Join us for our first Hey WALT chat! Melissa is talking with William Marshall, owner of Benswic Gym, about entrepreneurship, how to turn your passion project into a thriving business and much more!
William shares how he transitioned from college life to business life. He took his degree in art and applied it to the art that is the human body. He evolved into the sports performance arena because he wanted to help others feel better and stay healthy. Developing options for all age levels is important to William to show that feeling good and staying fit is for everyone.
Financial well-being was not first on his list when he started his journey towards Benswic Gym. Out of college with an art degree, William wanted to forge his own path. He has been growing his business full time for the last three years but there has been a lot of adjustments. A recent survey found that 66% of millennials had goals to start their own business. This may be because millennials view starting their own business as a path to financial independence and a flexible work-life balance. 61% of millennials expressed a belief that they could find more job security by owning their own business, as opposed to working for someone else.
As his business grew, he decided that Benswic Gym needed a headquarters. Challenges of renting out space and other business decisions were sometimes overwhelming. Along with the physical aspects of growing a business, William had to work his way towards financial resiliency. For him, budgeting was not something he experienced in his early life so his journey to fiscal responsibility was filled with hurdles. He is still learning how to budget but it is a learning process as it is for everyone. His advice to new entrepreneurs is to find a name, make it your own, give your business a professional online presence, and then just START!
