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@thefit.va

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✨ Virtual Assistant for fitness & sports businesses
💪🏽 10+ years experience
🏋🏽‍♀️ Former gym owner
👇🏽 Let’s chat about how I can help your business

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5 Weeks To Go

It's the middle of October.

That means the ticket discount will be reduced soon.

If you've been waiting to book, don't leave it much longer.

18-19 November. We'll see you there.

25% OFF - link in bio.

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2 Years of Affleck & Co. 🎤♥️

Last year, we celebrated our first birthday with cocktails, mini iced ring doughnuts and a rendition of Ice Ice Baby that absolutely nobody asked for. Performed by me 🤦🏼‍♀️😂

As our second birthday approaches on the 18th September, I’ve been thinking about why I built Affleck & Co.

I never had a five-year plan or roadmap. I just knew I wanted to create something that didn’t exist.

I’ve spent quite a lot of my life wondering whether I simply hadn’t found the right thing yet. I could see paths that worked brilliantly for other people, but they didn’t always feel like mine.

I think I’m just different.

For years, I probably thought that was restlessness. Two years into Affleck & Co., I understand it differently. Sometimes we stop looking for the thing we want and start building it instead.

I thought I was building a sports business consultancy. But I was also creating a different way of working, built around brilliant women, where experience is valued, there’s room for life alongside work and success doesn’t have to follow somebody else’s definition.

And one question has come to sit at the heart of it:

What becomes possible if we put this woman in the room?

Somewhere between the client meetings, workshops, coffees, proposals, airport lounges and approximately 4,000 voice notes, we’ve also built a community.

And as we turn two, we’re getting ready to bring the Co.Lab to life in the UK and US 🇬🇧🇺🇸

Sometimes we build the thing we never had. And then discover other people were looking for it too.

So yes, this is a birthday post. But mostly, it’s a thank you.

Affleck & Co. might have my name above the door, but it has never been built by one person.

It has always been about people. ♥️

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GYM OWNERS AND OPERATORS THE WAIT IS OVER!

Tickets for the Gym Operator Conference 2026 are now on sale.

If you were with us last year, you'll know exactly what's coming. If you weren't, this video gives you a glimpse of what to expect.

Over two days you'll join 500 independent gym owners, hear from 50+ expert speakers across four education stages, meet 80 leading suppliers and partners, enjoy the best networking in the industry, great food, unlimited barista coffee and our iconic delegate goody bags.

Gym Owner tickets are currently available with 65% off, but only until the end of July.

Secure your place now while the biggest saving is available. Book your tickets today via Eventbrite or reach out for membership details

Ticket link in bio!

See you on the 18th and 19th November 2026!

PS: If you're a supplier looking to be in the room, reach our for exhibitor and partnership details

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We’re pleased to welcome @thefit.va as a new partner of Independent Gyms.⠀
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Running an independent gym means spinning a lot of plates, from memberships and customer service to social media, admin and retention. The Fit VA helps gym owners take some of that pressure away through dedicated virtual assistant support designed specifically for fitness businesses.⠀
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Their support can help owners free up time, improve systems and focus more energy on growing their communities and businesses.⠀
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We’re looking forward to working together and introducing more gym owners to the benefits of quality operational support behind the scenes.⠀
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Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3RyKKh2 ⠀
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Welcome to the community!

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Messy gyms are rarely caused by bad people. They’re caused by missing processes.⁠
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Comment POD13 and we’ll send you the full podcast episode.⁠
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In this clip, the conversation highlights why getting simple systems in place early can transform how a gym runs. When the same task is done differently every time, confusion builds, errors increase and the member experience becomes inconsistent. The shift comes from mapping out exactly what happens at each stage, especially from the moment someone signs up.⁠
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From welcome emails to access setup and onboarding steps, every action should follow a clear and repeatable path. That consistency removes friction for the team and creates a smoother experience for members.⁠
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It’s a reminder that great businesses are not built on effort alone. They’re built on processes that work the same way every time.⁠
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#gymsystems #gymbusiness #memberexperience #gymowners #fitnesspodcast

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Community is something big gyms can’t manufacture.⁠
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Comment POD13 and we’ll send you the full podcast episode.⁠
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In this clip, the conversation explores why a gym’s real value isn’t just the equipment or the programming, it’s the people inside it. When members are talking to each other, helping each other with equipment, and celebrating each other’s progress, something powerful is happening. That environment can’t be bought or replicated with marketing.⁠
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For independent gyms especially, this is the real advantage. When members feel connected to each other, the gym stops being just a place to train. It becomes a place they belong. And that kind of community is something you simply can’t put a price on.

