someone take steps to live a healthier life and to feel better about themselves.
Her advice:
My advice would be to do what makes them happy rather than trying to please others. I spent years in a career that made family and friends happy, but left me wanting more.