Today we’d like to introduce you to Monique Brown.
Hi Monique, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Alloy Personal Training-North Mansfield is a franchise with three owners: Monique Brown, Dr. Kathleen Sharp, and Tamieka Means. Three of us are all former student-athletes. Tamieka and I are volleyball players who played in high school and college together. Dr. Sharp is a basketball player who played professionally overseas. So fitness is something that has been an intricate part of our lifestyles since childhood. Dr. Sharp and I are both officers in the military. Dr. Sharp is in the TX Army National Guard, and I am in the U.S. Navy. Dr. Sharp and I met during deployment in Djbouti, Africa in 2017. Upon return to the U.S., we realized we lived 10 minutes from each. In 2019, Dr. Sharp, another person, and I became business partners in a different field. In 2022, we decided we wanted to open a franchise. Dr. Sharp contacted a franchise broker who had assisted her before her 2017 deployment. Out of the five business brought to us, we chose Alloy because of the foundational principle of “Stronger Together,” and the opportunity to engage in something we believe in and think is important- health and wellness. We offered Tamieka to join us in 2023, and she immediately accepted the offer. After a number of challenges (primarily with construction), we opened our doors in January 2025.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been a smooth road. We initially chose a location and negotiated a lease. After almost six months of negotiation and coming to an agreement, the landlord changed her mind and wanted to add terms that included a free membership for her. We rejected the last minute terms. Once we found our current location, we hired an architectural firm and a consultant. The architect was untimely with several items. The consultant vetted construction bids for us. We chose the recommended construction company, Texas Built Construction. We contracted with them in June 2024. The facility is a first generation 1900+ square foot space. Even with cushion, the project should not have taken more than 6 weeks. Accordingly, our initial projected opening was end of September, then beginning of October, then the end of October, and then finally November 13, 2024. The contract stated that payment would be with two installments and a final payment at substantial completion. We made three installments totaling more than $123,000. The week before November 13th, the contractor demanded a fourth payment prior to substantial completion, stating they would not complete the project unless we made another payment. We refused and the Friday before our highly publicized grand opening, they pulled out, taking some of the materials we had paid for. They also did not pay the electrical and mechanical contractors. Though they falsely stated they had only three days of work remaining, there was about two to three weeks of work remaining. We hired another contractor immediately, but because of shipping delays related to the holiday season, parts and materials were unavailable. Consequently, the facility was not completed until the second week of January 2025. Then because of documents the architect did not file regarding ADA requirement, we could not get clearance until the third week of January. As a result, we did not hold our first session until February 2025. The unexpected extra construction expenses created financial problems we are still working through. Also, during the two and a half month delay in opening, we lost more than 20 pre-sale clients. We have yet to recoup that loss of clients. We also fired our original Director of Training and Sales because of his phone sales struggles before we opened. The second Director was not a good fit. So we fired her in late March/early-April. We were without a Director until the end of June 2025.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are a personal training studio that specializes in accountability. We work to remove obstacles of intimidation, time, and lack of knowledge and experience by never having more than six people in the studio, scheduling all sessions (no walk-ins), and tailoring each workout to the client’s experience and capability. Because we truly believe that we are “Stronger Together” we have up to six clients in a session so that clients can encourage each other and hold each other accountable, Though we will train anyone, our target audience is people over 40 who want to be more fit, move better, or just want feel better and live longer, healthier lives. No matter where a person is on the fitness spectrum-never worked out, don’t like working out, to an active lifestyle- we assess each client to determine where the client is, identifying limitations (which almost everyone over 40 has at least one area), and then we use functional strength training to build strength, increase stability and mobility, and instill balance. Unlike other gyms, nutrition guidance is included in our programs. Your body is your machine in our gym. So, you won’t find machines other than air bikes. We are not here to build body builders; we just want our clients to be able to climb a flight of stairs, carry their bags of groceries, pick up their luggage, and put a 10 lb bag of sugar on the top shelf. If you miss your scheduled session, we will contact you. We will know your name. We care about what is going on in your life outside of the studio. We want to celebrate your accomplishments and share in your meaningful milestones. Finally, you simply cannot find more affordable personal training in DFW than at Alloy.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
My favorite book is my own book, Meaningful Messages of Transformation in the Trenches. It is book born out of my first deployment and personal challenges and mistakes, and the lessons I learned from them. It serves as a guide and reminder that we should be living in a perpetual state of transformation. I also use d365.org to get practical application of Christian principles. Another very impact book was, The Courage to Be Disliked.
Pricing:
- our sessions are $30-45 per session
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mansfield.alloypersonaltraining.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alloynmansfield
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alloy.northmansfield/
