FitFor50

When setting up his company 50ForFit, Jorris Fraser noticed that he needed advice from an expert. He enlisted the help of consultant Greet Ritskes, who helped him create a clear structure and work out his unique concept.

Jorris: “In the start-up phase, you have a lot of questions. There are many things you have to do, but because of all the different things you have to do, you can’t see the wood for the trees. There is a certain structure missing, so to speak.”

Jorris started doing business at the age of 20. He had several webshops, for instance. He was also a fitness instructor and personal trainer. He felt it was his calling to help others exercise. So he started giving personal and small group training. However, he soon realised that this was not distinctive enough. Therefore, he started looking. He got to know an older couple who were looking for a gym specifically for the over-50s and realised that there was no offer yet for sports for the over-50s. That is why he started ’50ForFit’.

Jorris needed the advice of an expert. Indeed, he realised that he wanted to achieve a lot in too short a time. Through a friend who was very enthusiastic about Entrepreneurs Soundboard, he came to Entrepreneurs Soundboard.

Mentor Greet made Jorris realise that he needed to work out the concept first, before he would start incurring costs and expanding as an entrepreneur. Greet: “It is not about investing and opening a physical branch, but it is about putting down a strong concept. If you have a clear concept on paper that you can transfer to others, then you yourself are more confident in your story to stakeholders.”

Together with Greet, Jorris started looking at what priorities he would start with. Together, they made an action list, which he went through one by one. For instance, his first priority was to find a location where he could deliver training and his second was to find people he could start mentoring personally. “Met het advies van Greet is er structuur gekomen in het opzetten van mijn bedrijf. We hebben een concreet stappenplan opgezet dat ik volg. Ik heb het idee dat ik nog steeds zoekende zou zijn, als ik dit traject niet was in gegaan.” – Jorris

Together, they looked at which parties interact with the target group. For instance, they approached physiotherapists and several gyms. In this way, Jorris came into contact with his target group, mainly through third parties, indirectly.

Based on the feedback from these customers, he was able to develop his offer. For instance, his customers indicated that they like to exercise in the morning. In addition, they like the fact that there is room for personal attention. When a client has an injury, Jorris offers personal advice and tailors the workout accordingly.”

Greet had Jorris calculate the cost of buying premises. As a result, he saw for himself that this would logically not be the very first step for him. Greet: “Jorris’ goal was to generate income with sports and training. For that, you don’t need to buy premises right away.” They started thinking from the customer’s point of view: where is the target group and how can you start attracting that target group.

Jorris now has almost 40 clients and has built a good network with elderly organisations. Greet: “This warm network and his active commitment are now going to take him far. That’s great to see.”

Jorris recommends a sounding board process to others. “As a starting entrepreneur, you still have little knowledge and experience and therefore you are very restless in your head. Being advised allows you to keep calm in your head much better. There is literally someone you can fall back on and they have a different perspective on your business. That’s very nice.”

Mentor: Greet Ritskes
Entrepreneur: Jorris Fraser
Company: 50ForFit