LQ Magazine catches up with Lauren & Beth Jackson

 

It was their dream - to open up their very own ladies boutique gym, and now sisters Lauren, 26, and Beth, 22, have achieved their number one goal. 

 

“I’ve worked in the fitness industry for the last eight years.” Lauren explains. “I love it. I completed my fitness qualification, and I’m Level 3 Reps qualified which means I’m a personal trainer too. I used to work at and manage a ladies gym before I opened this one and I did that for eight years. My favourite part of the job was the fact that women could change their lives by going there.”

 

“Because I worked at a gym for several years, I always knew I wanted to open up my own. I’ve been looking into doing it for about the last five years, but never had the opportunity to and then when the gym that I worked for closed, I didn’t want to do anything else – I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I’ve always wanted to own my own business. I’ve come from quite a business-orientated family. My dad’s been the MD of companies so I’ve always been business minded and with the closure of the gym I worked for – it was the ideal opportunity to start my own business.”

 

Helping women change their lives is the thing that Lauren loves the most, and throughout her years of working in a gym she enjoyed witnessing a number of success stories. “Whether it be fitness or health, the amount of ladies that would come in and say they don’t have to take medication for their arthritis anymore because they’ve been coming to workout is unbelievable and it’s lovely – it’s a lovely feeling that you can help somebody like that so I love it.”

 

Beth also loves working in the fitness industry following her Degree in Sport and Community Leadership and a GNVQ in Sporting Excellence including Nutrition, Psychology and Lifestyle. Beth’s strong passion and talent led to their joint business venture. “I teach netball and I’ve been coaching netball since I was 11. I am also a netball coach at regional level.”

Starting a business together as siblings felt like the most natural thing to do. “Beth used to work at the same gym as me – she was a fitness instructor too,” Lauren explains.

“It’s good working with your sister. It’s easy to bounce off each other and if you have any issues you don’t have to worry about thinking ‘oh I don’t know if I can do this’ because you’ve got someone to share it with which is nice.”

 

“I think, because she’s my best friend as well, we do get on really well so it’s an easy working environment. If you are having a bad day, you can say to them ‘I’m having a bad day’ and they know how you feel. Also, if there are any problems, we both know what each other’s speciality is. I think between the two of us, we’ve both got different attributes that work well in business. I’d recommend it to anybody to work with your siblings – it’s great!”