We recently connected with Lane Lawrence and have shared our conversation below.

Lane, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?

Establishing “Chasing Yellow Cycling & Fitness” came out of a necessity due to loss of employment from my last profession (cybersecurity). Struggling to navigate the “way forward”, I stepped out on faith and elected to start CYC Fitness to continuing exploring my passion for cycling and fitness and their associated support industries—we’ll see where it goes!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

A retired US Air Force and US Space Force veteran of 38 years combined military and civilian service, I’ve always held a passion for cycling and the physiological and mental benefits its fitness outcomes have for people, particularly as one ages. In pursuit of that passion, I sought out professional certifications with USA Cycling, the Americal Council on Exercise (ACE), and the United Bicycle Institute (UBI) for coaching and instructor qualifications to establish solid foundations for teaching and mentoring participants and clients in their pursuit of physical fitness excellence….

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

While cybersecurity has been a rewarding–and challenging–professional career, I think I would have elected to pursue a career in kinesiological sciences and/or physical therapy to compliment my passion for cycling and fitness…

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start?

In all honesty, I continue to GREATY struggle with obtaining funding for CYC Fitness, even at the smallest level of grant funding (I do not want to pursue business loans). Small foot print businesses such as CYC Fitness do not attract or are considered “worth the time” for many business funding activities, thus making it challenging for the business owner to get the momentum going for the business to succeed; such was the challenge for my wife’s cybersecurity company a year ago, resulting in her electing to shutter the doors before any serious client relationship was able to be established…

Small businesses with less than $25K annual revenue (projected or otherwise) are better off pursuing Angel funding or crowd funding resources than traditional business funding streams.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cycfitness.org