Since we opened our doors, 23W has grown from a small group of 40 to over 240 members in five years and a team of two (myslef and Asha) to eight amazing women!

When our studio birthday rolls around, I love to share our founding story with new members who might not be familiar how we started or how I made the transition from life as a dedicated school teacher to entrepreneur and business owner.

When I think about where the dream started, I go back to 2016. I was already 2-3 years into juggling life as a PE teacher and trainer, but something powerful changed in me. It was not a sudden realisation or epiphany that told me to quit school and ‘do my own thing’, but rather a slow burn or desire to invest more time into my budding business and clients.

Finding extra time for more clients, longer hours at the gym, blogging, emails and growing a beautiful, empowering community came at a cost. I gave up playing competitive sports, became less social and gave up most hobbies and interests, including TV. This was all to give me more time at the gym or ensure all school marking and assessment were done on time. I become the master juggler.

The Breaking Point

In 2016, I also stepped into the role as Head of PE, had three senior classes and was still filled with aspirations to continue making our department one of the best teams at my school. I knew that my life outside of school could never be at the cost of my quality of work as a professional educator. At this time, I reminded myself never to complain about being ‘busy’, because I knew I was at the helm of the decision-making process. But early in 2017, I realised that I was not happy. I felt tired (all the time), started feeling frustrated at school and day-dreamed constantly about what it would be like to open my own studio. There were a couple of breaking points along the way. The times I would blow up at my husband because of something relatively trivial and the numerous occasions I felt sick or unwell. I also realised that I was not following the self love advice I was giving to my clients. I became so pushed for time, that I would often get changed into my uniform on the way to school (after starting coaching at 6am). I realised that I couldn’t do my best job as a teacher, trainer or wife while pushing myself so hard. I suddenly felt like I was living a lie at school- I really did not want to be there. The master plan at the time was to fall pregnant so that I had a reason to stop, reset and reboot (which sounds crazy now I write it down). But as 2017 unfolded, I realised we needed a better solution.

Finally, the conversations started to happen about a ‘backup plan’. The solution came to Jeremy, and I like a slap in the face. After 7 years of in the profession, I was due for one term long-service and this time could be used to help me catch my breath and see if full-time PT life was still as alluring. In the backend of 2017, I had to keep my head down to build my client base, run challenges and ensure that everything was in place to see success in 2018.

The Money

My biggest concern about leaving teaching was leaving a steady income. At the time, my income as a trainer was well below my full-time salary from school, which is enough to make anyone with a mortgage nervous. In preparation for the big leap, Jeremy and I also knew that we would never be so financially ‘sound’ or ever as attractive to banks for a loan. So in mid September (2017), we bravely decided to purchase our second home, an old, run-down Californian bungalow on a large block. Having already renovated before, we also knew the extra time off in 2018 would be helpful in getting the house to a liveable standard.

I dreamed of opening a studio in 2018, so I was very money-conscious. Every dollar I earned from the gym was saved and with a new mortgage, weekends away, dinners out and clothing were areas we needed to pull back on.