FERNWOOD FITNESS - PULSE eMagazine - Issue#11 - Flipbook - Page 7
Sanela Likic and her daughter Uma at the Fernwood Conference 2024.
W
hen Sanela Likic
re昀氀ects on her
journey, she admits
it wasn’t easy. She
was twenty-one years
old when she arrived
in Australia with no
shortage of hurdles
- navigating a new
language, building a
life and career from
scratch. She had been
studying architecture
before the war saw
her leave her home
country as a refugee
in search of a safer
life. “Seeing people
who were full of life
become a shell of
themselves, it’s hard
to see when you’re
young. I had to leave
not only so I could
help myself, but to
help them too.”
Yet, through grit, resilience,
and an unshakable belief in
herself, she’s transformed
those challenges into
triumphs. At the heart of
her journey is a question
she asks herself and
others: “Why not you?”
Sanela 昀椀rst made her
mark by starting a
cleaning business from the
ground up. With nothing
but determination, she
grew that business into
a thriving venture, all
while raising her family.
But her ambition didn’t
stop there. Three years
ago, she decided to take
another leap, building
Fernwood Gregory Hills
from the ground up as her
second business. Today,
the club boasts over 1,800
members and has been
named Fernwood Fitness
2024 Club of the Year.
When asked how she
de昀椀nes herself, Sanela’s
answer is heartfelt and
clear: “#1 is Mum. Second, I
am a businesswoman... My
mission has always been
to be a role model for my
kids, to show them what
can be done.”
Her message to others
is just as inspiring: stop
waiting for permission or
the perfect moment. “I’m
not special. Anyone can
do it. You just have to be
brave enough to take a
leap,” she says.
Family is at the core of
everything Sanela does. “I
lost my mum when I was
35,” she shares. “Since
my early 20’s... I didn’t
have the opportunity