Common Goal in Living Health & Fit

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and fitness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Chris Johnson, CEO, and founder of Cerus Fitness, located in Frederick, CO, USA.

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

Our customers are people looking to form healthy habits and change their lifestyle to one centered around health and fitness. We have folks from ages 10 to 70 in all walks of life, all pursuing the same goal of living healthy and fit within the Cerus community.

Tell us about yourself

I first started the company (in my garage of all places like seemingly all other startups) after visiting three major fitness businesses. At each place, I was in awe of how amazing all the equipment and people were and equally dismayed by how little the business seemed to care about the people-- everyone was a number, and no one knew each other. I was inspired and remained inspired to fix that by creating a true community within our company. From the facility to events to our online community- and growing that along with the power of a community all like-minded in the purpose of supporting each other to live healthy and fit lifestyles is what makes my job fun every day.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Launching our first 10,000SF facility in the height of COVID. It wasn't the original intention, but the way timing of contracts worked out, we ended up opening our doors at a time where many thought it was "crazy"-- and the response what amazing!

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

Juggling work/life balance is an ongoing struggle. Young businesses require attention in so many areas. It often results in 12-14 hour workdays where I regrettably miss bedtime with my kids or weekend visits with friends.

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

Evaluate your core mission and if running a business is the only way to accomplish it. I run into several young entrepreneurs who don't have experience with accounting, planning, marketing, managing, and business development skills who feel they HAVE to start a company to achieve. There are so many ways to achieve your purpose other than starting your own from scratch.
Spend time modeling, writing business plans, and understanding how your business should be functioning if you are achieving what you set out to. You need a central set of key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your business against to validate if your business model is working or needs to be adjusted.
"Steer" through, don't commit to a single vision. Often times you can tell yourself your business has to look and function in an exact way, and you overdevelop on the front end, spending too much time before your product reaches the market only to find out the market wants something different entirely. Work to get a minimum viable product out into the market and be ready to constantly change it to fit what the market actually wants-- this gives you more runway to navigate what you could never foresee in your planning stages.

Never take for granted all the people who make the journey possible. I've been lucky to have a supportive family and a team of people who is always there when I need them most.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://cerusfitness.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CerusFitness/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cerusfitness/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-johnson-3719b019/

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.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.