Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and fitness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Simon Byrne, Owner of Bodies By Byrne, located in Manchester, UK.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I'm an online personal trainer helping people begin their fitness journey and transform their physiques. This is done by focusing on individual body types and creating content that people can specifically relate to.

An example would be "the skinny male who can't gain weight or muscle despite always eating." This is a relatable topic for young males and an issue that a large number of people share and allows my target audience to find me when searching for help rather than the other way around where I'd need to go out and find suitable clients.

Tell us about yourself

I started working out at 15, and once I got into "good shape" a number of years later (good shape being the point people positively comment on your appearance), I found that I wanted to help others get that same feeling.

I found that this was a passion from an early age, and while I didn't pursue it as a career initially, I eventually found that helping people change their physique could not only pay the bills but can also provide fulfillment that you'd struggle to find in a typical 9-5 job.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment was getting started. Since 16, I'd always been interested in having a career in the health and fitness industry, but the opportunities were limited and not the most appealing once I'd finished my education. For years I'd daydreamed about personal training as it was such a personal passion, so my biggest accomplishment was the day I committed to it and created social media accounts and my own website.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The hardest thing I've found is switching off from work. When you work for a company, it's easier to leave your work at the office, but when you're invested in your own business, it becomes incredibly difficult to set a schedule to have free time.

There's always something to do when running a business, and you end up filling your day with tasks that you don't necessarily need to be doing. Outsourcing some of this work is how business owners get control of their free time but making that transition is often the most challenging thing because no one else will care about your business as much as you do.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Choose something you are interested in - If you take money out of the equation, the best thing you can do when running a business or working for yourself is to work on something you're passionate about. There's a different kind of fulfillment that comes with hitting a milestone in a field you enjoy. As an example, I happily invest in further education because it interests me, so it makes growing the business significantly easier; you don't do things because you feel you have to but because you actually want to.
  2. Become a specialist - Before getting started with my business, I'd already started building up a reputation within my industry by writing for a number of well-known supplement companies. By mastering your craft, you have the confidence to either get started or progress to the next level. Something that often holds people back is imposter syndrome, and that comes from being a generalist rather than building up the knowledge and skill set that comes with specialization.
  3. Copy others' success - There is now so much free information available in the form of YouTube, online courses, or blogs that you can learn to start or grow a business based on people who have already done it. Historically, you'd need an accountant to register a business (which is a barrier to entry), whereas now you can watch someone do it in a short 10-minute video and then copy them. This scales up to complex or specific areas based on your chosen industry to if you're apprehensive about anything; we now live in a time when a Google search will give you a solution provided by people that have already done it.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://bodiesbybyrne.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodiesbybyrne/

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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