Camryn Bukowski’s garage in Phillipsburg, Montana, was getting crowded. She had been teaching functional fitness classes there and had plenty of demand since the nearest open-to-anyone gym was more than 100 miles away. But when Bukowski and a business partner decided to open Goat House Gym together in 2023, they soon learned that making a profit in the small town was tougher than they’d expected. Fortunately, Bukowski found resources from Verizon Small Business Digital Ready and learned she needed to factor in more of her costs to move past break-even. “We were really concerned that increasing our membership prices meant we would lose members,” Bukowski says. She restructured her memberships, raised her prices 18% and started to see a profit. “We didn’t lose members. [In fact], we were able to retain them. The Digital Ready courses gave me confidence to base our prices on real numbers and know my worth.” Digital Ready also taught Bukowski, who is now running the business on her own, to let data drive her marketing plan. After analyzing the gym’s email and social media campaigns, she began tailoring messages by audience, adding relevant offers and sharing stories about her members. Reaching the right people led to sold-out small-group training sessions. “Social media and email engagement directly correlates to our revenue each month,” she says. With profits steadier and more predictable, Bukowski has been able to reinvest. She bought three new machines and hired a videographer to film for a new online training program, extending Goat House’s reach beyond Phillipsburg. Goat House Gym now tailors their equipment and classes to serve members of all ages, with dedicated programs for toddlers, teens and older adults. Bukowski employs 11 people in a town where instructor jobs barely existed. “Now I can’t imagine doing anything else,” Bukowski says. “I love running a gym. I love the members and the community here.” Verizon Small Business Digital Ready is part of Verizon’s goal to support 1 million small businesses by 2030 with free resources to help them succeed. To sign up, visit Verizon Small Business Digital Ready. Visit https://wwww.CitizenVerizon.com to learn more about the company’s responsible business efforts. An individual user's experience may vary and results are not guaranteed. #VerizonSmallBusinessDigitalReady #DigitalReady #SmallBusiness #EntrepreneurLife

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