Business Owner Spotlight - Fitstop North Hobart

After opening Fitstop North Hobart as our first location to hit Tasmania, Emily (proud owner of Fitstop North Hobart) has achieved outstanding results that are some of our networks most impactful. In fact, Emily has ensured the opening of Fitstop North Hobart was our most successful interstate open to date.

Emily comes from a high-performance background in sport - she has a complete athlete mindset that shines through in everything she does. Emily is self-accountable, driven and always willing to put in the extra work to not only drive strong results, but to ensure she is getting the absolute best outcome that she can. 

Emily’s journey with Fitstop started as a member, allowing her to first handedly experience Fitstop’s vision and really understand how the Fitstop difference could change people’s lives as it made such a positive impact in her own. Fast forward to today, Emily has created a very successful business with an outstanding opening result of 228 members a part of her community prior to opening. Emily is a true testament to the success you can create when investing in your true passions and using life-skills to chase results, no matter your prior experience! 

We had the opportunity to speak with Emily after her first week of operation and feel really proud of everything she has created - we hope her story inspires you too!

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1. What is your background outside of owning your own Fitstop? 

I've had a day job as a hospital pharmacist for 8 years. I also love competing in ocean swimming and triathlons. I've grown up competing in elite level swimming so I'm always looking to replicate the feeling of squad training and competing. 

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2. When did your journey with Fitstop begin? 

In 2018 after becoming a member of Fitstop Maroochydore. My husband bought me a Fitstop membership for a year as a birthday present (best bday pressie ever) - I completely fell in love. When we moved back to Tassie in January 2020 I wanted to open my own Fitstop but then Covid came along so I have been holding onto the dream for a while!

3. What motivated you to take the next step and open your own Fitstop or Fitness franchise? 

I had tried to find a passion in many areas of pharmacy but decided it wasn't for me. You only have one life and it's short so I didn't want to spend another day working in a job that didn't excite me. Fitstop had such a positive impact on me as a member that I wanted Tassie to experience this too!

4. How have you found the support from Fitstop and how does this contribute to your overall success? 

There was always someone I could pick up a call with at any time of the day, and the support definitely doesn't stop once open. The processes and systems are easy to follow and the support from other business owners has also been amazing. I think my favourite contrast between Fitstop and my day job is that feedback is welcomed but also acted on immediately. I love seeing the Fitstop Franchise evolve and be proactive based on suggestions from Franchisees! 

5. When taking this step with Fitstop, what were the most important things you needed out of a franchise business? 

I have no background in business so I was literally starting from scratch. Fitstop taught me how to run my own business and ultimately be successful. If you follow the process provided you basically can't go wrong. 

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6. What strategies do you believe have allowed you to create such a strong community that was evident prior to your opening? 

I started my own small group training business out of my garage to build a following before making the move to Fitstop. My intention with this was to work towards opening my own Fitstop but I just needed to prove to myself that I could make it work and build up my confidence. I kept the structure similar to Fitstop so it wasn't a huge shock to my members when they came across to Fitstop. It was these members that also drove my pre-sale through word of mouth in addition to calling every single lead.

7. What is your team dynamic, and how do you plan on allocating your time to operate Fitstop North Hobart? 

I come from an athletic performance background, I have two trainers who are additionally trained in pilates and yoga and another trainer who is also an exercise physiologist and strength coach. We all have other (small) commitments outside of Fitstop but we have all found a passion in Fitstop which draws us together as a team. Initially after opening I have been coaching every session alongside another trainer. This is for several reasons but overall: Fitstop and the workouts are new to Tassie and nothing like any other training style in Hobart so we need to ensure the members are training effectively and performing movements safely and correctly. 

Fitstop is also new to my trainers so I'm spending a lot of time getting them up to speed with the workouts. Thanks to Covid we weren't able to head to a Fitstop for the experience or product training. After a few weeks I will back off a bit with the amount of sessions I am taking so I can allocate more time to contacting leads and providing members with a more personalised experience. 

8. Are you looking to become a multi-site owner, and if so, when?

I can definitely see the value in becoming a multisite owner, so we will reassess once things calm down a bit! Ask me again in 6 months.

9. What advice would you give to someone who is passionate about health and fitness and wants to know if this passion should turn into something more? 

If you're asking yourself on a daily basis whether you're in the right job then you're probably not. It's okay to do something for yourself so don't be afraid to take a plunge and try something new. In the end, if you're truly passionate about what you're doing, that will drive you to become the best you can be in that role. ‍

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10. How has Fitstop changed your life? 

Where do I start with this!? 

It still feels very surreal that I own a Fitstop and am already impacting over 200 lives. I'm loving every day of my new life. 

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It’s very motivating to have people in our network like Emily who make such a positive impact in their own life which makes for the backbone of passion that flows onto their new found community! With a motivated, go-getter mindset and a desire to push your limits and reach your goals, Fitstop’s business model really does present endless opportunities!  

We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Emily and for the North Hobart community to continually level up their training with the Fitstop difference!