Director of Gym Challenge Meals, Alex Marlow
“If your business isn't serving you emotionally, physically, financially, there's no harm and there's no shame in stepping back.”
If you’re a small business owner, you need all the support and encouragement possible. What you do, what we do - it’s brave as hell.
Our guest today, and the story he’s about to tell you, personifies this spirit.
His name is Alex Marlow and he’s the director of Gym Challenge Meals, and in this conversation he lets us into the deeply personal full circle journey he’s taken, and had to take, across the two businesses he’s developed.
This episode is in two parts to ensure you can catch the full episode within windows of listening that suit you, ‘cause I get you’re busy and may not be able to dedicate a full hour right now, but it’s so worth it to come back and listen to Part 2, which is in the show feed for you already, because what Alex has been through since we recorded this (which I'll share with you across Part 2) is both heartbreaking and heartwarming in the resilience it takes.
In Part 1 of this episode, you’re about to hear:
How one business, leads to another, leads to who knows what
The power in perfecting what you have
And the lingering and under-reported impacts of the covid years on small businesses
Quite simply, it’s a deeply honest conversation about the lifecycle of growth, change and the challenges that can end our businesses prematurely and a personal look into the journey of one of the bravest business owners I’ve met.
So, how does it feel to walk away from one business and build another?
We left off Part 1 of this episode with Alex Marlow, Director of Gym Challenge Meals in what can only be described as a somewhat unfair end to a beautiful journey.
In this last half of our chat Alex shares a very generous insight into…
The process behind preparing to franchise
Rediscovering yourself through your business
The impact building a business can have on your family
Making incredibly hard choices
And a surprising twist in the plan, one which came up between the time we first scheduled this interview and when we actually chatted.
Make sure you keep listening through to the very end of this episode, as after Alex and I sign off from the interview portion, I’ll be jumping back into your ears to share with you yet another turn in Alex’s journey that happened after we recorded this episode.
It’s powerful, real, and deeply personal. As a fellow business owner this story will get into your heart.
Connect with Alex via the GCM IG @gymchallengemeals
You can find more show notes and transcripts at unemployedandafraid.com.au/episodes.
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You can reach your host on email kim@unemployedandafraid.com.au on IG and on LinkedIn
Keep scrolling for the conversation transcript…
Transcript pending.