You Might Also Like: Mind The Business: Small Business Success Stories

Summary

Podcast Summary: Mind the Business: Small Business Success Stories

Episode Title: You Might Also Like: Mind The Business: Small Business Success Stories
Release Date: February 22, 2025
Hosts: Janice Torres & Austin Hankwitz
Guest: Kenzie West, Owner of Trueform Fitness
Location: Trueform Fitness Studio, Nashville & Franklin, Tennessee

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Mind the Business: Small Business Success Stories, hosts Janice Torres and Austin Hankwitz welcome Kenzie West, the dynamic owner of Trueform Fitness, to discuss her inspiring journey from aspiring fitness enthusiast to successful entrepreneur. Filmed live at Trueform Fitness Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, the conversation delves deep into the challenges and triumphs of scaling a business, securing funding, and maintaining a clear vision.

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Kenzie’s Origin Story

Kenzie West’s entrepreneurial journey is both unique and inspiring. Starting as a college graduate from Belmont University in Nashville, Kenzie turned a personal knee injury into an opportunity by embracing the Legree Method of low-impact, high-intensity exercise.

“At 21 years old, I had just graduated and found passion in the Legree Method, which not only healed my injury but also strengthened me mentally and physically” (04:11). Her dedication led her to become certified in early 2020 and quickly become an integral part of local fitness studios in both Nashville and Franklin.

An unexpected opportunity arose when the owner of a neighboring studio decided to sell their Franklin location. Initially hesitant, Kenzie received immense support from her family, leading her to purchase and rebrand the studio as Trueform Fitness in April 2022. Within six months, she had transformed her lack of business knowledge into a thriving enterprise, eventually expanding to a second studio in Nashville.

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Funding and Financing

A significant portion of the discussion centers around funding strategies essential for business growth. Kenzie emphasizes the importance of raising capital outside traditional revenue streams to inject much-needed funds into an established business.

Family Investment and Reinvestment: Kenzie credits her family's support as pivotal in her initial success. “I am so grateful for my family and it's one of those things that not everybody gets that kind of boost under them” (12:35). This family investment allowed her to reinvest profits back into the business without incurring debt, fostering sustainable growth.

Bank Loans and Professional Financing: As Trueform Fitness began to scale, Kenzie recognized the need for a second location to accommodate her growing client base. She opted to take a bank loan to finance the build-out of the new studio, highlighting the pros and cons of different funding sources.

Pros:

• Professional Growth: Engaging with a lender helped Kenzie develop a deeper understanding of business finances. “I can see how you don't understand that because you come from a different franchise model than I do” (13:37).
• Maintaining Ownership: Unlike taking on investors, bank loans allowed Kenzie to retain full ownership and control over her business.

Cons:

• Interest and Debt: Taking out a loan meant incurring interest, but Kenzie viewed this as a necessary step for scaling without diluting ownership. “The interest that you're going to be paying on this is ultimately going to help you grow and scale a company” (14:25).

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Utilizing Intuit QuickBooks for Financial Management

A cornerstone of Kenzie’s success is her meticulous approach to financial management, facilitated by Intuit QuickBooks.

Hiring a Bookkeeper: At a young age, Kenzie hired a proficient bookkeeper who utilized QuickBooks to organize and manage the studio’s finances. “I quickly hired a bookkeeper who is amazing and she loves QuickBooks” (15:40).

Financial Oversight: QuickBooks provided Kenzie with a bird’s eye view of her financial health, allowing her to make informed decisions about reinvestment and expansion. “Having QuickBooks just to organize, it was super helpful” (16:03).

Strategic Reinvestment: Kenzie and her team regularly reviewed profit and loss statements to determine the best ways to reinvest profits. This disciplined approach ensured that every financial decision aligned with their growth objectives.

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Business Growth and Expansion

From managing a single studio to expanding into multiple locations, Kenzie shares the strategic steps taken to ensure successful growth.

Identifying the Need for Expansion: With a significant portion of clients commuting from Nashville, Kenzie identified the necessity to establish a second location to better serve her customer base. “We have a large client base that's willing to drive to us, we should bring it to them” (10:20).

Planning and Execution: The decision to open a second studio involved meticulous planning, including budgeting for a $100,000 machinery investment and deciding between a ground-up build or taking over an existing space.

Launching a Second Studio: Fueled by reinvested profits and strategic financing, Kenzie successfully launched the second Trueform Fitness location within a year of purchasing the first, demonstrating her ability to scale effectively.

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Strategies and Advice for Entrepreneurs

Throughout the episode, Kenzie offers invaluable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly in the fitness industry.

