Enterprise Building Challenge Stories

Adjusting to life off the field, John worked as a sports performance trainer at Goldin Athletic Training Association (GATA) starting in 2011, spending the next 10-plus years helping provide elite athletic training to a wide range of athletes in the northern suburbs of Atlanta.

And then came MOVE+breathe (formally breatheYOGA), which he started with his wife and business partner, Lauren. Meeting while working with the same athletes, the Busings created a brand dedicated to combining her expertise in yoga, breath work and rolling methods, with his forte in improving athletic performance. Move+breathe is a fitness company that focuses on yoga, small group strength training and sports performance training.

Today, the duo bring the best of all worlds to its passionate consumer base, building a brand that complements and intersects their grace and grit.

Tell us a little more about your story:

My story really started when I was a kid growing up playing sports. I have always had a passion for athletics, and was fortunate enough to play collegiately and professionally in the NFL. When I finished, I was able to really enjoy the training and preparation side of athletics. I initially started as a coach in the weight room and on the field. It was kind of like a temporary holdover until I figured out what I really wanted to do with my career. About three years into doing that, I realized that this was my next career, so I started down the path of being a strength coach. There were a couple of key points in my journey that led me to where I am today. One of those was having great mentors growing up. There were strong people who made a strong impact on my life—who helped me find purpose. In turn, I was able to help make an impact in other people’s lives.

About five or six years into my fitness career, one of the partnerships that I was involved in took a turn for the worse. I ended up breaking it off, which helped me face the facts in some ways and deal with things that I hadn’t dealt with before. There were issues that needed to be addressed.

And then I met my wife, who also became my business partner in Move+breathe. She helped me create a vision for where we wanted to go next with the business.Everything—meeting her and honing in on our direction—led us to where we are today.

At that time, we were looking to start some new things, so the whole thing was a big risk on both of our parts. There is a bit of a safety net when you have a partner, at least in some situations. Ultimately, it ended up being for the best, but at the time, it was a really challenging and stressful situation.

How did you sketch out the blueprint/strategy you embraced?

After realizing we shared the same vision, I went back and reviewed what went wrong. It was a tough lesson to learn, but it was a lesson learned. It became a great opportunity to get better, to clearly define the division of responsibilities and expectations, as well as improve my communication skills.

Unfortunately, early on, I didn't address those head on. And by not doing so, it caused a lot of miscommunication, a lot of resentment. 

What were the biggest obstacles you had to overcome? How did you reason with them?

As a business leader, there are lots of challenges you have to consider, lots of different scenarios. You're thinking about the bottom line. The impact on your customers. The impact on your employees. You're thinking about the impact on you as a business owner. 

When  facing challenges, you have to take everyone and everything into account. It comes down to trying to please everybody, or at least for me, in those situations. You're trying to make everything work for the business and your clients - both at the same time - and not necessarily driving the best results.

Share a few strategies, and some of the principles and tips that worked for you. 

For me, during the process of making those challenging decisions meant going back to what my core values are. When we started the business, we had a clear direction of who we were, where we were heading and what we were trying to accomplish.

As time goes by, you can lose track of those things. But by going back and revisiting them, you are making sure you are still honoring those principles. That has worked for me and our business. Staying true to who we are, making sure we are not trying to do something else or not trying to be something we are not. That has given us the best results.

Where did you turn for answers, i.e., what type of research did you conduct?

During the process of making these decisions, I spent a lot of time in thought and contemplation. I'm more analytical in nature, so I like to try and do as much research as I can—try to find people who have been in the same situation or similar situations as what I'm going through.  

What I want to do is pick their brains for answers. Find out what they did. How they were successful in this arena. I think it when you talk to your mentors—the people who you trust and have been successful. I value the opinion and guidance from people I trust.

Those types of opinions have been helpful. Thankfully, I have a business partner in my wife who very much operates more on an emotional side. She has more of a gut feeling, whereas I am more analytical. So that balance is important. It is important to have both sides when working toward a decision. We complement each other in that way, which allows us to make the best decisions. 

Is there anything you would do differently if you had to start over?

I think really having some key systems in place is important—a process. Having that process in place helps keep your quality up. It makes you more consistent. When you are trying to deliver either content or a service to people, I think that's very important. Consistency matters. 

Also, having the right people in place is going to enable you to do the things you need to do as a business owner. You want to create an environment where you are working ON the business instead of IN the business. You don’t want to always be putting out fires. You want people in place for that. This has been huge for us—a learning process that we are still working through.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received about tackling challenges in your business?

The best advice is really remembering why you started that business. Know your identity. What you stand for. What your core values are. Make sure the decisions you make for opportunities or challenges are in line with those core values. 

I think it is easy to get caught up in trends or trying to hit certain numbers. That can take you further away from your core values as a business, which ultimately ends up diluting your product or service. It can take you away from what you really do well.

I think that would be the biggest message I could deliver to other entrepreneurs. Focus all your efforts on creating fanatical fans who are all about what you stand for and what you're all about.

What’s the core message you would offer other leaders and decision-makers before they tackle their next big challenge?

There is a general formula you can follow: identifying the decision, gathering relevant information, identifying solutions, weighing the evidence, and then making a choice among those. That's the basic framework you can use to tackle any challenge, opportunity or problem.

You want to try and take something that's maybe seemingly complex and make it a little bit more simple. Get to the root of the issue of what you're trying to figure out or accomplish. This can be done in your head—in a more gut or instinctual level. You should be very analytical.

I like to take a look at both. I'm more analytical, as I mentioned before, so I try to quantify things. I also want to know what my gut is saying in those situations. I think having the numbers gives me confidence to back my decisions that I feel initially.