Deepal and Mo are serial entrepreneurs who have always put their hustle and hard work front and center to provide the best life possible for their family. When Deepal’s traditional 9-5 job just wasn’t cutting it financially, they started to cast a wider net into prospective career opportunities. They did endless research on investment opportunities, small business concepts, and the smartest entrepreneurial moves that would be the best fit for their values and family. 

When a close friend invited Deepal to come work out at Burn Boot Camp Raleigh, she began to consider the gym as not only a workout but as a business opportunity. She decided to join her friend, a member of Burn Raleigh, in hopes to find out more about the business from the current owner. 

She made the trip and took a noon camp on that fateful day that would forever change her story.. She was immediately drawn into the words on the walls, the gym’s core values, and the importance of community that was evident upon entering the building. After all, the values weren’t just a vinyl sticker on the wall, the members were a true embodiment of each word and phrase. They were authentic, welcoming, and real. “Integrity and honesty are two core values that I live by and work to be an example for my children every day. Those same values aligned with Burn and the more I learned, the more I knew it was a perfect match.”

Our COO, Morgan Kline, sat down with Deepal to dig into what it really means to be a working mom and entrepreneur:

What were your fears about going into entrepreneurship?

“First and foremost there is the obvious financial fear and motherhood guilt. Being a Mom and not being there as much as I should be for my kids. I knew I was going to be working more than I ever had in my entire life. I was worried about giving my kids the time they deserved while running this business. The competitive voice inside my head was loud: “What if I don’t do well? What will everyone around me think? Will I be making my Mom proud? What if I fail?”

What would you say to someone who has young kids but is interested in owning their own business and taking the entrepreneurial leap?

“Time management has been huge for me. When I’m in the business, I’m in the business”

How has having children and a business enriched your life?

“My boys watching me at work, being able to bring them to the gym. They are watching me make an impact and lead by example.”

How have you been able to build such a strong team and comradery?

“Your team is going to be as successful as you, and vice versa. I’m a huge believer that you’ve got to take care of your people. I’m not big on resumes. Anybody can create a great resume or interview well. What I’m looking for in a team member is compassion, humility, and integrity. The qualities that you can’t coach — like humility, or wanting to impact people’s lives in a positive way — are the big ones. It’s hard to find someone out there who is as passionate about your business as you are as the owner, but they are out there.”

What does a day in the life look like for you?

“Busy. I’m in the gym every day by 4:30 am and I’m home by 8:00 pm. Some days are even crazier. If someone calls in, I’m there on a Sunday morning. I wouldn’t trade it for the world; it’s very rewarding. My husband and my kids can come to work with me. The biggest challenge is finding time to take care of myself. I’m not very good at it, but I’m working on it.”

At Burn Boot Camp, we preach taking care of ourselves first. There are so many life layers that go into that and can derail us. How do you make sure that you’re consistently taking care of yourself so you can be the best business owner, Mom, friend, entrepreneur, etc..?

“I literally have to put it on my calendar. Most weeks it’s Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 3:30-5:00 pm. My self-care is beyond getting my workout in. I hop into camps with my members once a day, but I need time away from the gym, on my own. It could be getting a massage or getting a cup of coffee on my own. I have seen such a difference in myself since implementing this time. I am more reflective, and appreciative of my gym. I’m a better owner because of it. I enjoy my gym more.”

BECOME A BUSINESS OWNER. BUILD YOUR OWN BURN BOOT CAMP EMPIRE. Visit franchise.burnbootcamp.com

Wendy started her Burn journey seven years ago as many do, as a member, before becoming a franchise partner. Her professional career has been with NASCAR and she just celebrated her 20-year mark with the company. Wendy started in NASCAR because her dad is a retired NASCAR driver, and moved to North Carolina from Chicago when she was in high school. She went down the media route from the advice of her mentors and started her broadcasting career at the ripe age of 21. Wendy worked her way up from production, to broadcasting for NASCAR, and in 2004 became the first female pit road reporter and the youngest in the history of NASCAR to go on air and broadcast a race.

Wendy has had the opportunity to be the first in a lot of areas in the industry and has broken a lot of barriers and glass ceilings in her field by being her authentic self. She absorbed a lot of information from her family history with NASCAR and translated that into her passion and really formed a real relationship with the NASCAR fan base.

When she walked in the door at Burn Boot Camp for the first time, her goal was to focus on herself. In true Wendy fashion, she accomplished that and so much more. She became a Certified Personal Trainer as a passion project while still traveling and doing her broadcasting, and is now building her empire with Burn Boot Camp as a multi-unit owner. 

How did Burn transform your life as a member?

