Friday with Heidi: What 10 years in business have taught me…

It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that FastTrack Fit Camp is 10 years old this month. 

Tomorrow in fact. 

Yes, I am marking the day!

Not one to let a significant date go past without some sort of contemplation I’ve been using my morning walks to muse on the last 10 years to find out what I’ve learned. 

1. Whilst my focus has been on FastTrack Fit Camp’s birthday, I realised only yesterday that I have in fact worked for myself for 18 years. 

This is pretty significant. The 28 year old me used to tell people only one of us could be self employed in our marriage and it wasn’t going to be me! I was a do-er. Give me a job and I’ll do it. I am now 18 years into making my own rules and still achieving them.

This is definitely a lesson in not pigeon-holing yourself too soon. Be open to trying new stuff despite what your head tells you. 

2. I’ve mentioned over the last few weeks that there was no medium or long term plan with this business. We had one short term goal. Get a 4 week programme up and established before Christmas. We could take the rest from there. 

Whilst I am not advocating not having any goals, doing so can stop you from making progress if you overthink a situation. Get started in whatever form that takes. 

• I’ve signed up for courses not knowing how I’d pay for them.
• I’ve designed programmes not knowing if people will buy them.
• I’ve confirmed Weekender events unsure if people would want to go. 

None of this would have been advisable, but it worked for me to do what was necessary to make them work. 

3. It’s not all hearts and roses running a business. Infact just as soon as you think you’ve ‘got it’ you realise that you haven’t and you’re back on the hamster wheel again. 

My lesson learned for life here is that nothing stays the same. Ups and down, swerves and bumps, wind and rain. It makes every high worth it and every low a reminder that this too will pass. 

4. There’s a saying that gets bandied about when the chips are down that goes something like “remember why you started”. This is only good and worthy when you had a good ‘why’ at the beginning. 

In 2009 Vida and I wanted to get out of teaching aerobics and fitness. We needed to stop being quite so physical and yet stay in the industry. This is no longer my why…if I think back to that it’s not a positive feeling. 

So, I think my lesson here has been to move the driving force as you grow and change. I had no idea this time last year that I wanted to run a Social Enterprise and yet here I am slap bang in the middle of it, planning tree planting, collecting trainers and giving talks on the subject. 

So be happy to allow your main driver to change. It’s only reasonable after 10 years that what got me to here, won’t get me to where I want to go next. 

5. Keep on learning. Keep on reading. Keep on studying. 

My uniqueness comes from the combination of all that I’ve done. I’ve done many of the same things as other people. But not exactly the same and that makes me… well, me. 

6. Do the scary stuff. 

Say yes to talking in public. Say yes to damn expensive coaching programmes. Put yourself out in the world bravely, even if you don’t want to. Be you. 

Every time you do, you strengthen your scary nerves and they twitch less when you press send on an email or enter on a blog post or cry in public. 

7. Finally, in what could probably be an epic piece if I allowed it, running my own business has essentially shown me that I need purpose in my life. I am dangerous when left to go feral. I need the daily desire to get up and know that I’ve made a difference. 

At the beginning of April (whilst on a course!) I did a lot of work around my purpose, mission and vision. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in courses covering this. And I faff about, make notes, doodle and come away with nothing. 

This year I decided that wasn’t going to happen and set about really doing the work.

For the record a life purpose is something you can aspire to daily. It’s independent of your work, it’s something you look to achieve all the time. You could say it’s what you’re here to do. 

I came away realising that I was already living a life purpose that made me smile, gave me goosebumps and I am really lucky to see in my life on most days. 

It’s simply ‘to cheerfully inspire’. 

And so if me running a business has inspired you to do something different, my job is done. 

If me being in the fitness industry has inspired you to take control of your health and fitness, thank you. 

And if my pictures of sunrises have meant you’ve set your clock a little earlier, then well done you – it’s great out there!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for still being here 10 years on. 

• For reading.
• For replying.
• Coming to events. 
• Reading my social media posts.
• Reading my book.
• Exercising in the rain.
• Walking long distances with me.
• Exercising in the sun.
• Partying at Christmas.
• Exercising in the snow.
• Making friends beyond Fit Camp.
• Becoming my friend outside of Fit Camp. 
• Exercising in the wind.
• Joining in with charity days.
• Voting in awards. 
• Being part of our Fit Camp community.
• Tagging me in your sky photos. 
• Bringing me your old trainers.

It’s been truly fabulous. 

Thank you.

No sunrises this week…you’ll have to make do with our fabulous Sunday Wake Up! crew who followed instructions and turned up more colourful this week!