Meet Jamie Hayes of FIT FACTORY 360 in Tucker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Hayes.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was labeled obese at the age of 11 years old. I decided at that time to transform my life physically, mentally, emotionally, etc… it started by speaking with my grandma which led to her giving me a workout tape, I used that tape every day and lost 15lbs in 30 days. I then told myself I wanted to be a personal trainer if I didn’t make it to the NFL, of course. At the age of 17 years old, I started training my peers and their parents out of my apartment complex for $5 a session. After being successful with that, I decided I wanted to train in a facility so I applied to Bally Total Fitness off of Lavista Rd in Tucker. They turned me down citing that I was “too young” but I showed up every day for three days in a row to ask for the position. On the third day, the hiring manager said: “haven’t you showed up here for the last three days?” I told her that I was determined to be hired and train in that facility, she stated that she had never seen someone as persistent as I was and then, proceeded to hire me on the spot. I trained at that location for 12 months and in that last month, I brought in $15,000 in revenue for them. It was then that I decided I could go into business for myself and open my own gym. Peak Performance 360 was birthed from that. I hired myself out as an independent contractor for the first year and in 2011, I opened my 1st brick and mortar location. I was the sole owner and operator for the entire existence until I dissolved the business November of 2018 and started a joint venture with another gym owner and that is how FIT FACTORY 360 came about.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely has not been a smooth road. In the early days, of course, I had to hustle to get my name and services out there. I built my first clientele from scratch. It used to be that businesses could start and thrive with a simple website, flyers, business cards. Now, in the age of social media, ANY body can log on and start a business and more specifically anybody can log on and become a “personal trainer”. The market became oversaturated very quickly. I had to figure out innovative ways to maintain my business and keep up with trends. I decided my niche would be connecting with my community. I started motivationally speaking, participating in career days, mentoring at the Boys and Girls Clubs, basically creating a large footprint of my brand within my community.

Please tell us about FIT FACTORY 360.
FIT FACTORY 360 is a cross-training, group and personal training facility. In addition to being owner, I am also one of the certified personal trainers. I specialize in a particular type of cross-fit training utilizing calisthenics and plyometrics. This form of training uses more running, skipping, hopping and jumping (primal senses). I like this form of training because I find that it helps clients to be more consistent. Equipment is not needed, we use the body as the machine. I’m proud of FIT FACTORY because we are evolving as a staple in the community, as we do mostly train women of color, I have had prospective clients approach me and say that it feels good to drive by and see 50 women of color working out in the parking lot. That lets me know I am doing something good. What sets me/us apart is that you don’t normally see black-owned cross-fit or cross-training facilities. We are carving into that mold and creating our own lane within it.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have reached out and tried to gain investors, had people believe in my business and support my vision so that I could have catapulted a little faster.

Contact Info:

• Address: 2101 Northlake Pkwy Suite B
• Website: www.fitfactory360.com
• Phone: 6789278729
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @jamiethemotivator

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