Welcome to the Jazz Shapers podcast from Mishcon de Reya. What you are about to hear was originally broadcast on Jazz FM however the music has been cut due to rights issues.
Elliot Moss
Welcome to Jazz Shapers, with me Elliot Moss bringing the shapers of the business world together with the musicians shaping jazz, soul and blues. My guest today I am extremely pleased to say is Kimberlee Perry, Founder and CEO of Bounce Fit Body – what a great name – the resistance based fitness class company. Disappointed after missing a promotion Australian born Kimberlee found herself feeling isolated having moved out of London and on maternity leave. Seeking a more passion led lifestyle – sounds good to me – and to connect with others through exercise, Kimberlee left her sales job and spent £200 on eight second hand trampolines and a basic website, launching the first bounce sessions in a community centre in 2014. Unable to meet the growing demand alone Kimberlee recruited a team of instructors and then set up a franchise model. Bounce Fit Body now has, wait for it, over 350 franchise bounce studios in the UK and internationally, with over 60,000 monthly attendees and they’ve since expanded into other areas of resistance based fitness such as reformer Pilates and spin bikes. Welcome Kimberlee.
Kimberlee Perry
Thank you so lovely to be here.
Elliot Moss
£200, eight trampolines, what did you expect to happen when you started this business over 10 years ago?
Kimberlee Perry
Yeah honestly not much. All the goal was at that point was not going back to my corporate job and maybe being able to teach fitness classes once a week to eight people obviously. Seven people if you include me on one of those trampolines and £200 was about all I had on maternity leave there or we were willing to put towards a little goal like this, Christ, my husband and I. So yeah that was it, second hand trampolines from Amazon was the way and there wasn’t many of them around. They weren’t, they weren’t a thing at that point. Obviously I didn’t create the trampoline so I knew about them but my background in dance and my love of aerobics, cardio exercise, that sort of came together and I thought I’ve got to, I’ve got to bring something else to it and that’s where the trampolines came in.
Elliot Moss
And when did you realise that you were on to something? When was, was there a moment when you went hold on a second this isn’t going to be once a week, this isn’t going to be seven other women or men, whoever it’s going to be…
Kimberlee Perry
Yeah probably…
Elliot Moss
…it’s something else. Something’s happening here.
Kimberlee Perry
Something’s going on. That was really exciting actually but it was also a pretty nerve wracking time because my son was probably five months old so I really was busy being a mum and this was part of my own personal fitness and the goal in having it be something for the future was something I thought was going to be a real slow burn, maybe in a year or so time it might take off to the point of being three or four classes a week but really quickly at about five months in I had to say to my husband, look this is something I want to make more of a go of and…
Elliot Moss
And why did you say that to him? That’s the bit I’m intrigued about.
Kimberlee Perry
Well there was…
Elliot Moss
Because you know it could have just been…
Kimberlee Perry
…bookings flying in.
Elliot Moss
Oh okay so what, how did…
Kimberlee Perry
Yeah bookings.
Elliot Moss
…people hear about it though.
Kimberlee Perry
Well I would walk my little self around pushing the pram and dropping some leaflets into the neighbourhood letterboxes. I would go to the local community centres with my baby, my son and we’d do a baby class and you know, some sort of sensory class and I’d stick a leaflet on the notice board there. In the local churches or any sort of little community centre or group that was happening. I would put those leaflets around and hope for the best and, and that was where the booking system link was and people would go on and click and book and pay by PayPal and…
Elliot Moss
And they started clicking.
Kimberlee Perry
They were clicking.
Elliot Moss
And here we are…
Kimberlee Perry
Yeah.
Elliot Moss
…11 years later, 60,000 people every month signing up so it just goes to show you a bit of DIY doesn’t do any harm. We talked a little bit just then about the £200 and no expectations. Obviously there was stuff going on for you and I’ve read and you can you know, you can be as open as you like or not. I think you were feeling there were some postnatal depression that was around at the time, there was some stuff going on at work which wasn’t great. People react in really different ways to when they’re feeling stressed. Some people kind of just hunker down and hide and other people go out into the world and you went out into the world. What was it about you that kind of made Kimberlee that person?
