Food, Home and Style

Lemonade Maker: Greg Stallkamp, Fitness Entrepreneur

Profiles of people who turn economic lemons into lemonade.

This week’s Lemonade Maker: Greg Stallkamp

Location: Chicago

Before recession: Financial Consultant

Now: Founder, Holosfitness.com, a social networking website for the fitness community.

When did you notice a shift in the economic climate?

I first noticed clients were planning to scale back their budgets at the end of 2007. By the beginning of 2008, clients were already starting to cut back in terms of head-count and use of outside consultants. My firm saw several clients leave by February and March of 2008. Basically, I saw the writing on the wall and decided it was time to leave.

What was your “aha” moment?

From a needs standpoint, I realized that there was a need for the services offered by our website several years ago. There simply was no way for regular individuals who practiced active lifestyles (in terms of sports and fitness) to track their progress. I’ve been involved in triathalons and noticed that working out was an antiquated experience for most people. Many face work environments that aren’t really supportive of working out and staying fit, despite the fact that having fit employees has benefits in terms of motivation, health (physical and psychological) and productivity (fewer sick days). I wanted to build a platform for people to get and stay motivated about their workout goals. During the downturn, people are spending more time working out, especially young people. Working out is a way to relieve stress, and gyms are actually seeing a rise in membership. There are people who will stop eating out, but they won’t give up their health club membership. So it seemed like the right time to start my venture.

From a career standpoint it became clear in the beginning of 2008 that if I wanted to try an entrepreneurial effort, now was the time both in terms of the economic climate as well as my own professional career. If I continued on my current career path, I would most likely find it more difficult to leave my job due to the opportunities and demands of the career. So I decided to leave my position and pursue my passion for fitness and meet a need in the fitness community.

How are you turning economic lemons into lemonade?

I run a social networking website focused on the fitness community. It is a free website that offers the ability for active individuals to find new workouts, share workouts with others, and track the progress of their workouts over time. Fitness, working out, and sports have always been passions of mine, so developing the website was an exciting opportunity for me. Since we launched, we have found that other people identify with our need for such an online service. We have grown both in terms of membership and content and as we continue to reach a bigger market, we are drawing more interest from advertisers who want to be associated with the site.

How is your business model tailored to new economic realities?

We offer a very low-overhead business model, which is important. Aside from the founders, all of our workers are contract based, so that we can utilize their services only when they are needed. We have found this is a key to remaining flexible and being able to adjust the cost structure. There will be months when we are not making any money and as a result we have to be able to alter our structure such that we are not spending any money.

Additionally, we have leaned on nearly all of our friends and former co-workers to provide services and add content to our site. The site is only a success because we have received the support of these friends and families.

Any tips for other readers thinking of starting a new venture?

A. Plan ahead so that you can save the appropriate amount of money. Don’t be afraid to ask for other opinions or advice, because most people do not have the drive or ambition to start their own venture. As a result, you shouldn’t be afraid these advisors will steal your idea.

Also it’s very important to utilize the free resources at hand. Most major cities such as Chicago have very helpful resources in terms of advice, consulting, and even grants that can help individuals pursue their business dreams.

Tags: fitness, Lemonade Makers