Crafting a Solid Business Plan: Kenzie emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive business plan, including thorough competitive analysis and realistic financial projections. “Look at what your competitors are doing... give concrete numbers” (20:13).

Leveraging Mentorship: Having experienced mentors was crucial for Kenzie's growth. She advises entrepreneurs to seek mentors who not only have business acumen but also possess the charisma and understanding to provide meaningful guidance. “Finding somebody that you really mesh and gel well with” (27:21).

Resourcefulness and Adaptability: Kenzie highlights the importance of being resourceful, especially when traditional funding options are limited. She suggests starting smaller, perhaps with online platforms, to generate initial income and scale gradually. “Maybe you start with an online platform that costs you $29.99 a month” (23:14).

Balancing Vision with Practicality: While it's essential to have a clear vision, Kenzie advises balancing ambition with practical steps. She shares her experience of challenging mentor advice to pursue a unique business model that aligned better with her financial goals.

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Lessons Learned and Final Thoughts

Kenzie’s journey underscores several key lessons for entrepreneurs:

1. Believe in Yourself: Kenzie's transformation from someone who couldn’t write a check to a successful business owner exemplifies the power of self-belief. “If I can do it, I promise you, you can do it” (29:45).

2. Embrace Risk: Taking calculated risks, such as securing a bank loan for studio expansion, can lead to significant rewards.

3. Continuous Learning: Engaging with mentors and utilizing tools like QuickBooks facilitate ongoing growth and adaptation.

4. Maintain Integrity and Ownership: Opting for funding methods that allow full ownership ensures long-term control and alignment with personal business values.

Conclusion: The episode concludes with the hosts reflecting on the insightful conversation, praising Kenzie’s resourcefulness and strategic mindset. Janice emphasizes the importance of choosing the right funding sources without relinquishing control, while Austin admires Kenzie’s ability to analyze competitors and leverage available data for growth.

Notable Quotes:

• Kenzie West: “If I can do it, I promise you, you can do it.” (29:45)
• Janice Torres: “Not all money is the right money for you.” (31:03)
• Austin Hankwitz: “Having that resourceful attitude and mentality when it comes to running a small business is very, very important.” (30:25)

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Final Takeaways

Subscribers and aspiring entrepreneurs can draw inspiration from Kenzie West's story, learning the significance of strategic funding, effective financial management, and the relentless pursuit of growth. Her ability to navigate the complexities of business ownership serves as a testament to what determination and resourcefulness can achieve.

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Connect with Kenzie West:

• Social Media: KenzieWestFitness
• Trueform Fitness: TrueformFitness.com

Follow the Hosts:

• Janice Torres: Joker Dinero Podcast
• Austin Hankwitz: AustinHankwitz

Tools Mentioned:

• Intuit QuickBooks: QuickBooks.com

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This episode was produced by iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks. Special thanks to executive producer Molly Socha, supervising producer Nakia Swinton, writer Eric Lija, head of production James Foster, and mixing engineer Paul Vitrilens of Audiography.

Transcript

[Austin Hankwitz]

Foreign the views, information, or opinions expressed during this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not represent Those of Intuit QuickBooks or any of its cornerstone brands or employees. This podcast does not constitute financial, legal, or other professional advice or services. No assurance is given that the information is comprehensive, accurate, or free of errors, and the information presented is for general information purposes only. Intuit QuickBooks does not have any responsibility for updating or revising any information presented. Listeners should verify statements before relying on them.

[Janice Torres]

Welcome back, everyone. This is Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories, a podcast brought to you by Inchwood QuickBooks and Ruby Studio from iHeartMedia. I'm Janice Torres.

[Austin Hankwitz]

And I'm Austin Hankwitz.

[Janice Torres]

Today we're coming to you from trueform Fitness Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, and we're going to talk to another incredible business owner and get the insights that we need to maneuver through this crazy world.

[Austin Hankwitz]

I'm really excited about this episode, Janice, because we're going to be talking about a specific topic that is one of our favorites.

[Janice Torres]

Is it money?

[Austin Hankwitz]

It is money, yes. The kind of money that you raise outside of your traditional revenue stream to inject capital into an already established business and the variety of reasons why this might be helpful.

[Janice Torres]

Yeah, I mean, when I started thinking about scaling my business, I realized I didn't want to just have to continuously empty out my bank account when I wanted to achieve that next business goal. So for me, funding has come primarily from business credit. I utilize some business credit cards. I basically pay all my business expenses with credit cards. And so I get a chance to not only build my business credit, but also take advantage of cool rewards, too, which are built into some of these products.

