Featured Chik: Elise Caira

Looking for a workout on the North Shore? We've got you covered! Introducing Elise Caira, owner of Sweat Fixx. Sweat Fixx is more than just another boutique fitness studio, it's a community where anyone and everyone can be supported and feel like a boss after a class!

Tell us a bit about your company! What do you do? What is your mission?
Sweat Fixx is a boutique fitness studio specializing in low impact, high-intensity full body rowing and strength workouts. We have 4 different class types, all classes are 45 minutes and open to all levels, with no prior experience needed. Our mission was to create a studio that no matter your age, sex, fitness level you can leave feeling like a boss, and do it surrounded by a supportive community.

How did you get started with your business? What made you decide to join this industry?
I went to school at Bentley for corporate finance and accounting. I got my Masters in Accounting and worked for a few big accounting firms. Behind the scenes though I knew I wanted to start my own company. I loved fitness and would take as many classes as I could, I would train at 5am before work, I took all the certifications etc. Basically I was doing anything I could so that if I got a chance to open my own studio I'd be ready. I got a text about a space in Wakefield I had helped run a bootcamp at. I quit my job in accounting and opened the first Sweat Fixx 4 weeks later. Within 2.5 year with no partners or investors I opened up 5 locations. While I was at Bentley I tore both my ACLs playing basketball so I knew I wanted a low impact studio that was good for everyones joints. It also be it very accessible for everyone no matter your fitness level. I combined that with my love for strength training and Sweat Fixx was born. Then in January 2021, when I was 7 months pregnant, I opened FIXXED with a physical therapist and this bodywork studio was also born!

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What does it mean to you to be a small business owner on the North Shore?
For me it means to be a leader. A good leader raises those up around them, doesn't try to overshadow them. It's all about bringing community together whether that's through collaborating with other local businesses or through our monthly Karma Fixx classes where we give back to different causes in our communities. To date we have raised over $30k for local causes and charities.

What is your favorite part of being a business owner?
Being my own boss, being able to wake up everyday to control my own destiny. I get to be as creative as I want and really put all my passion into a mission I believe in. It's a 24/7 365 job and sometimes it is lonely at the top, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

When you were growing up, what is your ultimate dream job? If it's this, how does it feel to have met your dream?! If it was something different, how did your dream change over time?
When I was growing up I wanted to be a professional basketball player that's probably all I thought about. At the time there seemed like no other option, then in college I tore both my ACLs and basketball came to an end. I then fell in love with the strength and conditioning aspect and how I could help others. I love being able to help people get their confidence back but building strength and doing things in our studios they never thought would be possible.

Every business owner faces challenges. How are you empowered to overcome yours?
During that 2.5 year period that we grew to 5 studios I faced my share of hurdles. During that same period I was diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease, my mother died of pancreatic cancer and I lost my baby while 6 months pregnant. All these things got thrown my way, but having my community at Sweat Fixx was the only thing that got me through those. It could be the support I needed, but also something to focus on that I loved. If I was still at my corporate job while even 1 of those happened, I don't know how I would've handled it.

Tell us (in one word) how you would describe your bosschik business!
GRITTY

Anything else we should know about you, your business, or just a fun fact?!
After enabling one of my instructors at Sweat Fixx (who is also a Physical Therapist) to co-open FIXXED, I realized a new passion for helping other females open their own businesses. I am now working to start a consulting and investing business for females in this area that are looking for help getting started. I love watching people quit their jobs and take a chance on themselves! It's my favorite so if I can help financially or just with the knowledge I've gained these past 5 years I want to!
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Where to find her:
​Website | @sweatfixx | @fixxedstudios | @elisecaira

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