Kimberlee Perry
I think being afraid is something that’s really acutely aware in my day to day life. Being afraid, being nervous of things and I hate that feeling so I can’t explain why but it makes me do the opposite. It makes me attack and, and go forward with what my greatest fear would be and just do it and try it. So I am acutely aware of the nervousness, of the anxiety, of the worries of what could go wrong and to sit and to think about that too much is just not a place I can be. You know, people might refer to that as a bit of entrepreneurial spirit but for me it’s a more personal feeling like let’s just go and sort this and deal with it and what’s the worst that can happen? It’s already a fear so if it’s going to be a reality then see how that goes.
Elliot Moss
And does, when you went out and you dropped leaflets off and you got the booking system up, did that make you feel better immediately?
Kimberlee Perry
Yeah exactly and that’s the part of it that makes you go and do more and more and more and achieve more and more and just lower and lessen that worry of fear or anxiety when it starts to work out. It’s great.
Elliot Moss
When you were little as well and I read that your parents instilled in you this relentless drive as it’s called for success in sport. Do you think somewhere deep inside you as well you were kind of, you were built for pushing?
Kimberlee Perry
Yeah.
Elliot Moss
And working hard?
Kimberlee Perry
Absolutely. My parents were pretty hard on me in, in every way but certainly in sport or being active and succeeding in that sense. It was measureable to them so for me I wanted to drive towards that to prove that I could do that. I wasn’t always good at stuff but I certainly knew that that was the measure of their happiness or their proudness for me and it just became something that I felt certainly proud of myself and a love for sport. You know, sport is A to B for me, there’s you know, there’s not a lot of feeling in it for me, you either win the race or you work towards catching the ball or throwing and passing like it’s really tangible sport and I feel like I like to operate in that space and it brings me lots of joy so yeah, fitness, sport, that industry it’s exciting, it’s fun and it’s easy for me to read and understand.
Elliot Moss
And be measurable which I want to come back to in a bit. Stay with me for much more from my guest, it’s Kimberlee Perry but right now we are going to hear a taster from the Mishcon Innovation Series which can be found on all the major podcast platforms. Mishcon de Reya’s Emily Knight talks to Charlotte Yong, a fund manager at Troy Asset Management about why women historically invest less than men and what’s being done to change it.
You can enjoy all our former Business Shapers on the Jazz Shapers podcast and you can catch this very programme again if you pop ‘Jazz Shapers’ into your podcast platform of choice. My guest today is Kimberlee Perry, Founder and CEO of Bounce Fit Body – I just want to say it again – Bounce Fit Body, the resistance based fitness class company. So here we are 11 years later and I want to just go back to those first few years. So things are happening, you’re kind of going wow there’s some interest over here. Before Covid 2019, what were you doing to sort of bring in the right people to ensure that as you build a business because there’s one thing running a fitness class which you can kind of manage and you put the time up and you book a hall and you do all that thing. It’s quite another thing when it starts to become a business. So what did you do in those early years to sort of give yourself the structure to enable a business to flourish.
Kimberlee Perry
Well I don’t think I chose the right people I will say that. I put the framework there but I wasn’t experienced or knowledgeable in the right people in the right places so that’s been a real learning curve over the last 10/11 years to try and look at the skills that everyone’s got and put them and move them into the right positions within the framework of any business, any role.
Elliot Moss
When did you realise you didn’t have the right people? Was it pretty quick?
Kimberlee Perry
Yeah, no it took me a little while to realise that and I felt like being passionate was something that I was looking for more so than being the right person for the role. A lot of people can be passionate about the thing that they are doing but may not have the right skills to back that up. So I think I was a little mislead by the love people have for bounce and being instructors that are fantastic at teaching bounce but maybe not right for the business. So there were some errors yes.
Elliot Moss
And in terms of your own skillset because obviously you’ve been in business but you know, you’re, you’re there as an enthusiast and so on who loves what you’ve created. Have you personally had to learn a whole bunch of stuff that you just didn’t know about or was it there already?
Kimberlee Perry
Yeah absolutely. A bit of both. I mean I am very corporate, I left High School when I was 16 and went into the corporate world. So I’ve always had quite serious jobs in that sort of area of business from sales to events and…
Elliot Moss
And which bit do you like? Which bit is the bit that you feel most comfortable with?
Kimberlee Perry
In terms of my corporate skills?
Elliot Moss
Yeah.
Kimberlee Perry
Definitely selling. Everything is from a sales perspective in my business. So we are selling the classes, we’re selling the programmes, we are selling the equipment, we’re selling clothing, we’re selling ourselves to the attendee, to the participant. All of that is bottom line sales for me.
Elliot Moss
And what’s Kimberlee’s, if there was a special source of a person that’s brilliant at sales…
Kimberlee Perry
Yeah.
