When Jade Wilkins moved to Boston nine years ago, she looked around and recognized a gap she could fill by creating an inclusive, community-centered holistic wellness small business. She had over a decade specializing in both business and fitness, having worked as wellness director at a Connecticut YMCA and also run a promotions company in North Carolina. Her unique holistic approach helped private clients, and the book she’d published about it, “Focus on the 5,” was well-received.

But a brick-and-mortar in Boston, where rents were sky-high? For seven years, she ran her Fit4Life business bootcamp program outdoors, with weather preventing her from earning a year-round income. There were other barriers too, ones shared by most new entrepreneurs: not knowing how to navigate the system to find resources, or how to read financial statements and track income and expenses.

She’d passed JPNDC for years before someone suggested it to her. “Jade,” they told her, “they can help you make this happen.” Jade isn’t the kind of person who doubts herself; she seizes opportunity and creates the future she wants to build—so she reached out immediately. “Everyone needs a team,” she says, “people who believe in you.”

She knew the resources she brought to the table, but if there were others to help her map the journey, start it and then succeed—how could she connect with them?  She brought both her questions and her determined mindset to JPNDC, where our team had the honor of coaching her.

From financial projections, forecasting and business management, Jade was soon creating a solid, ambitious and visionary plan for her new business. With her small savings, Jade secured a stunning sunny location in Roslindale and converted it into a fitness studio. She had most of the equipment already, and enough cash for her initial expenses (which her consultations with JPNDC had verified). Fit4Life opened at 4006 Washington Street, Roslindale in March 2022.

By May, business was thriving. Her clients were thrilled by her new location. Covid had turned people on to the small group model and one-on-one holistic coaching which Fit4Life excelled at. Jade hired bilingual staff to serve her Latin-rich community, and is purposefully inclusive in all of her offerings, which she offers at a wide range of prices and packaging.

This first holiday season in her new location, she’s excited to offer holiday pricing options for those looking to give the gift of wellness. And she’s already building and planning her new business’s next phase, centering constant growth and renewal.

Learn more about JPNDC’s Small Business Services!