LAWRENCE LADY BOSS

WHITNEY SCHNEIDER

When you think of the word powerful you probably think of the first definition to come up when googled, “having great power or strength”. Simple and straightforward; powerful. For me, “having a strong effect on people’s feelings or thoughts” is the definition that usually comes to my mind when I think of the powerful people I have met throughout the years, whether it be through networking or in my personal life. Hands down one of the most powerful ladies I have met within the last three years of leading Lawrence Lady Boss Project is Whitney Schneider. She obviously has great strength, she owns a personal training business with her husband, but she also has a strong effect on how I, and I am sure many others, think about a wide range of things. Take for example this quote pulled from one of her Instagram posts, “the road to health, strength and fitness is not linear. There are bumps in the road. There are full on derailments at times. But just like life you gotta get back up.” Powerful, right? It is the different perspective on this topic and so many others that has placed Whitney in the powerful box. She is powerful. But you could also use the words passionate, kind, caring, and so many more to describe Whitney and all that she does. Whitney, along with her husband Zach, are the couple behind Kondition Haus, a garage gym and health collective located on the west side of Lawrence. “My husband and I used to imagine that our dream gym would be this big garage gym that sat on the outskirts of town where we could open the doors and have clients do workouts both inside and outside.” Today their dream garage gym sits on the edge of Lawrence (off of Wakarusa and Clinton Parkway behind the nursery) and houses 9 other trainers along with yoga and dance instructors. Their health collective is also made up of professionals including chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapists and Reiki.

Within their health collective, Whitney is also a personal trainer. For the last 13 years she has trained, with the last 11 being self employed. SchneiderFIT specializes in small group training, where their clients range from age 10-82! Whitney is literally living her dreams when it comes to her career. I asked Whitney a handful of questions, here is what she had to say.

— What is your favorite thing about being a lady boss in 2022?

“I love connecting with people and connecting people with people. We all need support and this community is full of women capable of providing it.”

— Who or what inspires you?

“My mother inspires me to be independent and hard working. My husband, Zach inspires me to be creative, to dream and to really work toward those dreams. My kids inspire the balance in my life. They remind me to slow down, be in the moment and celebrate life as often as possible.”

— How do you see yourself making our community better?

“I’m in the business of making people stronger. When people feel strong they are more confident and more capable and ultimately more productive. Lastly, our business provides a space for other private businesses to feel supported and thrive.”

— Where do you see your business 5 years from now?

“I see us having multiple locations and reaching even more members of the community.”

— What piece of advice would you encourage others with?

“Don’t be afraid to fail. I’ve failed countless times. Exams, relationships, friendships, businesses…what matters is that you keep moving forward. Success is built over time and in that time we learn valuable lessons and it’s usually through the challenges we’ve had to overcome. “ Lawrence Lady Boss Project was built to connect and network lady bosses in both Lawrence and the surrounding communities. Once a quarter we bring you Networking Night Out events featuring local businesses both big and small. Find us on Facebook at Lawrence Lady Boss Project for more information.