Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jen Taylor. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?
We opened the doors at Delta Life Fitness Friendswood on December 17, 2018 — a day I will never forget. Since then, we have grown tremendously as a business, and though it has been amazing, it didn’t happen overnight. The endless days leading up to opening day were exhausting, but I didn’t realize that was the easy part; I didn’t even know what hard work was yet. I didn’t know that I would be all the things that my business needed — the front desk, the sales associate, the childcare worker, the maintenance girl, the janitor, the handyman… and the list goes on. When we opened, we had just roughly 30 members, yikes! It was a far cry from where I hoped we’d be. I expected that when we opened, the people would come to us ready to join, but I was mistaken. It is up to YOU to get people to come to your business, and that takes hard work every single day. It takes marketing, employees, building relationships, trial and error, and many, many days of long hours.
In our first year open, I was at the studio working, sometimes 12+ hours, every single day. Even though I had a great staff, I wanted to be there to meet every single woman who walked through our door. I wanted them to see who I was as a small business owner and how much I appreciated them making the choice to come to Delta. I truly believe building relationships with the people you serve is a key factor to a successful small business, and it’s one of the many reasons I love what I do. At Delta, I get to meet so many different women, who all have different stories and have been through different walks of life. Taking the time to get to know them and know you are on their team to support their success is HUGE. People appreciate knowing who they are supporting. It is one of the reasons I believe we are where we are today.
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 got my first job the day I turned 16, working in the childcare room at a local fitness center. It was there that I realized I wanted to work in the fitness world as I continued my education after high school. During my college career, I studied kinesiology but had many distractions along the way — the years of learning, I like to call them — that led to my college career being prolonged. As I was in my last 2 years of college, my now husband and I got pregnant with our first child, Adelyn. Although I was only 21, it was then I realized I needed to grow up, set up, and finish college. I enrolled in a local university and continued to study Fitness & Human Performance while also working at a local golf course as a beverage cart girl. I finally graduated with my bachelors when my daughter was almost two. Once I graduated, I knew I was ready for my next adventure. One day after scrolling through Facebook, I saw an ad to join a local all-women’s gym, Delta Life Fitness-Bay Area. I messaged them to join as a member but also threw in that I had recently graduated from college if they were hiring. Little did I know that message would forever change my life. I was hired, and after two years of working as a manager for DLF, I knew I loved the product and was ready to take on more for myself and my family, and I knew I could do it. I took a leap of faith and stepped way out of my comfort zone, reaching out to DLF headquarters to discuss the options of opening my own location. It was a dream I didn’t even know I had or wanted but now I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Now I am the proud owner of Delta Life Fitness-Friendswood.
Delta Life Fitness is a women-focused program designed for all experience levels to provide the ultimate experience in group fitness training. We strive for fitness and accountability for women who are ready to change their lives and be the best versions of themselves. What makes Delta Life Fitness so unique is not just the workout, however. It’s the community of women we build and support. From the moment you step foot into DLF, you will be welcomed with open arms by not only the staff but also our current members. Everyone is encouraging, motivated, and here to support each other on their fitness journey, regardless of where they’re starting from.
There are typically two things that stop women from working out — time and childcare. At DLF, we have the perfect solution for you. Our quick and effective workouts are only 30 minutes long while also providing childcare for those who need it. You can see your child the entire time through our glass windows while you get to enjoy your workout.
Delta Life Fitness’ signature Tone and Torch 30-minute workouts are scientifically designed for women’s bodies to tone up and slim down. The workouts feature high-intensity exercises followed by low-intensity movements or resting periods. We combine cardio torching movements that increase your heart rate up to the 80% and 90% of the max heart rate with toning movements to help women achieve the optimum muscle mass. Our classes also utilize interval training that will have women working and resting for a designated period of time that lowers the heart rate into the 50% max heart rate range. These proven methods of training will have women burning the max number of calories for up to 36 hours after their workout.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
From a young age, I can remember my parents teaching me lessons on the value of a dollar and what it meant to invest. When I graduated high school, my parents informed me of an account they had established for me where they had made a monthly investment in my name. I was not allowed to touch the money unless it went towards an investment. Of course, one investment to another, I should have known. The money would not be allowed to buy a car, a house, or just to use when we needed it — an investment only. At the time, the account didn’t mean much to me because I couldn’t buy anything I wanted so as any young adult, I forgot about it. Years had passed, and as I began to think about opening Delta Life Fitness-Friendswood, I suddenly remembered the account my parents started for me that I was only allowed to touch if I wanted to make another investment. I knew this was the opportunity I was waiting for! I discussed the account with my parents to learn what it was, how I got it and how these funds could help me start my business.
It was then that I learned the account referred to was established with the Family Financial Network, also known as the FFN. The FFN is a group of individuals, friends and relatives that have joined together to invest a small amount of money each month ($25.00/month) into the stock market. This monthly investment has allowed me to live out my dream in opening my own business. I am beyond blessed I have wonderful parents who started investing for me before I could on my own. Now today, both of my kids have an account with FFN, as I wish one day, I can do the same for them.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Managing a team is by far one of the hardest parts of owning a business. You must learn to work with many different personalities. However, at the end of the day, all you want is for them to be happy and love what they do. I always want to get to know each employee on a personal level. This allows for me to understand them, what they need from you as a leader, and for them to know how important they are to you. I am a firm believer in treating all employees differently, to a certain level. They all have different needs and are in different stages of life. Understanding this and having your team understand this is important. You want them to know you are a team that helps one another out, always. If you have everyone on board and bought in, you will have built an amazing team, and that is the kind of culture I strive to create.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://deltalifefitness.com/locations/friendswood/
- Instagram: dlffriendswood
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dlffriendswood
Image Credits
Nichole Livingston Photography