1. Can you please tell us more about your business?
Fitness Junction (Pty) Ltd is a 100% Black-owned (77% women) fitness company. The first fitness centre (gym) is based in Westview, Danville, Pretoria West. The company’s focus is on the peri-urban and rural commercial gym market but plans to add the corporate gym and home gym markets to its basket in 2022. Fitness Junction offers the same quality of products and services as the gyms in cities and suburbs but is within reach of the peri-urban and rural markets.
Fitness Junction, therefore, helps peri-urban and rural residents, home exercise clients, and corporate employees to attain their wellness and fitness objectives by being accessible to them and offering holistic services at affordable prices.
The Fitness Junction commercial gym offering includes a cardio equipment area, aerobics and spinning studios, a circuit, a weight building area, a boxing area, and a personal/ functional training zone. The township commercial gym houses wellness specialists (fitness trainers and personal trainers) who ensure that walk-in clients or those clients referred by Medical practitioners get a holistic health and wellness experience through fitness screening, assessment, and prescription. As a value offering for its clients, the gym houses a free child care facility where the clients’ children are minded while clients are exercising.
2. When, how, and why did you start your business?
I resigned from my senior management job as Director responsible for Sport and Recreation in the Mpumalanga government in June 2017, took my pension payout, and sourced the facility and equipment. When I realised that the funds that I had were not sufficient, I then approached friends and relatives to purchase equity in the company. Fitness Junction Westview then launched and has been operational since 23 February 2018. The business has grown organically over the period.
3. What is your role in the business?
I am the CEO. I am responsible for business strategy, business development and growth, financial management, and human resource development. I am also the central liaison for strategic partners. Overall, I monitor and evaluate all the business outputs and ensure that the business stays on course for growth.
4. Where did you study and what did you study?
I started with a BSC Physiotherapy degree (MEDUNSA), then completed a postgraduate diploma in Physiotherapy: sport and exercise (WITS). I then continued to complete a Master’s Degree in Public Health majoring in fitness (University of the Western Cape) and ended with my highest qualification: a Ph.D. in Human Movement Science obtained from the North West University.
Following the Ph.D., I decided to complete a program in Social Entrepreneurship at GIBS in order to learn to monetise my knowledge and that led to the confidence to jump from employment and establish Fitness Junction.
5. How did you finance your business?
I applied unsuccessfully to multiple funders throughout 2016 and realised that I would have to use my own funds to realise my dream. I then resigned and used my pension payout to start the company. When funds became insufficient, I then approached friends and relatives and sold them equity in the company.
6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.
I work in the background and am not the face at the facility. In general, I deal with
- daily financial management,
- reviewal of the previous day’s sales,
- managing of sales targets,
- HR performance monitoring,
- Management weekly meetings,
- liaison with service providers, creditors,
- pitching to corporates,
- meetings with different prospective strategic partners,
- applying for funding
- crisis management
7. How do you balance your home life and your work life?
I work mostly from home and am therefore able to do the school runs and monitor my children’s homework. I am still lacking when it comes to the quality of my interaction with the children as I work very long hours even though I’m home. I plan to improve the quality of my home life but think that the more the business grows and matures I will then have more time to be present in my children’s lives.
8. What drives you and inspires you?
The knowledge that I am positively impacting the lives of peri-urban and rural residents who previously did not have access to gym facilities (or any other decent exercise facilities). By bringing quality gym services to them, I am able to bring positive change to their health profiles and thus reduce morbidity and mortality from diseases of lifestyle in those communities.
Fitness Junction is also a great vehicle for job creation in those communities. One gym employs a minimum of 15 local youths. Should I be able to scale the gyms into as many townships and rural towns as possible, thousands of local youths will benefit from gainful employment.
9. Where and when do you have your best ideas?
In the early morning hours when the world is quiet (when I’m supposed to be sleeping!).
10. Where and how do you market/advertise your business for sales leads?
We use the following:
- Flyer drops
- Cold calls
- Referrals
- Canvassing at strategic points e.g. shopping centres, schools, churches
- Aerobics marathon activations
- Interviews at local radio stations
- Website
11. What is next for your business?
Fitness Junction aims to grow its offering of commercial gyms nationally through a network of head office gyms and through franchising, going from township to township and rural town to rural town. The unavailability of funding is the only blockage that is preventing the next step.
12. What advice would you give to female entrepreneurs hoping to start their own business?
- Start small and continuously test your assumptions to make your offering suitable for your clients needs.
- Do not assume that because you have a feasible business idea, funders will open their doors to you.
- Never give up no matter how hard it gets, your breakthrough might be tomorrow…
Short bio:
Dr. Mashego is a qualified sports physiotherapist who studied further to complete a Masters Degree in Public Health (with a focus on fitness) and a Ph.D. in Human Movement Science (also focusing on fitness). She has vast experience in sports physiotherapy, exercise science, and sport management and has served a combined 26 years in the health, wellness, and sports sectors.
Contact details:
Website: www.fitnessjunction.co.za
Facebook: FitnessjunctionZA
Instagram: fitnessjunction_southafrica
