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

Madison, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?

Our story is truly unique in several ways so I’ll start from the beginning. We were fully excited to have our Grand Opening in March of 2020. We had spent a little over a year securing a location, working on the buildout and of course getting our name out there! There was a grand marketing plan in place for when our doors opened. I had spent probably 3 months hiring an admin, who was also a nutritionist and body building coach. Lastly, I hired two very “green” coaches. They lacked experience, but they had passion!
Then, boom! We’re in lockdown. We had to change the entire plan and redirect. Unfortunately, while we were ferociously swimming and in survival mode, some of the team had to move, request unemployment, and others we simply had to let go because we were still paying rent and had taken a huge hit with spending on marketing, all in the hopes that we would be open at that time. My original team never had the opportunity to see where we’re at now. Fast forward to May, we were seeing hopes of opening our doors. I had since been offering online coaching to a few clients in the area, just to stay afloat. I reached out to one of my former managers from my kickboxing days. This is someone I had a profound amount of respect for and whom I had been in contact with prior to the shutdown. I took a leap of faith in reaching out to him because, well I had nobody except myself to coach. I could have done it alone, but I am eternally grateful that I didn’t have to. He accepted my request to join my team and at most said he’d help me get things off the ground for the first few months. Roosevelt and I have been running this thing ever since! He’d had years of experience and quite frankly had more knowledge of health and fitness, so training was seamless. We had a gal from Iowa join the team that month as well. She did all of her training online, due to the fact that she wouldn’t be moving to Denver u til a week before we opened. It was risky, but that was that. A team of 3! If it were at all in my control, of course I would have done things differently. However, I am grateful for the turn it took because I ended up having a real friend help me and I don’t think we would be where we are today without that initial spark of friendship, respect and loyalty.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

This is a story I love to tell because every little turn has made me the person I am today. When I was younger I was quite active, but the unfortunate thing that happens to many people happened to me. I went off to college and lost all discipline, partied way too hard and was very unkind to my body. There wasn’t one aha moment, as opposed to several that served as a wake up call. First being that as an asthmatic smoking cigarettes, I couldn’t breathe a full breath of air anymore. So I gave it up. Next being a string of truly unhealthy relationships that led me to kickboxing as an outlet. I loved kickboxing with all my heart and all my soul. I felt alive! I still was drinking too much and wasn’t where I wanted to be in life. Even after becoming an instructor at the gym I trained at, I wasn’t fully happy. The days and months leading up to losing my mom are what truly changed me. I started eating healthy, exercising regularly and I had a crazy idea to open my own gym. It wasn’t simple and it wasn’t easy. I was scared and didn’t feel I was cut out for it. Nevertheless, I knew there were people like me out there. People who were lost, scared, stuck in an unhealthy and viscous cycle. I felt compelled to move forward. Because at the center of what I do and who I am is a profound desire to help others keep fighting and to believe that they are capable of more than they ever imagined. At my gym, the first thing you will notice is the strong sense of community and a profound support system. You walk in the doors and you are immediately family. Our mission is to inspire fitness and change lives every single day. We work day in and day out to make sure our mission is heard, seen and felt. What I offer is more than a gym and some equipment. What myself and my incredible team offer is a safe space and an opportunity to grow. Not just physically, but mentally as well. Yes, you will see results, but more than that, you will laugh and dance with our coaches and you will feel understood and accepted for who you are. From my own experiences, I believe that people can always be more if given the opportunities and the space to do so.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Theres a lot to be said about google, Facebook and Instagram marketing. However, I think there is more to be said about how you serve your current clients. When you put your clients’ needs first and give them results that they wouldn’t see anywhere else, that’s where real growth can happen. If you have clients who know you, like you and trust you, they are far more likely to tell their friends, family and colleagues about you. Our number one priority is our clients. With that, we’ve always encouraged and accepted feedback because we want to be the best for them! Further, recognizing our clients’ wins and milestones has become a staple at our gym. We want our clients to feel celebrated when they accomplish something. No victory is ever too small. Letting our members know that we not only care about their success in the gym, but in their personal lives as well is what separates us and what keeps people coming back. Receiving referrals means we are well known and trusted in the industry and you can’t put a dollar sign on that.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Something I have come to realize about the culture of my gym is it starts and ends with me. If I’m not showing up and giving my all, then how can I expect my team to? My biggest advice here is to work on yourself… everyday. You can’t inspire others if your own cup is empty. Take the time to learn, invest in your own professional and personal growth so that in turn, you can do the same for your team. Once you have a clear vision, then your team has a purpose. When everyone is aligned on the vision, magic can happen. Managing a team is far from easy, but if you show them you care and you are making every effort to grow them as individuals, they will appreciate it in the long run. I think something that also gets overlooked when managing a team is having fun. This comes in the form of recognizing their achievements personally and professionally and just celebrating life with them. In the end, I want my team to win. Your team must believe that you have their backs. I expect a great deal from my team, but I also allow them to be human. With that, comes communication and trust. Without these things, it’s incredibly difficult to have a high performing team.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fitbodybootcamp.com/10451-northwest-arvada-co/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=qiigo&q=true
• Instagram: Arvadafitbody
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/home.php?refsrc=deprecated&_rdr&tbua=1#!/arvadafitbody?eav=AfYhpsIeRUB0T4mBNYJTSJ95j01Y2QZLs8vQGhaMGZW-iLnKyjRMAzhbIPuHcXbWbiI&tsid=0.572517839343187&source=result

Image Credits
N/-