Community Builders Speak Series: Keeping it Real with Authentic Stories of Clients
This Community Builders Speak Series was inspired by the first article I wrote a couple of weeks back on The What, Why and How of Community Building. I have had the privilege to meet amazing people in the fitness and wellness space in the last two years and I wanted to highlight what these self-employed individuals understood as Community Building and how they were building Community in their respective businesses.
I am hoping that by speaking to these entrepreneurs/business owners and sharing their story, it can bring greater relevance to others, and will inspire and motivate others to understand the true meaning of Community Building, from a non-social services and non-sales angled approach.
Many are already building Community with their client and follower base, but they do not even know it! This series is for you to learn from different individuals in different stages of their entrepreneurial and Community building journey, and apply it to our own situations, and hopefully reap the benefits from it.
Yannick Dedigama — Co-Founder, AquaSpin™
Today I speak to Yannick Dedigama, Co-Founder of Aquaspin™.
Below is our conversation that has been transcribed and edited for you.
Tell me more about yourself and your business
I started Aquaspin™ Singapore in 2012 with my partner Alicia. Aquaspin™ is now in Malaysia, Australia, Dubai and soon to be in a few other ASEAN countries. We are currently working on our master franchise agreement for the business and brand expansion.
I grew up in Australia but am Swiss by nationality. My teenage years were spent being a waiter in a restaurant and I knew then already that I was a people-person. When I was 18, I was successful in my application to study hotel management at a very reputable university in Switzerland. This gave me the opportunity to not only learn about the theory of life, but also acquired interpersonal skills required, like empathy, to be a successful leader.
When I graduated from hotel school, I was drawn to the financial industry for two years, before realizing that it was not something I enjoyed and would want to do for the rest of my life. It was also at this point that Aquaspin™ was founded. My partner Alicia managed to rehabilitate her injured knee very well with aqua biking when she was living in France. Her knee was damaged through years of high intensity sports and ballet, and aqua biking literally allowed her to live an active life again.
When we moved to Singapore, we were surprised that this type of exercise and rehabilitation was not available. So we decided to bring the concept from Europe to Singapore, and it has been an eight year incredible journey since. Singapore’s climate is perfect for a water activity like Aquaspin™.
In 2016, a near-death motorcycle accident left me in a coma in ICU for 10 days with brain injury. This life-changing experience further fueled my desire to lead a purposeful life. I am always thankful for that time of my life and it is with this same purpose that I manage Aquaspin™.
How did you manage to successfully introduce Aquaspin™ to Singapore?
We focused a lot on having a very strong brand and ethos when we first started. Because of my background in hotel management, we also have a very detailed and stringent set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) with much attention on operations. This allowed for us to set the bar high for other aqua biking competitors who wanted to enter the space. At the same time, we were already growing very quickly because we were able to implement the SOPs efficiently and effectively, to capture market share from the beginning.
We made a conscious effort to have a brand that did not have direct relations and relevance to us as the founders. We were clear that the purpose of Aquaspin™ was to enrich people’s lives through fitness. And we would do this through empowerment, self-love, and maximising the human potential. This message was clear from the language we used to the way we communicated and how they were communicated by the instructors and front-facing team.
How much of Community is part of the Aquaspin™ value proposition?
Fitness is powerful because it brings people together. We understand that when we empower people in the right way, they will be representative of the brand and be instant ambassadors for us within the Community. Word-of-mouth is extremely powerful and by sharing authentic stories of clients, what they’ve gone through and were feeling, we are constantly keeping it real. This allows for others to be empathetic, and is always a great conversation starter knowing that someone else is experiencing the same issues or challenges as oneself.
We have quite a transient community because people travel for work and relocate. But the tightknit Community is always the reason for them to return every time they’re back in Singapore.
How do you communicate Community to a franchise partner?
The archetype personas exist in every country and we communicate our message through these individuals. The Community responds because they hear and feel themselves as the archetype personas, and even more so because the personas are real existing clients, so the stories are authentic and compelling.
The most important point to consider with a franchise partner is that there must be heart to heart connection with the person driving Aquaspin™ in that respective country/city. Locating individuals or businesses with the same vision and values alignment is extremely crucial to the success of any franchise and with that, the communicating of Community will be seamless. As Community is built into the brand and ethos, every touch point with the client experience with the SOPs reinforces Community through enriching lives with fitness and empowerment.
