Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and fitness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tina Joslin, owner of Oranj Fitness Kelowna, located in Kelowna, BC, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Oranj Fitness is a boutique group fitness studio in the heart of Downtown Kelowna. We offer a variety of modalities of fitness such as barre, spin, yoga, boot camps, and personal training. Our studio also boasts a plant-based smoothie bar, childcare, an esthetics spa, and a retail shop.
We call our customers guests as we want them to feel like guests in our home, and everything is taken care of when they walk through our door. Our guests are individuals that put their health and wellness in the highest regard. They are busy people balancing work and home life and making their physical and mental health a priority. They know that if they take care of themselves, they will be able to take care of business/family better.
Tell us about yourself
I started at Oranj Fitness when I was just a baby! I was 19 years old, teaching dance and jazzercise at the studio. I was in awe of such a beautiful space where all sorts of humans came together to move their bodies in different ways. It did not take long before I was completing yoga, barre, Zumba, and spin training so that I could teach different kinds of movement.
I worked at the studio from 2008 to 2014, purchased the studio in 2014, and have been running it ever since. I do not teach much anymore, and I have a team of incredibly talented and educated instructors who inspire our guests and me. I have always loved the variety of options we have had at the studio. That's what got me excited to work there in the early years. There is something for everyone and something new for everyone to try all the time. A guest can take a spin class, and then a foam rolling stretch class right after! We have so many amazing pairings for people to experience!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment would be keeping the business open and pivoting during the pandemic. We have closed our studio five times throughout the past two years as required by our government. Many studios did not make it, and many became very angry and negative. I have continued to uphold a positive outlook throughout these trying times. Instead of complaining about what we could not do, I found a way to be excited about what we could do. We moved online, then outdoors, on a farm, into our back alley. We found ways to make it work and had a great time doing it!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Learning how to communicate with different people in different ways. Guests, staff, and friends all have different preferred ways of communicating. Finding what those are is so important to keep everyone happy and in the loop. The second hardest thing is not reacting to feedback immediately, taking emotion out of it, and responding with a clear head.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Make sure you really love what you are doing, or the passion to keep going will fizzle. Ensure you have a great team behind you and that you invest in training them. Run your numbers, and make sure it makes sense before dedicating your life to them.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://oranjfitness.com/kelowna/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oranjfitnesskelowna
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oranjkelowna/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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