The Ultimate Training Experience

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and fitness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Charlie Zubella, Franchise Owner of Core Progression, located in Downtown Denver, CO, USA.

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

At Core Progression Elite Personal Training, we're focused on helping you reach your goals through personalized training plans, as well as nutritional counseling and wellness education. We're not just another place to work out but the ultimate training experience in a private studio that gives you the attention and focus you deserve to achieve unparalleled results.

Tell us about yourself

I first started my fitness journey in December 2007. Being from Wisconsin, we ate a lot of cheese and bratwurst and drank a lot of beer. After a while, our bodies started to show it. My friend and I decided to get a gym membership, and after a few months of 2-3x/wk consistency, we started to see some results. Then I hopped on a Greyhound bus with a couple of bucks and a bag of clothes and landed in Boulder, CO. I thought I had a job lined up, but by the time I got out here, that job was no more. So I couch-surfed for a couple of weeks and took a job as a janitor. Four months later, I was hired at US Bank as a Personal Banker and was still cleaning bathrooms at night. Two years later, I was promoted to Small Business Banker, where I really learned a lot from all of the entrepreneurs. It was a small pay raise, so I decided to "hang up the plunger."

After a couple of years, the bank offered me another promotion, which I turned down because I didn't want to be a career banker. I left the bank and started a Wisconsin Cheese distribution company, which I ran for three years. I went back to business banking, then to mortgage lending, and eventually helped run a financial wellness company where we held nightly webinars teaching stock market literacy. I digress, but I'll tie all of this together. When I moved to Colorado, I left my workout buddy behind in Wisconsin.

Heaven forbid I motivated myself to go to the gym, and I needed to find someone to go with me if I was going to show up. So I found a workout buddy who eventually enlisted his own personal trainer. After some time, he started to see incredible results, so I decided to join him. Once there, I found out that the owner of the company was talking about franchising. Long story, not as long, this was Core Progression. My buddy opened the Boulder location, and shortly thereafter, I opened the Downtown Denver location.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Our biggest accomplishment is helping everyday people achieve the body and level of fitness they only ever dreamed of. I love hearing the success stories, of which 80+% of our clients are hitting their initial fitness goals - and many far exceed their expectations. This is why we do what we do. The grandparent that can run around with her grandkids, or the ex-athlete that is now the MVP of his rec soccer league, and everything in between. We love helping people dream up fitness goals and help them make them happen.

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

Obviously, COVID wasn't easy. We opened in December 2019. We're open for three months and then shut down for just as many. Navigating that time was probably the hardest thing we ever had to do. But we did right by our team and our clients and came out stronger on the other side.

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

Whatever you think is going to happen, use the rule of 3. It's going to take 3 times as long, be 3 times as difficult, and cost 3 times as much as what you initially expected. If you are okay with that, go for it. If not, this might not be the thing for you.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://coreprogression.com/rino-denver-co
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RinoDenverColorado
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/core_progression_rino
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-zubella-92b85045

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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