In both fitness and in business, Giselle and her husband Marcus love to see results. Together, they run Marlboro Dance and Fitness, offering personal training, weight loss programs, martial arts, and dance classes to people of all ages.

They both know their stuff. Giselle and Marcus are both certified personal trainers, and Giselle is also certified as a fitness nutrition specialist, and a Crossfit and weightlifting coach. She has also been practicing and teaching Capoeira for more than sixteen years. Marcus has been a lifelong student of martial arts.

Devoted customers flock to their gym from all over the Metrowest and Boston area, and especially line up for their Capoeira and Jujitsu classes. Of her work, Giselle says, I love seeing the results. You actually change people’s life. You have a real impact on their life. After they start training, it really changes them so much.

Like working out, their business results have been incremental. They started off just teaching a Capoeira class from a studio two hours per week, with no equipment. They decided to turn it into a full-fledged business once their classes started filling up.

As they continued to grow, they decided that they needed to invest in advertising and hire an employee dedicated only to sales. When their limited credit histories prevented them from getting a loan from a bank, they turned to Ascendus. They received an Ascendus loan to advertise in local papers, to build a website, and in part to cover a new employee’s salary.

Their strategy worked. They doubled their revenue in just two years, which allowed them to hire more employees and to add square footage to their business space. They then came back to Ascendus for a second loan, this time to purchase more equipment and make renovations such as painting and installing new signs.

Another two years later, growth continued, and their success enabled them to return to Ascendus for a much larger loan, which they used to purchase additional equipment. Of the experience with Ascendus, Giselle says The interest rate was low, and it was easy to get. The loans helped us with a lot of things working capital, marketing, equipment.

Marlboro Dance and Fitness now has two locations, and has especially become popular among the fellow Brazilians in the area. Giselle’s favorite thing about exercise applies just as much to entrepreneurship as it does for fitness; What I really like the best is you can be so proud of yourself when you see the results. You can really work harder to get something that’s all for yourself.