Elliot Moss
…if you were teaching me how I might be a better sales person which is hopefully I’m teachable and I’m sure I need to learn, what would you say is the, is the most important thing?
Kimberlee Perry
I think you’ve got to be genuine obviously but you’ve got to look for that thing in the person that you are speaking to or selling to that you connect with and how you can bring something to their life. Whatever you are selling needs to genuinely fit them and you’ve got to understand what their needs are about what you’re selling or what they might want.
Elliot Moss
And specifically for Bounce Fit Body, what’s the thing do you think that people have bought?
Kimberlee Perry
We’re selling an experience for sure. It’s not actually the exercise or the work out or the weight loss or the strengthening. We’re selling an experience of togetherness so it’s a group exercise class that’s sociable, fun and it unites people and that’s the focus of what I am doing every day. Making sure that togetherness is most prevalent in this business.
Elliot Moss
And what she did really brilliantly like any good sales person is she told you about the other benefits as well. Look at that. But they are not important the weight loss, the fitness, they’re not important.
Kimberlee Perry
They are side lines.
Elliot Moss
They’re side lines. That is beautiful. Stay with me for much more from my Business Shaper, it’s Kimberlee Perry, she is the Founder and CEO of Bounce Fit Body.
And we were talking before, you said about you know, I asked you the question about sales and you said well it’s the togetherness thing and then you did all the other things as well. That must feel good you know, from where you were when this came about which was you were feeling isolated, there was stuff going on for you emotionally and I love that image of you going, the more afraid I am the more I go to it. I go to the fire. Now that you’re looking here you know, more than 10 years later and you see the togetherness in front of you. What is that making you feel?
Kimberlee Perry
Absolutely feeling proud because I know that is what other people want. I think that’s where the successes come from. People want to be together, less socially isolated in their communities and ultimately you are going to get endorphins from doing something like exercise so I know believe, feel, trust and can see that feel good energy coming from everything that I do at bounce, teaching a class and building the business and spreading the franchises throughout the UK and the world. The undertone of that is feeling proud that others are feeling good.
Elliot Moss
And in terms of the business itself, you work with Chris your husband, he’s obviously the supporter right at the beginning for the first £200. Well done Chris. What’s that like now that you, you work together and I imagine it’s pretty intense, there’s a lot of it. Do you sometimes wish you were in the class just being part of consuming this thing and having that calmness or do you love the intensity and the business of your life?
Kimberlee Perry
Yeah definitely, I love it, I thrive on it and I feel alive by having an agenda that’s really busy. I think it’s tough when you’re working with your partner and working with colleagues that you love, that become your friends as well. It’s really, really difficult to separate your life and what you’re passionate about in your life.
Elliot Moss
Do you do it? Are you able to separate…
Kimberlee Perry
It’s my job.
Elliot Moss
…are you able to separate? You have to be honest Kimberlee.
Kimberlee Perry
I have to work really, really hard at having a clear head that’s not thinking about the business a couple of mornings a week. That’s, that’s the honesty of it.
Elliot Moss
And what do you do?
Kimberlee Perry
It’s a couple of mornings…
Elliot Moss
And how?
Kimberlee Perry
…it’s a couple of hours.
Elliot Moss
And how do you distract yourself?
Kimberlee Perry
Turn the phone off. Yeah I definitely turn the phone off. I try and focus on things like food and having a long nutritious breakfast or going outside and eating outside for a while, not at my desk, not with my phone. I really am weather dependent so if it’s a nice day I’ll take more time on a nice day and I’ll allow myself you know, that’s one of the joys of running your own business, you can chose your schedule a bit so you know, being outside in the sun with nature, that sort of thing it really does fill me up, recharge me so there’s not a set day and time where you get to do…
Elliot Moss
No, you grab it when you…
Kimberlee Perry
Yeah.
Elliot Moss
…when you know you need a bit of, a bit of space.
Kimberlee Perry
Yeah.
Elliot Moss
And what about exercise? You still look very fit, obviously you’re a choreographer and you’ve done a lot of sport. What kind of sport do you do or does it not matter.
Kimberlee Perry
Well I’m bouncing, I still bounce.
Elliot Moss
You’re bouncing.
Kimberlee Perry
People are really surprised by that. I teach six classes a week.
Elliot Moss
It’s like, I still bounce.
Kimberlee Perry
I do.
Elliot Moss
I’m Kimberlee Perry and I still bounce.
