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Owner, Rock Solid Fitness
Clearwater | Fitness, health
Business: Rock Solid Fitness, co-founded by Patty and Dave Durell, doubled in size over the past two years. “Maybe we could have grown more if the economy was stronger. Who's to say?” Patty Durell says.
Today, the business has eight personal fitness trainers, including the Durells. Prior to 2011, the owners were content to serve a small number of clients and not employ other trainers. When the economy faltered in 2008, business dipped and quickly rebounded. A few years ago, they began hiring trainers to grow.
“The people who can afford to pay for personal training can usually still afford it in a bad economy,” she says. “That protects us a little bit when the economy falters.”
Industry: Durell is concerned with how the federal Affordable Health Care Act will affect Rock Solid and other small businesses. “I don't think any of us knows what it really means for our business and how it's going to affect us. Some of my staff, if forced to buy insurance, it would be a big strain on them as it would be on me. I couldn't afford to pay for it, and I couldn't have a business without them. I'm just a middle-class business owner. There are so many rules, taxes imposed on me that it's almost oppressive. It feels like extortion.”
Region: If sandwich sales are a good indicator, Durell says the economy seems to have rebounded. The deli next to Rock Solid Fitness has seen a surge in business, she says. Durell expects her business to continue to grow in 2014 — if federally mandated health insurance doesn't stop expansion. The company's weekly goal for 2014 is 300 training sessions, up from 200 this year.
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