Leicestershire SME wins £5k* prize to accelerate local PT business

Garage door specialists Garolla recently launched a competition to help aspiring entrepreneurs kickstart their dream business (or side hustlers or small business owners to accelerate their existing ventures), with a prize consisting of a garage fit out worth up to £5,000*, plus a brand new Garolla garage door.

After receiving entries from around the country, the competition closed on 30th August and a shortlist of 10 was drawn. The shortlisted entries included business ideas related to photography (wedding, portrait), furniture upcycling, car detailing, motorbike servicing and repairs, beauty therapy, personal training, Pilates, art and signage, and homeware ecommerce.

The winner has now been announced, as Emma Jones at Emma Jones Fitness. Based in Husbands Bosworth in South Leicestershire, Emma entered the competition looking to transform her garage into a more usable space for her personal training business.

As part of her competition entry, Emma stated she wanted to “elevate [her] business to the next level.” Her ideas for a transformation included “a modern, timber clad wall where [she] can display [her] business logo,” and noting that it also gets very cold in the winter which can prevent use of the gym; she’d “like to board the ceiling to insulate [herself] and [her] clients from the elements.”

As part of the prize, the fit out will be completed by the local team at Garageflex, and will take place later this year. Garolla selected Garageflex for this garage gym conversion due to their credentials around providing a industry-leading standard, using high-quality materials, built to last, and capable of withstanding years of constant use.

The fit out will focus on transforming the space into a professional, stylish looking PT studio through modern lighting, insulation, heating. and clever storage space. A new Garolla garage door (also part of the prize package) will also release additional space currently taken up by the up-and-over garage door, which currently prevents clients from performing overhead exercises.

Emma Jones, owner of Emma Jones Fitness added: “I’m delighted to have won! I’ve been doing personal training for about two years full-time, which felt like a natural progression from running fitness classes and 1:1 online nutrition coaching . I enjoy helping people to increase their confidence around exercise to help them become stronger and healthier.

“I now train between three and four clients a day which I make work between the school runs and busy family life. Slowly but surely, I’ve been adding on new clients here and there – mostly busy mums too – and now my children are getting older I can really put more time, effort and energy into growing my business. I’m ready to scale up now, so when I saw the competition, I thought it could be the icing on the cake to really accelerate my business goals. Creating a PT studio which is fit for purpose but looks great too will help me and my clients achieve great things.”.

Alastair Mayne, COO at Garolla commented: “We loved hearing about the UK’s passions and entrepreneurial dreams through our competition, and we’re so excited to announce Emma Jones Fitness as the worthy winner. We can’t wait to see the finished space, and wish Emma all the best in the future as her business continues to grow and thrive”.

Image credit: Emma Jones Fitness

Main image credit: Garolla

*Full competition terms and conditions can be found here: www.garolla.co.uk/terms-conditions