We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jen Dufresne. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jen below.
Jen, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
An athlete all my life, I was consistently driven by the excitement of seeing direct results from the effort that I put in both on the playing field and in the classroom. I love the results but I learned the most in the journey. When I was in high school I was a sprinter on our local track team. To help the team I was asked to pole vault. Not something I aspired to do, but something I was willing to give shot because no one else really wanted to. Over the course of two years I went on to become an All State athlete in pole vault before getting directly recruited to pole vault at Division I school Virginia Tech. I competed their for 5 years – 9 seasons several times earning All-ACC honors. Making something from what could have been nothing and actually taking my shot when no one else wanted to allowed me to develop confidence that I can do hard things and I should take the leap. Once you start making those decisions and taking the risk it’s easy to feel inspired and confident that it will work out again – if it doesn’t, you learn and try again.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I opened Cross Conditioning Training in 2015 as a training group out of my home garage. The first 12 week training block I had 4 people commit. At the time I was a stay at home mom with two kids who had recently left my Corporate America job. I had started personal training in 2012 and used that as a side hustle to do what I really loved. When forced to make a choice between leaving my kids in daycare full time and dropping training, the right choice felt like being at home.
Over the next 2 years I would have a third child. I assumed that when I took a few weeks off postpartum my clients would disappear. Not only did they not disappear, they stuck around and I picked up more. As my garage filled up, I decided to begin renting space out of other local fitness studios during their non peak hours to host my classes in a physical location. It seemed like the next less risky step. When I realized that we needed more peak hours, I started looking for brick and mortar locations of my own.
Enter COVID. We started looking for a brick and mortar space in 2020. Phased but unphased as other business closed, we jumped on the opportunity to sign a unique lease and open our first location in February 2021. It wasn’t the ideal situation with masks and closures, but we made it work and the community welcomed us with open arms.
Our business is built on community. We are local to the core. Aside from offering strength and conditioning style classes of no more than 10-12 people (truly small group), we regularly work with other local businesses to host pop up style events and even offer membership perks to all of our members to entice them to spend money at our favorites.
As our studio filled up we knew the next step was to look for a second location. In January 2024 we officially opened location 2 just four miles away from location 1. We added physical therapy and recovery, as well as 1:1 personal training. As we speak, we are working on pop up style strength and run workouts in the Charleston, SC market – building relationships with local trainers and businesses as we did with our first location in Charlotte, NC before we lead in to officially launching a brick and mortar.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Resiliency – Don’t be afraid to ask. As a business owner, I wish more people would just ask me things. I can come up with some pretty unique ideas and one off collaborations. If it feels right, ask. The worst thing someone will say is “no”. Keep on going with your ideas. Trust your gut.
Learn to Say “No” – I’m not just saying relative to conserving your time and energy. There have definitely been projects I have started that I have at some point just had to say you know what this isn’t what I thought it would be, I’m not getting what I need out of this, I ‘m shutting it down. No one cares other than you when you look in the mirror every day if it worked out or not.
Learn Business – I wouldn’t have been able to do all of this had I not graduated with a degree in business. The fitness stuff is easy to learn the business stuff is unique. If you don’t get it, you need to learn. Take a class. Find a mentor. Ask questions. Hire someone to help you.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My parents my beg to differ, but the best thing they did for me is let me figure a lot of things out of my own. I was a wild child in high school who settled down once I got out of college. My dad saw the potential in me and laid out a contract of stipulations that I had to meet in order to get my drivers license when I was 16. I was already younger than all of my peers so when I opened the contract I completely lost it – thinking I would never be able to meet the rules. First and foremost maintaining a certain GPA. Not only did I meet the GPA, but I ended up graduating with honors all the way through college. That was turning point for me in learning how to figure out how to make it happen. My parents help me when I have a problem, BUT they rarely tell me what to do. If I have a business problem I will talk to my dad about what to do but he often gives me ideas only to let me figure out the best path forward. The same goes with raising my children. Sometimes you learn through trial and error. Giving me the freedom to figure it out has allowed me to build problem solving skills, feel empowered to choose, and build confidence. My dad always says, “When someone asks you to do something, not making a decision is making one” and the easiest way to not have to talk to someone about what you think. Go the hard way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.crossconditioningtraining.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jen.w.dufresne
Image Credits
Sweatnet Charlotte
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