Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and fitness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Brit Guerin, co-founder and owner of Current Wellness, located in Raleigh, NC, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am the owner of Current Wellness, a mission-driven, integrative wellness center. We offer fitness and yoga classes, cooking classes, personal training, bodywork (massage, acupuncture, and physical therapy), mental health counseling, nutrition counseling, reiki, wellness coaching, and more.
Our mission is to activate inclusive wellness for mind, body, and community, with a specialty in size inclusion. We use the framework of Health at Every Size®, which means we help folx find compassionate ways to take care of their mind and body no matter their size. This tends to look like moving away from the focus on weight loss, and instead practicing intuitive eating, joyful movement, and finding sustainable self-care practices.
Our members are folx who are looking for a holistic approach to wellness, looking for a community focused on inclusion. A lot of them are tired of trendy diets that have not worked and/or caused them a lot of stress.
Tell us about yourself
I have a background and education in fitness and mental health. When I was getting ready to start my private practice, I knew that I didn't want to work alone and feel isolated. Therefore, I started dreaming about a larger wellness center concept with my partner. Our passions and values really just took over and birthed Current Wellness.
Since our niche is body liberation, many of our members share that our space is the only safe space they have ever experienced for fitness and yoga classes. This keeps me motivated every day to keep going because, unfortunately, our space is not the norm. I'm incredibly honored to do this work.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I would say starting a business during a global pandemic, ha! I went from working at a cycling studio full-time, to graduating with my Master's in Clinical Mental Health, to starting a wellness center. Interestingly, a lot of my regulars at previous gyms did not follow me because I believe our mission is so laser-focused on body liberation, and the other gyms I worked for had a different focus.
So another major accomplishment would be starting a community pretty much from scratch. Most of our members I had not met before Current Wellness, and they found us through searching for body liberation and Health at Every Size fitness. It's pretty much a dream come true to do this radical work and know that people are looking for this approach to wellness.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
It can be challenging to manage people at times, but most of the time, it's really rewarding to get to work with very talented and passionate folx.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
My first suggestion would be to start with creating your mission, vision, and values. This has been instrumental in keeping us focused, helping us make decisions, and supporting our sustainability as a small business. Secondly, I would recommend figuring out your niche. Appealing to a smaller population has been really helpful in finding our audience. Lastly, I would recommend investing in human resources. We would not be where we are today without our team.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://currentwellnessraleigh.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/currentwellnessraleigh
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/current_wellness/
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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