We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicole Golden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nicole thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?

At the age of 30, as my husband neared the end of his surgical residency, I decided to get my Zumba instructor license just for fun so in May 2014 that is what I did. Fast forward to summer 2014- we moved to Kennett Square, PA so my husband could complete a critical care fellowship. I decided that I wanted my own Zumba class, so I pursued the local YMCA to hire me. This was much more challenging than I had anticipated. Class schedules in this area were very competitive and it took me several months to be considered for my own class. I was finally hired but was given a less than ideal class time of 1:00 pm on a Wednesday. I had to fight very hard for this class. Likewise, I had to endure class participants laughing at me from time to time or telling me my class was horrible. I did not give up. I sought out more experienced instructors to help me get better. Despite the hard work and help, I never grew the class to more than 5 people before we had to move again to Sayre, PA for my husband’s career. I practiced and pushed hard to start my fitness career. This is a tough industry and as I have grown in my career, I have taken many of those early lessons of failure and perseverance to heart. I have learned that you keep working hard and never give up.

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 spent most of my early adulthood raising my 5 children and supporting my husband’s early career in medicine through the medical school years and his general surgery residency. My oldest son was born when we were still in college, and we had a set of premature quadruplets his third year of medical school. The kids were my primary concern for years as the little ones had many health issues from prematurity. When the children were 7 and 4, I decided it was time to get part-time work to get me out of the house. I worked in the education field, first as a family support consultant, and later as a consultant in special education classrooms. Fitness was never something I thought of much during that time though I really enjoyed a local Zumba class several times per week. This was my starting place. Eventually, when we settled in Sayre, PA for my husband’s permanent job, I decided to pursue personal training certification to expand my career possibilities in the fitness industry. That was the point when FWF Wellness born really.

Today, we are a small, but diverse boutique studio with some of the most skilled group instructors and personal trainers in the industry. Several of our certified personal trainers have master’s degrees earned or in progress and all have the ability to train a wide variety of clients seeking general weight loss, Olympic lifting, powerlifting, and sports performance. However, what truly sets us apart from other facilities is our niche ability to handle individuals with special medical needs such as pre/post-natal, peri/post menopause, Parkinson’s disease, post-rehab from orthopedic injuries or clients with degenerative musculoskeletal disorders, stroke survivors, cancer survivors, and individuals recovering from substance use disorders. Our extremely knowledgeable and caring staff provide these much-needed services in our community and are truly experts in this field.

Can you open up about how you managed the initial funding?

I can truly say that this business was started with next to nothing. Once I made the decision to start my own studio, I did not waste any time, but I also did not have much money for a start-up. I decided to start small instead of thinking about purchasing a huge space with lots of equipment and use my skill as a substitute. I had 3,000 saved from working in my previous job. I used this to purchase some dumbbells, bands, a portable sound system, some mats, and a down payment renting a space above a church from a friend who owned the building. I had a few instructors that were willing to offer some classes to give us morning and evening offerings while I had 2 personal training clients. The business just evolved from that point.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I was 24 and my husband was in medical school, I gave birth to quadruplets at 26 weeks gestation. When the quads were 1, we had to move from Miami, FL to Sayre, PA for my husband’s residency. Raising them and my oldest son was the hardest thing I ever did while my husband slaved away in a general surgery residency 120 hours per week. This type of hardship builds an unbelievable amount of resilience and mental toughness. Oftentimes, when business gets hard- we lose a staff member, we lose some clients, a competitor invades the area, we lose money on an investment, etc.- I look back to those early years and know that I can survive anything and so I persevere.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fwfwellness.com/
• Instagram: fwfwellness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FWFWellness
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-golden-ms-586a945b/