[Austin Hankwitz]

I'm right there with you. I also love my business credit cards and the different rewards that come with them. And I think kind of going back to what Brandon was talking about in our last episode, you know, using a venture of sorts and seeing how that now become so successful that you can then take the cash from that, the extra profits, and reinvest that into this next big idea or project you have as a small business owner. And that is why I'm so excited for us to talk with Kenzie west, the owner of trueform Fitness.

[Janice Torres]

Absolutely. And this conversation is going to be a great reminder why you should be using a platform like Intuit QuickBooks to cut through the clutter and simplify your business so you can strategize acquiring more capital. But enough about us. Let's introduce our guest.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Do you own a business that's ready to thrive it's time to let Intuit QuickBooks take things like unpaid invoices and tracking expenses off your plate so you can take things to the next level. Intuit QuickBooks is a powerful AI driven all in one business platform that can help with day to day tasks like invoicing expenses and taxes. Intuit QuickBooks can help you unlock the growth in your business so you can get back to enjoying your business, manage and grow your business all in one place. Intuit QuickBooks your way to Money Money movement services are provided by Intuit Payments, Inc. Licensed as a money transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

[Janice Torres]

Kenzie west is a Nashville local who has owned and operated trueform fitness since 2022. After a knee injury ended her dancing career, Kenzie became interested in the Legree Method of low impact, high intensity exercise. She was working at a fitness studio and nannying on the side when an incredible opportunity came from seemingly nowhere and she was able to buy the studio with an investor and become the owner and operator. Before this, Kenzie didn't know anything about running a business and as she puts it, couldn't even write a check. But after diving in headfirst and clearing all the initial hurdles, she rebranded and steered trueform Fitness into such a success that she was able to launch a second studio herself. Currently she runs studios in Nashville and Franklin, Tennessee where clients can study fitness via the Lagree method and live true to themselves.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Kenzie, thank you so much for joining us on this episode of Mind the Business. Small Business Success Stories. Really excited. We're here in your studio. Beautiful, beautiful by the way.

[Kenzie West]

Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. Thanks for coming on in.

[Janice Torres]

Let's start off with your origin story. Tell us how you started the business.

[Kenzie West]

Yeah, so my start is so unique. I am not going to sit here and say that I started it from the ground up because that's actually not how this came to be. I was 21 and had just graduated college at Belmont University in Nashville and had fallen in love with this specific workout. More so because it had helped me heal an injury that I had had from college. It had helped me mentally, physically, I was growing so much stronger and then I just started becoming obsessed with it. So I became certified in the Legree method in early 2020. The next six months, while I was still a senior in college, I began just instructing becoming a part of a studio down the street and yeah, fell in love with it. One thing led to another and whenever I got certified I then became super, super infiltrated into the community at both locations. So that pre existing studio was in Nashville as well as in Franklin. I'm from Franklin, Tennessee. So I started seeing friends of friends and you know, mom friends that my mom had had. And one thing led to another. I got a call from the owner of that studio saying that they were wanting to ultimately sell their Franklin location and asked if I would want to. And I said no because I was 21 years old and who has any sort of cash to be able to do that or an understanding of even how that's supposed to happen? And so honestly called my parents is more so of like a haha moment. How funny is this that somebody thought I could take over their company and they were like kins. You could totally do that. We see a work ethic and a drive in you that really could excel in this. And so conversation after conversation started happening. And there had been a moment in my family history that was going to allow for that to be kind of like a family buy in to this specific company. And so took over that location and bought the business in April of 2022. Had absolutely no clue what I was doing. And six months later figured out a little bit more of what I was doing. Rebranded it to what you're now sitting in in true form. And then over a year later I opened up this location in the city of Nashville. And yeah, we're on a. On a growth path from here.

[Janice Torres]

That's incredible. Can you tell the audience about the format in case they're not familiar with what you guys do?

[Kenzie West]

Yeah. So that's a little side journey that we're super excited about. I know we'll get into the specifics on financing and everything like that, but an opportunity presented itself for me to kind of have an out. We love the Legree method and we love trueform and we love what we're building here, but we're not able to scale it at the level that I feel led to grow it at. And so woke up one night and had a dream and a vision to start my own method. And so we are cultivating, creating an experience that's going to be called the format Fitness, which will be heated Pilates on a mat. So it'll be sculpt, it'll be strength, it'll be, we're calling it sweat as well as stretch. So four different classes that will take place in an alternate studio. And the goal with that is to grow it to more of a franchise model, more of a corporate endeavor there and then keep trueform very boutique in what you're experiencing here today.

[Janice Torres]

Very cool.

[Austin Hankwitz]

I'm sweating just hearing all these different formats. Are you kidding me? Oh, my goodness.

[Kenzie West]

All the things.

