We had the good fortune of connecting with Jan Baker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jan, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I was a teacher looking for a side gig for extra money. I loved Jazzercise for my workout and thought investing in myself as a franchisee made good sense! Now I am celebrating my 35th anniversary as a franchisee owner and instructor while Jazzercise celebrates 55 years of dance fitness!

What should our readers know about your business?
Jazzercise, created in 1969 by Judi Sheppard Missett, is celebrating 55 years this year. At the same time, I am celebrating 35 years as an owner and instructor. Jazzercise has provided so many great tools for me and all their franchisees. The most important of these is fantastic choreography to great music and their constant evolution to be current in fitness research and trends. That is the core of this workout and what has provided the longevity. I would never say it has been easy. But support from my local instructor team and our fantastic community of customers makes it worthwhile. 2020 was rough for so many small businesses. But the “thank you” comments from our long time customers made it all worth the effort.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would most definitely head to Old Downtown Carrollton for a little shopping! Then we would head to Mena’s Tex Mex for great food and service (and the best hot sauce ever!) and a margarita swirl!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Jazzercise has a great support system from their corporate office but locally, my first district manager is currently the owner of Jazzercise North Dallas, Kathy Broussard. She has been in business longer than me. And my current business advisor, Lori Price from Jazzercise Lake Highlands, is always quick to help. I have a great team of 14 associate instructors that work hard to teach fun and effective classes. But mostly, our amazing customers are a fantastic fitness community of support for our instructor team and each other.

Website: https://www.jazzercise.com/studio/tx/carrollton-fitness-center

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jazzercise_carrollton/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JazzerciseCarrolltonTX

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jazzercise-carrollton-2?utm_source=ishare

Image Credits
Jan Baker

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