Glynn and Rose Willard started Paradigm Fitness in 2000 when they realized there was an untapped niche in strengthening figure skaters for their sport. Glynn began personal training in 1989 and Rose was a senior lady figure skater most of her life. The two married their skill sets to build a profitable personal training studio and are now selling it to travel for a year and build their next business ventures. Their current businesses include Paradigm Fitness, Gymfailedyou.com, and Resetyourjourney.com. 

Can you tell our readers about your background? 

Glynn: Not all of us are meant to be entrepreneurs, but those of us who know it! That excitement of building something to improve society haunts us and there’s no escape. I’m no exception. So, I began my trade before obtaining an education, which helped give my formal education direction. But in 1989, no one was a personal trainer. So, technically, I wasn’t crossing any lines. It was then that I learned if I do what I love, I’m not really working. This still applies.

Rose: I spent my childhood and adolescent years as a competitive figure skater. This built a deep determination and discipline that carried forward into our business. It also became the foundation of our niche in personal training. Like Glynn, my passion in life propelled me into a college curriculum specifically for our business.

What inspired you to start your business? 

Glynn: I helped build the personal training program for University of Delaware’s student fitness center. Then I went on to do the same for a local health club. Both were very successful, but didn’t pay much. I saw a huge opportunity to create a medium sized gym that was used exclusively for personal training. Forget the membership fees, contracts or other policies that leave a bad taste in the consumers mouth. We only charged for the training. This was unheard of in the gym ownership world.  

Rose: I always wanted to help figure skaters improve their sport and offer them something I always wished I had had. Opening a gym inside an ice rink used exclusively for personal training made a lot of sense. It was how I could give back and do what I love.

Where is your business based? 

We started building our client base inside University of Delaware’s ice rinks in 2000. Then we leased space inside another local ice rink in Newark, DE in 2001. Paradigm Fitness has resided in the same space since with the same business model. Too many people insisted we needed to expand. But we wanted to keep things simple. Low overhead was key and it worked!

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took? 

We started to accumulate a small client base before legitimizing the business. This was the time before the internet. And we couldn’t afford an attorney, so we figured out how to file our own paperwork with the state and IRS. Turned out, if we called each entity, they happily told us the necessary steps to forming our LLC. To this day, when we have a question, we just “go to the source” and call.

Once we had our EIN, bank account and small client base, we negotiated a very fair deal for space inside a rink. It was a win-win situation. We opened our doors with enough revenue from the start to always be in the black. We never looked back!

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business? 

Since we worked closely with the figure skating coaches out of the gates, they were our first resource for clientele. In other words, it was about the relationship we formed. We tried print marketing for a period of time with almost no ROI. Turns out, as the internet evolved, Paradigm’s presence locally online was the most successful form of marketing. It allowed us to control who walked through our doors.

Our facility is out of the way and hidden. So there was never any “walk by” traffic. This was good and bad. It forced us to make every dollar count when marketing. You can read that as making sure we had a solid web presence.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

One might think that obtaining clients is the biggest challenge, but true entrepreneurs know the real difficulty. That’s finding outstanding staff. And in more recent years, personal training has trended into the “gig” format. By treating the staff like family, genuinely respecting them and their time and paying above industry standard, we’re able to maintain a consistent staff.  

The next big hurdle was covid. The forced shutdowns had a real impact. We adapted just fine, but we also had an epiphany. More on that below. 

How do you stay focused?

When one truly loves their business, it’s easy to stay focused. We also have clients we’ve cultivated real relationships with, so keeping them fit and sane was more than a financial obligation. Having two little boys also helps zero in on maintaining an income. 

How do you differentiate your business from the competition? 

We made it our policy to never dwell on the competition. As far as we were concerned, they didn’t exist. We focused all of our energy into running the best business we could. Over twenty years, competitors opened and closed. We just kept doing our thing and taking great care of our clients.  

Our reputation became “the Cheer’s” of personal training studios. We were also the most educated staff around. But, we made sure everyone “checked” their professionalism at the door. Clients love the easy going atmosphere. 

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Dollar for dollar, nothing beat the returns of a well built website with a real call to action. Building a list and marketing to that list cost almost nothing. That gave it a huge ROI. 

What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Really get to know your niche population and take the best care of them possible. Cultivate and nurture your list. Make it personal. Too much today is automated. And customer service in so many industries seems to have gone down hill. Do better. And never, ever forget the long term value of a client/customer!

What’s your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

Glynn: My favorite app is All Trails. Completely unrelated to business, but I love hiking. It’s how I decompress and stay focused. The All Trails app allows me to find the best trails when traveling. I don’t spend a lot of time on blogs I prefer to produce instead of consume. The one book that has had more impact than anything else in my business is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. No doubt, that’s a popular book. I read it when I was fourteen and then over and over again into my 20’s.

Rose: My favorite app is the Libby app for libraries. It’s a great resource for borrowing books online for both myself and the kids. My favorite book is The Book of Joy with the Dalai Lama and Desmond TuTu. There’s a lot to be said for finding happiness in everyday life. I highly recommend it to anyone feeling down.

What’s your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Perhaps it’s not the most exciting, but I really like using Quickbooks. Numbers never lie and the reports are always helpful. Other than that, the best resources have always been successful individuals in business who have mentored us. You can’t beat having a great mentor! 

Who is your business role model? Why?

David Tuttleman. We’ve been friends for a long time and he’s always helped us with any questions. He also helped give us direction in how to separate our business life and personal life.   

How do you balance work and life?  

Glynn: I built systems that ran the business and I continue to take clients three days a week. This gives me a lot of time off. But I do spend a lot of time building the next two businesses. I should spend more time with the family and I made this realization during the quarantine. It’s easy to get lost in your work. But it will always be there… the kids will not always be there.  

Rose: I spend most of my time as a stay at home mom raising the boys while Glynn runs the business. I do spend some time working on the new business, but homeschooling takes a lot of time.

We make it a point to eat together as a family four evenings a week and do something active together at least three times a week. 

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Glynn: Hiking, reading and music.

Rose: Listening to audiobooks and exercising. 

On a side note, we own a gym, so working out just goes with the territory. It’s not necessarily a way to decompress anymore. Rather a normal part of our life. 

What do you have planned for the next six months?

This is where the epiphany comes in. That time in quarantine made us realize two things. We all want more time together and we do not want to be geographically tied anywhere. So, despite a successful business, we’re closing on the sale of Paradigm Fitness at the end of 2020.

We’re taking one year to travel the country as a family while building the other two businesses, gymfailedyou.com and resetyourjourney.com.

It’s tough to let go of a business we love that generates a real living. But without the adversity of living in a camper all over the country, we’ll never be able to build the next business or chapter in our life. It will open our minds and opportunities for great things to come! Not to mention great memories for the whole family. 

How can our readers connect with you?

Our three websites are gymfailedyou.com, paradigmfitness.com and resetyourjourney.com. We’re more than happy to answer emails and correspond with like minded entrepreneurs.