Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Erik Poldroo, co-founder, and COO of The Zone, located in New York, NY, USA.

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

The Zone is a technology company that helps athletic programs provide their student-athletes with the wellness resources and the support that they need, right on their mobile device. We've created a way for athletes to have personalized support for mental health, nutrition, and financial wellness all on one platform to create more accessibility and transparency than ever before.

Tell us about yourself

As a former college baseball player who personally dealt with mental health struggles, it became very clear that schools and their athletic programs needed a more efficient way to provide their student-athletes with the personalized support that they needed. Athletes (including myself) can be very reluctant to talk about the struggles they deal with due to the fear of being labeled and/or losing playing time, resulting in athletes "sucking it up" and suffering in silence.

The opportunity to help athletes get the support that they need to help feel and perform their best is what motivates my team and I daily. COVID-19 has caused mental health struggles to skyrocket and has left campus staff, and counselors overwhelmed, resulting in weeks to get an appointment, or worse... no appointment at all.

Our goal at The Zone is to help break the mental health stigma by making sure athletes know it is okay to not be okay and that it won't ever make you weak or not worthy.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

As a Co-Founder, the biggest accomplishment to date has definitely been growing The Zone into a full product, establishing multiple school partnerships with NCAA Universities, and building the team that we have with limited resources and funding. This has shown our teams tenacity, drive, and desire to help student-athletes by believing in the mission and in something bigger than ourselves. I am incredibly proud of that.

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

I would definitely say one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner (especially at the beginning) is the consistent rejection that you deal with. Whether it is fundraising, partnerships and/or others, you need to become okay with it and continue to push forward.

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

  1. Identify the weaknesses of you and your business as early as possible and fill those by hiring people who have them as strengths. This is important and will help move the organization forward as a unit.
  2. Establish a group of advisors who can help you through the journey by guiding you through previous experiences/mistakes that they have gone through within their own personal careers.
  3. Delegate. As business owners, we are so accustomed to doing it all. As you grow, however, you will need to focus on your own priorities. You will need to delegate work to your team in order to maximize time throughout the day. Let people be great and have the trust that they will get it done.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

The entrepreneurial journey is not for the faint of heart but lets me tell you.. it is WELL worth it. Chase your dreams and leave your footprint on the world with whatever it is that you want to do.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.itsthezone.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsthezone/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsthezone/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/itsthezone
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-poldroo-638b15120/

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.