CrossFit Time Keeper was established by Jack Hill and Steve Turbit three years ago when Jack decided to quit his job as a teacher and start a business, building on his background in sports science and martial arts. The business moved to its own training hub in Farmer Ward Road, Kenilworth, and specialises in CrossFit methods of training which includes varied workouts to improve functional fitness and movement.

It had attracted a handful of members but its approach to marketing meant it was struggling to bring in a wider variety of customers. Jack enlisted the help of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, through the fully funded Project Warwickshire Business Support Programme and worked with business adviser Marie Stephenson.

Project Warwickshire forms part of Warwickshire County Councils, Business Growth Warwickshire Business Support programme. The Project Warwickshire strand is delivered by Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce on behalf of Warwickshire County Council. It is funded by UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Warwickshire County Council.

Through the support, Marie helped to give the business a sharper marketing focus by targeting specific demographics rather than adopting a scattergun approach, which led to an increase in women signing up as members. Jack also attended social media classes to help gain practical skills which he has put into practice at the same time as getting a better understanding of financial and business planning. Marie also encouraged him to look at other businesses in the same field to see if he could draw inspiration from them.

As a result of the support, membership has doubled with a near 50/50 split in genders compared to its male-dominated customer-base only a few months before. Now, CrossFit Time Keeper is ready to make the most of people’s desires to get fit in the New Year by signing up more clients and focus on retention by helping them become active for the long term too.

Jack said: “I decided it was time to leave the teaching profession and wanted to pursue my passion for fitness as a business. Steve and I had become good friends and we decided we would combine our knowledge and skills to launch our own gym. We had really good feedback from clients but we needed to grow, and the support from Marie was absolutely invaluable. It was like having our own personal trainer but on the business side!

“Where we help get people into shape physically, Marie coached us in marketing, finances and business planning and we saw results really quickly. It’s given us that extra confidence and knowledge to help us grow and we’re looking forward to 2026 with real positivity.”

Marie said: “I really enjoyed working with Jack because he was willing to take everything on board and it has been a real success. When he decided to widen the target audience for the business to include women, we changed the website to reflect this and encouraged more social media posts featuring women and their success stories.

“His membership doubled in just a few months and then grew even further. We worked really well together and I am so pleased to see them in good shape to expand again in 2026.”