This story is about…
Female Entrepreneur: Debbie Wilson
Company: JX Fitness
Industry: Fitness
Location: UK
Age range: 30s
What motivated you to start your business?
Before I started working in the fitness industry I was in the Army and I loved sports and fitness. I applied to retrain as a nurse, but soon found that nursing wasn’t my calling and followed my love of health and fitness. After losing weight myself I realised that I could build a career in the health and fitness industry by helping other people to get fit, healthy and build confidence in the same way I had. The main motivation that made me really push forward my business was the birth of my daughter five years ago.
I started doing fitness classes and personal training in the Area but my business really took off in 2009 when I set up the boot camps.
Tell us about your business…
My business provides Personal Training, Boot Camps, FItness classes and Online fitness programs as well as nutritional advice. I guarantee that my clients drop at least a dress size in 28 days or less when they follow my method, the ultimate fat loss program.
I Have also now licensed my boot camps so that other instructors around the country can follow my business plan and gain a great income for themselves while working less hours.
What is a day in the life of you like?
On my busiest days I will:
Wake at 5.30am
Carry out a boot camp session 6.15am
Breakfast at 7.30am
Get daughter ready for school and take to school by 9am
Fitness class 9.30am
Admin work, networking online fitness programs between 10am-3pm
Collect daughter from school 3.10pm
dog walk/time with daughter and family until 6pm
Boot camp 6.15pm
Exercise class 7.30pm
9pm family time
What have been your biggest challenges so far with running your business?
The biggest challenges I’ve faced have been getting myself known in the area and building a reputation. Once I started getting results for my clients and helping them to recover from injury the word soon started to spread. I also have to compete with the main gyms and other fitness business owners. Once word got out time was a huge challenge, fitting everything in was a challenge.
How did you overcome these challenges?
I trained several clients for free at the start to help spread the word about the results I could achieve and the positive effect I could have on peoples lives. Following this I targeted my business towards the niche market I was attracting and when I did that we started to thrive. Once my reputation was built up I never reduced my rates to compete with the competition because I believe that my years of educating myself and investing in myself and the business the fee’s should reflect that. I prioritised my time, set days for admin work and days that I would answer calls and emails and limited my time on social networking sites.
What have you found to be the most effective way to get new clients?
Training clients for free to get word out initially and to gain experience when first starting in the industry. I’ve also found social networking like Facebook has been a great help.
What advice would you give to other business owners?
Success takes hard work and there will always be set backs but if you’re doing what you love and believe in yourself you will succeed.
How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
I read testimonials from the clients I’ve helped or I remind myself how much my life has been fulfilled by helping the clients I have and also of the great friends I have made along the way and the opportunities that I’ve had.
What’s your favourite quote?
“You get out what you put in”
“everything happens for a reason”
“what goes around comes around”
Who inspires you?
Dax Moy, Richard Branson, Duncan Bannatyne, there’s so many I could go on forever. My family have also inspired me, without them I wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am today, I am so grateful to them.
Do you have a business philosophy?
To be the best part of our clients’ day, the time of day they most look forward to.
Get in touch…
Website: http://www.jxfitness.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/DebbieJukes
Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/jxfitness
