On The Ninth Day Of Business: The Yorkshire entrepreneur on a mission to empower women with fitness

It’s the ninth day of business which means our true love has sent us nine ladies dancing (because, of course, that’s what we’ve always wanted).

But we couldn’t not keep with the theme, so we got in touch with a businesswoman championing females through exercise. Claire Moore runs a women’s-only gym that focuses on mental as well as physical health.

Read our chat with Claire below to find out more. Okay ladies, now let’s get in formation…

Can you give us an introduction on who you are and what your company does?

“Hi, I am Claire, founder and owner of Believe & Achieve UK, a women’s gym in Sheffield dedicated to helping ladies find their health and happiness through small changes that become new habits.

“We are the gym that sorts your head out and have flipped gym membership on its head by focusing first on mindset, nutrition then weight training.

“We realised that, to truly help people, we need to provide support on the whole package, so our gym has a classroom where we educate women on their bodies so they can make informed decisions that are right for them.

“The one-size-fits-all idea is totally outdated in inadequate. There is no right or wrong, we shouldn’t have to rely on willpower and the health journey should not be a never-ending battle. A greater understanding takes away all the confusion and stress - lets face it we have enough of that in our lives already!

“So many ladies are trying to lose weight because they hate the way they look and feel and they deserve so much more.

“Our work is helping ladies to look at this situation with love and make changes because we want to treat our bodies with kindness and respect. This flip in perspective makes the journey much easier and far more successful.”

What has been your biggest achievement of 2019?

“Being one of only 15 businesses winning a place on the Cambridge University Social Innovation 2019 Programme.

“As someone who had to scrape through clearing at A levels to get into a college, a place at Cambridge seems like a dream.

“But they saw the impact Believe & Achieve is having on the community and the potential it has to help many more in the future. With their support we are creating a solid foundation for Believe & Achieve UK ensuring all systems and fully in place so that in 202 we are ready to scale and grow and help even more women across the UK.

If you could go back to the start of 2019 and tell yourself what you know now about your business, what would you say?

“That I don’t need anyone’s permission. I didn’t enter the fitness industry until I was 38-years-old and have struggled greatly with imposter syndrome.

“This has resulted in me spending a ridiculous amount of money hiring ‘experts’ thinking they had the magic key to help my business succeed.

“Turns out - as cliché as it may sound - the magic was within. No one knows my vision, ethos and business better than me. That is what I need to focus on, and with patience and persistence it will all pay off.

“2020 is the year I choose me and no longer need to chase anyone else’s validation.”

What are your company’s plans for the new year (and decade) ahead?

“Well, we kick off the new year with our 31-day 100 per cent Commitment Challenge making sure our ladies get right back on track after all the Christmas fun.

“Over the next six months, we will wrap up our work with Cambridge University with the aim of being ready to franchise and spread the Believe & Achieve mission across the country.

“We believe every woman deserves to be healthy and happy and want to help as many ladies as we can.

“So, the next decade is going to be so exciting, watching Believe & Achieve spread around the country and helping fabulous women break the miserable diet cycle and get back to loving life and themselves.”

How are you going to celebrate Christmas this year?

“With some time off!!! I am actually having a week off the gym floor and I am packing away my laptop. This is pretty unheard of for me as, when it is your own business, it is so easy to just keep working.

“There is always something on the to-do list and no one else to do it so you just keep ploughing through. Not this year. A full week off to relax with my family and I cant wait.”

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