Jo-Ann James, CEO of Vital Management, MedFit Rehab and Vital Steps, believes in the power of exercise for shaping our health destiny. One of her favorite expressions is "Exercise is medicine."

- By Valerie Gomez

According to Statistics Canada, approximately 37% of Canadian adults are overweight; being overweight increases the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and having low birth weight babies. Excess weight also puts undo stress on our joints and drains us of energy.

Jo-Ann James, a Medical Exercise Specialist, maintains that it doesn't need to be this way. She has helped thousands of people lose weight, get physically fit, recover from injuries, strengthen their bones, and better manage chronic diseases; she did it by building a successful Toronto-based medical fitness and wellness business from the ground up.

The growth of Ms. James' empire began over twenty-five years ago with Vital Steps and its focus on general health and fitness. As her clients and the Canadian population aged, the need for new approaches to personal and corporate wellness emerged; that's how MedFit Rehab and Vital Management were born.

Her minority-owned business includes a range of services such as, customized one-on-one and group medical exercise training, chronic condition prevention, management, and rehabilitation, and proactive workplace wellness strategies.

Jo-Ann agreed to share with us her insights on health, exercise, and finding your voice as a small business owner in corporate Canada.

The Aging Population

Medfit Rehab provides personalized, condition-specific, protocol driven exercise and nutrition programs for chronic diseases (some of which are age-related) such osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and macular degeneration.

As Jo-Ann explains, "When you go to a medical facility, you often leave with a drug prescription. However, most chronic illnesses can be prevented or managed with specific medically-based exercise. For instance, some of our clients have heart disease that could have been prevented with healthier lifestyle choices. At that point, our goal is to get them back to functioning as normally as possible with an enhanced quality of life.

Growing a Vital Business Step-By- Step

Ask Jo-Ann to sum up her philosophy in a few words and she replies, "You only have one body, so treat it well. If you don't have your health, you have nothing."

The Vital brand of companies offers personalized exercise and nutritional programming for women, men, and youth at various GTA kiosk locations. They have specialized programming to serve the unique needs of the visually impaired and members of the Chinese and Aboriginal communities. Clients also have access to their network of allied health specialists in areas such as, cardiac rehabilitation, medical exercise, physical therapy, naturopathy, and massage therapy.

According to Jo-Ann, a common obstacle in her field is trying to connect with someone in a corporate setting who doesn't value health and wellness:

"The person we sit across from has to value health and wellness and want their employees to improve themselves on and off site. The managers are the gatekeepers, and we cannot be game changers unless they let us in." James said.

Sometimes, of course, senior leaders do believe in health and wellness, but simply say "no" to Vital Management's services. Jo-Ann uses empirically powerful statistics to demonstrate how wellness programs can improve employee productivity and morale, lower absenteeism, increase energy levels, and lower medical expenses due to pain medicine.

"If those statistics do not convince an employer, there is not much we can do about it," James explained.

A Healthier Bottom Line

Vital Management works directly with businesses to develop company- specific health and wellness programs for employees and senior staff. A thorough assessment of corporate and employee needs and wants reveals where the programming focus needs to be.

"We really try to personalize and customize, says Ms. James, "We don't cookie cut. We ask management, 'What are your needs? What's been your past experience? What do you want for your employees? For instance, our ergonomic assessments and workstation exercise programs are popular," she said.

For instance, parents often prefer daytime programs because they cannot stay after work or go to a gym. In such cases, Vital Management is able to design a home exercise and wellness program and provide the critical follow up support.

Interestingly, it's not uncommon for the assessment to uncover how some of the activities the employer considered important were actually of no interest to the employees. For instance, lunch and learns are great for education, but some employees prefer more active options.

Ms. James has found that attending Canadian Aboriginal & Minority Supplier Council (CAMSC) and WEConnect events is a great business building strategy and an efficient way to get large-scale exposure:

"It doesn't mean you'll get the business right away. You still have to exercise due diligence; have the right services and staff to be able to serve the needs of the corporation. As in life, there are no guarantees in business."

The Person across the Desk Convincing

With their multi-level policies and procedures, large corporations can be challenging to work with:

"We've had many requests that our suppliers be minorities as well. As a small business, we can't guarantee that. An RBC or Telus can easily meet that request, but not a small business."

When asked if she encounters more difficulties as a minority business owner and Afro-Canadian woman Jo-Ann replies:

"Canada is not immune to racism and old thinking. I do the best I can. As a business owner, you always have to put your best foot forward. Research and understand the market you're going after and how your products and services fit. Respect other people's time."

Woman on a Mission

Jo-Ann has made it her business to help others. Her greatest moments happen when people tell her, "You changed my life. I didn't know that what I was eating was killing me. I didn't realize that no exercise was the worst thing I could do. Thank you for giving me my life back." And with that, she gets back to work.