⚡ Get All Content for 20% Off ⚡

These High School Best Friends Achieved Their Dream of Being Their Own Bosses. Their Next Step? Starting a Wellness Revolution. Entrepreneurship involves a lot of blood, sweat and tears -- especially when your business is designed to make people sweat.

By Dan Bova

entrepreneur daily
Cynthia Calamari and Gabby Hajdok

In this ongoing series, we are sharing advice, tips and insights from real entrepreneurs who are out there doing business battle on a daily basis. (Answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Who are you and what's your business?

Cynthia Calamari: We are the co-owners of MF3, a Lagree Fitness Megaformer studio located in Larchmont, New York. We're two best friends from high school who were looking to pursue our passion and start a local business that delivers wellness benefits to the community.

Gabby Hajdok: We offer small group classes and one-on-one training on the Megaformer, which offers the most effective 50-minute low-intensity/high-impact workout out there. We plan to also offer health coaching, spiritual guidance coaching, meditation and massage to better serve our clients.

Related: This Facial Shop Focused on Helping People Instead of Pushing Products -- and Raised $8 Million in the Process

What inspired you to do this?

Cynthia: For several years we both dreamed of doing something on our own and being our own bosses. We both come from corporate finance and wanted to create a future for ourselves that was more independent. I took a class and immediately called Gabby from the car saying, "You have to go and take this class!"

Gabby: I was hooked on the workout and the results that it delivered. As a working mother, I have limited time to dedicate to my physical wellbeing. Nothing gave me the immediate results I saw with the Megaformer, which only requires 3x a week.

Describe your company culture and how you helped shape it.

Gabby: Our culture with our instructors as well as our clients is the same: We want all to feel welcome. Each instructor brings their own flavor to their class, and we embrace that as opposed to a strict formula of teaching. While that may not work everywhere, we think it definitely has worked for us, our community and our instructors. We are truly a family.

Cynthia: We have had community nights where we feature a local wellness-related business so that everyone can learn more about it. We are planning on featuring a beauty product line of one of our instructors in the studio once it is completed. We are here to raise others up and support our community. As female business owners and mothers, we feel a duty to do so. That was always part of the business plan.

Related: How Do You Match Up? Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Sleep, Eat and Start a Business

What advice would you give entrepreneurs looking for funding?

Cynthia: We went directly to the banks where we held accounts. Once we felt a connection and knew we had someone who believed in our business plan, they took the bull by the horns and went to the Small Business Administration to get approvals. So in the end, it was a combination of the SBA, our bank and personal investment.

Gabby: We prepared a business plan and a marketing analysis, and we knew our product and the results it delivered. Overall we think our finance backgrounds and passion for the business is what sold the idea to our investors. Our bank officer said that they find people with finance backgrounds tend to succeed more than those with experience in the actual field of the business they are opening.

What does the word "entrepreneur" mean to you?

Cynthia: It means freedom. Freedom to create. Freedom to express. Freedom to be who you are meant to be and to provide a service that is beneficial to others.

Gabby: Creative risk. Taking a vision/passion/idea and running with it because you truly believe in it.

How did it feel the first day you opened for business?

Cynthia: Exciting. Accomplished. Sometimes it still doesn't feel real when I walk into the studio and think "we made this"

Related: Finding the Right Idea Is Like Falling in Love, According to This Entrepreneur

Is there a particular quote or saying that you use as personal motivation?

Cynthia: There is a Buddha quote, "What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create." I have this pinned on my desk at work. You have to keep positive thoughts in your head. You need to feel happy -- on your own, not as a result of someone else. And you need to dream and take baby steps to get you there. It inspires me to grow and not set limitations on what I can and cannot do.

Gabby: "If you love what you do, it isn't a job." When you pursue your passion, although challenging and difficult at times, the mindset you have while facing those challenges is different. It becomes something you enjoy and want to do, rather than something you have to do.

Dan Bova

Entrepreneur Staff

VP of Special Projects

Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim and Spy magazine. Check out his latest humor books for kids, including Wendell the Werewolf, Road & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, and The Big Little Book of Awesome Stuff.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Remote Side Hustle a 43-Year-Old Musician Works on for 1 Hour a Day Earns Nearly $3,000 a Month: 'All From the Comfort of Home'

Sam Ziegler wanted to supplement his income as a professional drummer — then his tech skills and desire to help people came together.

Business News

Costco CFO Reveals Uncertain Fate of $1.50 Hot Dog and Soda Combo

CFO Richard Galanti reveals that the price will stay the same — but only "for a while."

Marketing

Ever Wonder Why Certain Websites Rank Higher Than Yours? This SEO Expert Reveals The Secret to Dominating Search Results

It's often the smart use of SEO, now supercharged with AI, particularly in keyword optimization.

Leadership

Former Interrogator Shares 5 Behaviors Liars Exhibit and How to Handle Them

Five deceptive behaviors to look for and how to respond to those behaviors when you encounter them.

Business News

AI Is Impacting Jobs. Here Are the Gigs Affected the Most, According to an Analysis of 5 Million Upwork Postings

The researcher said in the report that freelance jobs were analyzed first because that market will likely see AI's immediate impact.