We've Come A Long Way In A Year...

I wish I could explain what this last year has meant to me. It's simultaneously allowed me to experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. More highs than lows, but still, it's been a year to remember!

A year ago in November, I lost my sales position (read: salary) and I'd finally had enough. The more I looked through the job postings online, the more I knew that I loathed the idea of going back to "Corporate America". And "Corporate America", truthfully, wasn't looking at me too fondly either with all of my recent job activity. Each time we moved for DW's career, I made the mistake of taking the first thing that came along for the income. Also, my job longevity wasn't looking too appealing to those I was sending out resumes to. There just isn't any good way to get it across on paper who you truly are when they can't see your work ethic or that you're honest or that you don't cut corners. They just saw the paper-me...and paper-me moved a lot. 4 jobs in 4 years. Ouch.

It took weeks of sitting on the couch, searching for jobs, and finding nothing before DW convinced me that I needed to roll the dice, take a risk, and make FitLab happen. We'd been dreaming of opening it "one day" for the last 3 years but I wasn't gutsy enough or confident in myself enough to let go of a decent salary...and risk failure. When DW finally pointed out that these salaried jobs were 1) making me miserable and 2) not working out (EVER!)...I had no choice but to fit all the puzzle pieces together and say, "Hey, God, have you been trying to tell me something?" "Um, yeeeesssss....." I'm pretty sure I heard Him reply because something inside just started feeling like I was finally asking the right questions and, consequently, heading in the right direction.

It wasn't an easy beginning. FitLab started out in a room - at the back of a warehouse - that had been converted into a baseball training facility and athlete training center. Initially, it didn't even have flooring in it and the dust from the construction would cover the treadmills each night. It was literally just four walls and six treadmills, plus our testing equipment.

Four walls and some treadmills started it all...

Our business began to build slowly - a friend sent us a few client references that he thought could benefit from what we did. From there, the information made a name for itself and slowly our clientele started to build. Over time, we realized being in the back of the facility we were currently in just wasn't going to work...it was an out-of-the-way location and made our business seem like an afterthought. We knew we were going to have to find another place to go but then the fear pressed in that retail space is expensive and we really didn't have a enough of a proven business model to sign a long term lease. What in the world were we going to do?

Summer came and FitLab took some time off. We only had one full class then and our clientele, mostly women at the time, had kids that were in school and, at my subtle urging, they decided it would be best to take the time off. It worked out for us because we needed time to figure out what we were going to do without dragging all of them through the transition. In June, I had my surgery on my ovaries, hoping God would use it to heal my body enough that we could get pregnant. That didn't happen and I hit a low point...wondering if this business idea that DW and I had was going to sink and realizing the surgery didn't work the way I/we had hoped. No baby...and still no answers about what to do with the business.

One afternoon, several weeks into the "summer break", I felt like I had prayed and prayed for answers...and had just come to the point where I felt exhausted from all of the wondering and praying. God had heard me, I had no doubt...but what if His answer was no? The walls of our house began to close in on me and I felt really confused because I was sure all of the "signs" had pointed to "yes" when we took the leap. How could we both have misheard...and so clearly? My solution to all things sad or anxious is ice cream so I got off the couch and drove down the street to Chick-fil-a. As I was sitting in the drive thru, I looked over at this bicycle shop I'd passed a 1,000 times and each time I'd passed I'd thought, "I need to go in there and tell them about our services." Besides weight loss, one of our main specialties is sports performance, but either fear or inconvenience always kept me firmly in my car seat, driving on by. This time, though, I decided I need to bite the bullet and just do it. What could it really hurt? There just weren't any more excuses to keep driving by.

I set my ice cream in my cup holder and walked in to the front desk with a business card and a brochure tucked out of sight in my purse. The guy at the desk was about my age and looked like a free-bird cycle shop owner but I wasn't sure just yet. I sucked it up and asked him if he was, indeed, the owner and if he ever sent his athletes for (our kind of) testing. He responded there wasn't anyone around here that did it but they did want that service for their athletes. I felt hope flicker inside of me. When I told him we performed that service - and we were local - he asked for more information and wanted to know where we were located at. My heart sank. We were located somewhere, I explained, but we were looking at options because it just wasn't working. I felt sure that would sound fickle and strange to him and that I'd just shot myself in the foot. Instead, his eyes lit up a little bit and he walked to a door near the front desk and motioned for me to follow. When he opened up the door, I looked into a room that was part work space, part training room...and he asked, "What about in here?" "Here?" I asked, taken aback at the direction the conversation had just taken. "Yea, he says, with a grin. "Here."

