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Jared, Founder at The Sun Cycle: Advize Career Interview
A Santa Monica beachside cycling studio founder, The Sun Cycle, shares a unique career path starting with finance and sales majors and SEO internships.
The journey involved a significant personal transformation, leading to roles in payroll/HR software and recruitment before launching their own business.
This multifaceted role demands adaptability and strong time management, encompassing teaching, marketing (including SEO), finance, and operations.
The founder's passion lies in witnessing clients' positive transformations, highlighting the industry's impact on both clients and employees.
Discipline and consistent sales are key to success, with entry-level opportunities available in training and setup.
A growth mindset and the understanding that "life comes in waves" are crucial lessons learned, emphasizing the unexpected value of a diverse educational background.
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Jared Sklar
Founder
The Sun Cycle
Western Michigan University 2013
NA
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Business Management & Admin, Finance
Sports
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
None Applicable
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Career Path Of A Founder At The Sun Cycle
Jared's career path is "a little bit atypical," beginning with a finance and sales double major and internships including a sales position at an SEO firm. This experience, combined with a significant personal transformation involving a 100-pound weight loss, led to a transition from sales roles in payroll/HR software and recruitment to founding The Sun Cycle, a beachside cycling studio in Santa Monica, leveraging their prior sales and SEO skills in this new venture.
Main Responsibilities of a Founder at The Sun Cycle
As founder of The Sun Cycle, a small company with six employees, Jared's main responsibilities are multifaceted, encompassing "pretty much all the hats," from teaching classes and setting up equipment to overseeing marketing, SEO, and finances. This reflects Jared's passion for helping clients achieve their fitness goals, a driving force behind the company's creation.
A Day In The Life of a Founder at The Sun Cycle
Jared, The Sun Cycle's founder, wears "a lot of different hats," juggling roles as lead instructor, setup team head, marketing manager (handling social media and SEO), and financial planner, constantly developing new classes while ensuring smooth operations and growth. This multifaceted approach showcases the diverse demands of building a small business from the ground up, highlighting the importance of consistent content creation and accurate financial forecasting for attracting new clients.
Favorite Parts of Being a Founder at The Sun Cycle
Jared, The Sun Cycle's founder, finds the most rewarding aspect of his role witnessing how cycling positively impacts others' lives, stating that it's "a training ground for life," helping people overcome adversity and achieve goals, such as weight loss. This is particularly meaningful given Jared's personal journey of losing 100 pounds through cycling, motivating the creation of The Sun Cycle to share this transformative experience.
Biggest Challenges Faced by a Founder at The Sun Cycle
Jared's biggest challenge as Founder of The Sun Cycle is effectively balancing "all of [his] different responsibilities," particularly juggling teaching responsibilities with immediate operational needs like bike repairs. This necessitates strong time management skills and the ability to prioritize tasks based on their urgency and importance.
Favorite Parts of Working in the Cycling Industry as a Founder
Jared, Founder at The Sun Cycle, finds the most rewarding aspect of the fitness industry to be witnessing the "impact" on both clients and employees daily, as they "conquer new goals." This daily observation of progress is a key driver of Jared's satisfaction in their career.
What Type Of Person Thrives In The Fitness Industry, From A Founder At The Sun Cycle
Jared, Founder at The Sun Cycle, identifies discipline as the key to success in the fitness industry, emphasizing that it must be integrated into one's lifestyle—"it has to really become a lifestyle for you"—to overcome the inevitable "curve balls" and obstacles. This approach aligns with the holistic nature of the fitness industry and mirrors the message conveyed to clients, creating a strong professional and personal synergy.
What A Founder At The Sun Cycle Wishes They Had Known Before Entering The Entrepreneurship Industry
Jared, Founder at The Sun Cycle, emphasizes the critical, often overlooked, role of sales in the industry, stating that "at the end of the day, you need sales and you need to get new customers in through the door every single day." Consistent content creation and customer acquisition are key to success, especially for new businesses, a lesson learned through experience.
Entry-level Positions for Aspiring Fitness Instructors
At The Sun Cycle, entry-level opportunities exist in both training and setup, with a fitness certification—ideally cycling-focused—being the main prerequisite for training positions; an audition process assesses teaching capabilities, and internal growth tracks allow for advancement to "more senior level instructors."
Significant Career Lesson from a Founder at The Sun Cycle
Jared, Founder at The Sun Cycle, learned that "life comes in waves," emphasizing the cyclical nature of success and challenges in the sales industry. This understanding informs their approach to maintaining consistency and an even keel, riding the highs without complacency and weathering the lows with the knowledge that brighter times are ahead.
College Experiences That Helped a Founder at The Sun Cycle Succeed
Jared's atypical undergraduate major in sales and finance, combined with an SEO internship, proved unexpectedly valuable in launching The Sun Cycle. The experience in these three areas—"sales experience, finance experience, and that sort of like SEO marketing experience"—provided a strong foundation for wearing "all these different hats" required to successfully establish and grow the company.
How Identity Has Influenced a Founder at The Sun Cycle's Career
A growth mindset has been crucial for navigating career challenges; the founder of The Sun Cycle views setbacks, like the year-long teaching interruption caused by COVID, as "springboard moments" leading to new opportunities, highlighting adaptability as key to success in a dynamic industry. This perspective allows for agile responses to unexpected situations and contributes to overall mental well-being.
Advizer Personal Links
Thesuncycle.com,
Instagram - @TheSunCycle,
@sklartacus
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