In a world ripe with opportunities, seizing the moment and taking a chance can be the catalyst for realizing dreams and achieving remarkable success. This rings especially true for me. As the daughter of immigrants, education, hard work, perseverance, and opportunity were ingrained values in my upbringing. From the time I was a small child, I knew I wanted to do something meaningful and make an impact. As I grew older, my dream became to attend law school and I am proud to say that after much sacrifice, I achieved it.
After completing my law degree and delving into a career in securities regulation, I found myself wanting something more. My husband and I often discussed our dreams of owning a business, but the right opportunity had yet to materialize. We knew that we wanted to go the franchise route because we wanted a tried-and-true business with systems in place; however, there was nothing we felt passionate enough about to take the risk and invest in.
Family photo on the day of their diaper derby
In 2017, everything changed with the arrival of our son, Landon. Motherhood brought a newfound perspective, shifting my priorities and aspirations. As career-driven as I had always been, I’d look at him and couldn’t imagine leaving to go back to work. During my maternity leave, I took him to a mommy and me class and that experience changed my life forever. Surrounded by the laughter and energy of children, including my son, I had a lightbulb moment – this is what I wanted to do. It checked all the boxes for everything I had been wanting. I could make an impact in the lives of children in my community, spend more time with my son and own my own business.
That very same day, I went home and immediately began to research franchise opportunities – The Little Gym immediately stood out. When I was a teen, I was a competitive cheerleader and cheered alongside the daughter of the owners of The Little Gym of Wayne. It was through this serendipitous connection that I discovered the opportunity to become a franchisee. I reached out to my friend who put me in touch with her parents so that we could learn more about the brand. Kathy and Ron were so welcoming, helpful and passionate about their business. After testing some of their classes with our son Landon, we knew The Little Gym was it. I found myself captivated by the ethos and mission of The Little Gym. Their commitment to fostering physical, emotional, and cognitive development in children aligned perfectly with my own values.
Through meticulous research and heartfelt conversations, I forged a partnership with The Little Gym that changed the trajectory of my professional life. The process of becoming a franchisee was both exhilarating and challenging, requiring dedication, diligence and most importantly, passion. To be completely truthful, we had no idea what we were doing as my husband and I did not have experience in the children’s’ enrichment space and we had never owned a business before. Thankfully, we were embraced by the amazing franchise community of The Little Gym who were and continue to be helpful resources. Having this community of passionate franchisees made all the difference in how quickly my location became successful. I am lucky to call so many of them dear friends after 5 years. It truly is such a tight-knit community. At the time of our opening, we also had a wonderful pre-opening team that helped get us started.
5 Year Anniversary (which was this past May)
In May 2019, I proudly opened the doors of The Little Gym of Jersey City. The journey has been a whirlwind of excitement as each day presents an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of families, fostering growth, confidence, and joy in the children who walk through our doors. There are many challenging times and I spend many hours working on my location, but it’s all worth it.
My decision to invest in The Little Gym franchise proved to be one of the best choices I’ve ever made. It has allowed me to achieve so many of my personal and professional goals. I am running a successful gym, have created many jobs in my community and I get to be present with my two children. My children are growing up in the gym and they love spending time there. We are opening our second location in Florham Park, NJ later this year, bringing that same passion and love to this community.