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

Cierra, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I started my own fitness journey in 2019. I was my first customer. My family and friends saw how hard I worked on my own body and kept telling me that I should train other people. I was nervous about putting myself out there to start accepting clients. When the pandemic hit, I stopped. Once everything opened back up I felt more confident. I wanted to help others achieve what I got from getting myself active. Self love and happiness. The small idea of just personal training turned into a whole business plan. Being in the gym, you wash your clothes a lot, your clothes fade or start to peel. So I came up with the idea to embroider my gym clothes. No matter how much you wash them, it’s very unlikely that they’ll peel. With the help of my close friends and family members, I was able to purchase my first sewing machine. Next, I had to figure out vendors and suppliers so that I could provide good quality gym apparel. In April 2021, I launched my business CamDam Fitness. I started out with basic t shirts and those sold like crazy. I knew that I would have to step my game up and offer more.

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 am a hardworking mother of 3. I got into health and fitness after battling with depression. I had gained a lot of weight and my confidence wasn’t there anymore. The gym was an outlet for me and it made me feel good. I have lost almost 60 pounds. And I am glad to have developed a business where I am able to help women gain their confidence back and get healthy all at once. CamDam Fitness offers exclusive personal training, high quality activewear and all natural detox waters & teas. I am most proud of how “normal” I am. It is easy for people to relate to me because I’m so transparent and I understand that we all go through obstacles but the way we overcome them shows exactly how strong we really are. I’m not your every day “instagram fitness model” I’m strong, healthy and in shape. You are always able to be your best self with CamDam Fitness. My brand is very important to me because it is something that I work hard on building and maintaining. My kids are able to watch me be passionate about helping others.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My first year, I was working full time, going to school online, starting and running my business, pop up shops and events, on top of all of my mother duties all at once. It got to be so hectic. I had to really sit down and evaluate my life and see what was needed and what I really wanted out of my business. I asked myself, if I’m able to slave for someone else’s business why can’t I put that same effort into my own? So I decided to work like crazy, save my money and I set a plan to drop part time at work so that I could focus full time on my business. It was one of the hardest decisions I had to make because if I failed, I would be in a hole to where it’d be hard to get myself out of. But if I succeeded, I wouldn’t have to work that 9-5 for anyone else again. I’ve always been scared to take chances but something told me to go ahead everything would work itself out. I did it and CamDam Fitness is still going!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One thing that I had to unlearn was just because they know you or watched you grow, they don’t have to be a customer. Everyone isn’t meant to be your customer or client. I have friends and family members that support everything that I do. My mom & sister are two of my biggest supporters. They don’t workout but they have more CamDam Fitness Apparel than I do lol. Then I have people who’ve known me for years or followed me since the beginning that still call it “your little business” when referring to me and my BIG business. There are complete strangers that will come to an event, say they’ve heard about or saw someone in the gym with a CamDam Fitness set and shop without a problem. We as business owners have to realize that all business isn’t good business and everyone isn’t meant to be a customer.

Contact Info:

• Website: camdamfit.com
• Instagram: camdamfitness
• Facebook: CamDam Fitness