Meet Donnella Andraos

We were lucky to catch up with Donnella Andraos recently and have shared our conversation below.

Donnella, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?
Life is not a spectator sport–that’s my mantra. You must be involved and take chances to grow as a person. If you don’t, where’s the zest in life? As a kid, you’re under your parents’ rule until you enter adulthood. That was college time for me and when I channeled my inner adventurer. It started with sports–scuba diving, white water rafting, spelunking, and skydiving. I also wasn’t one to settle for mundane jobs. While working on my bachelor’s degree, I earned money as a pari-mutuel clerk at the racetrack and sleuthing for a private investigator. My friends thought I was nuts. Every challenge I embraced fueled the next. I started getting itchy feet at 26 so I put my career on hold, loaded up my bag, and backpacked the world (South Pacific, Europe, Asia, and Africa) for nearly a year. Fun fact, I met my husband on the Trans-Siberian Express traveling from Moscow to Beijing. He was my souvenir. At that time, China had only been open to westerners for five years. There was no Internet or GPS and making a phone call had to be planned. Quite a bit different than traveling today. Fast-forward, I took up kickboxing and Muay Thai later in life to combat the side effects of chemo-brain and neuropathy after my cancer treatment. This experience led me to my latest venture, opening and operating a gym for adults with special needs and the elderly. There isn’t one of these on every corner so after researching the market potential and completing the business plan, I decided it was worth the risk. That’s when my daughter and I opened I AM Movement in Irvine.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
At 48, I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer called triple-negative which typically comes with a poor prognosis. A pragmatic optimist at heart, I strapped on my fighting shoes and jumped into battle. I didn’t want my three kids to be without their mom. Long story short, I was diagnosed early and beat the beast, but not without consequences. My chemo-cocktails messed up my vision, ending my career. Then in my late 50s when most people are fixated on retirement, I was contemplating starting a business with my eldest child, Timorei. It made sense to us. Timorei studied dance and business in college and volunteered in the special needs community. She dreamt of opening a wellness center. If we created a gym for adults with special needs and the elderly, I could put my years of kickboxing and Muay Thai training to use helping others. We took our concept to the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for vetting because although I may be a risk taker, I’m no gambler. After we checked that box, I AM Movement was in startup mode.

Often adults with special needs and the elderly feel isolated. Other than classes at the senior center, there aren’t many activities for them to participate in so they can socialize. I AM Movement mission is to use fitness and friendship to create a community. Our goal is to empower and inspire people so they can be their own hero. Our largest program is a boxing class that targets and challenges the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease to slow their progression so people can live fuller lives longer. Parkinson’s is a progressive disease without a cure. However, studies indicate that focused fitness is an important part of a treatment plan. Why boxing? It’s an intense cardio and cognitive workout that focuses on balance. We include Muay Thai knees and kicks for an additional balance challenge. Everyone’s Parkinson’s journey is different, but we’re firm believers in “use it, don’t lose it”. Parkinson’s workouts address gait, balance, finger dexterity, voice activation, fall prevention/recovery, multi-tasking, facial masking, and more.

I AM Movement also offers adaptive one-on-one boxing classes for adults with autism. These non-combative training sessions are personalized to each client. In addition to boxing, we include decision-making, multi-tasking, balance, cardio, communicating with sentences, and memory work. One client has come so far in his training that he now holds the focus mitts for the coach and calls out the punches.

Forever Young Therapy is an on-site PT/OT clinic where people can get their therapy done before or after class that is also open to the public. Further down the line Zumba, Zumba Gold, and Zumba Gold Chair classes will be added to the schedule. We also offer free monthly seminars on a variety of topics that are open to the public. Past seminars have included: “Ask the Neurologist”, home safety/fall prevention, voice activation, Qi Gong & Eastern medicine, proprioception, DBS (deep brain stimulation), and hand/body/eye coordination.

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?
Learning how to research something—leaving no stone unturned—is a skill I learned working for the private investigator that has helped me throughout life. It’s how I landed my first job after college which was conducting research in the entertainment industry for writers, set designers, and studio legal departments. So while some people find writing a business plan daunting, doing the market research for I AM Movement was more like a game to me.

The next thing that helped our business is my daughter’s/business partner’s social media savvy. Timorei’s posts are a free way to spread the word about I AM Movement’s services. Granted, my minor was in marketing, but I’m no spring chicken. When I was in college social media didn’t exist so our Instagram and Facebook posts are all Timorei’s doing.

The last piece of the puzzle instrumental in turning I AM Movement into a reality was seeking mentoring from the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). I strongly encourage other entrepreneurs to do the same. This is a free service offered by the Small Business Administration (SBA). I learned about the SBA in college and, luckily, remembered it. After we were accepted, our mentor reviewed our business plan, connected us with a real estate broker to find a location, and guided us through COVID. Our advisor is still only an email or phone call away if a question arises. In addition to pre-venture assistance, they offer other programs like the Digital Marketing Lab which helped us create our Google and Nextdoor business pages.

Is there a challenge you are currently facing?

The challenge I AM Movement is currently facing is tied to COVID. First, a brief backstory to put things in perspective. As luck would have it, we were scheduled to open in March 2020, the week the lockdown was enforced. We thought our business was doomed given that our target demographics were those most at risk. Originally, our plan was to open with dance, Pilates, and boxing classes for adults with special needs and the elderly, but the pandemic put everything on hold. We had monthly business expenses but no revenue. To say we were panicking is an understatement. But then people with Parkinson’s began to reach out because they needed to challenge their symptoms. That’s when we got creative, pivoted our business model, and started virtual PD boxing classes in July. After a while, we realized these classes were essential, so we launched small, in-person, social-distanced PD boxing classes. Following CDC guidelines, our other programming remained on hold. Money that was intended for equipment, marketing, and hire help had to be repurposed to cover our monthly business expenses. Another SBDC perk we were counting on was a grand opening event to promote our new business, but the pandemic nixed that too. Given that gyms were among the last businesses allowed to reopen, Timorei and I were exhausted from threading water and trying to survive. But we did it. Yay! Given I AM Movement’s ill-timed launch, we’re still in new business mode, but we’re getting stronger by the day. Our current challenge is covering the cost of marketing, which is a key component in growing business because it triggers the domino effect. Advertising will increase memberships, enabling us to hire a team so Timorei and I can focus on developing and diversifying I AM Movement’s special needs programming. As far as challenges go, from envisioning our business to where we are today, it’s been one heck of a bold journey.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Michael Andraos

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