I was in the workforce for five years as a salaried man before striking out on my own. The striking out on my own happened within two months of meeting my now-wife in 2014.

My second job was on shaky ground. I was not having fun. And I was terrified. I had taken a massive pay cut to jump from a then-secure journalism gig to trying to become a fitness trainer in what was then a nascent industry. 2012 was a very different time. Startup’s weren’t cool. And fitness coaches were called ‘master’. It was a shitshow.

I was trying to prep for my GMAT in another half-hearted attempt to get an MBA. It’s what all the cool kids were doing. But the cool kid is the last thing I’ve been. The weirdo, contrarian and loner tag has come to me without much effort. All my damn life. And I like it.

Anyways, within a month of courtship my now-wife looks at me and says ‘Are you really going to do an MBA, you’re not really an MBA type :D ?’.

I don’t know if it was the shorts:pants ratio of 100:1 in my cupboard that gave it away that quickly or easily.

But she was right. It felt absurd. And had just built a prototype pull up bar (still functional?) with a welder I met around the same time.

And if you told me to practice logical reasoning or sit in a welding workshop making ugly sketches, I’d pick the latter in a heartbeat.

But I was terrified at the notion of not seeing cash magically conjure on the 2nd of the month in my account.

I don’t know why. Is it a cultural thing? No one in my close family till that point had started their own business.

I didn’t know where to begin. So it started with one client, then two, then seven. Found a space. The rent wouldn’t kill me. Three clients could cover it. But there would still be sitting in an empty gym at 7 am.

Then one more client and another. 30 clients kept showing up 8 months in. But expenses would still outpace income. But cash was flowing.

It wasn’t scary. What day it was didn’t matter. All that mattered was clients were showing up. And that clients were bringing more clients. Some clients disappeared during Decembers and summers. But enough stayed on to pay the bills. More clients came, more training ideas were toyed with. More equipment was built.

And whatever business we have revolves around this one Walt Disney quote:

Whatever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it, they will want to come back and see you do it again, and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.

Entering our 12th year, this quote remains guiding star. I am not an entrepreneur. Just a coach making sure clients have fun at the gym. One session at a time.

And so much of my conviction and confidence comes from a girl who all her life has been around the energy to do things without worrying about the pay check. Focus on the ideas, execution and community. If you are curious and have enough fun with the idea, the clients and cash flow follow.