Sometimes the best business lessons show up in the most unexpected places. Like a gym with flashing lights, 30 people doing 30 different movements, and a coach yelling over a Pitbull song.

Recently, I dropped into a workout class while visiting another town. I was with four other women—all business owners—and we found ourselves in a high-energy, high-volume circuit-style gym. Think: multiple TV screens, blaring timers, wall-to-wall bodies sprinting station to station. It was organized chaos. Actually, scratch that—barely organized chaos.

There were 37 people in that tiny room. (Yes, I counted.) One coach. Twelve different exercises. No introductions. No checking in. No correction on form. No one asked, “How are you feeling today?” or “What’s your goal?” Just show up, sweat, and get out.

I left angry. Not because I didn’t break a sweat—I did. But because the whole experience felt like crowd control, not coaching. And it hit me: this might work as a business model—but it’s not how I do business.

One of the women with me said, “I need to figure out how to open one of these.” And I thought, “I could never run something like this.”

That gym is the perfect metaphor for a kind of business model I see a lot of lately: high volume, low touch, big profit, minimal support. And for some people? That works. But for me—and maybe for you too? It’s completely out of alignment.

I didn’t leave corporate and build this business just to create something that doesn’t feel like mine. I didn’t walk through the fire of entrepreneurship to become someone I’m not.

That means:

Could I run a business like that gym? Sure. I could pack my programs, slash my prices, automate everything, and sprint from one client to the next. And maybe I’d make more money short-term. But I wouldn’t be able to look at my business and say, “This is mine. This is aligned. This is me.”

So here’s the invitation for you today: Look at your business. Really look.

Ask yourself: Does this actually feel like me?

If the answer is no, the good news is—you’re the one holding the pen. You get to rewrite the script. You don’t have to follow someone else’s blueprint. You don’t need to chase what’s scalable if it doesn’t feel like home. You don’t need to sacrifice your values to make money.

You can choose slower. You can choose smaller. You can choose quieter. You can choose you.

That gym reminded me that just because something “works” doesn’t mean it’s right. And just because something is profitable doesn’t mean it’s purposeful.

So tell me—what are you building your business on?

Listen to the full podcast episode HERE