Meet Ashley Coffey | Owner of NEXUS Community Fitness

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley Coffey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As an athlete and professional dancer, I have seen a lot of injuries. Some from age, some from bad coaching, and some from lack of awareness when it comes to fitness education & technique. Add that with my love for teaching, and passion for community, you get NEXUS. My partner Marielle Hendry (NEXUS Co-Owner & Head Coach) and I saw a problem in the fitness world and took on being a part of the solution. We wanted to contribute to a better, more inclusive fitness community here in Colorado Springs. One day at a time, we built NEXUS from the ground up. Starting your own business is a lot of hard work, late nights, and mental burnout, yet we always came back to the NEXUS vision to keep us going. It paid off! Here we are 2 years later with a thriving gym, strong community, and educational material that is available to anyone.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
From the outside, entrepreneurship and leadership looks like the sexiest thing in the world. From the inside, it’s long hours, gray hair, and stressful, dirty hard work. If you don’t have a community of people that lift you up when you want to give up, you won’t make it. Without the community we have had and participated in building within NEXUS already, it wouldn’t have been possible.
We were also very clear on our mission, vision, and core values from the start. But, when you are clear and set intentions, the world will test you on it. Some of our obstacles have been around drawing lines with who we want to do business with, and/or choosing relationships over money. To run a business you must have very clear goals and then stick to your plan. One more obstacle that I think entrepreneurs don’t talk about enough, is having self-leadership. When you are building a community or business of any kind, you are in the spotlight whether you like it or not. You must first lead yourself before you earn the right to lead others. At NEXUS, we take this very seriously.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We chose to place NEXUS in downtown Colorado Springs for a reason. Our downtown area is becoming very welcoming, diverse, and cultured which is so needed as we continue to progress as a community. We have such a great variety in our community, I never travel far to find good food and good people. Whenever friends or family come to visit, I take them to our part of the downtown neighborhood. Starting the day with Paris Crepe, then doing a dance class with Latisha Hardy, or a group fitness class with NEXUS, to grabbing drinks and dinner at High Grade Jamaican Foods before trying some of the new bars like ICONS just up the street. We even have a Barber Shop/Studio if you are looking for some style. Honestly, in my opinion, downtown is where it’s at whether you want to chill or have a good time.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Opening NEXUS wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our amazing community. We would like to take a moment to thank two individuals who had a massive impact on NEXUS reality. Latisha Hardy and Jean Hendry have been our biggest advocates! Latisha partnered with us to train her professional Latisha Hardy Lady Boss Dance Teams from the very beginning. With her partnership in business and our community building, we have built a value no one else has. NEXUS will forever stay grateful for her friendship, faith, and business wisdom as she is truly a one-of-a-kind human.
Jean Hendry supported us like any mother would, in the creation and planning stages of NEXUS. Jean has run her own successful coaching company for years now and shared everything she has learned with us. She even helped us with the down payment because she believed our dream would become a reality. Without her direct questions, guidance, business experience, and powerful input, NEXUS’s vision would have never been manifested. For this, we deeply appreciate her.
These two people stood by us from the beginning and continue to mentor us along the way. Without them, NEXUS wouldn’t be here. So, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you!

Website: https://www.thenexuscommunity.com

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