Making the pivot from an advisory role to doing things yourself can cause whiplash for a rising entrepreneur, but AJ Mushtaq, CFO and founder of health services franchise Fitness Connection built up a sweat as he moved to a principal position.

“When I came out of business school, I always wanted to be an entrepreneur,” said Mushtaq. “So as I was entering my seventh or eighth year in management consulting, I was really starting to get the itch to go do something.”

Mushtaq eventually partnered with one of the executives of a successful business he had advised, “and Fitness Connection was born,” he said.

“Nobody really likes to go work out. But you know it’s something you have to do… but once you are in shape, you feel great. I would say the same thing applies in business,” said Mushtaq.

“There were a lot of times where we didn’t know if we were going to succeed, didn’t know if we were going to make payroll… that made us stronger,” he told What’s Working in Washington.

“People go into entrepreneurship because it’s the sexy thing to do — you own your own business, you run your own company… it’s great to have that title and to tell people. But it’s also the dirty work, the really hard work that you have to do,” he said.

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