[Janice Torres]

So when I walked into your studio, I'm looking around and it reminded me of Pilates, but Legree is actually different. So can you tell us a little bit about what those differences are?

[Kenzie West]

Yeah. Legree Fitness, specifically Sebastian Legree, the creator of the method, took the best parts of Pilates. So that rehabilitative journey that Pilates can take you on, as well as bodybuilding and strength, muscular endurance and muscular strength, took those two aspects and created a workout that is allowing you to resistance train, but in a way that is low impact. So it's a high intensity workout meets that low impact aspect of Pilates to create what is now known as the mega former similar and looks like a Pilates reformer, but is a little more unique.

[Janice Torres]

Got it. Okay. So you are presented this unique opportunity to take on a business. What are the emotions that come along with that? Tell us kind of what your thought process was.

[Kenzie West]

Yeah.

[Janice Torres]

Take us behind the scenes of the decision.

[Kenzie West]

Yeah, well, I was laughing with my husband before this because I was like, if you would have put me in a room and said, hey, in two years you're going to be talking about the question questions that we're about to talk about, I would have laughed in your face. Because I was the one on podcast and on the Internet being like, how do you do this on everything, how.

[Austin Hankwitz]

To start a company, literally how to.

[Kenzie West]

Actually run a company, because you have it now and was honestly just such. I mean, I was a deer in headlights for a long time, which has made me into the business owner that I am today and ultimately the entrepreneur that I want to be. The emotions there, I was so excited. I was honored that I would have been considered. I know that the people that saw something in me, like, actually saw something that I didn't see in myself. Because, you know, no 21 year old is going to just naturally think that that's an opportunity that can be presented to them. So I was super honored and at the same time, I was really afraid. I was ultimately really nervous about what was going to be perceived by the client base that was already there. I mean, I was a college student that taught them fitness classes, and now I'm about to be the owner of their studio. It was definitely super intimidating. But I think alongside that, I also fel really interested in how I could do the best that I could possibly do and ultimately take it and run with it.

[Janice Torres]

Yeah, I can imagine. There's sort of a pressure to either keep it going or like exceed clients expectations because now they're looking at you like, hey, what are you going to do to our studio?

[Kenzie West]

And we laugh now. Clients will laugh and be like, yeah, Kinsey. We thought that this was going to be a crash and burn. And I said, I know, I saw it in Yalls eyes the second I told you. So it's been a cool experience to now ultimately hopefully prove to them that I can do it.

[Janice Torres]

Yeah, you've made a believer out of them. That's awesome.

[Austin Hankwitz]

I want to dig in a little bit further into going from the first studio to where we are today to you're opening a third studio as well. One, when did you know you were ready to grow?

[Kenzie West]

Yeah.

[Austin Hankwitz]

And then two, what was the funding process around the growth? Sometimes that means taking out a loan or getting outside investors or you know, reinvesting profits, things like that. So walk our listeners through how you were able to go from the first studio now to the second one and now to this third one in a match of call it less than three years.

[Kenzie West]

The process starts right after I rebrand. I had had the idea of wanting to get to Nashville because I was seeing that such a large percentage of our clients were driving from Nashville. We're in Franklin, up the road, 22 minutes on a good day, 30 minutes with traffic. More than that these days. And I was just noticing, okay, wow, if we have such a large client base that's willing to drive to us, we should bring it to them. We're only able to operate a small group of people in each class. We only have 10 machines. And so what I was noticing was, wow, okay, we can't add any more class times to the schedule so we need to open up a second location. So there was the need before there was really the desire to want to do it. And it took literally a year to kind of the thought and the conception of the idea of wanting a second studio before opportunities even kind of were able to present themselves. Now within this year I met my husband and I was no longer a single 22 year old. I was a little bit more appealing to landlords when it came time for them to want me to sign a lease. And so when I met my husband, that was ultimately a very good opportunity for me to kind of bring him in and show, you know, I have a husband and you can trust me. I had known that financing was going to be a conversation. Now I had reinvested nearly everything over the past year and not every small Business owner does it this way. But I personally chose to live on my means and then, you know, just reinvested and reinvested and reinvested because I knew that I wanted to open up another location. And so it was around that time in October that I had to sit back and be like, okay, what is this budget? What is this going to be like? Do I want to take over a second generation space or do I want to do a ground to ceiling build out? Because that is going to be drastically different in what the financing looks like for that. On top of the fact that I have to put up $100,000 in machines. And so I knew that machinery I was going to be able to cover without any sort of outside loan or outside source per se. So ultimately decided to go to a bank to upfront the cost of the build out. But. But as for the business itself, we did not have to take out money and we reinvested what studio number one was able to give us.

