DEFINITIVE BUSINESS

Helen Barrett is an inspiration to many of us who just 'can't be bothered' to get fit, or come up with excuses to avoid work when we're feeling a bit under the weather.

At just 27 years old, Helen has Cystic Fibrosis (CF) which means that she produces a thick sticky mucus which clogs up her lungs and digestive system - making it difficult to breathe and absorb food properly. 

People with CF have to endure a daily regimen of treatment, including physiotherapy to help clear mucus from the lungs, enzyme supplements with food to aid digestion and oral, nebulised and intravenous antibiotics to fight infections.

Business idea

Many people with CF find it very difficult to hold down a full time job because of their illness. . Indeed, Helen worked as a temp for two years before having to take a year off due to a severe chest infection. However, she is now a business woman, running her own newly opened gym, in partnership with her life long best friend, Andrew Fowler.  Helen was the driving force behind a new gym concept, and despite the odds, their dream became a reality in 2006, when ‘Define Fitness’ opened in Beckenham on April 1.

Andrew is Head of Personal Trainers, and Helen runs the business side of things as well as the reception area. Helen’s illness makes running her own business very challenging but her tenacity and determination ensures her CF does not hold her back.

Positivity

 Helen and Andrew are incredibly positive about their working relationship and their business. Their strong bond makes the business more successful and helps them to overcome the problems that Helen’s Cystic Fibrosis causes. For example, when Helen is admitted to hospital, and even when she is receiving intra venous antibiotics, she carries on working on her lap top and stays in close contact with Andrew. 

 The concept behind the gym is to offer the equipment and space that freelance trainers and therapists need to work. Private stations or massage rooms to train in can be rented out with no additional fees or contracts. Clients are trained in their own private area of the gym with exclusive use of the equipment during the session.

Helath matters

Running a business seems to have a positive effect on Helen’s health. Andrew encourages her to stay in hospital until she feels better - and even when she is itching to get back to work, Andrew reminds her she is no good to him when she is unwell. This serves as a demonstration of the caring yet sensible outlook that makes their business, and ultimately their friendship, work.

Cystic Fibrosis is always a factor when planning for the future of ‘Define Fitness’, as Helen’s health can be unpredictable. Helen says she knows she must take each day as it comes, but her energetic and ambitious attitude to life and work proves an amazing asset.

Helen recognizes the bonus of having a very understanding boss due to the demands on her time Cystic Fibrosis can make, but she says that being her own boss, in partnership with her best friend, is a great combination and very important to her, both as an ambitious business woman, and a Cystic Fibrosis sufferer.

 Helen and Andrew’s achievements are a testament to their hard work, ability, and their unwavering positive outlook.

Andrew:

"Obviously there are lots of risks when setting up your own business and the fact that Helen has Cystic Fibrosis did have to be taken into consideration, but we worked the business plan around it and set the business up so that Helens role could be done from home or hospital for the short term if need be. We are very pleased with how things are progressing and we both feel that setting up in partnership was definitely the right thing to do."

"Setting up the business with Helen has enabled me to achieve my dream of working for myself. It is something I would tell anyone to do and as Helen has proved if you are determined enough you can do it. It hasn’t all been plain sailing, we have had to over come a number of hurdles to get this far and Helens health is a concern but it was never an issue when deciding that she was the perfect business partner. Having your own business gives you a sense of achievement and importance that you don’t get when you are employed, it is hard work and long hours but its definitely all worth it."

Helen:

"Having Cystic Fibrosis did limit my career path, my health is definitely not 100% and before setting up the business I was only working part-time. I was ill a lot and spending more time than I liked in hospital. When Andy first talked to me about his idea for the business, I loved it. I’m quite a determined person and if I want something I will go all out to make sure I can achieve it.

“Since leaving employment and starting to work with Andy I have seen an improvement in my health, I feel less pressured and if I need to come in late because I’ve had a bad night or I need a day or to rest then I can just do it especially as it’s very easy for me to work from home. I have also taken to training in the gym and at my last hospital visit my lung function had improved to the best in over a year. Setting up my own business has definitely been the best decision I’ve ever made."

The Team on Their Business Idea

"We came up with the idea for a personal training Clinic, after Andy had worked for a health club for four years as a personal trainer. Andy realised that there was a gap in the market for a clinic that specialised in personal trainers but which allowed the personal trainers to work free-lance away from the normal health club restrictions and somewhere that wouldn’t be crowded by members of the public. Helen had studied Business Studies and we have known each other all our lives so we felt we would make the perfect team."