The Unsustainable Habit this Fitness Media Company Founder Had to Change to Be More Productive
Victoria Scott, Founder of Sweat Concierge
“I had nothing lined up except for a faint idea of what I wanted to do next.” -Victoria Scott, founder of Sweat Concierge
Victoria Scott started her company Sweat Concierge, a fitness class review platform, on a feeling and no plan. She says just knew that the situation of working for a bigger company was no longer right for her and instead of trying to make a bad situation work, she jumped, “Looking back, it was less about starting my own company and more of the concept of fitness that was driving my interest to pursue this path.” This was back in April 2015.
That summer, Victoria organized a very small outdoor group fitness program on Martha’s Vineyard. It was from that experiment it became clear to her that she wanted to start her own business. “I gave myself three months filled with time and space to brainstorm, whiteboard, network, write and land on the idea that is now the driving force of Sweat Concierge.”
Four years later Sweat Concierge has reviewed 500 fitness classes, has grown into a 10k+ sweat-loving community, has hosted 8 one day 200+ participant SweatCon Rally fitness events (think gym crawl instead of bar crawl), and has partnered with brands such as Reebok and MINDBODY. This year this event series is going to Washington DC, Boston, San Francisco, and Victoria has plans to further expand this experience in 2020 (hint: Coachella for fitness and wellness).
We asked Victoria how she manages her week from recharge time, to shifting habits, to getting it all done. Below is our quick-fire chat together.
What is the key to your productivity during the week?
Allowing for time and space to think.
What is the first thing you do to get your week started?
Plan out each day with meetings, goals, deadlines. Time management is the key to success!
When the week gets a little intense what do you do?
Step back, try to put things in perspective and regroup.
What is the biggest unsustainable habit that you had to change to be more productive?
Micro-managing just about everything.
How did you change that habit?
Definitely not fully “fixed” but slowly pushing myself to let go of projects and give others ownership.
What is your weekly self-care non-negotiable?
Exercise and sleep. Bed by 10:00pm every night.
What is something you do to help the transition from work mode to chill mode?
Put my computer into sleep mode and walk away.
What do you do to help yourself relax?
Watch mindless television.
What do you do to jog your inspiration?
Research companies with similar missions or goals.
What is your favorite part of the week?
Saturday, life moves just a little bit slower.
When do you do your best big picture thinking?
I have time and space to do it. If I have other deadlines looming over me it makes it hard to focus and think clearly.
When do you do your best in-the-weeds work?
When I have a deadline and I feel pressure.
What do you do to re-energize when you’re running on empty?
Focusing on the finish line and knowing I will get there one hour at a time.