2018
NATALIE ALLEN
Owner/trainer at GRITfit
Academy
26
May / June 2020
Any entrepreneur will tell you that
starting a business can be difficult.
It can become even harder when that
business is attached to a franchise, which
often comes with its own rigid model and
concept. Such was the case for Natalie
Allen, who became a business owner
with her acquisition of Stretch-n-Grow
Indiana, where she would stress the
importance of physical well-being to
young Hoosiers.
There were a lot of moving pieces
in Allen’s life when the opportunity to
purchase the location came up, including
plans to go back to school. That’s when
she worked out a deal that was too good
to pass up.
“I offered [the former owner] way less
than what she was asking,” Allen said.
“If you want to finance it to me for the
next 10 years, then I’ll buy it. And she
said, ‘OK.’”
Things didn’t get much easier from
there. Communication with the franchise
owner became less and less frequent.
Other affiliates in larger metropolitan
areas blossomed, but Allen’s coverage
area was Clark, Floyd, Harrison and
Washington counties. What worked in
big cities didn’t always translate well to
more rural areas.
She then decided to walk away. Walk-
ing away, however, didn’t mean she was
quitting.
What came next was the launch of
her own operation, GRITfit Academy, in
2019. While the name of her business has
changed, the mission remains the same.
“We still teach physical education,”
she said. “I realized that a lot of these
students of mine ... they don’t have a lot
of grit. I realized that character develop-
ment was a really big piece of that. That’s
the biggest thing I learned from physical
activity. I wanted to make sure I fit in that
component.”
Though she still teaches children the
basics of physical fitness and well-being,
she also wants her students to come away
mentally stronger. It’s about building
confidence in who they are, Allen said.
“It looks like we’re just playing, but
it’s so much more than that,” she said.
“They start hearing language that tells
them they can have different qualities,
and they can use their inner strengths. As
long as they keep practicing at whatever
it is they do, then they won’t fail.”