- El and Jon Trovas own a FitStop in Adelaide
- Couple could lose their gym amid rising costs
- READ MORE: Sydney's favourite donut shop forced to close amid rising costs
A couple who own a gym franchise on the brink of closure has shared the harsh realities of being small business owners in Australia amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Adelaide couple El and Jon Trovas face losing their FitStop gym franchise in Kilkenny, which they opened just seven months ago, along with their family home.
Mrs Trovas told Daily Mail Australia that she and her husband were first-time business owners on a steep learning curve when they opened in November.
The gym has grown from 30 to 70 members, but the couple says that's still not enough to keep it open amid soaring rent, electricity, and insurance prices.
In an effort to keep the business open, the couple begged for help in a social media video, warning they would go under if more people don't sign up.
While many hard-working Australians symptathised with their struggle, some claimed they should have known the risks before opening a roughly $50-a-week gym amid soaring rents and a nationwide cost-of-living crisis.
'Sympathetic, but owning and operating a business requires planning and goals - nothing is guaranteed and this happens, plus in a saturated market,' one said.
Another wrote: 'A lot of people are facing a cost of living crisis, and gym memberships are high on the chopping block, people are turning back to walking, running, cycling, swimming, or buying their own equipment.'
El and Jon could lose their house and their FitStop franchise if they don't sign up 50 new members to their gym by the end of July (the couple and business partners are pictured)
FitStop was founded by Peter and Bec Hull in 2013 (pictured, Fitstop members in January)
However, Mrs Trovas said people should think twice before cancelling.
'I can definitely understand that. I've trained at other group fitness franchises and thought I could save the $59 a week and cancelled it,' she said.
'And I can tell you now that $59 a week is just going to go somewhere else and you don't actually see that return go back into your pocket.
'And then all of a sudden your mental health is declining, you don't feel as good within yourself, everything sort of declines.'
Mrs Trovas and her husband have made changes to try and save money since opening the FitStop franchise.
The couple, who spend $900 on electricity each month, try to save on their bill by turning the LED lights off in the gym between 10:30am and 4:30pm.
'In South Australia, to get out of debt [the government] sold the power distribution network to a Chinese company, so power is expensive in general,' Mrs Trovas said.
'My husband's mum lives in Queensland, her house lights are always on and it costs her half the price of what it is for us. So that plays a factor in it.'
Mrs Trovas said she empathised with other small business owners amid a cost of living crisis
Mrs Trovas says Aussies should think twice before cancelling their gym membership due to the physical and mental benefits (pictured, members at FitStop Kilkenny in May)
Mrs Trovas said she empathised with other small business owners in Australia who are battling increasing operational costs.
'This is just the situation that we're in. People want to do something for themselves so they put everything into it. Some have big backings and big companies, so they've got more expendable cash,' she said,
'The small business owners who have put everything into it, I totally feel for them. My husband and I always try to support local business because we know how it feels.'
Mrs Trovas said eight new members had signed up since the video went viral and that they would continue to fight for the 42 remaining members.
'I thought I would have 50 cancellations but it had the opposite effect,' she said.
'One of our members asked if we could raise prices for people already paying which means we wouldn't have to aim for as many new members.
'With my moral compass, I just can't do that. I can't just say "Hey, we're feeling the pinch so we're going to do this to you guys", I just wouldn't do that.'
