When one door closes another one opens, and in 2017, I found myself in one of these unique situations.
After serving 10 years as a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, with the majority of my career in the Deployable Specialized Forces, I learned that my lifelong aspiration of becoming a career Coastie wasn’t going to happen. The deployments and time spent away from my growing family weren’t conducive to the life I imagined for us.
The time was right for me to separate from the military… And it wasn’t long before I realized I could pursue a career in something else I was passionate about: 9Round.
The obsession begins…
My wife introduced me to 9Round about three years prior to my military separation. I was deployed in South America when she told me about this new workout she insisted I had to try next time I was home.
I’ll admit, I was skeptical. I was used to a military grade workout regimen, which included a ton of high-intensity interval training, and situational workouts designed to push you to your breaking point. So, while I was willing to give it a shot to make my wife happy, I wasn’t totally convinced that this 30-minute kickboxing workout would be the right fit for me.
It only took one session for me to fall in love with 9Round. Everything about it was my dream workout – the convenience of not having to schedule classes in advance, the high-intensity rounds, the trainers who pushed me to my personal limits. I became a member even while I was still serving, getting in as many rounds as possible during my stints at home between deployments.
Turning the hobby into a career
Fast forward to 2017, and I’m in this unique albeit scary position where I have the opportunity to pursue whatever path I want for the next phase of my career.
I took a serious look at what I could offer to the workforce as a veteran, recognizing that I possessed a unique skill set combining structure and discipline with years of leadership experience. I excel when I have a system to follow, not only as a member of that system, but as a leader within it.
Because of these key assets, I realized that franchise ownership was right up my alley. Fortunately for me, the 9Round brand that I’d come to love as a patron was a franchise. And better yet, the brand offered financial incentives for me to join the network at a discounted rate due to my veteran status.
And suddenly, the door to becoming a small business owner opened, and I haven’t looked back since.
How 9Round fulfilled all my veteran passions
Today, I am the proud owner of two 9Round locations: one in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and one in Burlington, Massachusetts. 9Round ownership gives me everything I could ask for in a career, in ways that tie closely back to my Coast Guard experience…
I work hands-on with people, pushing them to their limits. One of my favorite parts of being in the Coast Guard was training other service men and women, and now I get to satisfy this passion by training my 9Round members. There’s nothing that gives me more joy than cheering a member on, whether it’s to their first full pushup or to their 100th workout.
I spend every day doing something I’m passionate about. Passion is something you cannot teach. It takes a special breed of person to selflessly serve others; your heart has to be in it, and mine certainly is. Both when I was a member of the U.S. Coast Guard and now as a 9Round franchisee, I’ve found myself waking up excited to make an impact on the lives of others, whether from overseas or from the floor of my studio.
I belong to something bigger than myself. The comradery in the military is unlike any other bond, but 9Round has given me something pretty close. There is a team-like closeness among my studios’ trainers and staff, and our members become our family over time. On a grander scale, I’m a valuable link in an important chain of 9Round franchisees representing nearly 800 locations worldwide – an elite group I’m honored to contribute to.
We live in a country where we get what we give, and we are blessed that we may give in ways that we choose of our own accord. These were the freedoms I fought for as a member of the Armed Forces, and now I’m fortunate enough to reap those benefits while living my own American dream as a 9Round franchise owner.
Written by Tim Beauchamp, Franchise Owner, 9Round