How to develop your business by reviewing your current offering
Our congratulations go to Rockbox for both Best Brand (non-dance) and Best Newcomer at the National Community Fitness Awards. We caught up with founders Jade and Sharon recently to hear the story of their success and how their experiences could help to inspire more instructors and small business owners to look at their current offering and see how they can develop their business.
What is Rockbox?
It’s a stress busting therapy session for both body and mind. We use an interval training style that’s inclusive for all abilities, it includes non-contact boxing moves for cardio and toning routines with the added use of drum sticks to release your inner rockstar to a full Rock and indie soundtrack.
How did Rockbox start and why?
We both met in a boxing gym and wanted to create a workout that had all the benefits boxing training brings without the competitive nature, to the music that motives us and we like to train to as we found that rock music helps us to release aggression in a healthy way.
What have the last 12 months been like?
It’s been epic! We’ve worked really hard to promote Rockbox and, due to demand, get the class out to as many areas as we can. Our team of instructors is growing nationwide and all have received phenomenal feedback from their classes. We’ve been invited to present at numerous fitness events to hundreds of people but, most importantly to us, as well as the community classes, we have been working with hospitals in the mental health sector for both staff and patients, schools, stroke units and groups of adults with additional learning needs.
What are the challenges in building a brand? How can these be overcome?
The process of going from a fitness class to an endorsed brand involves a lot of time, determination, hard work and confidence in your product along with a lot of passion and drive. We’d recommend taking the time to do customer research for demand and speaking with people in the industry for contacts. tips and advice.
[Note from EMD UK: We are finding our recently relaunched search engine, classfinder, is a useful tool for researching what group exercise provision is available locally]
Not only have you built a brand, but you also offer instructor training. How did you develop this?
We took a course for becoming an assessor and tutor and had the brand endorsed and accredited through EMD UK first. We then decided what exactly we were offering our instructors who license our brand and the costs involved. A lot of work and choreo videos behind the scenes!
What support have you had and how has it helped Rockbox grow?
The support we have had from friends, family and classgoers has been incredible but as we are a little different we didn’t know how we would be received in the industry We’ve had so much support from other brands and fitness professionals it’s been better than we could have imagined and helped us gain confidence in ourselves and what we offer!
What would you say to someone who has a group exercise concept they want to grow but doesn’t know how?
Again, research for demand is key and a belief and determination in what you do and what you want to achieve goes a long way. Also to be friendly and approachable in the industry as we are in it together and there’s room for everyone
What did it mean to you to win these two awards?
It means the world – it’s hard to put into words. We may look mean and angry on stage but we’re big emotional softies really!
What do the next 12 months look like for Rockbox?
We will keep growing the Rockbox revolution. The dream is to get across the pond and get our class out to as many communities as possible. We intend to keep Rocking the fitness world!
More information on the business support offered by EMD UK can be found on our website plus a full listing of all the fitness instructor qualifications available, or contact the EMD UK Training Team for further advice on 01403 266000.
