Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Jordan.
Jennifer, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My husband and I both had professional lives in completely different areas other than the fitness world. I had been working in software for the past 15 years and he had been in the US Coast Guard for 23 years. My husband, Jake, had a younger brother that had been a Personal Trainer at a gym in Southern Cali called, SMTF. We didn’t know much about it but were intrigued when he explained how the gym operated and the uniqueness of its business model.
My husband and I always knew that we wanted to run our own business, but we never found anything that we were both super excited about. One of us would like an idea and the other wouldn’t and so on. However, when we heard about SMTF we both instantly wanted to learn more. After several talks with the CEO, Miguel Aguilar, we started ourselves on the path to opening one of our own.
At that time, we were stationed in New Orleans, Louisiana with the US Coast Guard on what would end up being our final tour. While Jake’s retirement request was processing we began our business loan applications, worked on investors for the gym and scoped out locations. After about a year and three states of location-hunting we settled on Orlando, FL. We found that the fitness space in Orlando was a growing hotspot and the per capita of Personal Trainers was more than enough to sustain our unique business model.
Fast forward to March 2020, just as the world was shutting down due to COVID, we were in the hospital having our 3rd baby, our gym equipment was en-route to Miami, and our house was being packed up for our move east. By April 1st we were Floridians.
After several months of construction and COVID delays, we were finally able to do a soft-opening in Sept. 2020. Unfortunately, Due to our distance from any of the other SMTF locations and COVID regulations, we stumbled forward the first 6 months with typical new-business issues and ever-changing CDC guidelines.
Now, we are finally hitting our stride and solidly in the top 5 for SMTF Franchises in the US. We have a great crew of dedicated Personal Trainers that are educated, talented, hard-working, and passionate about fitness and we’re excited to help them grow their brand and business under our roof.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We have had a lot of struggles and setbacks along the way, which we’ve taken as learning opportunities. Our equipment arrived in Miami months ahead of us being able to stage it so we had to rush and find it a temporary home.
We’ve had drywall issues, leaks, millipedes that are more interested in our facility than we’d like them to be, as well as COVID-delays and the inherited restrictions that came with it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
SMTF Winter Park is a nearly 18k sqft Private Training Facility for Personal Trainers and their Clients. SMTF offers Personal Trainers a fully-loaded upscale facility to build their business and work with their Clients directly without the authority of a corporate gym intervening.
We offer our Trainers the equipment, tools, and independence they need to build their clientele and establish themselves in the fitness community. SMTF Winter Park is outfitted with an Octagon, Boxing Ring, a HIIT Room, a matted room for MMA and Wrestling, 80 yards of turf, an inbody scanner, a Physical Therapist and Massage Therapist. We also carry quality gear, apparel, and 1st Phorm supplements.
We pride ourselves on this exclusivity as it offers Clients privacy, professionalism, high-end equipment, and space. Unlike a corporate gym, we do not have random people walking around clogging up machines, there aren’t people hanging out on their phones or taking selfies in front of mirrors all day. We don’t have looky-loos that pay $10/month to stare at the opposite sex and we don’t have those rush-hours where every piece of equipment is taken.
At SMTF Clients generally pay 30-60% less than they would for a Personal Trainer at a corporate gym and they get a much more tailored work out plan. Our Trainers are not bound to the rigid preset packages of a big box gym and so can compose much more flexible and customized work out plans, meal plans, and scheduling.
With the amenities and tools we have provided at SMTF Winter Park, it’s truly a win-win and that’s exactly why we fell in-love with this business.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
We’ve learned a lot along the way and every set-back, challenge, mistake, and failure has taught us more than the successes. Hard-work and perseverance have got us where we are today and while we have been on this road for a couple years now, we are still very green and continue to learn every day.
Contact Info:
- Email: https://www.selfmadetrainingfacility.com/winterpark
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smtfwinterpark/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SMTFwinterpark
