55,000 Classes Later: What Building a Fitness Business Taught Me About Emunah

Our members have completed 55,000 classes and burned 10 million calories. It still seems a little crazy to me — because it started with a few people snickering at a guy teaching jump rope on the side.

At the time, I was working in the business office of a day school. I had picked up jump rope simply to get healthier, saw real results, and figured maybe I could help a few other people do the same. People were confused. What is this? What are you doing? I never imagined it would become a business.

Then one day my wife and I looked at each other and said: maybe we’re onto something. Why don’t we go all in? It seemed crazy to quit a steady job for jump rope. But we did it.

After all these years and all these classes, I’ve collected a number of lessons — about business, but really about life. I hope at least one person reading this can benefit from them.

Choose your partners wisely

Someone told me years ago: don’t take on any partners in business except HaShem and your wife. I’m not saying that’s right for everyone, but it has worked for me. I’ve been able to ask people for advice freely while retaining control over my own growth, my own decisions, and my own mistakes.

Daven — but not for customers

This may surprise people: I have never davened to Hashem to send me more customers. Instead, I daven to be shown the right path — whether to keep going or let something go. Many times I was ready to abandon ship, and HaShem sent me a sign and my wife gave me chizuk, and I kept going. I also daven simply to genuinely help the people I work with, and to provide parnassah — not necessarily from this business, but from wherever Hashem decides to send it.

Adapt constantly

We started in person, jump rope only. Then COVID came and we moved online. But here’s the interesting part: before COVID, I had already tried online classes, and my members flatly refused to come. “Moshe, if it’s not in person, we’re not coming.” So I stopped. When COVID hit, I was completely prepared — I already knew exactly how to run a virtual class.

That taught me something I return to often: an idea that doesn’t work right now will often come back at exactly the right time. Don’t throw it away. File it away.

The same was true with the workouts themselves. We began with jump rope only. Then people said to add bodyweight exercises. Fine. Then they said add weights. I resisted hard — “I’m not doing weights.” Eventually I did, and it was the right call. Be willing to listen, even when you don’t want to hear it.

Make it personal

On my first day at a previous job collecting tuition, my boss told me, “You’re not going to make many friends here — but always mention the parent’s child by name.” That small piece of advice has been a complete game changer.

Every message I send — text, WhatsApp, voice note, video — I mention the person’s name. I reach out when someone hasn’t exercised in a few days. I send encouragement when someone’s on a streak. That constant, personal back-and-forth is everything. I joke that people don’t join for the classes — they join for the accountability.

Don’t listen to all the naysayers

So many people will tell you your idea is foolish or a waste of time. When that happens, ask them: Have you ever started a business? Have you researched this industry? What specifically concerns you? Sometimes they’ll raise a question you genuinely hadn’t considered, and that’s valuable. But if it’s just an unsolicited opinion from someone who’s never tried, give it the weight it deserves. Plenty of people laughed at the jump rope guy. If I’d listened to all of them, we wouldn’t be here.

Protect your time for Torah and family

My time for learning is my time for learning. My time for tefillah is my time for tefillah. Very rarely does anything from the business come before that. My morning seder, afternoon seder, and tefillah are fixed — business happens around them, not the other way around. The same goes for family. That isn’t a limitation on the business; it’s the foundation that makes the rest of it worthwhile.

Emunah is the real business partner

There will be ups and downs — guaranteed. Members join, members cancel. Prices rise. Websites crash. I’ve actually had members apologize to me for canceling, and my response is always the same: do you think you control my parnassah? My parnassah is decided by Hashem. I love that you take our classes, but you have nothing to do with my parnassah.

The ups and downs are exactly why I think everyone should own a business at some point.

Nothing builds emunah quite like it. Every week that someone joins and someone else cancels is another reminder of Who is really in charge.

And one last thing: have fun. If you don’t enjoy the product, the people, and the challenge of growth, it will be miserable, and you’re better off working for someone else. But if you love it and genuinely want to help people — keep going. Even when people laugh. Even when it’s hard. Even when the sign you’re waiting for takes longer than you’d like.

55,000 classes later, I’m very glad I did.