Balancing the demands of parenthood with the responsibilities of running a business is no small feat. For Georgie Richard and her husband Mitch, owners of Fitstop Wollongong, it’s a daily juggle between managing their thriving gym and raising their young family. We took a peek beneath the superhero cape and asked Georgie how she and Mitch navigate the highs and lows of entrepreneurship while making time for their growing family. Their journey is a testament to resilience, teamwork, and the strategies they’ve developed to keep both their business and household running smoothly. If you’re dreaming of starting a business or opening a franchise, but wondering how to achieve this delicate balance, their story will both inspire and offer practical insights. While no two journeys are ever the same, this is just one couple’s recipe for raising a family while growing a business.
Building a support system in a new city
Fitstop Wollongong opened its doors in mid 2023 and has been able to grow a thriving and supportive fitness community in the Illawarra. It’s no mean feat when you consider that Georgie and Mitch were new to the area and didn’t have a support network of friends and family ready to run through the doors to get them started. Opening their own Fitstop franchise meant relocating to a new city with their young family in order to seize the best opportunity to grow their business.
“One of the toughest parts is not having family live locally,” says Georgie. “We are working on getting our parents to move down from Sydney to the beautiful Illawarra! We have learnt to juggle it all, but the hard part is when our routine is interrupted by sickness, and at this point we really rely on our team.”
Hiring right is the advice many seasoned entrepreneurs give when asked about their lessons learned along the way. Fortunately for Georgie and Mitch, the team at Fitstop Wollongong are a tight-knit crew who have helped them create a positive environment for their members.
“We have also made some beautiful, supportive friends since moving down here who I consider to be our second family,” says Georgie. “We are so lucky and have learnt just to say yes to any help offered, which I believe has strengthened those friendships faster than if we had an ego and always tried to do it on our own!”
The trials and triumphs of working with your spouse
Even without being parents, it takes a special kind of relationship to survive working together. We asked Georgie about the experience of working together every day.
“We are completely the opposite, so we clash if we try to collaborate too much!! It’s really hard to keep work conversations out of our personal time, it always creeps in which is something we are always working on. It’s really hard to switch off when you work with your partner.
We now work on separate parts of the business and stay in our lanes as much as possible. We both have such different skill sets and passions that it’s worked really well this way. Then when it comes to collaborating, we don’t clash as much because we’re inspired by each other.”
The challenges of running a business with a young family
Georgie and Mitch were already seasoned business owners, having previously run a successful boutique fitness studio on the NSW Central Coast. That business was sold in 2019, just prior to coronavirus landing on our shores and the couple had waited to see what the post-pandemic fitness industry would look like before jumping back in.
“Running a business with a child is definitely different!” says Georgie. “We used to be able to pour all of our energy into the business, work as late as we wanted, get up and go as early as we needed to. Now, our energy is divided – we don’t want to give everything we have to the business anymore because our family is the biggest priority to us. Of course, being less present every day and having a little boy to think about doesn’t come without sacrifice, we have to plan ahead more and think longer term than we did before.”
Any parent can attest to the uncertainty of not knowing whether you’ll have a full night’s sleep, or who is going to get sick next. Georgie says they have improved their systems over the past 18 months and built a team that can keep things running smoothly if they need to take time off. “We’ve worked hard to make sure that’s the case purely from experiencing what happens when those systems aren’t in place!”
What does a typical day look like balancing quality time in the gym, spending time as a family, and also as a couple?
On a typical day, Mitch is up early to start PT sessions around 5 or 6am all through the morning, while Georgie squeezes in an hour or two of work on the laptop while their son is still asleep. “Once Noah wakes up, he has my full attention – he does go to day care 3 days a week, which is when I book all of my appointments, meetings and get into our deep work.” says Georgie.
“On days I have Noah with me I’ll be able to sneak in some extra work while he’s napping, and then afternoons/evenings I’ll normally be at the gym to do a late morning or evening class and be present at the gym while Mitch takes Noah. I try to make it back for his bedtime though – it’s our family time to eat together and switch off from work.”
While it sounds really planned and organised, Georgie says that in reality, every day looks different. “It’s chaotic but we love being able to parent 50/50! Noah loves the gym as well, he’ll happily come along for the ride!”
Empathy for parents finding time for fitness
As we move through different stages of life, fitness can take a back seat due to the added pressure of financial and carers responsibilities. For Mitch and Georgie, they’ve gained an insight into the challenges some of their members experience when it comes to maintaining an exercise routine and are using it to make them better at what they do.
“We incorporate family values into Fitstop way more than we would without a family of our own. We are better able to understand the barriers that other parents may face when trying to carve out a fitness routine for themselves. We have always listened and tried to be understanding in the past but now we can fully appreciate how hard it can be to maintain a healthy lifestyle – and we only have one child to work around!” says Georgie.
“I have so much admiration for parents who prioritise their gym time – you can’t pour from an empty cup, so when the parents are feeling healthy and their mind is clear, they can go home and show up as their best self for their family. I am always inspired by other parents and am learning so much from them as well, as we navigate a growing family!”
She meant it when she said “growing family”. The couple are expecting their second child in 2025 and are ready to shake up their routine all over again as they adjust to a new normal. “We’re confident that we’re ready for it, and we’re excited to be thinking long term and evolving the business already in order to manage the new demands when it’s time,” says Georgie.
“Looking into the future, we will pass through different ages and stages, and will have even more opportunities to connect with parents and help them achieve their own healthy lifestyle. We are constantly coming up with ideas to expand our offerings, such as kids programs for different ages.
The business will require us to expand our team and increase the responsibility of our current team over the next 6-12 months, so we can keep up with the demands of our growing family. The reason we love having a business is having that flexible lifestyle and creating the life we want!”
Georgie's advice for anyone considering raising a family while growing a business
“I would say go for it – but don’t expect it to be easy!” advises Georgie. “A business is like another child in terms of the demand, so build a strong team around you and schedule in personal time, family time, holidays to look forward to and prioritise your mental health first, so that you can help others to your maximum potential!”
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