“I was a tired overweight mom, I was working crazy hours, running all over the place, traveling 40,000 air miles a year, I worked every weekend. I lived in my house for 3 nights a week, only long enough to do laundry, cook meals for my kids, and leave town again. My husband works in the industry as well and we got used to living out of a bus. When our son turned 3, I decided to scale back from the NASCAR industry and focus on myself and my journey with Burn Boot Camp. It was a mindset shift. It changed my priorities in life and what I wanted to accomplish. I was living an awesome, fun life and doing REALLY cool things – but was I doing anything to make my life better or improve my health? No.”

With all of the lanes that you’re in, what motivates you to do things, and do them well? What wakes you up every day?

“I’m very intentional with my actions and I’m very motivated to get the most I can out of this life. I have gone through a lot of heartaches in this life and a lot of doors have been slammed in my face. I am very passionate and whole-hearted about things. I thrive off of my passion, off the energy from others. I love providing for my family (my son is now 10), and being able to watch him be shaped by the Burn Boot Camp model has been so cool for me and my husband. That is motivation in and of itself. I know people are watching me – my NASCAR family, and my Burn family – those people keep me motivated. I’ve been known to sleep vertically on the plane and wake up and drive straight to Burn Boot Camp Concord. It’s fun to get my day started that way and get it over with!”

Let’s talk about leadership. In the NASCAR space, as a Burn member and owner, what helps you become a better leader for those around you?

“I don’t usually follow the status quo. I go against the grain and push the envelope. I work inside the grey area of rule books. I do that because I feel like I can get more out of my day and more out of life if I do that. My husband on the other hand is a rule follower, and I think we balance each other quite well. You have to find what works for you in order to get the most out of your day. I’m not organized, I’m not a list maker. I just go, and I do, do, do. Organization is just one area where I enlist the help of others. As a leader, I think you have to rely on others’ strengths where you are weak. Let people do their jobs, and what they’re good at. My goal as a leader is to find what everyone’s strengths are and play off of those. That’s where we thrive as a team. I don’t micromanage.”

What does your work-life balance look like?

“You have to mesh everything together. I’ve heard Devan (Kline) say this too. You have to blend professional and personal life. Our son was 3 weeks old when we took him to work with Mommy. Caleb (now 10) lived on our bus. We had really long production hours in television, and we had a great support system around us. We had a Mom on the road with us who is a NASCAR wife and Burn Boot Camp member and she stepped up and helped us immensely.”

What have you learned about yourself as an entrepreneur during the last 18 months of hard times through the pandemic?

“When things get put in my way, I have a way of getting around them. I’ve had people believe in me and people that don’t believe in me. I knew if we just stayed true to ourselves we could come out on top together as a team. Right when we closed our doors, I pushed our team to go live that evening and offer a virtual workout. We were one of the first Burn locations to offer a live virtual workout. Our head trainer believed in me, and we made mistakes along the way, but we made a plan, I led our team and we made things happen together. Our community kept us together. They are the reason we stayed afloat. We weren’t leaving them and they weren’t leaving us. The bond we have with our members has grown so much tighter over the last year and a half.”

What have you had to overcome as a female entrepreneur? Are there any additional roadblocks you’ve had to overcome because you are a female?

“There was not even women’s clothing available when I started. It had never been done before. I had to wear men’s uniforms. That was the very start of it 21 years ago. My Mom was the tire changer on my Dad’s pit crew team. He had an all-female team. My Mom paved the way to show me that I can do anything I want to, in any industry, whether male-dominated or not. Because my Mom has been such an awesome role model, it let me go into a male-dominated environment and give me the confidence to say ‘I belong here.”

OWN YOUR OWN BURN BOOT CAMP. BECOME A BUSINESS OWNER. Visit franchise.burnbootcamp.com

Kelly Hall and Shannon Boyer are multi-unit Franchise Partners of our Temecula and Costa Mesa, California locations. They’re a dynamic duo, with a unique partnership within Burn Nation, and have taken the California market by storm!

Kelly was born and raised in Chicago but always felt called to California, where she moved right after college graduation. She has been married for 11 years to her husband Jared, and they have two little girls Rylan (5) and McKenna (2.5). Kelly began her career with Teach For America, which is a leadership program for college graduates who want to serve in inner-city schools. She was recruited from that program for a non-profit recruitment role, where she stayed for a decade impacting lives and making positive change. 

Shannon is originally from the San Francisco Bay area and started her career with Teach for America as well. She met her husband, Robbie, in college and they went on to attend seminary school together. Shannon and Robbie had all three of their children after their Burn journey began; Kase (4) Kaden (3) and Blakeley (1). Their husbands have been best friends for over a decade now!

