When the passion fits

Anjuli Mack has developed her passion for fitness into a growing business empire, and it’s all about harnessing the ‘why’.

Anjuli Mack has grown her fitness business, Fit with Anjuli, from humble beginnings. When the business was in its infancy, she sent fitness coaching plans as PDFs over email.

Fast forward a couple of years and Anjuli now has an online fitness coaching programme with customised meal and workout plans delivered digitally. She has grown her @anjuli_fitforlife Instagram page to over 124,000 followers and transformed how her business operates, which has allowed her to reach customers all over the world.

Four years ago, Anjuli was in a bit of a slump. After exercising and training on an ongoing basis she wasn’t seeing the results she wanted, so decided to change her lifestyle. She learnt about nutrition, started tracking macros and began weightlifting, which led to her competing in World Beauty Fitness & Fashion (WBFF) bikini competitions. Weightlifting gave her confidence, and she wanted to share her experience with other women with the hope of inspiring them too.

Anjuli kept herself motivated by posting competition photos on her social channels which led to her followers reaching out for advice and help to reach their own fitness goals. She found that the number of requests for help from those following her journey continued to increase, so looked to a way she could turn her passion into a viable business.

Anjuli, who had studied Business Management at university, teamed up with her fiancé who had a Health and Science degree, to create bespoke coaching plans which evolved into the brand ‘Fit with Anjuli’.

However, after sending out many PDF plans to customers via email, she realised this wasn’t a sustainable way to continue to grow her business.

So Anjuli launched her website and, at the end of 2018, developed her online coaching platform so women could exercise anytime and anywhere and not be confined to gym timetables or restricted by busy lives.

“I really wanted to help as many women as I could to feel their best and learn to love fitness and exercise as much as I do. Having digital coaching plans for both training and meals via my website and app means I can connect with women all over the world,” says Anjuli.

‘Fit with Anjuli’ has grown rapidly and Anjuli realised she needed to upskill herself if this growth was to remain sustainable.

“While I came up with the idea for the business and tried to do everything solo, I realised I needed help to create a brand. As of January 2019, I teamed up with my amazing business partner John to take my business to the next level.

“Together we formed ‘Anjuli Mack Fit Limited’ and have put in a long-term plan for the company that we’re currently executing. Having a business partner has helped significantly”.

Transitional growth

The introduction of John into the ‘Fit with Anjuli’ business, has allowed her to focus more on expanding her knowledge and upskilling herself.

“We have already transitioned from the original app to deliver the complete online Ultimate Body Transformation Coaching Programme. This offers our customers accountability, consistency and personalised training and meal plans, making it easier for them to reach their goals,” Anjuli says.

Having John on board also allowed Anjuli to focus on some of the struggles that she, like many other SME business owners, faces. One of her main struggles was the need to expand her audience beyond Instagram, her main social media platform, to reach her target audience and generate more leads with potential customers.

Anjuli hadn’t had much digital advertising experience beyond social media advertising but knew that there were many other avenues that could help her reach her current audience and beyond.

“I was lucky enough to be given the chance to work with Google to help me develop my digital advertising skills. I flew to Google HQ in Sydney where I learnt all about the free tools they have available for SMEs – there was so much out there that I didn’t even know existed,” explains Anjuli.

“One of the most valuable things I learnt was the importance of driving diverse sources of traffic to the website and how specific Adwords can generate traffic to the website. There are so many online tools and tutorials available through Google, which has been super helpful and makes for interesting bedtime watching and reading.”

Anjuli also ran her first digital advertising campaign which focused on lead generation – driving customers to download her free e-book, which has already provided great results, with multiple business leads occurring as a result of the campaign.

“My goal is to continue growing ‘Fit with Anjuli’ and the only way I can do that is if I work with the right people and continue to upskill myself on different aspects of the business. All you have to do is make the most of the tools and help on offer,” says Anjuli.

“Oh, and never lose sight of why you started your business in the first place.”