For some army partners and those leaving the military, setting up a business can be the solution to overcoming employment barriers and developing a rewarding career. Army&You chatted to two entrepreneurs about their journey…
Amelia Lockey
The 21/90 Club – the21-90club.com
Military connection
I’m a military spouse.
Why start a business?
I needed a career that could easily move with us to each posting because part-time/ short-term jobs were hard to find as we move house pretty much every two years. Starting my own fitness business meant that I could choose my hours and work from home – something I’ve always wanted!
Biggest challenge?
I’d say the biggest challenge (at the start) was finding clients but now that I’m well established, I have new clients starting every week and my business is very much growing by word of mouth. I offer a ‘refer a friend’ deal where The 21/90 Club member gets a free bootcamp session if they bring a friend. It’s a win-win!
Best thing about running a business?
I absolutely love converting ‘fitness-phobes’ into fitness lovers. Exercise doesn’t have to be boring or done alone. I offer fun, childfriendly bootcamp sessions, challenging one-to-one sessions in my home gym or a low-intensity online class.
Moving house every few years can become tiresome and lonely, so if you move to a patch and see The 21/90 Club, I urge you to join as you’ll then become part of a group of like-minded and extremely friendly women. I organise fun social events, unique experiences and we even buy, sell and swap unwanted clothes and children’s toys on our WhatsApp group.
My business motto is that ‘it takes 21 days to build a habit and 90 days to build a lifestyle’.
Laura and Hayley Gardner
Purendure – Purendure.com
Military connection
Laura served in the Royal Signals for seven years.
Laura and Hayley Gardner
Why start a business?
We both have a passion for fitness and nutrition, including a love of running and football.
We also saw a gap in the market and wanted to manufacture fruit purees and syrups for sports, using natural ingredients that we could control.
Biggest challenges?
Bringing the product to market and the processes involved, working on the lab analysis and nutritional analysis. Getting noticed – we’ve been handing out samples and at the same time we’re gathering email addresses for our database, setting up our Shopify platforms, partnering with events, looking for ambassadors and arranging fulfilment.
Best thing about running a business?
Being able to showcase products at events close to our heart as an exhibitor, for example the National Running Show. We are also getting involved in forthcoming triathlons, duathlons, ultras and half marathons.
Organisations such as X-Forces Enterprise helped us, and we also recommend looking into business accelerator schemes.
Main photo: The 21/90 Club