CAREER & MONEY
ENTREPRENUERSHIP
My mother and father owned various businesses when I
was growing up, so the idea of one day owning one of my
own seemed realistic. After graduating college with an
exercise science degree, I worked at a large corporate gym
for five years, and met my future husband on my first day
there. I found success in the training business relatively
quickly, figuring out the customer service aspect and how
important that is in this industry. After a few years, I was
sure I could run this type of business myself, and make it
even better. Nine years ago, over dinner with my husband,
the concept of Emerge was born.
FEARS
Emerge is not and has never been a gym in the classic
sense. Clients come to Emerge for service only. There are
no memberships. If you are there, you are with a trainer
or coach in some capacity. That is much different than the
gym I came from. Emerge is smaller, less crowded, and
modest looking compared to a giant corporate gym. I
wasn’t sure if my clientele would appreciate and like the
difference. That fear went away the first week we opened
when 100 percent of our clients followed us to work out at
our new business. That was a great feeling. As long as we
continue and retain exceptional talent, and a high level of
customer service, there isn’t much to fear going forward.
MOTIVATION
Seeing what was once just a concept grow into a small
shop, and then grow larger with more people on staff is my
motivation. Emerge has grown and continues to grow into
something much larger than myself, and it’s cool to see.
That’s the motivation I need. I want to see where this goes.
WHO INSPIRES ME
My mom and dad. The most important thing to me is
family. Looking back, I realize how hard it was for them
prioritizing family while running a business and raising five
kids. No matter how stressful that was, my siblings and I
were always number one to my mom and dad. And now,
that’s the way I look at my kids and husband. Who I am and
decisions I make are based on my time with my family.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
We opened our doors in 2007, in what was considered
a recession. At the time, there were VERY few small
fitness shops opening up and even les ́