Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Candace Marek. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Candace with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

I believe I initially got my work ethic from my father. Growing up he worked at a power plant and would often work night shifts, but would rotate into day shifts throughout his entire 30+ year career there. When he wasn’t at work, he would make time to spend with our family, take us on vacations, work on things around the house and be present with all of us. He even went back to college late in his career to advance his role and did that as he was working full time. He never complained about any of these things, just kept up with it and kept going. I didn’t realize it in the moment, but it shaped my mentality on how I perceive working and just getting things done. My husband, also has a very strong work ethic and we have built businesses together and put ourselves into our work because we are passionate about giving our best in everything we do. My husband is a go-getter, always optimistic, always supportive of me and puts in the time needed to make his goals take off. I have been a part of this journey with him in everything we do for the past 20+ years and it has sculpted me to be a hard worker, to never give up and to never let him down. My motivation is to succeed for my family and pass this onto my daughter so she has a strong work ethic as well.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am the owner of AKT Fitness Studio, located in Raleigh, NC; we offer Group Fitness Classes and Personal Training. I started working out when I was 16, eventually made my way into working at a gym doing sales and Personal Training, which eventually led to me competing in Fitness Competitions.

At 23 yrs old, I met my husband and within a year, we decided to open our own business. I came up with the idea and was going to be in the front of the business full time. He got us the financing and was going to work behind the scenes as he kept his FT job. We bought into a Franchise, started with one location and ultimately opened 4 locations and became Area Developers for the brand (meaning we sold new licenses and trained existing and new locations). We did this for a total of 15 years and then I decided to branch out as I was ready for change. We decided to get into long-term rental properties as a way to secure our future and decided to get into short-term rental properties as well. We sold our 4 franchise locations off one-by-one and I ran the short-term rental properties for a couple of years full-time.

I felt the need to be back into the public and decided to look into gym franchises, as fitness was my passion. I discovered AKT and fell in love with it and here we are 5 years later. I love it so much because I get to work with people that I see every single day and can help them reach their fitness goals. I have seen growth in their confidence, changes in their bodies and the dedication that they have made to themselves. They motivate me to do better every day and give 110% in all that I do, whether it be teaching, making the best playlist/workout, bringing energy and positivity to the class and just doing everything I can to make sure we keep the business going.

We opened during Covid, which was tough, went through a rough economy, the Franchise we bought into lost over 30 locations, (I am the only location that survived) and I had to go through getting the rights to the brand. This has been the most challenging business I have run, but I love it and I keep fighting because of the special community I have at AKT. The group of women I work with is the most amazing group of women full of support of each other, AKT and me. It brings me daily joy and I am always thankful. Our workouts are a challenge, but we make it fun, we make it personal, we make them motivating and we get results.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The 3 qualities and skills most impactful in my journey, specifically to AKT:

1). My love for fitness and experience in the industry
2). My business experience and the fact that I started at 24yrs old, so I was able to be adaptable and pivot anytime necessary
3). My strong work ethic and the mentality to never give up

My advice for those early in their journey is to make sure you know what you are getting into. Make sure to be very involved if you want it to succeed. Understand that there will be good times and bad times, but you have to push through them all and keep going if you want to make your business survive and succeed.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My husband

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theakt.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theaktbriercreek/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aktbriercreek
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candace-marek-b0a5151a5