My life has been a series of ups and downs. I went to university for accounting, worked in the industry for many years, and then transitioned to explore other industries such as the waste industry and gymnastic industry. None of these careers truly sparked any passion or interest to keep me going on a day-to-day basis. I always had an interest in owning a business. In the past I have attended Start Up events and read so many entrepreneurial stories, but I never knew what I would offer as a business, let alone know how to even start one. I have danced for most of my life. I competed and danced in shows but it didn’t last. Since the end of my dancing career in university, I had been lost not knowing where to take my dancing skills. I then stumbled upon pole dancing in Toronto and then Peterborough, finding my new love of dance, POLE! I trained with amazing pole dancers in Markham and Toronto for 2 years knowing that I want to make this my life! I am obsessed with it and I never knew that I could relearn acrobatic moves at a later age, AND get to wear 8-inch HEELS! I noticed that Durham Region didn’t have any pole studio in the area, and I knew that this is the perfect spot to try entrepreneurship and to share my pole and fitness expertise.

Once I finally figured out what I would like to offer to the world, I had no idea what steps I needed to take to make it happen. BACD is the perfect place to begin. The guidance that I received from Marlon has been more than helpful! The path to make Inferno happen became so much clearer and it is so nice to be able to bounce ideas off someone who has been in the fitness industry.

BACD and Marlon has offered so many great tools and offered quality guidance. I wouldn’t have been able to create and build Inferno without it. They offered business structure and incorporation guidance, heavily helped with decision making, helped build networks within Durham, connected me with specialists, and guided me through tough barriers.

I believe that without BACD and Marlon, Inferno would not have been so successful in its first year.

Inferno went through many tough situations to get to where it is in its first year. We attempted to start in April 2021 however the long Provincial lockdown had happened postponing our grand opening. We then officially opened end of July 2021! From renting by hour from a small 800 sq ft studio, to having no studio and moving online, to renovations, to another lockdown, to reopening in a 3500 sq ft space and training 3 instructors! It has been unbelievably fast paced! Up until April 2022 it was only me teaching all of the classes at Inferno. I loved every minute of it but it is so nice to have instructors come and help! We will soon be running 6 days a week and offering a variety of classes for our students to try!

Word of mouth has been the ultimate marketing strategy! Second is heavily marketing on social media (specifically Facebook and Instagram). Google advertising and maps have been our third most helpful connection. We also stay connected with our leads that have registered with us! We email out to everyone any updates and promotions at Inferno.

Be patient. Look for an idea that you are obsessed about and then LAUNCH IT! Don’t hesitate once you have the idea because someone will soon do the same thing if you don’t! Don’t EVER be shy sharing and talking about your business. You never know who you will stumble upon that might be able to help! Utilize BACD’s tools and guidance. Without these tools, building your business would be way harder!

I am so happy with how Inferno has so far turned out. We have a lot of new events and classes coming soon this year! Keep checking our website and social media for the announcements!