Oxygen Yoga & Fitness (Part Two)

October 2025

Welcome to the ESL Mind Your Business Series! In this series, we highlight small business owners who share their success strategies and practical advice for others who have recently started or are planning to start their own small business.

We invite you to learn more about Oxygen Yoga & Fitness in Brighton, New York from the owners, Jenny Farrell and Liz Hayes, in part two of our two-part interview! (Click here to read part one.) 

Q&A with owners Jenny Farrell and Liz Hayes

What advice would you share with other small business owners?

Another saying we said throughout the process is “where there is a will, there is a way.” It sounds corny but it’s SO true. At the beginning, if you had told us you will need to have X amount of money and time to make this happen, we would have said, “there’s no way.”

The time commitment has been a huge eye opener. We all say we have no time to do lots of things — but if you really want to do something — you find the time. You make the time. Do you have to rearrange, yes. Do you have to be creative, yes. Do you have to stretch yourself — both mentally and physically — YES. But it can be done.

The other lesson is to be resourceful. Use people and the internet to find what you need. There are people that know things that you don’t know — you have to tap into others to get what you lack. People are SO willing to share their knowledge and help someone that wants to learn so it’s finding new paths to get to the end goal.

Elizabeth Hayes

Jenny Farrell

How did you come to work with ESL?

We were given the names of 4-5 banks that might do small business loans. We called them all and almost all of them said no. They said we didn’t have enough of a lot of things to make us viable candidates. But then we met with Marie [Marie Bolton, ESL Business Banking Relationship Manager]. And she was a breath of fresh air. Instead of can’t — it was about let’s figure out a way. She dug into not only us as entrepreneurs but the success of the franchise and brainstormed creative ways to get the answers we needed to prove the vision and model could work. We would be nowhere today without her and ESL. We tell everyone we meet — go to ESL if you need a solution!

What do you like about working with ESL?

Marie has gone the extra mile for us time and time again. She has educated us about the processes and helped us understand the policies and the “why” behind not just the loan but the entire real estate, building and construction industry. She knows so much more than just the accounting and financials — she was our all-around resource throughout our journey. She went out of her way to help us when we had some special circumstances come up to find a solution that was a win-win for both parties. They make things easy, and the can-do attitude never wavered. You need that when there is so much at stake and so much uncertainty because you’ve never done this before!

What else would you like to share with aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners?

Starting a business has been invigorating and a true learning experience. We have grown as individuals and as friends and business professionals. It’s scary and daunting at times but so worth it in the end. If you have a vision and the passion for something in your heart — you must follow it. Life is short — go out and make it a reality!

To learn more about Oxygen Yoga & Fitness, please visit oxygenyogaandfitness.com/brighton