It’s Small Business Saturday!
Turns out I forgot to publish this on Saturday - it was sat in my ‘drafts’! Oops! Better late than never, right? :)
It's #smallbusinesssaturday! So it seems like the perfect time to tell you a little bit more about my small business (I'm a sole trader so it doesn't get much smaller than that!). I started MissFits Workout in May 2019 in a hall with 3 participants. I wanted to offer a safe space for exercise primarily to people in bigger bodies (like me) as a bit of a hobby side hustle... but I soon found that there were plenty of other people who wanted a non-gym, non-diet talk, non-body shaming space to move their bodies and our numbers began to grow!
By September 2019 we were filling our tiny hall every #missfitsmonday so in January this year I added a second class (#midweekmissfits) in a bigger hall! Numbers continued to grow slowly and by the time we closed our doors for the first lockdown I had gathered a group of around 30 regular MissFits and I was feeling super proud of myself and everything I had achieved in my first 10 months.
Some of my lovely regulars were keen to keep moving so I decided to venture onto Zoom... Online classes weren't something I had planned, but my MissFits were happy to support me through the technical glitches of those earlier weeks whilst we all learned the ropes of online classes. Eventually, as it seemed we'd be online for a while I decided to open our classes up to new people! We have now gathered a new virtual family of MissFits friends from across the UK and even Europe! Which is just AMAZING! The online classes have proven to be so successful (and needed) that I'll be continuing them beyond lockdown - it fits perfectly with our strapline too -’dance based exercise classes for those who don't feel at home in the gym’.
During 2020 I've continued to work full-time in my 'day job' whilst running MissFits Workout® on the side. I've:
registered our trademark,
created some YouTube videos for those who can't make it to class. (FREE on our website)
sourced hoodies and tshirts in plus sizes and bright colours (it was much harder than it should be!) and now launched our own branded gear! (available from Apples and Pears Clothing - take a look!)
invested in a website and online booking system
had a professional brand photoshoot
And there's more to come! My business is super small, but I've got some big ideas! Watch this space! #thisgirlcan
