We recently connected with Michelle Fitzgerald and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Michelle, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later
As I was toying with the idea of going out on my own, it took a good six months to finally make the jump from talking about it to acting on it. I would talk to anyone who would listen about the reasons I wasn’t fulfilled at my job, spitballing ways I might casually start my own project. I assumed it would be different/better/more satisfying if I was my own boss. I knew during those six months of contemplating (essentially complaining until I got tired of listening to myself) that I would be so relieved once I finally made the jump — and wow, was I right! When I look back on it I always say I cannot believe it took me so long to become my own boss, but if I’m being completely honest, it was truly the perfect timing.
I had spent the previous 14 years absorbing everything I could about the fitness industry. Continuing education courses, additional certifications, marketing, social media, scheduling, studio set up… I took notes on things I liked and disliked at every job I held and constantly wrote down bits of inspiration for what I would do differently. I was so fortunate to work in aesthetically beautiful spaces, on talentedly staffed teams, and for businesses aiming to push the line between small business and multi-location/franchises. This was amazing for learning purposes, but it made the idea of ever owning my own project seem so incredibly far out of reach.
The end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 became a perfect storm of peak confidence mixed with frustration over the things I wasn’t able to control for myself. My schedule, finances, availability, and future promotions were all at the mercy of someone else’s decisions. No matter how hard I worked, I couldn’t control so many of the things that directly impacted my life outside of working hours. My inability to be in charge of these things for myself reached a boiling point and finally pushed me over the edge into opening my own studio.
It might sound negative to say that I got frustrated enough to leave, but I had simply matured to a point where working for someone else just wasn’t going to cut it. There were not enough perks, or benefits, or aesthetically pleasing enough work places to outweigh not being able to control my schedule, or keep more of the money I was bringing in to the studio each month. The studios I stepped away from were not doing anything wrong, or out of the ordinary. I had just outgrown being an employee. I look at it as having learned so much about what was out there, what was possible, and what I deserved, that the only option was to create these things for myself.
The reason my timing feels so perfect is because 2020-2021 offered a major shift in my career goals and how I measured success. Despite years of being obsessed with them, I no longer wanted to own or even work for the biggest, fanciest, coolest gyms. Success was not tied to status, and this made the idea of opening my own spot seem far less daunting.
At this time in my life, a successful studio is one that lets me make enough money to support myself while maintaining a healthy work/life balance. It means I get to spend Saturday mornings with my husband instead of teaching; it means I don’t have to ask permission to go home for the holidays or on vacation; and it means every effort I make directly benefits myself and my clients above all else.
There would have been plenty more to learn from working for other people, and I will never admit to knowing everything (or anything at all) when it comes to running a business.What I do know now is that at a certain point there is no more you can do to prepare for your project, you just have to start! I am so grateful for everything I did on my path to entrepreneurship. The success I am witnessing in my business now is a direct result of the work I have put in over the years. I will keep combining what I’ve learned from my past experiences with what I am figuring out for myself in this current experience, and I will eagerly and excitedly encourage others to do the same!
Michelle, 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 have been teaching all things fitness and movement since I first began teaching dance classes back in high school. I was always obsessed with movement and performance, so when the opportunity presented itself to start teaching fitness classes in college I jumped at the chance to have 50 people pay attention to me for 45 minutes. (Can I put a laughing emoji in this? I realize how cringey that sounds, haha!) Since those very humble (a winking emoji this time) beginning days, I became completely obsessed with learning how to teach EVERYTHING in the fitness world. I jumped on every certification opportunity, took loads of continuing education courses, picked up extra classes for practice, and took notes upon notes upon notes on everything from anatomy to music to effective communication.
Luckily, along the way I became less interested in my role in it all and more interested in how I could use this knowledge to spark something in my students. No matter how hard I tried to mimic the instructors I looked up to, students would come up to me after class and tell me how much they loved how different I was. I couldn’t figure out what made me different at first (especially when I was desperately trying to replicate the classes I loved), but I began to recognize it as what set me apart and made my classes stand out. It was a depth of knowledge around more than just the class I was teaching at that hour. When I was leading cycling classes, I couldn’t unlearn yoga or strength training and my cues would show that. My yoga classes began to intertwine pilates and mobility drills into the flows, and my pilates classes made people test their strength more than the average pilates class. This is why I decided to name my Pilates studio “Momentum MOVEMENT Studio.” It is always all of the disciplines intertwined, because a squat is a squat is a squat whether its in Pilates, Strength Training, or a Chair Pose in Yoga.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Word of mouth! By a dramatic landslide, clients telling their friends about their sessions has been my most successful form of marketing. Nothing beats a vote of confidence from someone you know, so every casual conversation and social media share from my clients makes a huge impact in other people’s curiosity about my classes.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
This might not be the most professional sounding answer, but my savings account and a one-year interest-free credit card!
I’ll preface this by saying I opened on a very small scale compared to other businesses, so this might not be possible for many businesses. I purchased all of my equipment on that interest-free credit card and based my monthly costs on paying all of the equipment off in that first year. My other big expense that wasn’t already accounted for was studio rent, and this was probably the scariest. Could I afford to pay $xooo in rent every month?! On top of my house rent?
That’s when I started doing the math. I began comparing what my clients paid my previous employer vs. what I got paid and I realized how big of a gap there was. The gap definitely covered the cost of rent for a studio. If I could get just half of the client-load I had before, but make the full amount from each instead of a fraction, I would be able to cover the rent and equipment costs. And then any clients on top of that would be how I would make my personal money on top of the business’ money.
I’ve always been resourceful and a hard worker so I began to feel pretty confident I could make this work, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still scared! My motto at this time was “If I lose $xooo out of my savings to follow my dream of owning my own business…. well, I’ve spent money on dumber things before!” Again, this may not be the most professional answer, but it’s my honest one, and it worked!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.momentummovementstudio.com
- Instagram: @michfitzzmoves
Image Credits
Hannah Burke of HCBCreative