Today we’d like to introduce you to Liliana Bueno Méndez.
Hi Liliana, It’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us. To start, could you share some of your backstory with our readers?
It all started when I wanted to start my fitness journey. I quickly realized that I was intimidated to start weightlifting and would be inconsistent with my workout because I felt uncomfortable at the gym. I used to be a member at a large chain gym with a dedicated women’s room, but when I went in to use it, I couldn’t help but notice how men would come in and use the space constantly. After a while, I started sharing my concerns with friends, who all felt the same way. It wasn’t until I saw a TikTok of a woman in Dallas who had opened her own all-women’s gym that I considered opening my own here in Austin. I began by sending out surveys to other women, and the responses were very positive. Having that reassurance, I started the process of opening my own business. By the time December rolled around, I was ready to close for good. Those first seven months were challenging, but I learned a lot. I was trying to do everything by myself and felt extremely overwhelmed daily. My members reminded me of all the important things we were doing, which gave me the courage to keep going. I decided to find a new location that was cheaper and larger so we could better serve our members and community. During our move, I saw how much our members cared, as a handful of them came and helped us move and set up the new location. We are currently in a very welcoming neighborhood with amazing businesses that encourage us. We are in the Heart of South Austin bringing women a comfort place to achieve their fitness goals, one day at a time.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all. Out of excitement, I signed a lease out of my price range for the first place I toured, but I just wanted to open as soon as possible. This decision would affect our business for the first year. I wouldn’t even come close to covering half of our rent every month, and if it weren’t for the help and financial support of my family, we would have closed. By the time December rolled around, I was ready to close for good. Those first seven months were challenging, but I learned a lot.
We also rushed to hire a group class trainer and needed to think about what would be a good fit; instead, we decided to do it out of necessity. We both realized we had two very different visions for the gym. This caused us to lose many members and left me wondering what we would do next. The classes were bringing us half of our income. This taught me to have good communication with my staff.
When we moved to our current location, I was so excited about the new opportunities that came with it, but I also couldn’t move on from our old location. We agreed to pay the last two months’ rent in monthly installments. These payments caused us to pause any new renovations we wanted to do at our current location and buy new equipment. This caused us to lose the opportunity to reach our new community as we wanted and get new members. An unfortunate reality of an all women’s gym is that we still experience harassment from men. Although they are not allowed into the gym, they still manage to harass us through phone calls and direct messages on social media. We have gotten calls from men asking if they could come in if they promise to wear a wig, and just recently, we had a man try to force his way inside the gym. Thankfully, we had installed our security system and could identify him and keep our staff and members safe.
We’ve been impressed with Empoderadas Gym, but for folks who might need to be more familiar, what can you share about what you do and what sets you apart?
We are currently South Austin’s only all-women gym and are proudly Latina-owned. We empower women to find their inner Empoderada, empowered women. We do this by offering a safe space for them to come and get a workout on their own or with our wonder group classes. We also love fostering community, so we offer monthly events for all women to unite and put themselves first. Our members have told us countless times how this space is unlike any other gym they have been to because of the care we put into our members. They know that we are here for them mentally and emotionally. We have laughed and cried with all our members and are proud to say we have built a strong bond with them. We know that starting a fitness journey can be intimidating, but we want everyone to know that we encourage everyone at all experience levels to come and participate. We have a diverse group of members as young as 19 and as old as 65 to go in and do their best. We currently offer an open gym, group classes, and personal training. Our memberships range from a basic open gym-only option to our most popular membership, including our exclusive Empoderadas-only discounts to other woman-owned businesses in Austin. We even offer a membership where you can bring a plus-one every time for free.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
My Empathy. I make them feel comfortable, welcome, and heard because I view them as family, not just as customers. They enjoy the atmosphere we have created around them. People appreciate genuine interaction, which is hard to come by these days.
Pricing:
- Empoderada – $50
- Guerrera – $70
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.empoderadasgym.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empoderadasgym512/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Empoderadas-Gym/100089564595167/
Image Credits
Paris Oneal for only one picture
