We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Haja Tunkara. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Haja below.
Haja, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
I had always dreamed of opening a fitness studio, a place where I offered options for women (and men) to work on their wellness goals, not just physical, but wholistic wellness; mind, body and spirit. I endeavored with little to no experience running a brick-and-mortar business with much of my savings in tow and gave it a valiant shot. I financed the start of my fitness studio 100% digging very deep into my personal savings to make this thing happen. I didn’t stop to think too much about failure or the loss of money, I thought about how I would make it, how I would impact the lives of many people by exposing them to a new way of thinking to create a change at the deepest level of their subconscious minds. It was a risk, a huge risk in fact. Not only did I open this business with little to no business savvy, but I doubled-down on the risk by opening in the heart of the COVID-19 Pandemic! Call me crazy, I sometimes do too!
Ultimately, win or lose I have already won in the lessons I have learned, the relationships I have built and the pride I carry knowing that I bet on myself – I was brave. I hold my head high and proud as I traverse this journey and I keep my heart open to new ideas and ways of making this business better and stronger. My favorite quote is “Have a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing” I am open to what lies ahead of me and I am sure there will always be a level of risk involved and I know for certain I am up for the task.
Haja, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I grew up VERY humbly. We didn’t have much, but my sisters and I always had a sense of purpose in serving others. At the core of our family was health and wellness, while we didn’t have money for vacations or fancy things, my mother always made certain that we were well fed and understood the importance of taking care of ourselves. Not only that, but it was also instilled in us to be in Service. In Service to others (yes, Service with a capital “S”) I look at this verb as proper, where I come from it is the key to my existence and one of my key life tenets. The way I sit in Service is through wellness. The fitness studio was opened to support the physical and mental wellness of our community and members. My motto at the studio is First In Love. Everything we do, we do in Love. That is the first and primary building block to wellness and it starts with the person reading this article, yes YOU! We offer fat loss solutions for our clients and members. Our primary focus is to help our guests and members understand their body composition (fat vs. lean body mass) and provide them the education and tools to make necessary changes to get them to a healthy body fat mass. Everyone is unique and we honor every person from the position they are in – no one is higher or lower; we are all just “here” or “there” we don’t distinguish our members and guests based on their goals we are all one family.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I have so many books that have helped me traverse entrepreneurship. Particularly, there is a wonderful book called The One Thing by Gary W, Keller and Jay Papasan it is a pivotal book in understanding the value of FOCUS. The One Thing discusses the benefits of identifying a goal and working on all things and ONLY things that incrementally align with reaching your goal. The One Thing is a short but effective read for all especially entrepreneurs. It’s easy to get distracted, you still want to “have a life”, but it’s important to understand that being successful requires sacrifice for a period of time because your business is YOUR baby and not necessarily one you create with another person. In some cases, such as my own, you’re on your own caring for and feeding your baby and only until the baby is self-sufficient are you able to breathe a bit and watch from a greater distance. Your focus is critical to a successful business. The One Thing provides easy to use tools and techniques to keep you focused.
Another great book that is a guiding light for my life is written by Miquel Ruiz called The 4 Agreements. This book changed my life many times over so much that I have purchased copies for at least 15 family and friends. I won’t give it away, but there is one agreement called “Don’t take It Personal” this agreement is VERY impactful. As a business owner, you tend to over think everything (well if you’re me, you do this as a person also). When someone cancels a membership or they don’t return for a class you think it’s you, you think “oh no they must not like me” “what did I do wrong? ” You carry a weight around for a bit until you rationalize through your own experiences that it’s not you, it’s them and their right to choose. It’s not personal, learning this lesson will save you many sleepless nights. The other 3 agreements are equally as amazing. I strongly recommend this book as a business owner.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
In the wellness/fitness industry it’s important that you have a network that you’re able to leverage to get the word out about your business. Your relationships are like magnets – if you’re a magnetic person you’re going to attract a lot of people. In the fitness business, you must be a people person, you must have a lot of energy to attract your ideal clientele and you must use your network OR grow your network to help you attract your client. This is done by building your social media presence, attending community events, simply talking to people, attending festivals and fairs. Wherever you have a chance to get face time with your ideal client, take advantage of it. Leverage your resources, people are more often than not willing to help you reach your goals.
Contact Info:
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