From morbidly obese to fitness instructor!

Two years ago Gill Butcher, from Northampton, went to work and every day on her way home she called to see her elderly mother. Once home, Gill would cook for her husband and then spend the evening on the sofa watching TV before collapsing into bed at the end of another exhausting day. They never entertained or went out socially because, apart from visiting her mother and going to work, Gill had become a recluse because she was ashamed of herself. Gill weighed over 20 stone and hated the way she looked. It was destroying her self esteem and her life.

Then Gill, who was then in her mid 40s, made a very big decision. Gill decided she had to do something to save her life so, she went along to her local Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club to join. But when she arrived she was overwhelmed by fear and daren’t go through the door to enrol. She went home again, feeling very despondent and a failure. Next week, she plucked up enough courage to go along again. But as she stood near the entrance door, watching the other members walk in, she felt too fat and inferior to step over the threshold. And she went home again.

The following week Gill gave herself a good talking-to and decided this time she would join. As she drove up she was determined to see it through this time but, unfortunately, when she got to the door, she just couldn’t step through it. So she walked away and stood for a while, trying so hard to muster up the courage to make that life-changing step towards a healthier future. Fortunately, some of the members had noticed Gill on the previous weeks and one of them went over to her and, guessing what was the problem, said ‘Why don’t you come in with me?’. That was all Gill needed. Someone to help her into the room that was going to transform her life.

Once through the door Gill was welcomed by instructor Clare Hamblin, who runs classes for the Northampton franchisee, Diana Thomson. She was soon on those dreaded scales and the basic facts had been written down in black and white. When it came to the exercise, Gill felt nervous at moving around her large and unfit body to music but she did what she could and the instructor was kind and helpful as well as encouraging as she progressed through the workout. Gill didn’t feel at all pressured and wondered why on earth she had wasted the last three weeks!

Gill followed the diet and lost weight so fast over the following weeks and months. She adored the exercise and went to more than one workout a week. After 12 months Gill had lost 5 stone. Her body was toning up and Gill’s confidence was growing with every week’s weight loss. The true Gill was emerging and her life was changing.

After 24 months, Gill had lost an amazing 10 stone and was crowned our Slimmer of the Year 2009. Gill didn’t have the biggest weight loss of those who entered, but, in our view, she showed the biggest transformation, most toned body and the very best example of how you could turn your life and your body round. On top of that, Gill had decided she wanted to help others just like her so she started training as an Exercise to Music instructor so that she could take classes for her local Rosemary Conley franchisee, Diana Thompson, whose class she had attended.

Last evening, Gill sent me a message on my Twitter site to tell me she had just passed all her assessments and that she is now fully qualified to take our classes! How exciting is that! It’s a tough course and it takes a huge amount of dedication, hard work and confidence to qualify.

We love it when our members follow the diet and exercises and then become either instructors or franchisees for us. There is nothing quite like having someone who has been there, done it and then wants to pass that knowledge and encouragement on to others. WELL DONE GILL! Enjoy every moment of your new employment!

Please check out our website for details of how to become a franchisee, (or an instructor for one of our existing franchisees) or call Heather or Dawn on 01509 622000 for a chat.

Why there is nothing better than working for yourself

We started Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs in 1993 and the decision to run the company as a franchise was considered the best option for everyone. We wanted our classes to be run by professionals who wanted a career in diet and fitness, not just a part-time job, who would be committed to their members and promote our ‘healthy eating combined with exercise’ message. We considered that if a franchisee was running her classes under licence, but she was working for herself in her own business, she would be more motivated, more successful and would give a better service to her members. We were right.

We have almost 170 franchisees who are exceptional people – and yes, they are all women, though we have had the occasional male franchisee in the past. They are very carefully selected and have to go through a pretty rigorous selection process because they have to have special and very important talents. They have to be able to move well to music, have good communication skills, be confident and motivated, and to have real commitment to help others. Our care in that selection has paid off and we have an extraordinary team of franchisees of whom I am immensely proud.

Today we are holding one of our Franchise Open Days at Quorn. Almost 30 folk from all over the British Isles will be visiting our head quarters to meet me, Mike and the rest of the team. This will be their first taste of what running a Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club franchise involves. They will also meet some of our franchisees who happily will tell them of their experience of becoming a franchisee since they left their previous jobs as an accountant, bank manager, PA or dental hygienist! Our franchisees come from all kinds of backgrounds but they all have one thing in common. They all have a passion for teaching diet and fitness and they all came to an Open Day at Quorn House.

The training period for our franchisees is three to four months and that in itself gives you an indication of how well qualified they are by the time they set up their business. A business that is theirs but operating under licence, using my name, using my diet and our marketing material, and the backing of a team of 45 support staff who are at Head Office helping to make their businesses a huge success. Whilst we put in our literature that we would expect our franchisees to earn at least £25k a year, we have franchisees who are earning well in excess of £60k. As long as we make a fair return, nothing gives us more pleasure than our franchisees earning a very significant profit. How do they earn that? After the initial purchase of the franchise, our franchisees just pay us £20 per class per week (they must run a minimum of 10pw in the first year). By paying us a flat rate franchise service charge per class, (in effect, this amounts to the class fees paid by the first four people who attend the class), it is obvious to see that if they are very good and motivating to their members, they can attract 50 folk to each class and earn extremely well. Of course they are responsible for the costs of running their business such as room hire and so on, but this can be a very successful business for them.

So, if you are sitting at your desk at work today, bored out of your brain and wishing you had a more exciting career, why not think about coming to visit us in July when we hold our next Open Day?

Details of our franchise opportunity can be found on our web site and you can call Dawn O’Dowd for a Prospectus and a free DVD explaining our business on 01509 622000 without any obligation whatsoever. We would love everyone in the UK to be able to visit a local Rosemary Conley Club class within five minutes of where they live and we still have plenty of opportunities for new franchises available. We would love to hear from you.