We recently connected with Danielle Spangler and have shared our conversation below.
Danielle , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I am lucky to have been raised by two very hard working parents. My father was in the air force when I was young and then he opened his own private practice and my mother helped him. I saw them overcome many obstacles and sacrifice so much to make the business a success! The hard work ethic was burned in my brain. As long as I can remember I wanted to work. I started my first job while in high school babysitting for several families. I then moved to retail and working at a kiosk at the mall. At 18 I entered the resturant business as a server all the while attending school. During college and graduate school I was able to excel and enter fitness management. After college I worked for an all inclusive resort in the Caribbean and Mexico for two years where we worked 7 days a week all day long. I enjoyed the work and it didn’t feel like work most of the time. Having my own business now, I continue to work as hard as ever to create the ideal environment for my team and my customers.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Hello, I own a boutique fitness studio in Redondo Beach called “Beach Life Fitness Boutique”. I have been in the fitness industry since 1992. While in college I began teaching fitness classes and quickly fell into the health & fitness industry which changed my career trajectory and life. I decided to go “all in” and shift my major field of study to kinesiology. I went on to graduate school in exercise physiology and quickly taught at more places and evolved into fitness management. I have been lucky to become a fitness expert in my field working with women especially mothers and mothers to be. I partnered with NASM (National Academy of sports medicine) and the Medical Fitness Network to become a fitness presenter and prenatal /postpartum content creator. My career has taken me to some amazing places and studios and has been convenient while I had a family . In 2019 one year before the pandemic i but the bullet and decided I needed my own space so I purchased a small Pilates studio that had 4 reformers. Once Covid happened I had to reconfigure the whole business to survive. I shifted and brought Pilates reformer classes outside for 2 years. These classes became highly demanded so I was able to grow and purchase more and more reformers. At the same time many brick and mortar fitness studios were closing their doors and some came to me so we could combine forces and grow together. Now Beach Life Fitness Boutique has 11 women owned businesses operating within. I have 3 spaces in the same building, each serving a different workout modality and we have 6 full time tenants that operate their own businesses behind our doors. We have grown from 20 clients to almost 200 in the past 4.5 years. Most of my team has been with me since the beginning and we have been able to add more amazing instructors to our schedule. We have a very cohesive collaborative space with mostly women. I feel grateful every day that the business is where it is now following so much uncertainty.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three qualities or skills that were most impactful to me in my journey as a fitness professional and a business owner was 1. Authenticity.,2. Hard work, 3. Flexibility. I have been told that people feel very comfortable with me and that I am “genuine”. I really listen to people and do my best to give them what they want and need. As you read I worked and still work very hard to make the studio a space for everyone to enjoy. Through opening a business and growing a business and adding a global pandemic to the mix, I had no choice but to be flexible. Learning how to pivot has been very important to the survival and growth of my business.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
There have been so many Impactful people in my journey as a fitness professional and business owner. Of course as mentioned earlier my parents were highly influential and encouraging of me always. I had some amazing professors in college when fitness was still a relatively new field and they had a lot of influence on me. My peers in the industry definitely helped shape me but the one person who helped me become successful is my husband Jay. He was always supportive and encouraging. I knew he could be my sounding board for ideas and he not only helped me create these ideas but also helped me implement them. As I was working long hours to grow my business he was also there taking care of other areas of our like like carting for our children and the household. Again I know I am very lucky!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beachlifefitnessboutique.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/beachlifefitnessboutique
- Facebook: Beachlifefitnessboutique
- Linkedin: Danielle Spangler
- Yelp: Beachlifefitnessboutique
Image Credits
Danny by the Sea