[Austin Hankwitz]

It's amazing.

[Janice Torres]

So you mentioned that your initial investors were your family. So tell us about that and how that was a benefit to you to have that influx of capital so that you could start reinvesting from day one.

[Kenzie West]

Yeah. I am so grateful for my family and it's one of those things that not everybody gets that kind of boost under them. I am so thankful to have been able to set up a structure in which, you know, I'm no longer in debt to them, which is such a blessing because I just value them and I value that initial investment that they were able to give me. And I'm so thankful to want to give it back and, you know, make sure that all the I's and t's are dotted so that as we continue growth, we're able to do it in other ways. Just because I would never want to overuse the kindness of my family. And so it really did give me some leverage. And I'm so, so thankful for that. And then I'm also thankful for now the experience. Experience to be able to go to a lender and do it that way and see the good and the bad and the pros and the cons of both ventures. Now ultimately the goal is to continue to reinvest and keep it within ourselves. But you know, we don't know what growth is going to look like from this point forward. But for the format specifically, we're able to not have to take out a secondary loan.

[Janice Torres]

That's great. Shout out to your family.

[Kenzie West]

Shout out. They're amazing.

[Janice Torres]

So you get this Cash infusion from your family. And then you've realized to really scale and bring the business to the next level, you have to go to a bank. You're taking on interest now. You're taking on, you know, this serious money. So can you talk about the pros and cons of each approach?

[Kenzie West]

Of course, yeah. One thing about me, and I think this has helped me so much, I have no fear. So fear is not something I experience now. I am very grateful for a husband and a family that is able to look at me and say, is this something you really want to do? Because do you know what interest is? And those conversations were super beneficial. I am so thankful for I have the best lender and he's amazing, so encouraging. And I think, you know, in all reality, being 24 now and at the time being 22 and 23, I needed a lot of that boost from people that I trusted and looked up to, whether that a lender, whether that a business mentor, to say no. Kinsey, your books look great. Like your profit and loss statements, Those look amazing. We are really proud of you and we think that this risk is something that you can take. And so, yeah, the. At, at those moments in making that decision, it was ultimately that push of like, hey, you're good. This, the interest that you're going to be paying on this is ultimately going to help you grow and scale a company so that you don't have to bring in a legitimate investor and give up royalties or whatever you may be having to sacrifice now, pros and cons. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the lender that I have and having this be my reality, just because it does feel a little more professional to me. And I think it is the next step in my career to understand the different implications of what a loan is and ultimately utilize this to again, scale and grow. Grow what my dreams are.

[Janice Torres]

All right, so you mentioned that your books were good. And so we know the importance of having your finances in order, especially when you're approaching a bank and asking for money. So can you talk about the strategies that you've used with Intuit QuickBooks in order to make sure that you are organized and your numbers are timely so that you have all the information that you need to get the money that you need?

[Kenzie West]

At 21 years old, I quickly hired a bookkeeper who is amazing and she loves QuickBooks. We had the conversation of what was going to be the best route for us when it came to organization of our finances, and she had worked with QuickBooks and just loved it. So We've worked with that and I, you know, personally from being able to see it from a bird's eye view and able to understand and just digest the numbers, we've loved it.

[Austin Hankwitz]

So linger on a little bit further though about looking at these books and having that bird's eye view and understanding, okay, how much of these profits should we reinvest as it relates to maybe newer equipment or you know, how much of this do we take to expand the business?

[Kenzie West]

That was one thing. After every month when I sat down and looked at it, you know, my biggest Google question was like, how can I grow this? How can I scale this? Why are supplies this this month? So I would say that having those really honest conversations with myself, with business mentors, that is one thing I brought in very early, that I would recommend. Any small business owner, especially in the financing stage of things, is to bring in someone who's done it before you and who's been very successful. Thankfully I've had so many people be able to step into that with me and show me again that bird's eye view of like, hey kins, it looks like this could be leveraged more or it looks like you can of scale back on this a little bit. And so being able to see those numbers and then ultimately make those decisions with the help of other people as well as with, you know what, I personally had peace on of like hey, you know, I'm willing and ready to take this risk in this area. Having those business mentors as well as having QuickBooks just to organize, it was super helpful.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Coming up on Mind the Business. Small business success stories.

[Kenzie West]

I think being resourceful can be how can I pull from my own gifts and talents? You know, maybe I do something that's a little bit smaller scale, that is more Internet based because we're seeing that in the fitness industry specifically. That is incredible. You can make an insane amount of money.

