At 17 years old, I decided to leave the Australian Ballet School to start a fitness movement. I wanted to offer something new and exciting, more interesting and diverse; something women would want to celebrate.
I’d been a ballerina from the age of five and, thanks to the determination and disciplined training received over the years, I was confident in my ability to open my own small venture, Ballet Body, which offered a range of classes for all levels of fitness.
This included introducing boxerina, a boxing class intertwined with intervals of dance; ballet bunji, incorporating resistance bands and step up boxes; and what is now our most popular, the original Ballet Body class using hand weights, sliders, and ankle weights to fine-tune those feminine areas.
In just three months, what started as a group of 10 women training in our local gymnasium grew to be one of the busiest fitness classes in the area, with over 50 people attending every session.
It was such an exciting period and I was thrilled to have the support of my local community! However, what I learnt very quickly is that starting your own business is not just about having a great idea and staying true to your passion, you need to invest in the right tools to make it a success and support its growth.
When I started the business, I was booking customers into classes manually via text message. This was fine during the beginning, but when I started receiving 50 messages a day, I knew I needed help to manage competing schedules – a laborious task.
After exploring a few different options, I brought on the business software platform Mindbody which allowed me to step back from the booking and invest my time into choreographing new classes and expanding my business behind the scenes. The platform gave me clear visibility of the gym schedule while curating a streamlined step by step process for customers to book and pay via the consumer app.
As my business started to grow even bigger, I used social media to build my reputation and harness an online community (aptly named the BB Babes!) that inspired and empowered both women and men to get involved and stay focused. At the same time, Mindbody provided me with real business data such as foot traffic and sales, helping me to identify the business’ bandwidth to open up my second studio, Bod House, that offered HIIT classes, a trend that was taking off at speed and is still incredibly popular.
At the start of 2019, I was thrilled with the ongoing support, and recognised another opportunity to expand. This year I launched BB online, an online guide that helps customers lead a healthier lifestyle in their own space and time. I now have customers from Australia to New York!
Whilst, there is not just one secret to a successful business here are my top five tips to starting your own venture:
- Be passionate and enjoy what you do.
- Starting small is the way to go: slow expansion allows you to work at a rate you can mentally and physically manage.
- Utilise all the marketing and management tools you have access to as well as social media apps.
- Be positive: business is all about relationships. When you’re positive and vibrant in your community people are attracted to the person, not just the offering.
- Do your research: get inspiration from the best in the business. They could be businesses in your local area, national or across the world!
Mia Bronneberg, Owner, Ballet Body and Bod House Fitness Studios
