Lucy Dunne noticed a gap in an oversaturated market after losing weight and realizing that her journey was largely unsupported. After the incredible journey of losing and maintaining 80 pounds of weight loss, Lucy launched Dunnebells in April 2017. Dunnebells is an online personal training company with a social mandate that helps clients to lose weight, build muscle, develop healthy habits, and truly become the best version of themselves.

Warm Up!

Lucy began her entrepreneurial journey with a brilliant first step—research! The truth is the “weight loss/personal training” spaces are pretty busy, but Lucy was able to identify a gap by analyzing her own experiences. She noted a lot of the products being offered were boot camps or highly targeted to a specific body part. Lucy’s ask:  what about the regular badasses who want to feel strong, look good and change their habits? It became clear that her passion was empowering women to make lifestyle changes when it comes to their health and wellness. Lucy best describes her relationship with her business as “my cup being filled when I coach, train, and educate clients.”

Now We Are Sweating…

Once she had a base of clients in more than ten countries, Lucy was able to begin the onerous task of continuous improvement. For Lucy, it took years to lose the weight, and she felt that it didn’t have to be this way for everyone. When asked what makes Dunnebells different, Lucy says:

“Starting my own business allows me to call the shots. It allows me the freedom to pivot when required. It allows me to continue to deliver programs and be alongside the transformations that my clients around the world are experiencing. Starting this business provides a platform for myself and others to talk about things that most other business owners try and shy away from. Things like eating disorders, health and hormone illnesses, and the ‘real life’ side of what is involved to become the very best version of you.”

Heavy Lifting Is Necessary

There are many challenges facing entrepreneurs—for Lucy it started as customer development. The biggest challenge in the early days was trying to narrow down who the ideal client was to ensure messaging, marketing, and all communication efforts were helping to grow the business. Lucy’s “ideal client” actually changed after a few months in business, which was challenging because sometimes entrepreneurs think they know best from the start. However, Lucy knew she could better move the business forward by making more data-driven decisions. Now Lucy is looking at long-term strategy implementation and scaling lean, which can be exhaustive, though not impossible, when you are an army of one.

Staying Pumped

“The best piece of advice I could give you to maintain a healthy balanced lifestyle is to find what works for you, and do more of that!”

Lucy’s advice for entrepreneurs is simple. Taking care of your health will DIRECTLY impact your results in business:

  • Surround yourself with people who have achieved what you want to achieve.
  • Often, we try to overcomplicate it with expensive bells and whistles that are simply just not required. Eat lean protein, vegetables, and healthy fats, and don’t be afraid to also eat cake, cookies, donuts, and chips!
  • Life is for living, and when you realize that your healthy, balanced lifestyle doesn’t necessarily mean you need to weigh a certain number, it is a beautiful freedom that you deserve to feel!
  • For individuals thinking about getting into entrepreneurship: if you want to start a business, don’t wait. There will never, ever be a perfect time—just start now!

Finishing Strong

Dunnebells is growing and has some exciting times ahead. Lucy has just finished an incredible “Be The Fire – Badass Retreat,” participated in mentorship programming, and is currently in Cohort 5 of the ATB X program. If you want to find out more about Dunnebells and get notified about exclusive events not announced anywhere else, you can jump on Lucy’s list and download your free 7-day arm toning workout at the same time.

Follow Dunnebells on social media or visit the website to learn more today!