Best Startup Scotland
Where in Scotland are you located?
Edinburgh
Tell us about yourself?
I am a personal trainer, nutrition coach and body confidence & well-being coach. I am the founder and head coach at fitandhappy, a fitness company focusing on fun and supportive health and fitness coaching for women.
What lessons has being an entrepreneur taught you?
You have to be willing to take risks, get back up when you fall and see failure as a learning opportunity. I‘m a lot more resilient than I used to be!
If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Try not to work all hours of the day! There is always and there will always be more work to do but it doesn‘t all have to happen today! Try and get some balance.
A lot of entrepreneurs find it difficult to balance their work and personal lives. How have you found that?
Just continuing on from the previous question, I am still finding time management hard but I am slowly getting better. The world doesn‘t fall apart of I‘m not available 24/7.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
Helping women feel strong, fit and great about themselves so they have the energy to get more out of life.
What do you think is your magic sauce? What sets you apart from the competitors?
We provide premium quality health and fitness coaching for women at any life stage, predominantly outdoors in nature.
Our coaches are extremely well qualified, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We work in the industry of behaviour change and people change best when we’ they’re enjoying themselves.
We make sure our coaching is fun and we try to add a bit of humour into whatever we do.
How have you found sales so far? Do you have any lessons you could pass on to other founders in the same market as you just starting out?
The fitness industry has peak seasons so don’t get disheartened when sales go down during some months of the year. Word of mouth is still the best form of marketing for us.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced so far in your business, and how did you overcome it?
Getting through Covid and lockdowns and having to constantly change and adapt. It was hard but we learned a lot of lessons along the way.
What do you consider are the main strengths of operating your business in Scotland?
I love living and working in Scotland. I cycle to work and we can run our outdoor all year round. It’s never too cold or too hot!
What if any are weaknesses of operating your business within Scotland?
I can’t think of any.
What influence does being part of the UK have on your business?
None at the moment. We are a local business providing a service to local women.
What do you want to accomplish in the next 5 years with your business?
I’d like fitandhappy to be a leader in building communities of empowered women who can inspire the next generation of fit, strong and confident women.
How has Brexit impacted your business (if at all)?
The labour market has shrunk and it’s harder to find high quality staff.
And finally, if people want to get involved and learn more about your business, how should they do that?
Visit our website at fitandhappy.co.uk or follow us on social media.
Follow fitandhappy on Twitter or Linkedin.