Kimberlee Perry
Absolutely. That’s the joy of what I do. The bouncing part, the actual teaching the fitness class and being present in, in the session, that’s the best part about my job and to be quite honest if you aren’t passionate about the core product or the core service and you’re the CEO of it, then I don’t believe you. So that’s why I still do it because it’s the Number 1 factor for me, it’s the most fun, it’s the thing I am most dedicated to and being the boss and the CEO and running the business, that’s second to that for me.
Elliot Moss
Stay with me for my final chat with Kimberlee Perry my guest today and we’ve got some Aretha Franklin to go with her too. That’s in just a moment.
Just for a few more minutes Kimberlee Perry is my Business Shaper and she is the person behind, the woman behind the brilliant business called Bounce Fit Body and you still bounce and I love that thought of you saying, the idea of you saying if you are not passionate about your product then who else would be. Where does it go from here? You are obviously on a mission, I can see you are a driven person you know, you’re very focussed and you’ve done something here, you’ve created something out of nothing. What happens from 2025 to 2030? What’s the vision?
Kimberlee Perry
More market share. More people doing a resistance based workout which is what our trampolines are so they are low impact, they are easy on the joints, they are for anybody. If you can jump up and down you can do bounce. So more growth means other resistance based pieces of equipment for us so that’s why we have moved into the reformer Pilates market. There’s springs on the edge of the carriage of reformers just like there’s springs on a trampoline. We do bungee fitness so literally a bungee cord comes from the ceiling, it’s got a harness around you, you’re supported but you are working against the resistance. So developing those new pieces of equipment has been really instrumental for us to gain more attendees and more interest in our brand throughout the fitness industry. We’ve even created a new piece of kit called the Body Former which is on the floor, it’s carriage based and it works with springs so we’ve designed a piece of equipment that we will be spreading throughout the world as well.
Elliot Moss
And that, and that what I would call research and development, that kind of sense of I’m going to create something new. Do these ideas, are you kind of going, I need to keep reinventing this business. Is that where this drive comes from?
Kimberlee Perry
Evolution is integral to bounce yeah, we as a brand are always looking at the fashion, the trend, the future movement of the industry just like fashion, fitness comes and goes. So jumping on a trampoline is something that was around in the 80s, it’s something that the astronauts do for bone density with NASA. So you know, looking at how something is used at one stage in the world and evolving and redeveloping a piece of kit for a different purpose or with a different style of music or in a different way, is moving forward with trends.
Elliot Moss
Yeah.
Kimberlee Perry
It’s very hard to create something new all the time and stay relevant so part of our secret is to evolve consistently.
Elliot Moss
And in terms of your own development, are there things that Kimberlee needs to think about as she builds this empire because obviously as the business gets bigger, as it gets more complicated, as there’s more capital that you need and more people and there’s more franchisees and all that. That’s a lot for a person to take. How are you ensuring that you develop as a person?
Kimberlee Perry
Well I am making sure it’s not all about me within the business. So as an inspiring leader of the business I can bring in new thoughts and new processes so yeah, it’s about that really.
Elliot Moss
It’s been great talking to you Kimberlee, thank you. Thank you for making the time. Good luck. I hope it continues to go brilliantly. Just before I say cheery bye, what’s your song choice and why have you chosen it?
Kimberlee Perry
Well thanks for having me. My song choice is Unforgettable by Natalie Cole. It’s a beautiful song and a song that my nan shared with me when she first introduced me to jazz music and you will find jazz songs at bounce every week so yeah, we try and bring in a new version of something music or tastes and Unforgettable is something that I’d like Bounce Fit Body to be.
Elliot Moss
Unforgettable from Natalie Cole, the song choice of my Business Shaper today Kimberlee Perry. ‘I hate the feeling of being afraid, it makes me attack’. I love how she was so honest about what drove her to create this business and indeed attack all the different fears that she may have had over the years. Bringing people together, a sense of connection, that’s what’s underpinned her creation of Bounce Fit Body. Much more than actually creating the business which of course has followed with all the financial success as well. And finally, ‘I’m passionate about the product, don’t trust the CEO that isn’t’ and what I love about that is that she loves what she does. Great stuff. That’s it from Jazz Shapers, have a lovely weekend.
We hope you enjoyed that addition of Jazz Shapers, you’ll find hundreds more guests available for you to listen to in our archive, to find out more just search ‘Jazz Shapers’ in iTunes or your favourite podcast platform or head over to mishcon.com/jazzshapers.