[Austin Hankwitz]

We'll be right back. Are you a business owner looking to grow your business? You did what most dream of doing, starting your own business. But now you're faced with the reality of how to make your small business run smoothly. Intuit QuickBooks can help. Intuit QuickBooks is a powerful AI driven all in one business platform. That means those day to day tasks like invoicing expenses and taxes can be done effortlessly. But here's where it gets really good. You don't need to hire a team of analysts to find growth opportunities hiding in your business data. Intuit QuickBooks can help with cash flow optimization, profit and loss analysis. It helps once you see how your business is doing and uncover new ways to be more profitable. Intuit QuickBooks can help you unlock the growth in your business so you can get back to enjoying your business. Manage and grow your business all in one place. Intuit QuickBooks, your way to money. Money movement services are provided by Intuit Payments, Inc. Licensed as a money transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Welcome back to Mind the Business. Has there been a time when you guys are just beginning to now look for that outside funding? Did you go directly to this person up first? Or maybe did it come with a couple no's before you got that funding?

[Kenzie West]

So the funding, our numbers kind of spoke for themselves, so we were able to get everything that we needed. Now the only thing that we, you know, getting into the nitty gritty that we did have to do was my husband and I had to put up a little bit of a line of credit for this new lease that we're doing on the nose. It's funny because all my nose came before I was ever even able to go to a bank. From October of 22 to October of 23, I was so excited to open up my second studio. However, every landlord I went to was like, sorry, no, you're 23. They didn't have my piano, they didn't have my numbers, they didn't have interesting any understanding. And I ultimately kind of viewed that as protection because I think if you would have taken me to a bank, you would have taken me to a lender from 22 to 23, I would not have had the numbers nor would I have had the business plan to show. So in that year I was able to mature and kind of before I was told no by a bank, by a lender, by an outside resource, hey, this is actually, you know, I'm able to give it to you now. So my nose came in a different form.

[Austin Hankwitz]

That makes a lot of sense. Let's talk a little bit more about the business plan because I think a lot of people listening right now are, you know, sort of in that spot where maybe they're ready for growth and they need tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands in business funding, and so they need a business plan. Do you have any tips or tricks to share with those people as to how, you know, you successfully crafted your own business plan to go get so much in funding?

[Kenzie West]

Two things. So obviously I would always recommend because I do consult calls with other small business owners that are specifically catering their careers towards fitness. And so mine's very biased towards fitness. However, When I get these calls, I always tell them, you know, I want you to get branding that's going to set you apart. You know, and branding is more than a logo and more than a name. Right? It's what you want people to feel and experience. And all of those things are going to be so important because that is going to set you apart from everything else that you're trying to go and get funding for. Now, the second thing that I always recommend is get a very solid competitive analysis going of every other studio around you, whether it be, you know, say you're wanting to open up a legree studio. Look at Pilates, look at yoga, look at cycling. What are typical membership prices? What, how many people are they putting in a room? Okay, what's the median membership price? So once you're kind of able to see what your competitors are estimated to bring in monthly, I then always encourage, okay, well, then let's look at what your monthly costs are going to be and your fixed costs, as well as, you know, what might differ month to month. And then kind of actually give concrete numbers. Because whenever you're opening up a new concept similar to what I'm doing with the format, I don't necessarily have numbers of myself to show, but how can I look at my competitors, or in my case, look at my other business and be able to show a little bit more solidarity in my business plan so that I am taken a little bit more seriously and people are able to see where my information, knowledge and backing is coming from.

[Austin Hankwitz]

So it seems like leaning on people who have a little bit more experience than you. And it's a lot easier though, too, to kind of be resourceful. I think entrepreneurship is all about resourcefulness and not just having the people to move you in the right direction, but have that kind of fire inside of you to want to do those things yourself?

[Kenzie West]

100%. I think I like to live by the. The idea that the people before me were doing things because of the people before them. So the most successful entrepreneurs that we see today, well, they were looking at the people ahead of them and they were learning. And they ultimately said, how can I make this better? That's what's been super cool in entrepreneurship, is taking the advice of the business mentors ahead of me, taking it though, but then also not limiting it to myself. My business mentor said, do not open a brand new studio concept six months after this concept. You should just keep going with what you're already doing. Well, my fire back to him was, why would I keep doing what I'M doing when I have to put up the entire cost of a build out for my new studio concept into machines. If I wanted to continue growing what I currently have, it doesn't make sense for me financially. Now I can see how you don't understand that because you come from a different franchise model than I do. And so it's taking what the business mentors and the people ahead of you are doing, but then also having your own unique flair and being able to take it and ultimately process what is best for you and what you have peace with for your own company.

[Janice Torres]

Speaking of being resourceful, so we've talked about bank loans, we've talked about investors. Those are just two ways that you can get capital for your business. What would you do in the instance that you need to raise some money and maybe those just aren't options? What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?

