Gretchen Zelek lives in Santa Monica CA and Cape Cod MA. She is co-founder of Donuts and Pie Fitness which interviews national experts about new and innovative ways to age enthusiastically and how to live a healthy life to the fullest with no regrets or hesitation. Gretchen is a FAI Functional Aging Specialist, AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor, Ageless Grace Educator and has presented at many fitness conventions.
She also writes about fitness, running, and lifestyle over 50. Gretchen, 63, has been married for 35 years and is mom to 4 grown children. She enjoys volunteering for charities in the Los Angeles area, loves running and never misses her daily zoom corebarrefit class.
Please tell us a little bit about your company – what is Donuts and Pie Fitness all about?
Donuts & Pie Fitness is all about aging enthusiastically! We interview national fitness, health, wellness and lifestyle experts who apprise us of new and innovative ways to live a happy, healthy, fun and fulfilled life. We share a new interview every week on our website with relevant posts on social media, also promoting our experts and their brands. Donuts & Pie Fitness sets itself apart from other over age 50 sites because rather than focusing on nostalgia, retirement, reminiscing about the past, grumbling about the future, or other stereotypical aging issues, we focus on living life to the fullest with no regrets or hesitation.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
About ten years ago I started a fitness products company called dod Fitness. I designed and sold fitness tools to make it more comfortable while working out on the knees, wrists and neck They were sold online, at gyms and studios. After a few years, I became a Functional Aging Specialist, certified Group Fitness Instructor and Ageless Grace Educator and developed a program called Fitness Tools for Baby Boomers which introduced many kinds of fitness tools available to help people who needed modifications when exercising due to uncomfortable wrists, knees, back or neck. I presented the program at fitness conventions across the country and met many experts along the way. Annie Gibbons, a friend and fitness pro who lives on the east coast and works primarily with older clients, and I were talking and realized there was a great need for information and resources for people over age 50 so we started Donuts & Pie Fitness.
What are your plans, how do you plan to grow this company?
We want to get lots more engagement and build our credibility as the go to aging enthusiastically specialists.
We just started doing videos, live and recorded and it is really helping us gain momentum. We have interviewed some incredible people and hope that they will share the interviews and we will gain engagement from that. I have a give give get attitude and so I think one of the most important things we can do is to engage with other like-minded businesses and people as well as collaborate with others.
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
Initially, I tried things like specific topics and themes for posts, every day, and if they didn’t work or get any attention, then I changed it up, and that was exhausting and time-consuming. I also did not really have an organized way to share information between our team and relied on texts and emails.
Now I have it really organized and it is so much easier and saves a ton of time. The biggest challenge I had was getting people to trust us and allow us to interview them. I have always believed in going big and doing it right. One thing that really works is that Annie and I are a great team and our collaborations are really fun.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
Donuts & Pie Fitness sets itself apart from other over age 50 sites because rather than focusing on nostalgia, retirement, reminiscing about the past, grumbling about the future, or other stereotypical aging issues, we focus on living life to the fullest with no regrets or hesitation. We share a variety of information to cover almost everything you might want to know about aging enthusiastically; including lifestyle, nutrition, brain health, fitness, mindfulness and fun.
What is one thing that you do daily to grow as an entrepreneur?
I read everything I can online- the news, magazines, blogs, and social media. I find lots of new and innovative information, meet people and get lots of ideas for interviews and posts.
What are three books or courses you recommend for new entrepreneurs?
My books and courses are primarily about healthy aging and fitness. Next to my desk right now are Tracey Jackson’s “Between a Rock and a Hard Place; Why FIfty is not the New Thirty”, Mary Pipher’s “Women Rowing North”, Ashton Applewhite’s “This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism”, and “Ageless Quest; One Scientist’s Search for Genes that Prolong Youth” by Leny Guarente.
If you only had $100 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
Wow, that is a good question. I would spend it on social media and branding.
How can we get in touch with you?
You can visit my website:donutsandpiefitness.com or contact me via email: donutsandpiefitness@gmail.com or via social media Instagram: @donutsandpiefitness Facebook: @donutsandpi
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