Entrepreneur Profiles
Karen Jashinsky, O2 MAX
Business Name: O2 MAXYears in Business: 2
Industry: Fitness
Website/URL: http://www.o2maxfitness.com/
Location: LA
[Over at Seth Godin's blog, the mantra for 2008 is "overdeliver." That's how you build word-of-mouth. Well, I asked Karen Jashinsky (who started a teen fitness club) for a "business bio" and now she holds two records for this website: Longest Bio and Most Personal. You're in for an inspiring read. - Andrew]
I was always into fitness and health. Friends were always surprised at how “tiny” my family was considering that my parents owned a restaurant in
My parents always encouraged both my sister and I to find our own passions and interests. Both parents are from
My high school year book said that I could either be found at Bally’s working out, at Haagen Dazs (I have a bit of a sweet tooth) or buried under water bottles in my room studying for the SAT (I became a little obsessed with vocabulary words and drank lots of water). I worked at the racquet club where I played tennis my senior year of high school.
I developed asthma at the age of 6 and began swimming to work on developing my lung capacity. I also played basketball and tennis and took aerobics classes throughout high school. I couldn’t wait to turn 14 to use the weight room at the local Y. The 1-mile run was a challenge for me and when I started high school I started training hard to be able to complete it.
I graduated high school and started my journey west. I attended
I spent a semester in
My sister bought me training sessions after my freshman year of college. Each time I would come home I would meet with him and learn more about fitness training.
I always wanted to “do my own thing” and to get an MBA but felt that I needed to work in corporate
I really wanted to do marketing or business development for a fitness or fashion publication. I also had a desire to live in CA. I was drawn by the outdoorsy, active lifestyle. I packed my car and drove to LA by myself (I still can not believe I did this)!
I spent 6 months at a media planning company only to learn that I felt that very stifled and unable to be creative and think “out of the box.” I left to work at an online game site that was acquired 3 times. I worked with all departments-engineering, production, marketing, sales and finance. When the 3rd acquisition happened I was asked to help transition everything. I was psyched to have the summer off. Then my boss was promoted and offered me his position. I stayed for another year and then started getting really antsy to do my own thing.
I had a list of things she wanted to do before going back to school and wanted to take the time to figure out what industry I wanted to be in-fitness or restaurant being the 2 that really fascinated me.
I began taking workshops to get certified in personal training, group exercise, spinning and even took a bar tending class to learn more about that side of the restaurant business. I had a bunch of part time jobs during this time to pay the bills. I tutored SATs, taught Hebrew school, worked at the Coffee Bean and started teaching fitness classes and doing personal training in the mornings. I also worked for a Sake company part time where I was able to use my marketing and business sense but also use some of the bartending that interested me about the restaurant business.
I held all these jobs for about a year while I was applying to business school. During this time I learned a little more about high school kids, how the private tutoring business worked and gained some more experience learning about operations of a fitness corporation.
When I moved to LA I looked to join clubs and activities where I could meet people that shared similar interests as me. I have made some really great friends. I started biking, hiking, playing softball and volunteering with organizations such as Shane’s Inspiration (non profit that builds playgrounds for disabled children) and several other organizations while I was in business school (After School All Stars, Gov Fitness Council, etc). I was also doing free lectures and fitness workshops at schools.
I ended up going part time to business school and kept working as a trainer. I thought it would be a great way to make some money while I was in business school but never anticipated where it would lead me! I started learning a lot about the fitness industry from the ground up. I was always very business oriented and never thought of entering the business industry as a personal trainer.
This was one of the best things I could have done. I learned so much about what the customers want by interacting with them hands on. I also learned a lot observing what went on the management side and what not to do when I had my own company. I was able to use my work as a way to leverage my market research and really get a feel for the industry and what opportunities there were.
When I started training, I was asked to work with more and more teens I started learning about the teen niche that wasn’t being tapped. Taking this and reflecting on my own experience as a teen going to the local Y, combined with the youth obesity epidemic along with my resources and knowledge from business school led to the development of O2 MAX.
I like to spend a lot of time on weekends being active outside-long bike rides, hikes and runs. I love to cook and have dinner parties, try new restaurants and take road trips. I do my best thinking working out and taking long drives up the coast.
