Get Movin' Fitness & Nutrition Solutions

In 2017, Get Movin' Fitness & Nutrition Solutions was founded by April Marion [photo right] to bring fun fitness classes to the women in her community who were intimidated by gyms and exercising. April, along with her business partner Charlene Resnick, have the goal to empower women to build confidence and to "get movin’" at any level of fitness. They began offering small group fitness classes and nutrition coaching sessions to support a balanced and healthy lifestyle for women of all ages.

The business came to a crossroads in 2019 when a larger space to serve more clients was needed to grow and offer additional wellness services. April sought the assistance of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network and met with Samalid Hogan (regional director and business advisor with the MSBDC Western Regional Office) who assisted in developing a growth plan for the business. With the help and guidance from their MSBDC advisor, April and Charlene were able to complete and implement a growth plan which eventually led them to move to a much larger location where they opened a healthy shake bar.

"This is something we could have never done without the support from Samalid. She gave us the confidence and the steps we needed to take our business to a whole new level", said April. "We expanded in March 2020 and we were set-up and ready for our grand opening when COVID-19 shut us down."

Thinking on their feet like true entrepreneurs, April and Charlene decided to set-up a virtual platform to keep current clients active and began teaching all workouts and leading nutrition sessions online. Teaching online was somewhat familiar to them and by offering all their usual fitness class offerings online, April and Charlene were able to keep current clients happy and even gained new clients.

During the summer months, Get Movin' Fitness practiced social distancing and offered outdoor classes under a big tent. Although business was not growing as planned, they stayed positive, hopeful, and implemented a plan to safely offer services in a very different world. "April and Charlene are hard-working women who have persevered during very challenging times. They never miss a business advisory appointment, and they are always taking notes, researching, and are eager to learn as much as they can about marketing and how to run their business more efficiently", shared Samalid.

In October 2020, Get Movin’ Fitness finally had its grand opening and the shake bar was launched. There is currently a full schedule of live group fitness classes and there is curbside pick-up for the delicious smoothies. All workouts are streamed for online and in-studio participation is limited. April and Charlene understand the needs of their clients and the importance of staying active. They use minimal equipment in workout classes and have strict cleaning regimens and recommend students stay six-feet apart. Class sizes are kept small and clients wear masks, but everyone is happy to be able to get out of the house and have a safe place to exercise.

To learn more about Get Movin' Fitness, visit their website at www.getmovinfitness.org. Get Movin’ Fitness is located at 577 Granby Road in South Hadley.

"This is something we could have never done without the support from Samalid.
She gave us the confidence and the steps we needed to take our business to a whole new level", said April.