Our Journey From Zero Dollars and Zero Experience to Opening a Facility in Less than 6 Months
By: Brandon Hogan (Founder and CEO of Bar Raising Fitness)
The Beginning: A Garage, a Dream, and a Vision
I started this journey with nothing—no money, no business experience, and no guarantee it would work. What I did have was an idea, a belief in myself, and a relentless drive to build something from the ground up. No roadmap. No investors. No safety net. But if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's this: You don’t need money, connections, or perfect circumstances to start—you just need to bet on yourself and have the courage to take that first step. That’s what I did, and that’s how Bar Raising Fitness began—right in the most unlikely place: a one-car garage.
The journey kicked off in 2018 at the house I was renting in East Dubuque, Illinois, but before I dive into that, let me backtrack a bit so you can understand how the idea to start a sports and fitness business took root.
Quick Background on Me—The Spark That Ignited It All
I’m Brandon Hogan, born and raised in Farley, Iowa. Growing up, I was a multi-sport athlete, and sports were always a huge part of my life. After graduating high school in 2015, I played two years of college football - one at Iowa Western CC and another at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Unfortunately, an injury during winter workouts led me to hang up my cleats.
In 2017, I made the tough decision to drop out of college, move back to Dubuque, and start working. I bounced between jobs—helping my dad with landscaping, working at Sundown Mountain (basically snowboarding all day), and finally landing what I thought was a decent gig as a maintenance man for a large mini storage and rental company.
Deep down, I felt lost. After leaving college football and dropping out, I struggled with self-doubt and had no sense of direction. People around me questioned what I was going to do with my life, and for a while, I wasn’t sure myself. But that doubt lit a fire in me. I knew I had to dig myself out of this hole. Sometimes, it takes hitting rock bottom to spark a change. A life-altering camping trip in the Rocky Mountains cleared my mind, and when I came back, I knew I had to take control of my future. I decided right then and there that I was going to start my own business.
The Idea for Bar Raising Fitness
I always knew I wanted to start my own business, but I wasn't sure what that would look like. Bar Raising Fitness wasn’t born out of years of business experience or a degree—it came together naturally and pretty randomly, I must say. A couple of my buddies started joining my workouts I did at the local gym and I started to train my younger brother, who was playing high school football at the time. That’s when it hit me. I thought back to the high-quality facilities my college teammate had trained in back in their hometowns and realized there was nothing like that in the Dubuque area. The need was there, and I was all in. That’s when I locked in and started planning how to make it happen.
Step One: A Garage Gym and Going All In
At the time, I was living in a small one-bedroom apartment but knew I needed a dedicated space to train. I decided that a house with a garage would be the perfect starting point. I reached out to a buddy about renting a place together, and luckily, he was on board. After a few house tours, we found a place in East Dubuque, Illinois, with a small garage—and I knew this was it. We moved in August 2018.
It wasn’t much—just a small one-car garage—but it was mine, and it was where this wild journey would begin.
Next, I had to get educated. I hit the books, listened to podcasts, and took an online personal training certification course. As for equipment? Well, that came from Facebook, Walmart, and Amazon. I scraped together whatever I could. My marketing was even more DIY—I built a website, created social media pages, and put together flyers and business cards. Every penny I had went into making this happen. I was broke to begin with, but now I was flat broke - I was all in.
Here’s the thing: I could’ve played it safe. I could’ve worked at a gym to get some experience or kept my maintenance job while building up my business on the side. But that’s not how I operate. I was jumping in, headfirst, and I did just that. In September 2018, I quit my job and on October 1, 2018, Bar Raising Fitness was born.
22 years old. 0 clients. 0 dollars. But I was fired up and ready to make it happen.
Hustling for Clients: The Grind Begins
Now what? I needed clients.
I reached out to everyone I knew, offering them training. I hit the streets, putting my business card on car windshields and handing them out to anyone who would take one. It didn’t exactly take off, but thankfully a few people I knew took me up on my offer and started training with me for less than $10 an hour. It wasn’t much, but hey…it was a start!
Here’s where it gets real: I had rent and bills to pay, and no income coming in. So, what did I do? I sold everything I could—my watches, TV, PS4, snowboard—basically anything valuable I owned. I also flipped things on Facebook Marketplace and even did Uber from 11 PM to 3 AM. I wasn’t going to let anything stop me.
Then, just a few weeks into the grind, I was fortunate to get connected with someone who had an unused space in Farley, Iowa, and they agreed to let me run fitness classes there. It wasn’t much—a small open space with a batting cage and some carpet turf—but it was an opportunity. I seized it.
Expanding Into New Territory
In order to make it work, I needed portable equipment that could fit in my car. So back to Facebook, Walmart, and Amazon I went. I picked up battles ropes, a few dumbbells, medicine balls, and a some other small pieces of equipment—and with no money to spare, I had to say hello to my first credit card.
I started this new adventure by launching two bootcamp classes per week and advertised everywhere I could - blasted them all over social media and even went house to house knocking on peoples’ doors to give them a flyer about my new classes coming to Farley. To my surprise, people signed up, and slowly but surely, momentum started to build. I was able to gain a couple private sessions in that space and even hosted a youth football camp in there. Things were starting to come together.
