From Employee To Business Owner: Local Resident Realizes Dream To Own Her Own Fitness Studio

MIDDLETON, Mass. - For many Americans, New Year's resolutions are about losing weight, exercising more, and getting control of one's life. But for Melanie Braswell, of Middleton, Mass., her resolution was to own her own personal fitness training studio that makes all that happen. On Dec. 31, 2009, her resolution became a reality.

Today, Braswell is the new owner of Fitness Together at 149 South Main Street in Middleton, a one-on-one personal training studio and part of a national fitness franchise where she previously served as the manager. After eight years in the fitness industry, Braswell made the impressive leap from employee to business owner and hasn't looked back.

"Since college, I've always wanted to own my own gym," Braswell says. That's why she earned a degree in recreation management with an emphasis on health and fitness from Virginia Wesleyan College, in Virginia Beach.

She entered the workforce -- and the workout force -- with enthusiasm, earning management positions at different fitness gyms over the years. But it was her introduction to Fitness Together where she found a real home.

"It's very different than any other training experience," Braswell explains about Fitness Together's approach, which provides one-on-one workouts with a skilled personal trainer to each client in a private studio. "There's nothing more rewarding than having a friend be successful when you have a more personal relationship like that."

Witnessing the transformations of clients who lost weight, regained their health or overcame injuries, also led Braswell to make a transformation of her own when she purchased the franchise.

"I've always thought I was a good employee," Braswell shares. "But there's something about owning your own business. You can't pay someone to love it the way that an owner does."

Ironically, Braswell said that being the owner now allows her more freedom and flexibility in her life. And she credits a strong team of three personal trainers and a great franchise system for the company's success.

"I don't have to be a ball and chain to the studio," she says about owning a franchise versus trying to do it on her own. "I don't feel overwhelmed, because I know what needs to be done after being a manager for two years."

Her trainers are the ambassadors of her business. While they coach clients to get in shape, Braswell has the coaching and assistance of her franchisor and peers across 360 Fitness Together studios to help her along as well.

Braswell, 31, also practices what she preaches, squeezing in a minimum of three workouts for herself every week. As a busy mother with a 3 year-old son, she has a career more than a job. And with the brand power of 50 Fitness Together studios in Massachusetts alone, the single largest concentration for the chain, she is business for herself, but not by herself.

About Fitness Together Franchise Corp.:

Established in 1983 in response to the growing demand for personal fitness training, Fitness Together offers the latest in one-on-one personal training. Based in Highlands Ranch, Colo., Fitness Together is part of Fitness Together Holdings, Inc., one of the world's largest wellness organizations. Fitness Together began franchising in 1996 and has sold franchised locations throughout the United States, Costa Rica, Israel, Ireland, Canada and Brazil.

Franchise Information:

Fitness Together Franchise Corporation is actively selling franchises.