Telford's hardworking Lucy makes her mark in photography and fitness

Holding down one job is a tough enough challenge for many of us.

For hardworking Lucy Poole, one job just isn’t enough. She’s got two businesses – and, even better, they are both connected to her passions.

She owns Let Luce, a fitness business, which has now opened up in a new unit at Ketley Business Park.

And she’s also the proud owner of Lucy Poole Photography and has seen growth with both businesses since the lockdowns of the pandemic and says they are now thriving.

Lucy is the kind of infectious, positive person who made lockdown work for her.

“I did photography at university,” she recalls. “I was always working for studios.

“Just before lockdown, I bit the bullet and went self-employed with my photography.

“That was great but a month later we went into lockdown so it was a case of ‘oh my God!’. Weddings, my family shoots and everything got postponed."

“But I put the feelers out about outdoor photo shoots and I did doorstop shoots and the money made from that actually helped me follow another passion.

“We had good weather at that point so I was doing a lot of exercise, as I usually would.

“I started doing videos, putting them on social media, and people were saying, ‘How are you staying motivated? Can you help me?’”

“So I started to think about it and wondered, should I do some fitness qualifications?

“The money from the lockdown photo-shoots helped me pay for the qualifications for a new career too, so I really made the most of my time.

“I did level two and level three personal trainer qualifications at that time.

“I have always been into fitness but never thought to do anything as a career because I was a bit nervous that I’d lose the love for it.”

She started doing outdoor bootcamps when people were allowed to venture outside again as some restrictions lifted.

“They were great,” Lucy said. "People took me seriously, even though we were just out on a field.

“When we went back into lockdown, I thought, I can’t stop now. So I took the sessions online and I had people exercising in their kitchen and their front room.

“We got through the restrictions again and went back outside and, after that, people were turning up to support me in all weathers. I saved the money to move inside.”

She was in a unit in Hadley as she grew her business from a field to a proper facility.

Now she is based in Ketley, and opened the new base last month.

“It’s a nice area and I’m proud of myself because I’ve done pretty well so far,” she said.

“I do three bootcamps a week, classes varying from eight people to 20 and I also do one-to-one training.

“I do online coaching still and I’ve also launched ‘Let Luce with baby' somewhere for mums to come and exercise in a group.”

Bootcamps include circuit sessions, body weight work and core work with one-to-ones specific to what the individual wants to achieve.

“The unit has two levels, so I use the upstairs as a photography studio as well,” she says.

“So it just all works very well.”

The two roles certainly keep her busy. Lucy says: “I do fitness-related work, Monday to Thursday, while I will always make sure there’s time for a photo-shoot.

“Time management wise, I split them. I work a hell of a lot but I enjoy what I am doing and that certainly makes a difference.”

In terms of her photography business, Lucy does weddings, family portraits, newborn shoots as well as branding and marketing for businesses.

She also works with schools and nurseries.

“It’s a big mix,” she adds. “I love it and if it wasn’t for lockdown, I am not sure where I’d be now.

“Something clicked in me at that point. I lost my auntie during lockdown and I thought to myself then I have got to do what I want to do.

“It spurred me on to full-on graft basically and made the most of a bad situation. It enabled me to create my empire.

“I feel like I was able to help people a lot during that time mentally and physically, through the use of exercise and I am really pleased I have been able to continue with it and am thrilled to have my new premises.”