Shortly after, I connected with the manager at the former Anytime Fitness in Dyersville, and we worked out a deal for me to freelance train their members. Another opportunity seized!
Making all this work required sacrifice and dedication. My days started at 4:15 a.m. with a 45-minute drive to Dyersville to train a couple of clients. Then, I’d head to Farley for another session before making my way back home for lunchtime training. In the afternoon, it was back to Dyersville, followed by evening sessions in Farley until 9 p.m. Finally, I’d head home—exhausted, but loving every minute of the grind!
The Big Break
By December 2018, things were picking up. I was training in my garage, Farley, and Dyersville, reinvesting every penny I made back into the business. One night, while getting gas, I ran into an old high school friend. He asked if I planned to open my own facility someday. I told him, “Yeah, probably in about five years.” That was the goal at least.
Turns out, I wouldn’t have to wait that long.
A few days later, I got a call from a dad of one of my brother’s friends. He told me about a baseball training business expanding into a new facility inside the Dubuque mall. They were looking to bring in a sports trainer to sublease a section of the space. I was immediately interested and set up a meeting.
When I saw it, I knew—this is it. The empty space was 3,000 square feet, and they were about to renovate it. We discussed terms, and I committed to renting 1,500 square feet. The lease would begin in March 2019.
Boom. Opportunity seized.
Figuring It Out on the Fly
But hold up… I had just agreed to open my own facility—after only training out of my garage for a little over two months. At the time, I had only a handful of clients—most of whom lived 30+ minutes away—and nowhere near enough money to cover the build-out costs, let alone rent, insurance, scheduling software, or all the other unexpected expenses. On top of that, I had zero clue how to manage a facility.
But you know what? I didn’t care. I was gonna find a way.
I had to move fast. I needed help, and I needed money—lots of it. First thing I did was reach out to an old friend and my cousin to see if they’d be down to join me on this wild ride. They were both in.
Then came the money part. I went to the bank and took out a small business loan with a brutal 15% interest rate… ouch. But I didn’t have another option—I had to take it. On top of that, I managed to get loans from my grandparents and my friend who was willing to chip in. And just to top it off, I opened up a handful of credit cards to help fund everything.
There was so much to do and barely any time to do it. But I went to work. I rebranded, designed a new logo, mapped out my services and pricing, built a new website, and created marketing materials. I set up a scheduling software, a POS system, insurance, and met with a lawyer. On top of that, I was blasting posts all over social media and telling everyone I knew about the grand opening—all while still training in Farley and Dyersville.
Alright, I've got some money, some help, and a plan. What’s the last thing I needed? Equipment.
Taking a Huge Gamble on Equipment
Next, I had to order new equipment. And let me tell you, this was a crazy story.
Probably not the smartest move, but I wanted to go all in on high-quality, heavy-duty gear. First impressions matter, and I wanted the facility to look legit from day one.
One day, a random equipment company from Tennessee popped up on my social media. I reached out, and it turned out they were a newer company offering extremely low prices to get their name out there. I wasn’t sure if it was legit, but I had a gut feeling it would work out. So, I went for it and placed a large order for everything I needed.
The catch? They didn’t even have a way to take credit cards yet, so I had to pay through PayPal—to the owner’s personal account. I was nervous, but I knew I couldn’t afford to go with any other company.
To make it even sketchier, after I placed the order, they told me they didn’t have shipping set up for such a big load. Instead, the owner’s buddy was going to drive a truck and trailer from Tennessee to deliver it. Oh man. At this point, I was just hoping I hadn’t been scammed.
Fast forward to delivery day. There was a huge snowstorm, and the guy was already 3+ hours late. I was sitting by the window, waiting, and I started thinking, “What the heck did I do?”
But then, a few hours later, I saw a truck and trailer pulling up. And guess what? I got my equipment!
That company is now one of the more popular equipment manufacturers in the industry. Talk about a major gamble paying off.
The Rollercoaster Ride: Everything on the Line
March 2019—Grand Opening Night. We were officially open for business!
We had a nice facility… but no money and no clients. Big problem. This is where all those credit cards came in handy—I spent the whole first year paying rent with them. Needless to say, I maxed out multiple cards, and by the end of that year, my credit card bills were insane. But I didn’t care. I knew we were going to make it work.
That first year was a massive learning curve—figuring out what worked, what didn’t, and how to keep the lights on. I kept my prices low and took on clients whenever I could. Sessions were spread out over seven days a week—some at 5 a.m., others at 9 p.m. It didn’t matter; I took them all. I stayed locked in, determined to do whatever it took. And by the end of that first year, we had a steady client base, and I could feel the momentum building.
With discipline, commitment, and relentless work ethic, we paid off the initial loans in under two years and wiped out my credit card debt in less than three. We kept growing, added to the team, and hustled every day—doing everything we could to bring in new clients and keep the ones we had. It was a process. It was stressful. But I loved it then... and I still love it now.
The Journey Continues
That’s how Bar Raising Fitness went from an idea in my head to reality. What started as a one-car garage gym has now grown into something so much bigger. Today, we have a larger facility in Dubuque, another in Dyersville, our own apparel and equipment line, an amazing staff, and have helped athletes and individuals around the world through our online programs.
The crazy part is… this is just the beginning.
The journey is far from over, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
