LORI LILLIS AND ANDREA MCKINNON 55 & 48, Fernwood Fitness
MORE THAN GYM BUDDIES … WHEN MEMBERS ARE FIT FOR BUSINESS
“We met each other when pregnant in a fitness class, we’ve always been friends since we met. Our children are the same age, our families get on well. We’ve always been compatible, we go on holidays together,” says Lori.
Andrea has run her own bookkeeping business for 18 years. Lori’s background is in office management, accounts and bookwork.
“Over the years I’ve had a couple of small part-time party plan businesses too. Nothing like fitness!” she laughs. The gym has been a personal pastime. “We’ve been members for years and years,” says Lori. “While we knew nothing about the industry, we knew and understood Fernwood as members, what is needed, what the business is about.
“It was while waiting for a group class to start and we had one of those conversations you have together, if we owned this business we would … We realised that we had said that so many times, we’d be disappointed if someone else bought the business.”
It wasn’t for sale then … but it was a year later and they snapped it up.
Andrea says, “We made some changes in shifts, ensured equipment was properly maintained, we asked the personal trainers what they wanted and brought in new equipment, we made timetable changes and gave it all a very good clean.”
Making those changes boosted club membership, she says.
“Our retention went up, cancellation was at 5 per cent and it’s now down to about 3 per cent. We’re keeping the members we have – retention is a big thing for us.”
The pair counted many other members as friends, and they were “blown away” by the support from members and staff when they took off. That was two years ago, and they are still learning.
“Without any knowledge of the industry, we relied heavily on our staff, we appreciated that,” Lori says.
They have just appointed a former staff member as manager but that won’t deter them from being at the club. “We like to be there, we’re always picking up something, cleaning, filling in for staff members.” Their roles in the business have been organic rather than planned, she points out. “It’s all just fallen into place. Without realising it, Andi and I have worked into roles we do best. Andi takes on finance and HR, and social media. I’ve become very good at maintenance!” Andrea agrees. “If something needs doing in the gym, Lori’s into it. She finds solutions, she’s very practical. “We found out different things about each other but we’ve also found our own strengths. It surprised me that I found new talents within myself. We complement each other well.” Luckily for the friends the transition into business ownership has gone very smoothly, and there has been no conflict to upset the friendship. “I think if anything, our relationship has got stronger. We’re very respectful of each other, we stand by each other and support each other,” says Lori. The pair are happy working hard for themselves and achieving goals. “I’m really pleased we’ve been able to turn it around,” says Andrea. “I’d like to grow it a bit further, jump forward in membership over the next year and look at other services. It’s always changing, there’s always something to be thinking about.” Investing in a Fernwood franchise has given Lori and Andrea a brand new challenge. And they are geared up for the long term. “I’m certainly not waiting for retirement,” Lori says. “I’m doing something I want to do. But there was no way in the world we would have done this without a franchise. Fernwood supports us, we are very lucky, we can rely on them to guide us and train us. “We’ve got a membership number goal we hope to achieve in the next couple of years, and that will mean the finances fall into place. We want to keep moving, innovate, keep members interested,” says Lori The new FIIT30 half-hour program is right on trend for members – and Lori. “I don’t use the gym as much as I’d like to, I end up cleaning something. But with this new program, I can do that!”