Case studies: Fitness Training Scotland

Fitness Training Scotland
Carole Lenny & Sarah Jane Rice
c/o Quest Gym
44 South Bridge Street
Airdrie
ML6 6JA

Tel: 01236 779910

Email: fitnesstrainingscotland@hotmail.com

Background

Launched in October 2003 by Carole Lenny and Sarah-Jane Rice, Fitness Training Scotland (FTS) provides training courses for existing gym/fitness instructors enabling them to advance their skills.

Based in Airdrie, FTS also runs training courses for the general public including classes in pilates, yoga, first aid, body pump, spin, conditioning and aqua.

The idea

Carole explains the thinking behind launching the company:

“Training courses for instructors are rarely held in Scotland meaning that anyone wishing to advance their qualifications has to travel quite a distance, which can be both costly and time consuming.

“As qualified fitness instructors we found it frustrating that we had to travel to England to take part in training classes. After speaking to colleagues who were equally exasperated, we realised that there was a gap in the market and so we took the decision and started working towards launching FTS.”

Support from Women into Business

The budding entrepreneurs took full advantage of the services and support provided by Women Into Business when launching the company.

Carole and Sarah-Jane approached Business Gateway where they received a wealth of information on how to set-up and run a business. They also attended a number of Women Into Business events.

Carole explained:

“Women Into Business has been a great help. We have been able to meet with people who have already established their own company and we have been able to seek advice on the more mundane side of running a business such as administrative work.

“At the outset we were perhaps guilty of having unrealistic expectations and were not fully prepared for some of the various pitfalls that we have since encountered. If we were to go back to the start I think we would ensure that we had a current bank account organised as this has proved to be quite problematic.

“It is the little things like this that people tend to overlook but Women Into Business certainly give us a lot of direction and taught us the importance of planning ahead. Having the opportunity to attend networking events has also been beneficial as we’ve been able to speak to people and gain different views on how to manage things.”

What the future holds

Carole and Sarah-Jane are currently working to build-up their clientele and hope to roll-out their services across Scotland.

Sarah-Jane added:

“We are trying to establish a credible reputation and are determined that FTS will be a long-term career move for the both of us. It is hard at the beginning and time management is an issue. You have to be prepared to work a lot of hours without little reward but hopefully the hard graft will pay-off and we can turn FTS into a profitable company.”