Are you feeling tired and uninspired about going to the gym? Well then Bianca Pentecost and Lauren Greer have the class for you.
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The two co-founders of Happy Body Collective are running beginner friendly hula hoop dance classes for all bodies and abilities.
After attending a roller skating camp in Spain, the two picked up hula hooping and have never stopped since.
Moving to Wollongong to study and then going into lockdown, Ms Pentecost and Ms Greer found that hula hooping kept them moving and feeling positive even in a small space like an apartment.
"We realised how fun it was and that anyone can hula," said Ms Pentecost. "You don't need to have a particular body, be muscular or athletic, you just practice and it becomes really fun."
The pair had a vision of running their own studio offering hula hooping classes but with little in the way of funds and the community in lockdown their options were limited. Following a Facebook advertisement, the duo signed up for StartGap, a program for start-up businesses run by co-working space Zig Zag Hub.
StartGap connects young businesses like Happy Body Collective with a facilitator who provides business advice, as well as access to legal and financial experts.
For Ms Pentecost and Ms Greer, the program encouraged them to establish their business, even when their initial idea seemed out of reach.
"Our mindset was 'Okay, I guess we won't do this for a few years.' But then at StartGap, they asked, 'Well, what could you do today?'" said Ms Pentecost.
Switching from running classes, Happy Body Collective started an online store selling custom made hula hoops as well as apparel made by a local circus artist, Flying Banana Skirt.
"She made us these hula hooping shorts and we started selling those. Within the circus community here in Wollongong, they just went crazy," Ms Pentecost said.
In a few weeks, the apparel had sold out, and the business is now gearing up to start running classes at the University of Wollongong as classes return in 2022.
Happy Body Collective is one of a growing number of microbusinesses, many of which are starting online and using digital tools such as websites and social media accounts to grow their business, before ever having a physical presence.
Despite the growing number of sole trader businesses and those employing less than five people, these microbusinesses are still affected by the common statistic that about half of small businesses fail in the first few years.
Ms Greer said that the technical support they received through StartGap enabled them to avoid pitfalls.
"Instagram is just a front with pictures. There's so much that goes into running a business behind that which you need to know - the ideal client, the messaging and even your own business, your values. We had to learn all of that," she said.
Program manager Sophie McIlquham said that StartGap is open to all types of businesses, and the focus is on preparing business founders with the fundamentals to run an enterprise.
"It doesn't matter what background you're from, what StartGap is all about is giving someone of any age an opportunity to start a business."
Having launched in 2021 and run online due to the pandemic for the past six months, in 2022 the 10 week program will start on Zoom and transition into face-to-face sessions.
For Happy Body Collective, without a program like StartGap as well as support from friends and family, Ms Pentecost says there's little chance they would be where they are now.
"If we didn't have support I might have given up because I would have looked at it as like a massive mountain and thought oh, I can't do that. I'm not that sort of person."
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