More Community Than Just a Platform

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Nick Dennis, CEO of fitDEGREE, located in Sewell, NJ, USA.

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

fitDEGREE is a management software in the boutique fitness industry. Our ideal client is a brick-and-mortar studio business, typically in the yoga, pilates, barre, and group fitness modality. We help streamline the process of scheduling, bookings, and payments from the fitness consumer to the studio owner. Our unique angle on this existing software market is that we digitalize the community aspect of these brick-and-mortar businesses with ‘social media-esque’ features complemented throughout our platform.

Tell us about yourself

Our goal is to enhance the fitness industry through community and connection. We originally started by trying to build an app to help fitness enthusiasts find a workout partner at their local gym. After not getting initial traction, we pivoted our product into the boutique fitness space and brought our community and connection ideas to a studio business environment.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Creating a platform that team members want to work for and clients want to support. In this day and age, employees can work wherever they want, and business owners have so many options to choose from when looking into enterprise software for their business. I am grateful for our hard-working, collaborative team and the happy clients that help us improve every day. Reaching 100 reviews on Trustpilot at a 4.7/5 star rating in 2022 was a big accomplishment!

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

Understanding that you can’t do everything you want as fast as you want … Building a startup and scaling a startup both require a combination of patience and prioritization. There is a great Bill Gates quote that says, “People overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years.” I think the trick for entrepreneurs is to limit how many years you waste by overreaching only to fall short and instead understand what you can realistically accomplish in a year to build that great business over the next ten years.

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

Adapt or die … You’re not going to be right the first time on a lot of things, so be prepared to adapt quickly, or your business will die.
Don’t ever be the smartest person in the room … Your goal is to create a team of uniquely talented people that are obsessed with their craft, not for you to have all of the answers. This includes getting coaches too!
Find a great business partner … I believe business is much more about soft skills than hard skills, and if you’re having issues with your business partner, you’ll quickly see how much that will slow you down. You need to have trust, be aligned, and prepare for the marathon ahead. You cannot waste time bickering.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.fitdegree.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fitdegree/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-dennis-43271190/

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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