Build Strength & Feel Years Younger - Upward Spiral Fitness

Team Subkit -

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and fitness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jen Cavallaro, Founder of Upward Spiral Fitness, located in St. Augustine, FL, USA.

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

My online fitness classes, called TAG Teams, are for women age 40+ who are looking to rediscover strength in their bodies again.

Tell us about yourself

As someone who has a degree in Fine Arts, was never very good at sports and was a terrible employee, it made sense to start a fitness business. I got certified as a personal trainer after working with my own trainer for a couple of years. I thought, “this is great. I can hang out at the gym (which I liked doing anyway) and tell people what to do.” I worked at a big box gym for two years before starting.

Upward Spiral Fitness was originally a mobile training business. I loved going to my clients' homes, mostly to see their dogs. During this time, my husband and I noticed an unused space in our home and thought, “what if we put a gym in here?” I coached many fantastic clients in my home gym over the next six years until COVID arrived on the scene. Enter Zoom. A quick decision needed to be made on how to keep seeing these folks I enjoyed working with so much. And that’s how TAG Teams was born.

The best part is my clients were able to continue working with me when we moved to Florida last year, and the classes are still going strong. I love my clients, and they motivate ME to show up every day.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Improving hundreds of lives, successfully reshaping my business model, helping people fall in love with and get consistent with strength training, figuring out how to take payment that’s not in the form of paper, and never giving up even when I felt like I hit rock bottom. Ok, accomplishment(s).

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

While working for yourself is fantastic, and I wouldn't trade it for anything, it definitely is not easy. You often have a lot of balls in the air at one time and must choose every day which things are most important to work on. Work ON, not just IN, your business. And remember to take time off which can be very difficult but is critical for the health of your business and to avoid burnout.

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

  1. Hire a good business coach who's at the level at which you aspire to be. Don't think you can go it alone. You don't know what you don't know.
  2. Get comfortable with failure.
  3. Just start. The time will never be perfect.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://upwardspiralfit.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upwardspiralfit/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-cavallaro-a7857ab/

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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