Her Story
About Michelle
Michelle Benedict brings more than 20 years of experience in customer service to her multifaceted career. She owns and operates CrossFit Window, a strength and conditioning facility in Raleigh, North Carolina, for the past 10 years, where she coaches clients and draws on her background in exercise physiology. She earned her degree in exercise physiology from BYU in 2002 after attending PT school without completing it. In addition, she works in construction sales, renting and selling dumpsters, fencing, toilets, and other sanitation supplies for new building sites. Benedict holds approximately 25 certifications in strength and conditioning, fitness, and wellness. She attributes her success to consistent effort, authenticity, compassion, and creating space for clients to be vulnerable. Her core values include being passionate, driven, and maintaining strict confidentiality.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Michelle
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success has come from the grind. You can't bring your foot off the gas, you have to be authentic to people, and compassionate. You have to allow people to be super vulnerable, but you have to also open that door for them to be vulnerable.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Never let them see you sweat. Nobody cares if you're having a bad day, nobody cares if you have no money in the bank, nobody cares if your kid is sick. People typically don't come to you to hear about your bad day.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's really hard. Make sure you have a backup plan, and there's no money in it.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In construction sales, nobody thinks about trash until it's an issue, so you have to be mindful of people needing services under not good circumstances. In the gym industry, society wants instant results and quick fixes, but health and wellness takes time to build habits and bodies are constantly changing.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Passionate, driven, and confidentiality. If you come to me and tell me all these things and you're being super authentic, it's not my place to go share with everybody. It's a very sacred thing to work with somebody on all your insecurities.
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