Meet Andrea Wise of Ascend

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Wise.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve always been involved in sports and athletics and I was trying to figure out how to continue after college. During college, I started working at a local gym and my college strength and conditioning coach mentored me. One thing led to another and before I graduated, I had an offer for a management position. The position allowed me to personal train, teach group fitness, get management experience with a set salary plus commission and medical.  I was like, “Perfect! I’ll do this while I study for the LSAT.”

I wanted to go to law school and was interested in entertainment law. And then… I did none of that. This was the perfect job for me right after college. Being a student-athlete, I was used to a lot of structure. I was young and the juggle was nothing new to me. However, I got burnt out after a couple of years. Working an ungodly number of hours between three locations and working almost every day took a toll on me. I needed to take a step back. I handed over my management keys and focused on training and more “me” time.

I ran the Chicago Marathon for charity and did a figure competition (in the same year) – not something I’d recommend. After a year – I felt very unfilled. I had all these skills and tools that I wasn’t using and knew I needed to make a change. I went back into management at an incredible company and quickly moved up the ladder. One of them included leading a pretty awesome team of trainers and coaches with a cutting edge approach. I stayed for about four years… Then again, I felt like I went as far as I could go.

So, I took a leap and thought, “Well, maybe I can do some of this on my own,” and that’s when I started my own business. I took a huge chance; I only had a couple of clients and was like, “We’ll just see what happens.” My personal brand, Andrea Wise Lifestyle eventually came to fruition after a few years of being out on my own. Everything was going well but I really wanted a sense of community. With AWL, I utilize a lot of other partners and experts to provide services or get expertise in areas that I don’t have specific knowledge. The opportunity to get a studio space arose and that’s how ASCEND was born.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No. I’d be really curious to hear someone answer the question with a yes. Being an entrepreneur has been very difficult at times. I’m fortunate to have had a lot of really good people in my life that have been supportive and have given me advice and opportunities. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and learned from them. You need structure and a plan, but you have to be able to change directions if an issue warrants changing the trajectory.

The process has taught me a lot about myself; there have been a lot of ups and downs and the downs have been really challenging. I am an only child and my parents have always been very supportive, but they thought that I was a little crazy when I wanted to go out on my own and have no W-2 income. Nothing secure in terms of what I would be making on any given day or month. They were like, “Are you gonna be okay? How’s this going to work?”

It’s very different from anything that my parents had any experience with, so I had to walk them off the ledge too. When I first started my business in 2012, I signed up with Squarespace and did my very first photoshoot. I had never done anything in terms of design or branding, BUT I knew that branding was very important. I started with “Fit By Andrea” – it was basically a landing page until I could get the resources and figure out what I really wanted.

You get one debut and I wanted to make it right. Finding the right branding company was a HUGE pain point. It kind of felt like 50 First Dates – I had to sit with people and explain over and over, “Okay, this is what I do, this is my background. This is how I’m different from other people in the industry, these are things that are important to me. It’s more of a luxury brand, I don’t want it to be very feminine, I want it to be timeless.”

I would get these logos and these mood boards back and I was just like, “Oh, that’s not it.” After having done it several times, I thought “am I being like too picky? I don’t understand.” Nothing felt like it was a good fit – it didn’t feel authentic. I can’t even remember how many times I did that process until I found Evoker. I give a lot of credit to my friend, Kameron Jackson and the Evoker team that contributed to my brand. If it wasn’t for them – I wouldn’t have the branding that I love today.

Ascend – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I essentially help people streamline their lives and hold them accountable for all things health and wellness. My network is large so I have resource or two for almost everything you could imagine. I assist with solutions based on an individuals pain points and goals. I want my clients to move better, feel better, and be healthy so that they can live a long life doing the things that they love. There’s a direct correlation between being healthy and active relative to performance in the workplace.

Personal well-being often takes a back seat so I want to make sure that they’re doing well both personally and professionally. Ascend is really unique because we have a handful of diverse partners that offer a variety of services in the wellness space. We take a holistic approach and offer Pilates, yoga, coaching, meditation, massage therapy, energetic work, and facials just to mention a few. I’m always also humbled by the people that come through the doors and genuinely love what Ascend has to offer.

People mention the cleanliness, natural light, and positive vibe consistently. We recently had a sound bath and had a great mix of regulars and new people. Everyone loved it! Ascend has flexibility and variety in its offerings which provides people with a unique experience that they want to visit again.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
That’s so hard but I’d have to say knowing that I’ve had a positive impact on so many of my clients and the quality of their lives.

Contact Info:

• Address: 409 W Huron Street #300 Chicago, IL 60654
• Website: ascendchicago.com
• Phone: 312.374.3441
• Email: info@ascendchicago.com info@andreawiselifestyle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascendchicago/ https://www.instagram.com/awiselifestyle/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ascendchicago/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ASCENDCHICAGO
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ascend-chicago
• Other: http://www.andreawiselifestyle.com/

Image Credit:
Amanda’s Aperture Photography

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