How Fitstop Supports Women in Business

This International Women’s Day, we’ve been able to reflect on the incredible women in our business. From our members, trainers, business owners and HQ team, we’re so proud to not only have significant and much-needed representation in our business, but to have fantastic women contributing to Fitstop’s vision day in and out.

Why does International Women's Day matter?

International Women’s Day is all about recognising the opportunity we have to positively change women's lives, and likewise, how women have changed Fitstop. It’s a day to recognise just how far we’ve come towards gender equality thanks to those women before us, but also, how far we have left to go. It’s a day to celebrate women and equally, continue to advocate for the powerful women in our corner.

What does International Women’s Day mean to Fitstop?

As a performance-based, progressive functional fitness offering, we love that our membership and owner base is made up of so many women who are working hard, focused on their performance, smashing sessions, refining their skill and connecting with their community.

Really, we set out to create a space that empowers women and shows them just how strong and capable they are - something we hope they carry with them in all aspects of their lives.

Fitstop changing the standards

In Australia, 35% of small businesses are owned by females. We’re proud to say at Fitstop, over 47% of our Fitstop locations have female owners. This is not just important for Fitstop and the strength this representation brings us, but it also sets the tone that women are increasingly empowered to set sights on their goals and chase their dreams by investing in themselves and their future through business ownership.

Why are we above the benchmark of female small business ownership?

Progress hasn’t been equal, with women facing inequalities regarding wage gaps, role opportunities, domestic roles and other social, political, economic and cultural setbacks. That’s why Fitstop is proud that we’re supporting closing the gap and empowering women to path their own way through owning their own fitness franchise.

We’re fortunate to be a business that is trusted, respected and supported by strong women who have a shared vision in changing lives within their local communities and in turn, changing their own lives.

Through our robust systems and processes that support our owners right from pre-opening to growth year on year, we’ve proven that we’re a franchise business that is scalable, supportive and continually improving and bringing strategies to the table - empowering all of our business owners.

Fitstop is a model that can adapt to your situation, whether supporting family life by not missing out on the big moments, or having a passionate team behind you so you can continue your chosen career whilst being a semi-passive investor.

Why are women choosing to own small businesses?

At Fitstop, the core reasons our business owners come to us with the decision to own their own franchise business is often driven by passion, interest and the desire for financial freedom. Likewise, In a report asking why females want to run their own business, you can see why Fitstop has 47% of businesses female-owned:

• 56% of women started a business to gain more flexibility

• 49% wanted better work-life balance

• 46% wanted to be their own boss

• 34% wanted greater financial independence

• 29% wanted to do more meaningful work

We’re fortunate to align with so many of the reasons women want to own small businesses and provide a feasible opportunity to achieve these goals. At our core, Fitstop is a leading innovative franchise business that allows the opportunity for people to align passion with purpose to create financial freedom.

More than this, we’re a business that has a core goal of inspiring people to move more to live more, and attract extremely passionate owners who share this same goal and create success for themselves, no matter who they are.

Hear from our multi-site owner Cassie, about why she and her family chose Fitstop.

Coming from a sporting background, Cassie and her partner Lefty were attracted to Fitstop for the opportunity and flexibility it could provide their family. Of course, being part of Fitstop has gone beyond just this for them:

“I definitely think it's important raising my raising my girls in in a Fitstop environment. They're going to grow up confident and strong and are based on how they feel. We always talk about moving our bodies. They know Mum and Dad need to go train and everyone comes to Fitstop to feel better. We move to feel better.”

Hear more from Cassie in the video below!