When I became a PT I did so to save myself, it was not about the public.

I was quite content in my corporate job. I had no intention of working in the industry or making it my life’s passion. However near the end of my course I realised how much I loved it and how I could make a difference in the world helping others like I was helping myself. So I successfully obtained a job in a local gym working as a Gym Instructor and Personal Trainer. I was however very frustrated at the limitations in that environment where people were treated as numbers not people. I was limited in how much help I could offer people and how much time I could spend with people and it was all about the sales. I wasn’t in this role for the dollars, like I said I already had a corporate job which supported me financially. I was doing this because I loved it.
So I decided to resign and focus on creating my own business, simply so that I would have more flexibility with my clients. It was here that I created Terrific Fitness. I started mobile PTing on the side whilst I continued in corporate. I then realised I would be able to help more people if I ventured into group fitness classes rather than one on one, so in January 2011 I began my very first boot camps running two one hour classes per week. I had 6 members. I helped them with their training and their nutrition and provided a shoulder when they needed one. We would train in one of the local parks, and would move to my garage and pergola area if it rained.

As time went on, they brought in their friends and my little part time ‘hobby’ grew. It got to the point I physically couldn’t cover the demand on my own so I hired another trainer. By this point I had secured a leasing agreement with one of the local schools using 2 small rooms on their premises. I also realised then that this was no longer something I loved and did as a hobby. I loved it and wanted to make it my life. I resigned from my corporate job and started focusing on Terrific Fitness full time.

Two years later we outgrew that school and hired another trainer. We moved to another school where we could access larger gyms and halls. I started conducting workshops on Nutrition and really started seeing some serious changes in my clients. I had a fair bit of staff turnover at this point for various reasons. I consulted with my business coach and really honed in on finding the right staff for the community I was trying to create for our members. Not only was I successful in finding the right people, I was truly blessed that God presented the most incredible souls to help our members; souls that I love beyond words. My staff are not just my staff anymore, they are my family, and we share the same passion and goals for our members and Terrific Fitness.
Together, over the last 2 years, we have experienced serious trials and tribulations. I have nearly closed Terrific Fitness down 4 times over the past 3 years, finding it all too hard. Balancing work, life and family, covering costs financially, the extensive hours and sleepless nights, were just some of the challenges I faced. As a business owner I was constantly trying to come up with ways we could provide even more for our members, without killing my own health in the process.

We had really spread our wings and introduced a number of different services including group fitness classes, personal training, nutrition counseling, applied muscle testing, wellness coaching, live workshops and other events. But we didn’t have our own centralised location so we were spread across the school we trained our group fitness in, the gym where we conducted personal training, my home where the office and one on one consulting room was and a local conference centre where we conducted our workshops. We were limited in what we could offer, it was frustrating me because once again, I couldn’t deliver the service level I wanted for our members. I longed for my own place but was too scared to venture down that road.

Over the past 20 years I had ventured into a number of different businesses that had all failed. I was too scared to go out into my own place, in case once again it failed. I didn’t want to risk losing what we had created to date, and stop being able to help the hundreds of people, whose lives we had changed. I was stuck between wanting to do more and fear of losing the lot. I’m sure anyone in business can relate to this; it’s a common feeling so I have discovered.

Fear of failure can be a crippling thing. But fear of success can be even more crippling. You see, in reality it wasn’t fear of failure that was holding me back. I knew how failure felt and knew how to deal with it. The fact was that if my own venue didn’t succeed, we went back to running the show exactly the same way we have been for the past five and a half years. I really had nothing to lose. So it wasn’t fear of failure that was holding me back.
My Personal Assistant Danielle, who is also one of our qualified Wellness Coaches, asked me a very vital question: “Are you afraid to fail or you afraid to succeed?” I stared at her. I never thought of it that way. And she was right. Which was it for me? I realised in that moment, I had never experienced success and so the unknown scared the life out of me. My fear of the unknown was crippling me. As well as me, it was holding back my staff and all of my clients. I was doing everyone a dis-service.

Through all my trials and tribulations my amazing husband has stood by me and been my rock. So I once again turned to my tower of strength and told him about my conversation with Danielle. Theo smiled and said “Let’s do it!” I stared at him, not knowing where to go from here. We discussed the opportunity in great depth and started searching for the right venue; all the while wondering if we were making the right decision.
It was here I realised, sometimes in life you need to really take some serious chances and bite the bullet. This was something I had dreamed of such a long time, I was the only person holding me back. We had built Terrific Fitness to the point where we could move into our own venue and continue to grow, continue to help more and more people, which is exactly why I had entered this career in the first place. If I stayed where I was, I was letting myself down, my family, my staff and my community. I owed it to all of us to keep going and to keep fighting.

Every single day, I look at the cartoon of the little mine digger digging in search of diamonds, and turning back just he had reached the diamonds. All it would take it one more hit with his pick, but he turned around and walked away. Was I going to do that? Hell no!

3 years ago I was training Danielle in one of the local gyms, her PT session. At the end of her session we were walking out together and I turned and stared at the gym. She asked me what was wrong. I said “Ah the things I could do with this place.” She smiled and said “God bless Terri.”

Her blessings came into fruition. Three years later, when we were searching for the right venue, that exact location was up for lease. Without hesitation I knew it was meant to be! Theo, my husband, and I signed the lease and started renovating together with the extensive help of our staff and friends. We start trading in our very own Wellness Studio on the 29th of February 2016. Who would ever have imagined when I was training to be a PT that I would be writing this blog? Not me!

It just goes to show, that no matter what your dream, no matter how big or how small, if you put your desires out to the universe and ask for exactly what you want, if you surround yourself with the people that will make it inevitable for you to succeed, if you hire the right coaches and mentors and you live with resilience and never ever give up, anything and I mean anything, is possible!

Nobody ever succeeds on their own. I have achieved what I have to date because of the coaches and mentors I have consulted with along the way, the friends and family around me, my staff team, my clients, and even those that have hurt me along the way. They have taught me the true meaning of resilience, and for this I thank them. For without that adversity I may not have developed the strength to keep fighting. Everything in life is a lesson if you pay attention.

Nobody ever succeeds from luck; it takes a lot of hard work. So many times people call others ‘lucky’ because they have no idea what the person has invested into achieving their success. There is no such thing as luck; success is hard work. Realising your dreams is hard work. But if you want it bad enough, you will do whatever it takes to achieve it; no excuses and no negotiations. This is true in everything, not just business.

I am so grateful God has blessed me with the most incredible people in my life, without which this dream may have stayed just that, a dream. I want to take this opportunity to thank a few people for all of their help, belief, love and support in making this dream come true:
– Theo, my most incredible husband. You are my love, my rock, my everything. Without your love and support and 100% commitment, hard work and invested hours, we would never be here like this today.
– My children Denise and PJ for their patience, love and support and loving Terrific Fitness as much as I do.
– My incredible staff and very dear friends Tania, Rachel and Danielle. You ladies are incredible! I absolutely love you to death and appreciate every single little thing you ever do and say to help make me a better person, and for loving Terrific Fitness and everything it stands for, as much as I do. I love you with all of my heart.
– My beautiful friends Mimma, Michael, Georgette and Mick for all of your love, support and hard work in making this dream a reality.
– My beautiful friends Mel, Nevine and Vicki for never letting me give up when I wanted to walk away because it all got too hard.

Dreams do come true!
I am so excited for what the future holds for Terrific Fitness. The ride is only just beginning. Jump on and enjoy the ride with us….

– Terri Batsakis