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First impressions don’t happen in the gym. They happen in the inbox.⁠
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Comment POD13 and we’ll send you the full podcast episode.⁠
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In this clip, the conversation highlights why the first email a member receives matters more than most gym owners realise. For many people, that welcome email is their very first real interaction with the service. If it’s delayed by a few days, the excitement fades and uncertainty starts to creep in. Members begin to question what kind of experience they’re actually going to get.⁠
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The gyms that retain members early are the ones that respond immediately. A fast, clear welcome sets expectations, builds trust, and reassures the member they made the right decision. Small systems like this shape the entire member journey.

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Where equity shows up every day 💜

As we marked #IWD2026, I found myself reflecting on the rooms I was lucky enough to sit in this past week.

Over three days, five very different spaces. Different conversations, audiences and causes. Yet by the end of the week they all felt connected.

What stayed with me wasn’t the panels or the stages.

It was the feeling.

Being around people who genuinely care about leaving the world better than they found it. The kind who lift others up, open doors and bring others with them.

From Empathy Week, to conversations at adidas HQ about opportunities for girls in football.

To Good Vibes Only Talent’s first conference with athletes using their platforms with purpose.

To the Movember Awards, recognising the people changing the conversation around men’s health.

And finishing the week with the brilliant community at AllBright everywoman, celebrating women stepping forward to lead.

But just as meaningful were the moments in between.

Lunch with people I’d only just met.
And a slightly chaotic game of dance floor basketball that somehow turned strangers into friends.

Because while the work around equity is serious, it’s also deeply human.

People showing up for people.

#InternationalWomensDay may spark the conversation.
But the real work happens in the actions people take every day.

And behind it all is something even more powerful.

Human connection.

#EquityInAction #iwd2026

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A full year of Affleck & Co. 🤍

This year asked a lot of us. We learned when to push, when to pause, and how to grow without losing what matters. We built a Collective with intention, worked with organisations we genuinely respect, and stayed rooted in people, not process.

There were big moments and quiet ones, hard conversations and really good laughs. All of it shaped who we are becoming.

Thank you to everyone who trusted us, challenged us, and showed up with care. We’re taking a breath, feeling proud, and stepping into 2026 with real clarity.

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How can it be another two weeks since my last Notes from Nicky?

This one feels like a proper end-of-year moment.

In this edition:

👩‍💼Entrepreneur of the Year Awards with the AllBright and everywoman community. A reminder that building something from scratch is hard, messy and worth it.
📆 Board meeting season. Decisions, strategy and the work that actually holds things together.
🌊 Presenting our final strategy to the team in West Wales. A solid way to close the chapter.
📚Wrapping up impact work with London Sport, sharing what’s really happening at the Lewisham CommUNITY Space.
👭Ending the year with a Collective team day and festive drinks. Needed.

🐈‍⬛ Mo update:
Very clear that it’s nearly time to log off. Mostly asleep. Occasionally disruptive.

This will be the last Notes from Nicky for 2025. Back in January.

Thanks for being here x

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Some weeks are not about outputs or outcomes. Some weeks are about how you show up.

Spending time with the Collective yesterday reminded me why we’re building this the way we are. Curious enough to ask better questions. Brave enough to say the hard things. Integrity always, in the work and with each other.

This kind of business didn’t exist before. There was no neat blueprint to follow. We are building it in real time, choosing people over polished and long-term impact over shortcuts.

What a privilege!!!

A privilege to do all of this alongside women who challenge me, support me, and grow with me.

From all of us in the room, Ruth Shaw OBE Preeti Shetty Elizabeth Stanton Mandu Reid Vicky Lowe Leah Brown FRSA Sarah Iles and Natalie Strange and Jenny Mitton joining us online, we wish you a restful and joyful holiday break.

Grateful for this team and excited for what’s ahead.

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#WomenInSport #WomenInBusiness #ValuesLed #BuiltDifferently #Collective

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