In our conversation, we cover “doing it all” and overcoming feelings of doubt, fear, and insecurity. The possibility of impacting someone else’s life is the common thread that pulls these women up to the top of their game and is the driving force behind overcoming the challenges they have faced as business owners over the past year.

We also talk through the dynamics of being in business with your best friend, how experience breeds strength, the importance of therapy and self-awareness, identifying opportunities, and optimizing your business. Some of our biggest takeaways from today’s conversation include being open to feedback, partnership communication, growth strategies, and the importance of empathy as a leader!

I sat down with these powerhouse women to ask all the tough questions. Join our conversation below:

[Considering your previous years of professional experience] How have you learned new ways to be a leader through the Burn Boot Camp setting? What you used to know might be different than what you know now.

“My typical communication style is very soft and empathetic. I want to make sure the person walking away from our interaction feels good. In the past, I’ve always communicated that way. It was easier in a ministry setting, but it’s not what people need in a business setting. They need direct communication. They don’t need all the fluff and the emojis. I feel empowered to stand on my own authority as a leader. Before Burn, I never thought people needed to hear what I had to say. I had to get over my fear of being liked. I have become more authoritative and confident. You can be both kind and direct at the same time.” -Shannon Boyer

“I had never been THE boss before Burn. It’s been a big learning curve for me. It took almost a year for that to sink in.” -Kelly Hall

Explain your dynamic as business partners and friends. Do you have delegated responsibilities? Is it personality-oriented?

“The longer we’re in this, the easier it is to see where our strengths and opportunities lie. We both own certain areas in the business, but we both have veto power. Our friendship is the most important thing.” -Kelly Hall

“Friendship first, always.” -Shannon Boyer

Let’s talk about any moments of doubt you may have had, whether collectively or individually. How did you combat any doubt that you had about running a business?

“The way I see it, there isn’t an option to fail if it’s my responsibility. I never felt like there was an option to not do well or to fail. I’m a 1 on the Enneagram and I just look at every circumstance as an opportunity to learn. Every failure is a lesson. I strive to keep feedback loops open with our ownership group, our staff, our members. I’m big on finding blind spots and improving. What pulls me out when I’m feeling overwhelmed is remembering the bigger picture and not getting consumed in the small stuff (or the weeds as I like to call it). We also lean on our mentors and pray, pray, pray, a lot.” -Kelly Hall

“May 17, 2020 was a day that goes down in history for me of thinking ‘are we really going to be able to do this?’ I was sitting at my kitchen table, I had just put my kids down for a nap, I had my laptop open, and I learned that we had to close our gym down due to COVID-19. I lost it. I was an uncontrollable ball of emotion and terrified of what was going to come next. My oldest daughter walked down, saw me balling, and asked ‘Mommy what’s wrong?’ I tried to explain to my 4-year old the best I could and I’ll never forget, she said ‘Mommy just do Burn outside’ little did I know, we’d all end up doing Burn outside! In some senses I’m thankful for last year and what we had to go through because I grew so much in my leadership.” -Shannon Boyer

I always think; “what will happen if I don’t do it?” -Morgan Kline

What would you say is a crucial skill to have to be a good business partner?

“Self-awareness. The longer we have been in this, the more I’ve come face to face with what I’m good at, and what I need help with. Usually, if there’s conflict, it’s because there is a breakdown in communication. So getting to know one another’s communication styles is huge. Shannon and I have been able to meet each other where we are because we are in tune with each other and ourselves. Therapy helps too!” –Kelly Hall

“Yes, yes to everything Kelly said! Also, competence. With competence comes trust and knowledge; both of which you need. Having an equal passion and commitment is crucial. Having both of those things removes any questions or doubts. We both, in our heart of hearts, believe that Burn transforms lives and we are willing to do whatever it takes to transform as many as we can.” -Shannon Boyer

“We both hang our hats on family and faith at the end of the day. When you’re connected like that, at the end of the day, any other differences just become beautiful.” -Kelly Hall

What’s something that your children have done to actually enrich your business, and the balance of work and life. What would you say to those Moms afraid to start and spend that time working?

“I wouldn’t be where I am if I wasn’t a Mom. Our core membership base is a group of Moms that are in the same stage of life as Shannon and I. Our kids have done nothing but enrich the experience. It’s so fulfilling that our kids get to be a part of our business.” -Kelly Hall

“Our kids make us better people. They put our priorities in the right order. They lighten things. Having that perspective, and remembering what’s really important, has enriched our ability to reach real people with real struggles.” -Shannon Boyer

OWN YOUR OWN BURN BOOT CAMP. BECOME A BUSINESS OWNER.

 Visit franchise.burnbootcamp.com