Not Your Average Job or Gym

I would never say that I like to follow trends. In some instances I find myself a little rebellious. Instead of going to Gonzaga University’s Florence Program, the most popular study abroad program at my college, I chose to study abroad with a program called Semester at Sea, where I knew no one before attending. When I was told to stick around for my entire senior year of college, I decided to spend the first semester in NYC interning. Honestly, I just like navigating my own path, not walking the one with past footprints on it.

There are two recent trends however, that sucked me in. I am convinced they would suck you in too, if you gave them both a try. My theory is, while very different, these two types of organizations are providing something for people that we desperately crave, which is why they are growing exponentially.

Crossfit Wichita Falls is a gym… well technically it’s a box (that’s what Crossfitters call them,) that opened in 2010 at a strip mall. It was about 700 square feet in size and had 17 regular members. I worked out there for about a year while I was living in Wichita Falls. Today, they have around 250 members who work out at their much bigger and badder box, which is 10,000 square feet to be exact.

When I moved to Cincinnati I came across a place called The Brandery. Like Crossfit Wichita Falls it also started in 2010. It’s a startup accelerator program. The Brandery fosters innovation and entrepreneurial success by providing startups world-class mentorship in branding, marketing and design. I had a vague idea of what startups were but I didn’t known how popular they were becoming. Since The Brandery opened applications for its program have increased 600 percent.

So what is this secret recipe that makes these types of businesses boom? Daniel Boyd of Crossfit Wichita Falls said their box consists of “A group of like-minded people that share similar goals. Despite differences in politics, religion, financial status, ect., we come together and tackle a goal together.” Boyd goes on to describe the group of people as a family.

This family like culture is also an essential part of the success of the startups that have been built at The Brandery. Unlike a big corporate company where one person is only responsible for technical issues in one application of a brand, Emily Cooper at The Brandery says, “In startups, one person does everything technical for the entire company. Your role is much broader, meaning your team depends on you.” Emily also went on to say if your co-workers aren’t someone you want to grab a meal with on a weekend, they probably aren’t a good fit for you.

As a member of Crossfit Wichita Falls I attended barbecues and socialized with people who I worked out with outside of the box. Though I haven’t had the pleasure of going through The Brandery’s program, I have gotten to meet a few of the people in companies that have. They LOVE it.

Deep down I think we all just want to have a sense of belonging. We want our gym to be something more than just a place to go sweat. In the same sense, we want more than a paycheck from our jobs. We want to feel like we are contributing to something, we want to feel like our presence makes a difference.

Whether it’s for fitness at a Crossfit box or a startup business what Boyd said applies, everyone is working towards a common goal. In my humble opinion a goal achieved is much more satisfying when it’s shared.

#startup #startups #crossfit #teamwork #worth