Helping Clients Maintain Wellness through VFITT

Logan Rhys loves staying fit, eating healthy, and building social bonds with others. So he took the initiative to combine these three activities into his own innovative small business – VFITT, LLC.

Formally established in July 2014, the startup company is based in San Francisco, California. Rhys says it’s a passion for the outdoors that ultimately led him to starting the company.

“I need to be outside and doing what I love,” Rhys says.

VFITT is not just a personal training service. Instead, it is multifaceted and offers one-on-one personal training, group classes on the beach, outdoor adventures, social events, and will soon offer vegan whole-food meal plans through a food delivery service.

“The whole thing is built around total wellness – not just physical fitness, but social, emotional, spiritual, and occupational fitness as well,” he says. In addition to private training sessions, Rhys holds 6 group classes on the beach throughout the week. They’re offered in the morning and at night to accommodate clients’ schedules. These 50-minute, high-Intensity interval training sessions utilize each client’s own body weight; along sand bags, medicine balls, battle ropes, kettle bells, and VIPRs to provide clients a complete body workout that’s fun and full of variety.

As for the outdoor adventures, Rhys takes clients windsurfing, scuba-diving, kayaking, skydiving, mountain biking, hiking, and more.

“Some of these activities are things people have always wanted to do, but they’ve just never had the time or never found anyone to do them with,” he explains.

In Rhys’ eyes, it’s all about how the small business is structured that he feels will make it a hit over time.

“The feedback I am getting from people already has been great,” he says. “People love the fact that it is well-rounded. Fitness is only one aspect of wellness. It’s hard to balance all of this on your own. That’s where VFITT comes in to provide the organization and opportunity for my clients to do it all.”

He explains what he finds most rewarding about running this type of startup company.

“I truly enjoy working with people and seeing them improve and manage their wellness. Helping people maintain a consistent quality of wellness in their lives is what’s really driving me to do this.”

Handling Small Business Competition

Small business owners across all fields encounter some type of competition. Fortunately for Rhys, he believes his business concept is unique enough to the point where he hasn’t felt a ton of competitive pressure yet.

“There are other companies that offer all of these services individually, but there aren’t any that I’m aware of in our immediate market that offer all of them together,” he says. “There are personal trainers and gyms, but none really offer the social, nutritional, and networking aspects that VFITT does. There are also meal services out there, but they don’t offer the social, networking, or fitness components, either. Our clients are able to rely on VFITT for a balanced offering of all of these components. Those who take advantage of our newest offering of meal delivery will truly enjoy the maximum benefits. Their meals will be delivered to their homes twice a week, leaving them with more time to focus on things that enrich their lives, while making it much easier to make healthy dietary decisions on a regular basis.”

Marketing Strategies for a Startup Company

Since VFITT is still in its early stages, Rhys has yet to make a big official marketing push for the startup company. However, as the business grows, he plans to focus mainly on social media, targeted outreach, and developing partnerships with other local businesses. He has a company website at www.vfitt.com.

Challenges to Self-Employment

Just like fellow business owners, Rhys has endured multiple hurdles and challenges in getting his small business off the ground.

“Working full time while trying to get it up and running has been the biggest challenge,” he admits. “The laws and tax requirements of owning a business are sometimes very unclear, and even the actual forms to fill out can be hard to understand.”

To overcome some of these challenges, he offers some advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

“Always be organized. If you just try to roll with it with no real direction, it’s tough. You can have a great concept, but it will never work if you aren’t organized. At first, I had all these thoughts in my mind. I needed to sit down, write it all out, put a timeline on it, and prioritize each step.”

Self-employment comes with both advantages and disadvantages, Rhys admits.

“You get to see your creation come to life, and you have the ability to make it what you want it to be. The disadvantage is the responsibility of making sure everything is taken care of and is running smoothly day to day.”

1-800Accountant Client Testimonial

Rhys is a satisfied client of 1-800Accountant. He offers lots of praise for the assistance he has received.

“Working with 1-800Accountant has been such an awesome experience,” he says. “You always want to make sure you’re in compliance with everything, but it’s hard to know what all the rules are, and some are very unclear. 1-800Accountant has been very helpful. They give me the peace of mind that this part is taken care of so I can focus on getting clients and growing my business.”

Rhys did not have to pay for his accounting services upfront thanks to Behalf, a company that offers unique financing options to 1-800Accountant clients.

“The program through Behalf was a really great option. I was either going to have to pay for the accounting services or the franchise tax to start a business in California. So having this financing option gave me the ability to pay the tax and get the accounting support I needed at the same time.”

Photo credit: The photograph and logo included in this blog post were provided by VFITT, LLC and are used with permission.