http://www.northjersey.com/business/smallbusiness/Startup_Evolution_Health__Fitness.html
Startup: Evolution Health & Fitness
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Last updated: Tuesday February 24, 2009, 12:18 PM
NorthJersey.com
Evolution Health & Fitness
Owners: Dana Chapman and husband Steve Shattls
Idea: Chapman was hired to manage a gym fresh out of high school. She then spent six years as a graphic designer, but her passion for fitness continued to grow. With a desire to draw people who felt intimidated by traditional gyms, she and her husband created a 6,200-square-foot space in downtown Wanaque that combines nutrition classes and fitness training. "The feeling you get walking in is that it's more a studio," Shattls said. "We have all the amenities of a typical gym but we're more experience-based than equipment-based."
Launch: February 2008
Employees: 24
Address: 1069 Ringwood Ave., Wanaque
Funding: Bank loan and personal savings
Mentor: Keith Cunningham, who runs a business mentoring program in Austin, Texas.
Web site: everybodyevolves.com
So far: In December, the owners lowered their monthly fee by $15 in response to the sagging economy and similar price drops by competitors. "We didn't want price to be a barrier to people staying healthy," Chapman said. "It's more important than ever with people losing their jobs and the general stress." Classes and full use of the gym are covered by the current $49 monthly fee; child care, nutrition counseling and personal training are extra. Chapman's graphic-design background has helped with marketing, which she supplements with a blog and weekly e-newsletter. She and her husband hope to eventually open more, similarly sized locations.
— Douglass Crouse
Start-Ups appears on Tuesdays in The Record
