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Meet Kristy Neary

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristy Neary.

Kristy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2004 when I was just starting grad school, I signed a contract with my dad that said in ten years we’d both take $25,000 to Las Vegas to pool and put through the $1,000 slot machines. Though I absolutely did not have $25K to blow at the time, I was totally confident future I would have the cash after I completed my MBA and got a killer job.

By 2014, I was five years into a job that was only supposed to last two to three. And though I wasn’t making terrible money, the financial panacea I assumed would befall me was always just around the corner. My work in Corporate Finance was fine—in some ways, it was great because it allowed me to be creative. But the daily commute, the sitting and staring at spreadsheets, and the stifling environment were not what I was made for. The problem was, I didn’t know what the right career—or even life— was. All the options available landed me in the same blah situations.

Looking back, this time was valuable in the sense that I sought fitness to offset my sedentary job and mind. My search for the most fun, most optimal, most rewarding fitness activities finally landed me with a coach who seemed to have the right mix of enthusiasm, knowledge, and ability to create a culture amongst a disparate group of students. I ended up getting in the best shape of my life and truly enjoying it.

Also during this time, I increased the intensity of my yoga practice and began training to be an instructor. Yoga teacher training was key to being able to direct movement and mood using verbal cues—that’s a skill an MBA and years of finance work won’t get you!

In the spring of 2017, I quit my job. I spent that summer volunteering and learning at a self-sustained community development organization in Uganda. After a little more traveling around East Africa, I went home to no job and no idea what was next.

Things fell into place. I met up with a friend (who had coincidentally also been in Uganda that summer) who told me how to Airbnb my home to make money while I had no job. Then an acquaintance I knew from the fitness world asked me to help her develop a boutique gym. I didn’t know much about gym-building, but I did know how to analyze and run a business. We worked on that venture for about a year until we decided that our visions were different.

By the autumn of 2018, I felt like I had a decent amount of knowledge about the gym business, As well as necessary certifications. I also had a lot of momentum. Drawing from my professional finance background, I created a financial model for a new business that included using the proprietary Training For Warriors program and marketing it toward older adults. I planned for diversified revenue streams through personal training, special sessions, nutritional intensives, teen programming, workshops, treatment room rentals, and more.

My financial model included a break-even revenue stream with a take-home income for me by the end of the first year. The money is certainly not at the same level as the world of Corporate Finance and it’s still going to be a while before I can pony up $25K for the slots, but life is far more enriching in other ways.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It didn’t feel smooth at the time. It still doesn’t. But looking back, it’s amazing how perfectly everything came together. I found just the right business location along with a river development project where there’s greenery and foot/cyclist traffic. Virtual mountains were moved to put together a property loan and a business loan in the span of about 45 days. I had a ton of help from my family and a few close friends.

The business’ marketing, in the beginning, was a complete flop. I stated in my business plan that marketing was the one area where I felt like there was a substantial risk. Having the experience of opening of the prior gym, I was familiar with the client acquisition model. However, the company I hired to do digital marketing didn’t perform as I expected. I wasted a ton of money on marketing that didn’t work and initial growth was slow.

Despite the marketing fail, growth was steady. It turned out that we grew very organically. I seemed to meet just the right people at just the right time who were able to lend their expertise or relationships to the business. We enjoyed a decent amount of PR thanks to one of these relationships. We secured digital video production through another relationship. Both of these avenues were critical at the time because we had wiped out the initial marketing budget.

The real key to successful growth, though it has been the relationships we made with the O.G. students. A ton of our growth has been through referrals.

Please tell us about your business.
The business I opened flies under the banner of Training For Warriors. Known as “TFW,” it’s an international fitness and personal development program. Of all the fitness business models out there, this one appealed to me because it puts people in the role of students of life (not just fitness). TFW’s history is in martial arts, so there’s an emphasis on mental discipline and earned progression. TFW’s founder, Martin Rooney, trained some of the early MMA champs and realized he had a winning system that could be adapted for everyone.

The boutique gym industry is blowing up and it’s getting competitive. To be financially successful, I knew there had to be more than just a fitness offering. Much like a larger gym, we have a variety of complimentary services: On-site body workers and treatment specialists. Specialty classes like Barre and recovery-based yoga. Personal training. Nutritional coaching and workshops. Session-based programs for kids and teens. Free community events and “family” get-togethers. We are also planning out bigger events like fall harvest dinners hosted by a nutritional coach, modality series’ for injury prevention and recovery, and “snow-in” classes.

Most importantly to our business is that we get to know every single student. We want to make an impact on their lives, not just their bodies. Student onboarding consists of a body composition test and fitness/nutritional questions, but it also relies on a real conversation about who the person is and what their world is like. We’re honest about what we can do for them versus what their goals and expectations are. We relate we don’t sell.

That type of relationship-building creates culture. And culture makes us more than a gym—we’re a shelter from the storm of life where people can go to build strength to venture back out and fight their daily battles. My coaching staff is born from this culture. I don’t put job ads out for trainers because you get someone who just wants a job. I want coaches who buy into the concept that our purpose is to change lives. To make people better.

I’m most proud of the fact that we do us. We don’t look at what our competitors are doing and worry about it. We talk to our students and find out what’s important to them. The culture that we breed is the culture that we attract. We have a phenomenal group of students and coaches who are deeply engaged with each other and the community.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Persistence… the “always do more” mentality. And patience. I hate patience because it’s the more difficult of the two. But we wouldn’t have just the right students and just the right coaches creating just the right culture without patience.

Pricing:

  • Monthly Unlimited $169 / Couples add-on $119
  • 10-Class Punch Card $179 / 20-Class Punch Card $279
  • Drop-In $24
  • First Class Free!

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