A car hit me about 2 years ago (I was still in business school) while training for the MS 150. I have since made a full recovery and with some encouragement and support from great friends I completed my first century ride this past fall while raising money for Multiple Sclerosis.
I am also Chair of the Los Angeles APAP for
I also am on the Board for The Entrepreneur Mentor Society-a non-profit that helps aspiring entrepreneurs.
Some friends call me KJ and I have also been pegged “master networker” as I love meeting and helping people.
I feel truly blessed and am grateful to have some amazing people in my life that have helped me along the way and of course to my parents for giving me the opportunities and encouragement to follow my dreams.
About O2 MAX
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, that is all that ever has.”
O2 MAX is pumped every day by Margaret Mead’s famous words as we focus our time, energy, and resources on the health, spirit and achievements of teens. After all, they are our future.
The seeds for O2 MAX were planted simultaneously, on two coasts: in the East, (in a suburb of N.Y.C.) Pam Goldman was looking for a fitness venue for her teenaged daughter; one that was fun and cool in a friendly, social environment. When she couldn’t find one she created one, by adding fitness, hip-hop and a ‘healthy’ café at the under-used teen center in her community. It became a place to workout and hang out. Amazed by the lack of similar venues, especially in the midst of the youth obesity epidemic and P.E. budget cuts, Pam’s passion to reach more teens led her to THINK BIG. If parents didn’t want their teens glued to a computer, video games and TV—if parents didn’t want their kids eating junk food—why not provide a healthy alternative? Far too many teens were, frankly, “sitting on their potential!”
My leadership in USC’s Entrepreneur and Venture Management Association led me to meet the Editor of ENTREPRENEUR MAGAZINE who decided to chronicle my business idea in a series of articles called “Diary of a Startup.” Pam happened to read the article, contacted I immediately and flew to LA. (Jet Blue). After a long lunch and longer dinner, we decided to join forces and make their shared passion a reality. With cell phones, email, faxes….why not?
Meanwhile, back in N.Y., toiling at her desk job in corporate marketing, Heather Kandawire, who took every opportunity she could to steal away for a workout at the gym, was doing some serious soul-searching. She quit her job and started working toward her certification as a fitness trainer. Heather was at an airport when she picked up a copy of ENTREPRENEUR and upon her return, contacted Pam, who took her to lunch. Before they had even ordered dessert, Pam suggested Heather fly to
Back in L.A. Shirley Brown was feeling uninspired in her job as Administrative Assistant at UCLA’s Dermatology Department. What she really wanted to do was get involved in something she loved and cared about…you guessed it…A mutual friend at the gym introduced her to me…and then there were four!
Soon buzz about my efforts reached the mainstream fitness industry. In the 26 years of its existence, The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), a global organization representing over 7,000 fitness club owners from 73 countries, had never before had anyone step up to champion the inclusion of teens in the ‘fitness revolution!” In January 2007 IHRSA named me “one of the 25 young leaders in the fitness industry” for my visionary concept and pioneering efforts to create a club exclusively for teens.
There are males in this story. Dave,
Today the founding O2 MAX Management Team looks like this:
Me –Founder/CEO
Pam-SVP Corporate Strategy & Communications
Heather-Chief Marketing Officer & Certified Fitness Trainer and head of our “
Shirley-Manager, Member Relations and Certified Fitness Trainer
Three last questions for Karen!
AB: What marketing tool worked the best for you in 2007?
KJ: The most effective marketing tools for me were: word of mouth, guerrilla marketing and rewarding clients for referrals.
AB: Running a small business for the first time means lots of new challenges. What part of entrepreneurship have you worked hardest on?
KJ: There are so many highs and so many lows. At first you get so affected by them all-especially the lows. When you have your own business you have to be able to rally pretty quickly and keep the rest of the team motivated. I have had to work on learning to stay in cruise control so as not to get overly affected by the emotional rollercoaster.
AB: What would you do if you weren't in business for yourself?
KJ: I would start another business, raise money for a non-profit to fund programs at schools and spend more time traveling the world, volunteering and teaching less privileged kids how to lead healthy and fit lives!
