Tom Jackobs was in a rut. After taking a day job at an office where he didn’t get to move a lot, he found himself gaining weight, feeling fatigued, and eating what he is now quick to call “junk.” So he did what, states away from his native Florida, Mubarakah Ibrahim was doing at the same time: he joined the Body for Life fitness challenge.
That was a wake-up call for him — and where his story began to diverge from the usual fitness “success story” of simply feeling healthier and more energized. He wanted to help others make a change in their lives, and take a plunge into fitness themselves. So he quit his day job, looked into business plans, and opened a fitness studio. It was 2008, in the middle of the recession, and he forged ahead with conviction. Now, he owns three franchises, and advises several fitness business owners around the country — including Ibrahim — in business.
“That was probably the best day of my life and the scariest day of my life,” he said on the latest episode on WNHH radio’s “Morning with Mubarakah,” where he joined Ibrahim by phone to talk business tactics. During the show, the international business consultant shared a little about why “it is your obligation to make a profit,” why every business owner needs a reliable peer group, and what makes a job into a functioning business. Spoiler alert: it has to do with taking something that can’t function without you into something that can.
To listen to the full episode, click on the audio above or find it free for download in Soundcloud, on iTunes, or and podcaster under “WNHH Community Radio.”