At 27 years old, Elise left her corporate job to pursue a dream of opening her own business. With no investor backing, no business loan and only 4 weeks to build out a studio, she definitely had her work cut out for her. If you know Elise, you know that didn’t scare her enough to stop her.
At the time, little did she know that the road ahead was not going to be easy. Throughout her Sweat Fixx journey and in all the chaos of maintaining Wakefield’s success and looking towards the future, Elise suffered the loss of her mom and was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney disease. Amid these hardships, she continued to build and grow her business, powering through the anguish and the struggle. She never failed to put these communities above herself.
Looking back at all the Sweat Fixx success, this team and this community can do nothing but feel grateful for the vision Elise had only three years ago. We are excited to spread this love to yet another location in Amesbury and are proud to see this incredible business woman (and soon to be badass mom) continue to take the workout world by storm.
After opening Sweat Fixx’s fifth location, there are many questions the team and clients alike wanted to ask the one and only boss lady, Elise Caira. Read on to find out what this tenacious, gritty, and remarkable human had to say.
How do you research the best locations?
I’m asked all the time how we pick our locations but first of all it is definitely a WE thing. Our whole team is involved in the process when picking locations. If I love it and they don’t… we aren’t opening there.
At the end of the day it comes down to if we think Sweat Fixx would fit in that community. What makes Sweat Fixx special is the strong community aspect that we create – both in and outside of the studio.
Also, we look for towns that we feel are missing this type of workout. If we check off those two boxes, it comes down to our team’s gut feeling. We want to have “good vibes” when we go to that town so we will spend weeks taking classes, going to coffee shops, talking to locals, etc., to make sure we could see ourselves here.
What were you doing before you opened your own business?
Pre Sweat Fixx, I was in the wonderful world of Accounting. I received my Masters in Accounting from Bentley and went into Public Accounting working as an auditor at KPMG. I spent about 3.5 years there, and my last client was actually Planet Fitness while they were going public. After, I spent about a year working at Vistaprint (holding company is called Cimpress). I’ve always been good with accounting and finance so these jobs worked, but there was always something missing. I could have settled and been “fine” but I wanted more than fine.
What made you decide to open your first studio?
Ever since playing college basketball at Bentley, fitness became a huge part of my life. I was training and teaching classes while working a full time job. I remember sitting at my desk plugging away at spreadsheets one day and thought if I spent the rest of my life doing this I would regret not taking a chance on myself.
I remember going to a ton of fitness studios in the area and always felt that I could bring something new and different to the fitness world. I wanted to create a space where people regardless of their age, sex, or fitness level could walk into and feel like a boss: a place that was more of a community than a fitness studio. When I received a text about a space in Wakefield out of the blue, I decided it was now or never. With no solid plan, I quit my job and Sweat Fixx opened in 4 weeks. The rest is history.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Sports were everything to me as a kid. If you think I’m competitive now, you should have meet little Elise. She was scary and would do anything in her power to win (sorry to all the other kids!). I was the scrappiest tom-boy you have ever met and I played every sport I could. When my dad said no to football, I jumped on my bike and rode down to sign myself up – I don’t take the answer no very well.
So basically, I thought I was going to be a professional athlete or something to do with sports. Basketball quickly became my best sport, so from the age of 6, I would spend hours dribbling in my basement dreaming to go to Duke. I didn’t make it to Duke but did end up getting a full scholarship to play at Bentley, so all of the hard work paid off (even if I didn’t make it to the WNBA). Even though I didn’t end up a being professional athlete, you can still see my competitive spirit come out in the classes I teach.
How did you know it was the right time to start your company?
There’s never going to be a “right” time. I think that’s the problem for a lot of people. They wait for this perfect time when everything is going right and they think some red carpet is going to be rolled out for them.
I spent years training, taking classes, calling other female entrepreneurs across the country, building my network and basically trying every studio in the area. I knew if I ever had the chance, I wanted to be ready. Looking back there were so many things that weren’t “right” but I went for it anyways because you can only prepare yourself so much. Eventually you need to make the jump before it’s too late.
What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
I have always been a hard worker and liked the idea of being my own boss. I wanted to be able to work my ass off to create something that was mine. Something that I could build with other bad ass people that could make a difference to others. I worked for a lot of great companies prior to opening Sweat Fixx but I still felt like I was just punching in and going through the motions. I wasn’t making a change in anyone’s life and I was settling.
When you become an entrepreneur it’s now game time. You have no choice but to do everything in your power to make it work. I’ve always loved the idea of the thrill of going all in, being my own boss and creating something different against all odds.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering starting up their own business?
Two things.
Start now! As I said above you need to prepare yourself now, so in case the opportunity comes, you are ready to take it. It’s extremely hard to find locations, so you may only get that one chance. Start doing your research now and put the time in. Go connect with people in that field, start your business plan, visit similar businesses to get experience. Do everything you can so when the chance comes, you are ready. This shit isn’t easy; you need to work for it and that starts now.
Also you need to define who you want to be as a business and stay true to it. From the very beginning, understand what your brand is and what it is you want to deliver. I truly believe it doesn’t work to be a “jack of all trades and a master of none”. Own what you are good at and what your business is about and then stay in your lane. You need to believe in and love your vision so that others can’t shake you off your course.
If you could open a Sweat Fixx location anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Aruba! Aruba is currently my favorite place to travel to so being able to be there and have Sweat Fixx… that would be the dream. I would be lying if I said I don’t scope out the area every time I go there looking to see what type of fitness places they have open!
If I had to be more serious, North Carolina is looking pretty good.
If you could have any super power, what would it be?
Immediately my mind goes to flying, because let’s be honest, that would be awesome. But I would want to be able to read minds. I pride myself on being real and transparent, some people may even say I’m blunt because I’m not afraid to say exactly how I feel. I think it’s a good trait to be confident enough to respectfully hold your ground and share your opinion. I know I have a strong personality and it could intimidate people and they may be a little more reluctant to share how they really feel.