I felt caught in a system – so I left to start my own business

20/12/20214 Minutes

We had to find ways to stand out

Working in the fitness industry for ten years meant that I started to feel like I was caught in a system, with no opportunity for progression.

I enjoyed helping clients with their health and fitness in my role as Senior Personal Trainer at a health club, but I felt like I could build a better business model – one that provided people with a higher standard of service and support. When the pandemic came along, I received the push I needed to put my business model to the test.

In the midst of furlough, my business partner and I decided to set up fitness classes over Zoom. Step one… finding a location. We wanted our classes to look professional – to stand out from all the badly angled fitness footage out there, which is usually shot on a webcam in a front room. To achieve this, we chose to shoot in a wood cabin at my parent’s house; though it was small, the space was big enough for my partner to demo exercises, while I taught the class alongside.

There was a lack of heating and aircon – but the space looked professional, and so classes commenced.

Pretty soon, we became overwhelmed by the response to our classes. People logged in from all areas of the country, as well as abroad. What began as an offering of one class per week rapidly expanded into more. As the business developed, I decided to quit my health club job and create CAST Fitness.

Since the locked down days in the wood-cabin, we’ve evolved from a membership platform that offers online classes, and into a business that incorporates lifestyle coaching, personal training, yoga and nutritional planning.

A high point came with heating and air con – but the struggles of building a business were yet to come.

As restrictions eased, we learned how important it is to be flexible with our business model and not to put all our eggs in one basket. People’s desire to socialise while exercising became clear, so our business had to adapt. With this came direct competition from gyms, which were back hosting fitness classes, as well as other personal trainers who had set up similar businesses to ourselves.

Through it all, we had to find ways to stand out. We started to introduce boot-camps in outdoor spaces, where people could meet and get to know the other members of the CAST community and also to offer discrete one-to-one training in our own gym. It has been a fight to keep members as the world opened up again, but it’s all started to pay off.

Along the way, my business partner and I have learnt that we’re both highly driven and determined. We’ve learned a lot about running our own business – and though it’s been very challenging at times, the highs outweigh the lows.

My advice to anyone starting a new business? Ensure there’s a gap in the market for your product and look for ways to differentiate yourself from your competitors.

Do plenty of market research to check that your target audience actually requires what you do and persevere with plenty of advertising and marketing. You could have the best product in the world, but if no one knows about it, no one will buy it.

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