Fitness instructor looks for (and finds) more
After graduating with a degree in Sport Science and Biomechanics I spent the next few years (nearly a decade!) working in the commercial fitness industry as an employee. Despite not being fulfilled, I never really knew why and did my best to shirk responsibility and coast along. I took an amazing sabbatical in 2009 and, after the initial wind down period, started having ideas about where I wanted to be and how I was going to get there. My mind was more active than it had been in years and I felt an excitement about my professional life that I don't think I'd ever really felt before.Since then I haven't looked back. I've co-founded 4 companies, work as a consultant for Europe's biggest healthcare company, write for a number of news stand publications, I have authored 2 books and I truly believe that opportunity is everywhere.
How I can help Esc members
I am always open to discussing new projects (especially in the Health and Fitness sector) and will happily give advice about anything that I've done. I think that mentoring is one of the most powerful tools available to the start-up and it's something that I love to be part of.
Currently...
Juggling the needs of my companies takes dedication and perseverance. That said, I've done my best to make operations as automated as possible so most of the day-to-day tasks are business development related. I look for new opportunities and come up with new ideas that can be both fun and profitable.
Before I escaped...
Before embarking on this entrepreneurial adventure I was an uncommitted employee in the fitness industry. It was only taking a sabbatical that really gave me the headspace to finally decide what I wanted from my professional and personal life.
My moment of truth...
'Moment of truth' is such a cliche because I still have doubts all of the time. I'm very confident in my abilities but those new to entrepreneurial activities need to realise that success, at least for me, comes from the belief that anything can change at any point. I love the saying "if you give up you'll never realise how close you were to succeeding".Planning for it...
I knew early on that I was going to have to stay lean and stick to a really tight budget so that dictated many of my early decisions. That has actually stood me in really good stead though - I now look at every opportunity very closely to see whether it is going to be commercially viable. Not everything has to make significant profits but I do believe that things need to be sustainable.With that in mind, I went for ecommerce businesses that allowed for a large degree of automation. Still, to this day, most (if not all) of the products that retail via my websites are handled by third parties.
My current businesses include:
Sandbag Fitness
Brute Force Europe
Fitedia
The worst and best bits...
The most positive thing about this experience has been the sheer freedom involved in running my own businesses. I wake up each day and everything is fair-game. Some people don't like that responsibility but I love it.The most negative thing, from my perspective, is that you will get knocked back - a lot! Developing a resolve to deal with that is important but it's also key that you remain true to your original vision.
