WHOLE BODY WELLNESS FOR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY

Whole Body Wellness for the Whole Community | Peoples Natural Gas (peoples-gas.com)

For Royally Fit Co-founder and Chief Advocating Officer Aquene Watkins-Wise, developing a business has been a rewarding—and challenging—experience. What started off as a personal training and meal planning service has continued to evolve.

“My husband Domenique started our business out of a hobby he had for bodybuilding and personal training,” Watkins-Wise says. “After we had our third child, I chose not to return to my full time teaching career and focused instead on expanding our brand and focusing on holistic health.”

“The journey of developing Royally Fit into what it is today has been one of trial and error,” Watkins-Wise adds. “After my husband retired from the U.S. Air Force, we began offering dri-fit and other workout apparel, but it was far too time consuming to manufacture and wasn’t profitable for us.”

During her conversations with her business mentor, Watkins-Wise began talking about the wellness products she had been creating for her family. Her mentor suggested that she create a plan to incorporate them into the business, and that is exactly what they did. That was the moment when Royally Fit truly began to take shape.

Expanding into a full scale, holistic wellness brand, Royally Fit offers homemade, small batch products, free community programming, and other services to support whole body wellness. Their offerings include aromatherapy, massage butter candles, meditation support, organic skin care, loose herbal teas, and more.
“Our products were a natural addition to the business,” Watkins-Wise explains. “They are all things I was making and using for myself and my family.”

Beyond their products and services, Royally Fit advocates being “fit” in every aspect of wellness. They do so by facilitating mobile education, access, and resources—specifically for disproportionately disadvantaged Black and Brown communities—all at no cost.

“Royally Fit exists to be of service to others,” Watkins-Wise says. “We source all of our herbs, edible plants, and fruit trees from a local Black owned business, then we organically grow them, harvesting the herbs to blend into our products and feed our communities for free.”

Royally Fit does not take a salary from the sale of their products. Instead, they use the profit generated from their sales to further fund their no-cost wellness program. By pursuing partnerships, sponsorships, and grants, they’re able to continue to offer equitable access to free health and wellness resources for their communities. That’s where the Community Forge Bloom program came in.

Watkins-Wise joined the Bloom business incubator program in September 2020, and instantly clicked with Community Forge’s approach to supporting local businesses and entrepreneurs.

“Community Forge’s co-working model truly encourages collaboration,” she shares. “I also really love the building that Community Forge operates out of and how the space allows for community programming. For me, what makes Community Forge special is the ability to utilize the space to serve the community.”

Community Forge is committed to building equality in Wilkinsburg and the Greater Pittsburgh area by creating opportunities that promote professional development, financial wellbeing, and entrepreneurial growth. They want to give a voice to the people they serve and develop equitable pathways to economic success.

“Their mission is 100% aligned with the mission of Royally Fit!” Watkins-Wise says. “We both exist to be of service to others, and to ensure that everyone has equitable access to resources.”

Since Watkins-Wise joined the Bloom program, Community Forge has provided Royally Fit with a space to offer their free programs and a budget to assist with strengthening the foundation of their business. Watkins-Wise notes that something as straightforward as tax assistance was enormously beneficial to ensuring the financial well-being of the business, especially as they continue to grow.

“Royally Fit has very lofty goals!” Watkins-Wise says. “This year, we are working to secure our own screening truck so that we may offer mobile programming in more communities. We are also expanding our services offerings to include lactation and doula support as well as IV Vitamin and Trigger Point Therapies by the end of 2021.”

In 2022, they plan to work towards purchasing their own building in order to open an Alternative Wellness Center and Free People’s Clinic. By 2024, their goal is to open a Wellness Med Spa offering higher end topical wellness and therapeutic services. For Watkins-Wise, her passion for her business continues to push her forward towards these goals.

“My business is important to me because it is the vessel that allows me to provide healing and serve my community,” she shares. “I believe it is my obligation to leave the world a better place, and our community wellness program is the first of many ways we intend to do just that.”

To anyone wanting to start a business, Watkins-Wise encourages others to pursue what they love.

“If you never got paid to do this thing, would you still do it?” she asks. “Most entrepreneurs work on their business for years before they’re able to break even or put themselves on salary. If you love your idea enough to do it for free with the hope that one day you’ll get paid for it, then do it!”

You can read more about Peoples' partnership with Community Forge here.