The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Mum takes plunge into business world
– page 8
A lifelong interest in keeping fit led to Lynn Crichton running her own business at Curves Dundee East.
The mother-of-two and her husband, Colin, took over the franchise for the women’s gym at Lawers Drive at the start of this year.
They are partners in the venture, with Lynn the more hands-on of the pair as her maintenance electrician husband works for another company.
Lynn, 50, had previously been an office worker before the birth of Aaron, now 17, and Beth, 15.
She told The Courier: “When my children were younger and I wasn’t working, I wanted to get back to work in some way.
“I used to attend a women’s group at Ardler Community Centre in Dundee and an opportunity arose to get a qualification in exercise to music. I completed this and started teaching, mainly to the 50-plus age group.
“Having previously been a member at Curves, I quickly realised that this was a great way to combine strength training with cardio and stretching, all in just 30 minutes and was something I would like to be involved in.
“I knew the owner and when I heard that she was thinking about selling, I told her I would be interested. I had always thought about having my own business, but never knew quite what to do or where to start.
“As this was already a successful business, I saw it as a great opportunity.”
Lynn said one of the biggest advantages of being part of Curves is the support from other franchisees – particularly her counterpart at Curves Dundee Centre, Christine Milne.
The firm, which has its HQ in the US, opened in 1992 and has more than 4,000 locations worldwide.
Lynn puts in up to 40 hours a week at the new venture, which she said had been a steep learning curve.
The business got off to a flying start in January, with members wanting get fit and lose weight after Christmas.
Lynn added: “We currently have more than 200 members. I would say our typical customer falls into the 40-plus age bracket but we do have younger members and we have daughters who come along and work out with their mums.
“Most members attend three-four times per week, some more.”
As regards current trading, Lynn said Curves Dundee East has been really busy with a promotion – six weeks for £39.
She said: “This is a great way to come and try it out and move on to a full membership.”
Dundee Curves East has a team of six – Lynn and five staff.
On future plans, Lynn said: “We will try to increase the membership further and just keep doing what we are doing to keep our club at the standard our members expect.”