Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alison Galvan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alison, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

Yes! Taking vacations are crucial for my wellbeing and the success of my business. Without them, you can start to feel trapped by the overwhelming amount of work running a business can be. Which can start to hinder your creativity, productivity, and overall enjoyment for what you do.

Having reliable and trustworthy employees is essential to vacationing without worry. About a year into owning a business my husband and I took a 10-day vacation overseas. It was scary to step away for that long but before we did, we made sure we had processes and procedures in place for our staff to easily follow in any situation. And because we didn’t have a manager at the time, I selected one of our outstanding employees to be in charge while we were away. This opportunity allowed her to step-up and ultimately gain more responsibility and a pay increase in the future.

If a 10-day vacation seems unmanageable, that’s ok. Start small. A weekend getaway, someplace within driving distance, is a great start. Being able to get back quickly if needed is a great piece of mind to help enjoy the vacation. And usually an affordable option if money is still tight.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been in the Fitness & Wellness industry my whole career. I received both a Bachelors and Master’s degree in Exercise Science and have spent the last 17 years exploring the field. From teaching and training clients, managing fitness programs, educating fitness professionals, to now, owning my own fitness studio for the last 8 years.

My passion for fitness and wellness is driven by physical, mental, and emotional improvements I see in the clients i work with. I truly want to bring a better quality for life to those I work with. This passion has become a mission for not only myself, but my staff at EnergyX Fitness. We want to help our clients achieve goals and celebrate the wins.

At EnergyX Fitness we strive to stay at the front of the industry in education and trends while still staying true to what our client’s needs really are. This means that we don’t jump on bandwagon’s and follow trend just because it’s trendy. We only do it if it’ll enhance the quality we bring to our services.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

During the first year of business, I nearly failed to make rent and literally scraped together pennies. After a buildout that was over time and over budget (typical, right?!), we only had about 4-5 months’ worth of money to cover expenses. We knew we needed to get business flowing fast! But about 8 or 9 months in, we we’re so slow! We had exhausted all avenues of finding more clients and increasing sales and rent was due in a few short days. We were only short by less than a $100. So on a Saturday, I found the random coin collection jar in my house, looked for a bank in town that still had a coin counting machine, got that money deposited right away, and thankfully made rent!

It was stressful, scary, and overwhelming to be in that situation. But we made rent, moved to the next month, and kept pushing forward. Thankful to say we haven’t had to count pennies again!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn urgency and immediacy when to comes to responding to clients and employees.

Early on in the business I was always checking my email and watching for messages. If a request or question came in at 10pm, I’d respond. I created an idea that I would lose a sale if I didn’t respond right away. And by responding right away, my clients and staff begin to expect that immediate response. It became overwhelming and hinderd my relationships outside of business. So I slowly started setting boundaries, like turning the ‘Do not disturb” feature on my phone after 8pm. And only responding to emails between typical work hours (or scheduling them to send the next day if I was working late). These small changes quickly reminded clients and staff that I cannot be on 24/7. To not much surprise, no one cared. I was the one with the life-or-death mentality of responding, not them.

Contact Info:

• Website: EnergyXFitness.com
• Instagram: @energyXfitness, @alisonfaithfitness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EnergyXFitness
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/energyx-fitness-san-antonio-3