[Kenzie West]

Yeah, honestly, great question. I just had a conversation with a girl wanting to open up her own studio and she said, I have the absolute best job. I am crushing it. I am making six figures and I want to quit it all and open up a studio, but I have no money. And I said, what do you mean you have no money? You're making six figures. Why would you not keep this job that you have and begin to invest it in ways that you're then able to use what you just came from and invest that into a company and start smaller? Like, what if you started smaller? What if instead of doing an entire fitness studio, you started with an online platform that costs you 29.99amonth to operate an app and get people into you that way? So I think being resourceful can be how can I pull from my own gifts and talents? You know, maybe I do something that's a little bit smaller scale, that is more Internet based because we're seeing that in the fitness industry specifically. That is incredible. You can make an insane amount of money on there. Thankfully, it's been such a cool process for those individuals that are doing it that way. I would say that it doesn't necessarily even have to start so big. You don't need a brick and mortar. Maybe you start smaller and use what you have in the past or move forward into a different model.

[Janice Torres]

I always called my paycheck my angel investor when I was doing my business on the side because, you know, that's typically where you're going to have the most steady cash flow. And it takes time to build up your P and L and your business data to just get anybody to give you money. So do not neglect the power of the paycheck.

[Kenzie West]

I agree.

[Austin Hankwitz]

I totally agree with you here. But I think a lot of small business owners make the mistake of wanting to jump headfirst into maybe a ton of debt or, you know, getting in over their head on all the money they might need to start a business, when in actuality you can start a business with your cell phone and maybe a coup other items around you that allow you to begin making your first one or two dollars and that scales in over time.

[Kenzie West]

I agree. I put up a tik tok on like how we took out a loan, how we had to use a private investor initially because I get asked all the time on social media, how did you do what you do? And I had someone respond back to my thing and was like, hey, Kinsey, I actually operate workouts out of my own house because I don't have the cash to open up my own studio, but that's something I want to do one day. And she just was encouraging her followers as well as mine, like, hey, it doesn't have to look like this. It can also look much smaller and still give you a great start to your career 100%.

[Austin Hankwitz]

You're obviously a very experienced entrepreneur and small business owner. So what are your biggest do's and don'ts about raising money, finding funding, things of that nature?

[Kenzie West]

Amongst every business decision that I have made that looks great on paper, I've always taken it back and been like, is this something that I want to say yes to? This is a big do for me, is bringing it to the people that love me and that serve me and that see me on a day to day basis and that know what's best for me. And then I would say the don'ts is we are so limited, especially as entrepreneurs and as future entrepreneurs with fear of what if I don't know what to do or what if I don't know if this is my best yes. And the one thing I like to do is to not limit myself. I think it's really important that you're bringing in people that you trust when it comes to all of these, you know, investor situations or lender situations. Thankfully, there have been people that have come before me to tell me, hey, this was my experience. I stepped into this with a lender that did not have my best interest. I stepped into this with an investor that I did not ask good questions to. And those have been really learning experiences from their bad experiences that have helped me not make the same mistakes. I would say another huge Thing when it comes to all of this, is just making sure that we're utilizing our resources. What you are offering here, these conversations, these are resources that entrepreneurs need to listen to. And I think it's so easy as entrepreneurs. I kind of talked about pride earlier. Like, you think you have it all figured out. You think you know exactly what to do. You think that your way is the highway. One thing I've tried to draw myself back to is people. People do it a lot of different ways, and they do it a lot of amazing ways. And so how can I learn from them? So using the resources we have, whether it be podcasts, whether it be books, whether it, again, be business mentors, but using resources is a big do for me.

[Austin Hankwitz]

So just to linger on this idea, though, of finding people that you trust, I think that's really important. How does someone go about finding a mentor that they can trust?

[Kenzie West]

Yeah, first thing, I would always recommend a mentor, because this is my experience. To come from someone else you trust. I believe that if you trust somebody and they trust somebody, it's just a long line of trust. Things that I practically look for in a mentor or in setting people up with mentors, because that's one of my favorite things to do, is not that we need to look at Cash specifically as success, but, you know, what is their company and where did they start from, and how has their growth been? If they're going to encourage you into growth, well, you want to see what they've come from and what they've done. So I would say personal career, personal growth, personal experience is huge when looking for a mentor. And then ultimately, I think the charisma and the way that you work with somebody. I've gone to coffee with people that are so incredibly knowledgeable about the things that I love and that I want to get to, but that ultimately, I didn't feel safe speaking with them. I didn't feel like they saw me. I didn't feel like they understood me. And those conversations, I left feeling more defeated than encouraged. And that's not something I want to do weekly. And so finding somebody that you really mesh and gel well with, that's able to encourage you, able to challenge you, you know, able to call you out when you know you're not doing something right, but that ultimately you work really.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Well with, That's a great answer.

