Fit for Life: My Business Evolution

Saturday, October 05, 2019

Matt Espeut, GoLocalWorcester Health +Lifestyle Contributor

Matt Espeut

So, September 30, 2014, Providence Fit Body Boot Camp opened its doors.

It started out with myself, and an administrative assistant, and the first workout consisted of my father and next-door neighbor.

I was coaching all the sessions, and my admin was handling all the social media, marketing, and data entry.

Fast forward to today, 5 years later and I have 7 team members, and 2 interns, over 300 members, and have helped folks lose thousands of pounds and change their lives for the better.

As far as I’m concerned, we are just getting started and the last 5 years were just a learning experience for what’s to come.

I’m grateful for all the people that have congratulated me for all my success, however, I haven’t even tapped into the potential we have moving forward.

Anyone that owns or has owned a business can testify that being your own boss has a lot of perks, but you will need to go through a ton of adversity and need to develop a thick skin if you want to survive let alone succeed.

When I first opened, I was scared shitless signing a lease that would cost me upwards of $4000. per month.

I was a one on one personal trainer paying $650 a month rent in a big box gym and lived a simple life.

I would train a few people in the am, go workout, take a nap in the afternoon, then return to train a few people in the evening.

That sounds great to most, but there were issues there too.

Let me give you a little breakdown and some pro’s and con’s to when I was living the simple life to where I am now, doing things a little differently.

First, when I was working alone, there was a limit to how many people I could help in a given week. Being one on one, I would burn out after 40 appointments, thus only seeing a handful of people on a weekly basis. Because I was renting, I couldn’t train large groups due to space and equipment limitations.

Now we see over 100 people daily at Providence Fit Body Boot Camp and have helped hundreds of people lose thousands of pounds. I have no limits on how many lives I can change, so many more can benefit from the services we provide at Providence Fit Body Boot Camp

Second, when you are by yourself, if you get sick, take a vacation, or can’t work you not only sacrifice other people’s workout routines, you don’t get paid. Solo entrepreneurs don’t get sick time and paid vacations.

With a team and systems in place, I don’t need to be present every second in order for things to keep running and making forward progress. Yes, I still need to be present most of the time, however when I’m not there, my Rockstar team keeps all our members active and making forward progress.

Another thing I couldn’t do alone is provide all the services that my team provides for our members.

We have a nutrition tracking service, a system that monitors your heart rate, so you train in the proper zone, and we have a strength system in place for those members NOT interested in weight loss.

I have a specialty coach for each component, and it provides our members with an experience you won’t find anywhere else.

Again, it took 5 years to reach a point that I now feel confident that we are moving in the right direction, but I needed to go through several phases to figure out what’s involved in running a successful business.

I don’t have any formal education or business knowledge, so I had to rely on my resiliency, no quit demeanor, and work ethic to make it happen.

I went through stages, and had to figure out how to market, then how to sell, and after you acquire members, the real work begins.

You need to learn how to deliver great customer service. That means you have to nurture them, keep them happy, make them feel special, and appreciated, all while over-delivering on your promise, and helping them get great results to see the value of your program.

I love helping people, and I always appreciate and recognize great customer service, but delivering it day after day with consistency takes work and a lot of practice. You need to truly care and have a team that cares in order to pull this off.

Now that I have some of the basics figured out, I focus most of my time and energy pouring into my team, so they not only feel appreciated, but know how to deliver the experience I have envisioned for my members.

I now take self-development courses and attend seminars so I can be a better leader, communicator, and delegate the tasks required to scale the business to another level

This is another work in progress, but I have a great team and with their cooperation and due diligence we will continue to grow and maintain Providence Fit Body Boot Camp as the best in the business.

So, in conclusion, getting to sign the front of people’s paychecks has its rewards, but only after you go through the growing pains.

Some days I think it would be nice to just show up, punch a clock, and trade hours for dollars, but that’s NOT in my DNA.

I was put on this earth to create impact, and change lives, and wouldn’t be able to do so without the freedom I currently have.

So, if you own a business, you are reading this shaking your head in agreement.

If you don’t, you might be shaking your head saying NFW, this isn’t for me.

Either way, I don’t regret my decision, and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.

Committed to your success,

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitness consultant for over 25 years. He is the owner of Fitness Profiles, a one on one, and small group personal training company, as well as Providence Fit Body Boot Camp, located at 1284 North Main St., on the Providence/Pawtucket line. You can reach Matt at (401) 453-3200; on Facebook at "Matt Espeut", and on Twitter at @MattEspeut. "We’re all in this life together – let’s make it a healthy one.

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Fit for Life: My Business Evolution

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