For once in my life, I was speechless. I left my house to get ice cream and drive aimlessly, and here I am only moments later, possibly looking the God-given solution in the face. I went back to my car where my ice cream had now melted and I called Dusty. I called our business mentor in Dallas, Mike. And I prayed. A lot. After meeting several more times with Mark and his wife, Holly, the owners of the shop, we finalized a deal to sublease the space. They had a need to lower costs and to have the testing available, we had a need for a place to call "home". It was win-win for everyone.

We immediately got to work, converting the space to work for FitLab. Painting, moving in the treadmills, and getting ready to open when the local schools started back.

The "Original Space"...

When classes started back in August, FitLab had moved and most of our clients came with us. Even losing a few in the transition, DW and I still felt like we were on the right track and that God was opening doors as needed. At the same time, He was also increasing my faith in His ability to care for and provide for our hopes, needs, and our dreams. There was only one area that I still couldn't understand Him yet...because as much as I longed to be a mom and as much as my heart ached for a family, the answer was still a resounding "No". My high was high, but man, was my low low. We cleaned and painted the space, like I mentioned, making it our own...but we left the triathete training pool that Mark used in the training space with the agreement that if we grew, it would come out.

Tucker patrolling (sorry, it's dark but the pool is on the far right):

We started out with no exterior signage, no training flooring, no bathroom...it was a mess. But a good mess. Somehow our clients extended us a lot of grace while we grew and we knew if we just stayed focused and kept doing things the right way the rest would all fall into place.

First, I worked a trade with a local plumber to install a toilet and a shower:

Then, DW and I worked a trade with a friend of ours in the small group from church that was in construction to add our tile floors in the bathroom and help us complete that. He turned out to be an angel in disguise because I could now live in our bathroom. :-) Chris did a meticulous job and I still truly believe we wouldn't be anywhere close to where we are now facility-wise without him.

And it wasn't too long before our clientele grew enough that the pool had to come out:

And flooring had to go in:

Then enough came in to pay for an exterior sign…

...and window vinyls were added to let people driving by know what we do!

I also added mirrors to one part of the space so people could check their exercise "form" and a motivational quote to the other wall so people who didn't want to look at themselves didn't have to...and so those who felt the need to complain could be pointed to the wall quote (by Lou Holtz) that clearly stated my belief:

In case you can’t read it, it says:

Ability is what you're capable of doing.

Motivation determines what you do.

Attitude determines how well you do it.

We still have a few minor changes to make, but all in all I’m really happy with where we are at!

View from front door:

View from my desk:

The classes have now grown from one class to six classes (multiple times per week) and our goal of doing 1-2 tests per week have far been exceeded. Other than one small print advertisement our landlord put out, we haven't done a single paid advertisement, we've just been growing our business one client at a time. It seems for every person we test and design their program, they send us another one. Word of mouth has been our friend...but more than anything I know that this has absolutely been God's provision. I still haven't taken a single paycheck from FitLab so it's been a tight year but worth every. single. sacrifice. I truly feel as if I'm doing what I was made to do. This job uses every single gift God has given me: my love for health and fitness, my desire to help and teach, my need for absolutes (testing), my heart for helping people live healthier, happier lives because they a) feel better and b) like themselves again. I feel like every minute of every day is ministry as well as work...and what better combination could you have?

The battles have been tiring and hard fought and, at times, scary...but the small victories make every second of this journey worth it. In retrospect, I realize that I wouldn't have had the time or energy...and I definitely wouldn't have taken the leap emotionally or financially had I had a little one depending on me at home. As low as those lows were (and still are sometimes) and as strong as my desire for children is, I know God has made me wait because I had a journey to walk that I hadn't walked yet. I had faith to grow that hadn't grown yet. I had a lack of confidence in myself that needed conquering. And more than anything, I had a ministry opportunity that needed to be recognized. Maybe one day He'll still say yes...

It's been a fulfilling year...whether FitLab is a success story this time next year still remains to be seen...but I believe it will be. I don't feel like I've worked a single day in the past year because I love what I do. I can't imagine doing anything else. Hopefully my heart for people and my work ethic will shine through and that, whether people realize it or not, my call to fulfill a greater purpose will draw them in and keep drawing them in.

Oh Lord, thank you for all you have done and all you are going to do...I love you with all of my heart!