Creating Community in Entrepreneurship: #BreathtoBoss with Liz Morrison
Our Breath to Boss entrepreneur this week is Liz Morrison! Liz is the founder of The Fit Atlanta, a fitness and wellness club in Atlanta, as well as a branding mastermind, athlete, and global marketer. She’s written The Brand Bestie Workbook to help fitness entrepreneurs build and grow their brands (available for pre-launch) and we’re beyond excited to learn about her journey into entrepreneurship!
Here are a few questions that dig into her journey!
What made you take the leap in entrepreneurship?
I haven’t totally made the leap yet! I still have a 9-5 corporate job as a global marketing + branding professional. But I love having at outlet to create and use my skills to impact the community around me—the local Atlanta community is what The Fit Atlanta is all about. My goal one day to reach financial freedom through my entrepreneurship and fully focus on my brands. I like to do work on my own terms, work from where I choose, use my creativity to explore boundaries… I think freedom, flexibility, and impact is what drives me to leap into entrepreneurship and continue investing in it.
What’s your favorite part about being your own boss?
I’m sure a lot of people say this, but I like being able to work on my own terms. I don’t like being confined to one way for working, one way of creating, one desk to sit in every single day. Now, I do in fact do those things because I have a corporate job and that’s just how my situation is at the moment—and I’m ok with that! I respect my career and needs that come with it. But when I work on my business, I choose if I want to go to a coffee shop, my bed, a co-working space. It’s my outlet to create and build, too.
Do you have any work philosophies that drive your business?
It is really easy to get lost in focusing on revenue, so my philosophy is to keep my heart and mind on my why. The root of my business is about community and connection. If I can facilitate those through events, experiences, storytelling, and quality content, then the revenue will come. It ebbs and flows—I have found myself slipping into the black hole of the bottom line at times and it doesn’t feel good! Focusing on my why always centers me and brings me back the the heart of my business.
What does “bringing breath to business” mean for you and your brand?
Honestly the more I think about that phrase the more I associate it with bringing fun and enjoyment to your business, for not only you, but your customers, too. I associate breath with life, relaxation, and energy, and if you can show the life of your brand on social and share authenticity with your audience, that is breath. I bring breath to my business by involving our community in the work we do—the Atlanta wellness and fitness community is welcome to contribute to TheFitAtlanta.com blog, volunteer at events, attend our events, do Instagram story takeovers, etc. It is refreshing to grow a community-focused brand to highlight our people, and not just one person. Being the Founder of The Fit Atlanta, I rarely talk about myself—it’s not about me. It’s about the community. That is a breath of fresh air.
What’s your biggest tip for social media success?
I think it’s important to involve your audience or community in the work you do. The posts you read on The Fit Atlanta blog are all contributed by our community. I think that’s what makes us special. Commenting, responding to DMs, liking, shouting people out who are relevant to your brand or wearing your merch—all of these are little actions you can take to show the people investing their time in you that you see them and appreciate them. Seriously… a little goes a long way!
What would be the one piece of advice you’d give to someone working to find their passion or purpose/piece of advice you’d give to someone working on building a brand/business?
I don’t think you can find your passion/purpose—I believe it finds you. It speaks to you by giving you feelings of joy, happiness, excitement, and fulfillment. You have to really listen to your gut and the feelings you have when you do something—for example, if hosting events and talking with people exhausts you, it may not be your thing… but if it excites you and entertaining people brings you joy—that is a sign to follow that passion! And when you can use your passion to positively impact the lives of others, that is purpose.
Advice for building a brand/business… be patient. It does not happen over night. Be prepared to put in the work and push through the days when it feels hard—sometimes running your business won’t bring you joy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not your purpose. If a task in running your business does not bring you joy, then that is a sign to outsource that action if possible. If you don’t have the means to outsource, just grin and bear it because that’s how it is in the beginning. Don’t give up!