How do you hire for a Community-based team member?
Community is communicated by the team. They are representative of the brand and company regardless of whether they are client facing or backend support. Some things can be taught, and some things just cannot be taught. We hire people with heart and a passion and believe in the company’s ethos of enriching lives through fitness. With that heart comes that exuberance of energy which cannot be learnt even with hours and hours of training.
We also believe that as leaders of the company and brand, we have to invest in our people. Providing the opportunities for growth and progression is a value we hold for our clients and we do the same for our team as well. Our first recruit from 8 years ago is still with us today. Others have moved on because they have relocated or even started their own businesses. Whatever it is, we hold true our ethos of empowerment, and we support our team to pursue whatever is best for them, to live a fulfilling life. From providing support to a Community, to giving pointers on how to manage their new business, we want our team members to do well in their endeavors.
How would you define your Community?
We are predominantly female centric, but that is the nature of group fitness. Women are more willing to take a chance on something new. Also, aqua sports are mostly associated with lower intensity and men are not interested because their perception is that it is too “easy.
It took us awhile to stabilize and finetune the Community focus and now we can confidently say that it is women aged 35 to 50, with a very good mix of local to foreign student ratio (70:30). When we started, we had predominantly French expats to start with because Alicia was instructing, but as we progressed and trained new local instructors, the demographics of the Community also started to shift towards being more local. The instructor is pivotal to the success of the business.
There is also a large rehabilitation Community that appreciates aqua biking. The low impact water-based training allows for it to be a steppingstone towards more intense weight bearing activities, especially for post-surgery and post-natal. We work closely with healthcare professionals like doctors, physios and chiros. We are the “safe space” between post-surgery and going back to “normal” life.
How do you engage the Community?
The client journey starts from the first time they see your brand. More often than not it will be from your website, so the message and brand ethos must already start speaking to the client from then. The nature of the client demographics of Aquaspin™ is that they are not the traditional gym-going individuals, and this could be for a variety of reasons.
We are always very conscious of creating an inviting space where it is an inclusive environment. Water gives the incredible way of allowing people feel like they’re in a safe space. Self-doubt disappears when people jump into the water. The way and verbiage that instructors are trained to communicate with the class is key to creating and providing that inclusive environment. From the cues of the activities to introducing one client to another, the instructor has to have that awareness of how individuals are looking and feeling during the session, so they can allow them to feel comfortable.
How do you measure the success of your Community building?
It is difficult to measure this, especially since it is also a transient Community where clients come and go. It’s like how marketing was looked upon 10 years ago, where the Return on Investment (ROI) was not possible to be calculated.
But some metrics we use are engagement within the social media platforms. Facebook and Whatsapp are two of the more popular platforms that we use to engage the Community. There are leaders within the Community who set up the Whatsapp groups and we take note of the number of post-workout interactions and gatherings. How many people were there chatting before and after class… and How many people leave immediately after class?
It is not data driven, but it is enough for us to know that we are on the right track.
Any tips for others to building Community?
Be patient. Building Community takes time. Our excursions for the Community to explore different parts of Singapore took a while to gain momentum. Include everyone in the company for Community activities. Make people feel like they are a part of something larger than themselves. We are all human, we have emotions, so having empathy not just for our clients but also to those who make up the company, is very important. Don’t just create connections but build relationships.
Have fun! The business will flourish when you’re having fun
Parting Words
Motivation comes and goes, but if you have purpose and you understand your why, it will transcribe into all other areas of your life and set your path for the rest of your life.
Trust in life. Everything comes in its own time.
Do things with intent.
Don’t be afraid to learn many new things and skills by trying and experimenting. Take a chance.
Only then will you be able to be in your zone and take flight.
About Alex Loh
I am a business and life coach, business owner, loving husband and doting father.
My compass is guided by the desire to help people. I coach individuals and business owners to find purpose. Together we unlock fruitful solutions, experience growth and achieve targeted success. Having successfully built and maintained communities over the years, my focus is to help businesses and organisations harness community as the vehicle to connect, and build credibility, trust and authentic relationships.
Come speak to me about Finding Purpose, Building Communities and/or in Optimising your Life!
Photos from www.unsplash.com.
More info at https://www.aquaspin.sg/
