What is your name?
Michelle Wright
What is your business name?
mishfit personal training
What industry is your business in?
Personal training (specialising in training pregnant and post-natal women)
Where are you based?
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
How long have been in business?
Five years
Is it a full-time or part-time business?
Full time
Did you start your business before or after becoming a mum/step-mum?
I have a degree in education, but becoming a mother and then a single mother, I did not want to return to work teaching children. I re-trained as a personal trainer when my children were toddlers and started the business part time when the eldest started school. It is now a full-time business, and I have re-partnered and gained two more (step) children!
Why did you start your business?
I had pelvic floor issues, and went through a horrible divorce at the time of having my second child. Keeping fit kept me sane however, took a big toll on my pelvic floor. I kept looking at all these other mums and thought I must be the only one “leaking” – I now know three out of five women post-natal have incontinence issues and the fitness industry does not acknowledge or provide support for this. My aim is to raise awareness of this issue and my for my business to be the leading provider of safe exercise care to pregnant and post-natal women.
What has been your biggest triumph in business?
Every time a client tells me that they use to wet their pants before they met me and now that is not the case!
What was your biggest mistake in business?
When getting other trainers to work for me, I did not get contracts sorted in time (a large part of that was the expense of the lawyers), it made it difficult when they had been working for a while to get them to sign contracts. I am now very aware of the importance of protecting my intellectual property.
What is the one piece of advice you wish you’d been given about running a business with children when you started out?
That it is like having another child! It is demanding and it is up to you how well it will perform at the end of the day, by how much work you are prepared to put into it. Get support with other mentors, or business women… running a business can be a lonely experience too!
Name your top three business successes
1. Being nominated for Business Woman of the Year Award 2011
2. Having Continence Foundation of Australia recognise and support my business
3. Taking mishfit to franchise level
What are you passionate about?
Educating women on safe exercise practise during pregnancy and post-natally. I also volunteer my time working with refugee women (currently Somalian community in North Melbourne) in educating them about their pelvic floor. I passionately believe in corporate responsibility!
What’s the one thing you can never resist?
Telling others about my business, and helping (by assessing and giving advice) to all women who come to me. I doubt there is an occasion when I have been out socially, that at least one woman (on learning what I do) hasn’t asked me for advice! There is a real lack of understanding and knowledge out there and I have really been noticing that Gen Y have even less of an idea about their pelvic floor than Gen X.
Who inspires you?
I love reading bios of women who have children and then change their career later in life, with the intention of helping others… Anita Roddick is a wonderful example of this.
Mothers coping with babies/young children and dealing with prolapse and/or incontinence issues inspire me a lot.
What is the song that gets you fired up?
It would have to be a cheesy number like Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive!
What is your favourite quote?
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” ~ Buddha
Contact Michelle
Website: www.mishfit.com.au
Twitter: @mishfit
Facebook: mishfit
LinkedIn: Michelle Wright
