Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and fitness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lionel Balland, owner of Academy Athletics, located in Seattle, WA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Our business is Academy Athletics, a high-end fitness company that focuses on transformations. Many fitness businesses don’t actually get results; our approach is holistic, focusing on fitness, nutrition, and accountability. We get better client results in six weeks, and most programs achieve in six months.
We have a beautiful fitness studio in downtown Seattle, and our program is also fully remote and able to work with clients all over the world. We use a data-driven approach that can basically guarantee results. Most fitness professionals are just guessing; we let the data guide our decisions to give our clients amazing results quickly and effectively. Our fitness program is a proven system that gets results for anyone that does it.
Tell us about yourself
I’ve always been an athletic person, and I have been a fitness professional my entire career. I’ve never had another job; this is my passion. I started young and now have 20 years in the industry. I love my work because you can truly impact and change people‘s lives. We’ve had many clients over the years that reach out each year to thank us for the work we’ve done with them. It has completely changed their lives, and they will never be the same because of what they learned during our program.
This is fitness, and most people think it’s about looking good in a bathing suit, but if you improve your health and wellness, it will spill over into every other aspect of your life, making you a much better, well-rounded person in every area. Getting healthy can have a profound impact on your entire life. I got into this industry to help people, and I feel like, at this point in my career, I can do that better than anyone. What I do is change lives, and I do it every single day.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment is hands-down the results that I’ve gotten for people over the years. I say it often, but it’s very true, our program will give you better results in six weeks than most programs do in six months. My biggest accomplishment is all the people I worked with, and there are not a lot of people like me with this many testimonials and success stories of people achieving impressive results. I look at others in my field, even the big famous fitness pros, and I can honestly say I get better results than almost anyone. This is what I’m most proud of by far.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner is that things go wrong all the time. It is part of the journey; the obstacle is the way. Is this something you don’t understand when you first start a business, but after a while, you realize that things are supposed to go wrong and fall apart, these are the lessons you need to learn.
Being a successful business owner comes down to problem-solving, facing adversity, and figuring out how to make things work when things go wrong. When you own a business, everything can change at a moment‘s notice, and you have to be ready to handle it and make it work. Covid was a prime example of that; our gym was forced close down for six months, not only were we able to find a way to keep our gym open while other businesses closed, we created a remote program during that time to expand our business all over the globe.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Simple scales, complexity fails.
- Marketing and selling should be your main focus if you want a successful business.
- You will be successful if you go above and beyond for your clients and do a better job than others in your industry.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Running a business is not for everyone. It is harder than most people think. If you look at the statistics of successful businesses, a very small percentage actually makes it. Most businesses fail in the first five years, and if you want to be successful, you need to be better at what you do than your competition. A positive attitude and a belief that you will make it will guide you in your journey.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://academyathletics.net/
Facebook:
https://bit.ly/3mKShH4
https://www.facebook.com/academyathletics
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lionelballand/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LionelBalland
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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