[Janice Torres]

You got to make sure the vibes are there.

[Kenzie West]

Yes.

[Janice Torres]

What do you think is the most impactful thing that you've done with a loan or an investment? And how has that thing set you up for success and for your business to thrive.

[Kenzie West]

Well, you are sitting and we are podcasting in. The result of that risk taking the loan and moving forward with that avenue of funding is what has allowed us in here today. We took a big risk in the space that we did. This was gravel and there was no H vac, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, absolutely nothing of that sort. And so that risk of taking out that loan ultimately has allowed me to live the dreams of, you know, a dream studio. It's very rare that I'm able to say that, you know, every Pinterest board design I had was able to come to life. And so, you know, I credit that obviously to the risk taken as well as the people that were able to step into this and help us build it as cost effectively as possible.

[Janice Torres]

I would argue that the most impactful thing you've done is believe in yourself because it takes some guts to do what you've done. And you have a very inspirational story that I know so many people are going to listen to and they're going to be like, if she can do it, I can do it too.

[Kenzie West]

100 and I think that's what's been so fun about this, is just being able to say, yes, if I can do it, I promise you, you can do it. He asked me earlier what I studied in college. I was studying social justice, justice and psychology, which has helped me in ways, but I had no understanding. I didn't know how to write a freaking check. And so it is really cool to see what has ultimately occurred through one little yes and from people trusting in me.

[Janice Torres]

Kenzie, thank you so much for sharing your story with us.

[Kenzie West]

Thank you.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Janiece. I had such a great time talking with Kenzie. What was your biggest takeaway from our conversation?

[Janice Torres]

I really liked that she was very clear on her vision and was okay not taking investor money in exchange for ownership in the business. Now I think some of us can become enthralled with the idea of, you know, the big TV shows that we pitch our businesses to and you get your, you know, million dollar deal. But I don't think that's always the best approach. Depending on just where you are in your business and how ready you are to relinquish that control. Control. So just the fact that there are different funding sources that exist that don't always require that of you. I think it's important for business owners to know at the end of the day, not all money is the right money for you.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Not all money is the right money for you. I Couldn't agree more. I'm gonna get a tattoo of that on my body one day.

[Janice Torres]

What was your biggest takeaway, Austin?

[Austin Hankwitz]

I think for me it was Kenzie's resourcefulness. A lot of small business owners, including myself, feel as if if we are starting from scratch and that comes with going to Google and typing in how to start a business or how to apply for this or, you know, how to make a business plan and do these different things. And Kenzie was talking about how, when I'm making my business plan, what are the competing fitness studios around me? What are they charging for their prices? How many machines do they have? What's the foot traffic like? So just like thinking outside the box a little bit into really kind of putting this puzzle together of, okay, here's what my competitors are doing, which should sort of benchmark my own progress and success. How can I now begin to trend toward that myself? And I think just having that resourceful attitude and mentality when it comes to running a small business is very, very important.

[Janice Torres]

Absolutely. There's so much mindset work that you don't even know you're signing up for when you start a small business.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Yeah, you train that 9 to 5 for the 24 7.

[Janice Torres]

Well, this was a great episode and I cannot wait for the next one. You can find me on social media at Joker Dinero podcast and you can.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Find me at AustinHankwitz. You can follow intuit QuickBooks on all social media ickbooks. To get the tools you need to start, run and grow your business. Head to QuickBooks.com today.

[Janice Torres]

Don't forget to follow the show wherever you listen to podcasts so you can stay up to date on future episodes.

[Austin Hankwitz]

We also want to hear from you, so be sure to leave us a rating and a review.

[Janice Torres]

See you next time.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Money Movement services are provided by Intuit Payments, Inc. Licensed as a money transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

[Janice Torres]

This podcast is a production of iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks. Our executive producer is Molly Socha, our supervising producer is Nakia Swinton and our writer is Eric Lija.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Our head of push production is James Foster and our mixing engineer is Paul Vitrilens of audiography. Do you own a business that's ready to thrive? It's time to let Intuit QuickBooks take things like unpaid invoices and tracking expenses off your plate so you can take things to the next level. Intuit QuickBooks is an all in one business platform that can help with those day to day tasks. Like invoicing and expenses. Manage and grow your business all in one place. Intuit QuickBooks your way to money. Money movement services are provided by Intuit Payments, Inc. Licensed as a money transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services.