I’m very glad to have had 5 years experiencing this, alongside running my business as an individual before we bring children into the mix which we are gearing up for in the next 2 years.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
In the early days of my business, the workload was great, the net profit was low and it was near on impossible to delegate the work out to others. I needed to change something in my business model if I was going to grow. Fortunately for me, my brother is an accountant and fellow business owner. He was able to step in, look at my books and tell me where I was going wrong. We created a plan to grow and bring me into a much more financially secure position. It took at least two years but it was manageable and it paid off.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
In my opinion, the pros to running your own business are definitely the passion to do what you do and love almost every minute of it and the freedom that comes with creating your own beast. Deciding on your own timetable is a major pro to me as I never have to miss out on important family occasions like the birth of my nephew or even just being there to look after my family when they are ill. Even greater than that however was the ability to create a company culture that bodes well with my values. MatWorks is not just a company, but a community of incredible, generous people, who care for one another, hang out outside of Pilates and always have each other’s backs. I always look at who my friends are and feel down that I don’t have many friends outside of Pilates, but then I look at all of the wonderful humans I get to know deeply through my work and realise that I have an abundance of friends who just happen to also be my clients.
The downsides? Are there any? I guess I would have to say the financial risk feels scary. I recently had my appendix out and needed to take two weeks off work. Instantly I thought, crap am I going to have enough money to pay the wages if I don’t work for two weeks? The answer was yes, but these moments can feel a little worrying at times. Also, at the beginning of running my business, when I had no experience and realised that I had to wear all the hats in my business, I was worried I wouldn’t be good at everything. Luckily, that’s when my tenacity kicks in and where Youtube becomes your best friend.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
Last year in May I purchased my second Pilates business. I’m in the process of merging these two companies and aim to grow them to be as successful as possible over the next 5 years before my partner and I decide to move our wee family to Taranaki. My aim is to start up a Taranaki branch to the business and run the Auckland branch remotely! Oh, and look after the children of course!
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