When I’m not writing about the latest tech innovations in the B2B space, I like to put on special clothing that resembles pajamas and attempt to throw other people around a padded room.
As odd as that sounds, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) has exploded in popularity in recent years. So much so that after 15 years of training, I have been able to start my own BJJ gym in a small town with just 10,000 residents, many of whom are at retirement age.
Most people told me this wouldn’t work. But after two years, we have built an incredible community and a growing student base.
I’ve achieved this entirely as a ‘side hustle’ by using Wix’s all-in-one business platform. It’s helped me automate essential communications, seamlessly manage my bookings, set up a no-fuss online store, and speed up money management tasks. However, some of its AI tools have lacked the personal touch required for a local business.
Below, I outline my challenges, successes, and failures when using Wix over the past two years.
Why I picked Wix
Before I launched Borderlands Grappling, I had already used Wix to build and host several websites for small projects and personal branding. However, I have since moved my main personal website to Hostinger.
As I run this business entirely in my spare time, Wix was a natural choice. Firstly, it was affordable, with plans starting at $17/mo. I self-funded the business and launched it on a shoestring budget. Once essentials like gym mats, insurance, and training were paid for, I didn’t want to spend a fortune on software before I had any evidence that it could be a success.
Wix neatly packaged almost every tool I needed into one platform. Not only did this save me money on multiple subscriptions, but it also made things more efficient – crucial for a time-poor business owner.
What I've used
Website builder and editor
Honestly, Wix’s array of website builders and editors is a little confusing. You can build using the Wix AI website builder if you want a super rapid result, or you can use Wix Harmony for more control. Alternatively, you can use Wix Studio if you are a website-building professional.
Not all of these options were available when I built my site, which simplified things. I picked a template and then used the Wix Editor to make it my own. If I wanted to follow the same process today, I would have to take the Wix Harmony option.
Frustratingly, if you want to use the tools offered by Wix Studio, you need to build the site in Wix Studio. This means that if I wanted more control now, I’d have to build my site from the ground up – no thanks.
That being said, as this is a side hustle, I need to balance quality with convenience, and using Studio would likely complicate things. The Wix Editor is super easy to use, and I haven’t run into any real problems while populating my website.
Money management
Running my business as a side hustle means I don’t want to spend ages dealing with the logistics of money. Getting set up for taking payments and managing money on Wix can take a little time, but once it’s done, it mostly runs on its own.
Throughout the day, I get notifications of people making bookings, making payments, and automatic transfers to my bank account.
Wix’s pay links have also been super helpful for keeping ad hoc payments within the same ecosystem as all other payments. They typically take less than 20 seconds to create, and I’ve had feedback from customers on how easy it is to pay via the links.
Booking system
Wix’s booking system was a huge pull for me. With limited time, I didn’t want to be manually dealing with bookings and payments, and with a limited budget, I couldn’t really afford the fancy booking systems that some other gyms use.
We have limited space in the gym, so I need to limit classes to keep them safe. Wix’s booking system made it simple to set class limits, which cut off students’ ability to book once it’s full.
As we’ve grown, we’ve taken on additional instructors and operate across different locations. Dealing with this has been super easy on Wix, with each of my instructors getting notifications about only their classes.
It’s hard to say much more about the booking system, other than that, for what I use it for, it just works.
AI marketing assistant
In mid-2025, Wix launched its Wix marketing assistant. Being time poor, it made sense to explore this feature for my business, and I saw mixed results.
The AI Marketing Assistant offers support across SEO, paid ads, social media, and email marketing.
Apart from paid ads (I don’t run them), I turned them all on to start. Right now, only the SEO assistant is still running. I find this assistant helpful for its SEO suggestions that target my blog posts and pages. Given the nature of my business, local SEO and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) are super important.
I found the AI-generated blog posts, email marketing campaigns, and social media content far too generic for my business, especially the images. We are local and keep things super personal. Most of the content we post is about what's happened/happening/going to happen at the club, but the content the AI produced just didn’t hit the mark.
I expect this type of content may be better suited to businesses that target national or global audiences. Even then, it would need a high degree of human oversight to make it fit for purpose.
Email marketing
Email marketing has become an essential part of engaging with my current and potential future students. I’ve been using Wix’s email marketing platform to send regular updates on what’s happening at the club, offers we are running, and a monthly newsletter.
Everyone who subscribes via the website is added to my contacts, making managing lists easy. The email editor is basic compared to more advanced platforms like MailChimp, but it offers everything you need to send regular, attractive emails. Templates and themes make it much quicker to send consistently branded and formatted emails.
For a side hustle, it meets all my needs; for anything more advanced, you’d need to look elsewhere.
Analytics
Wix offers all the analytics you expect from a website platform, with some helpful additions like ‘user queries’ on AI.
You can dive deep into the analytics, but you can also build a customized snapshot for your homepage.
Watching bookings and traffic happen in real time can be addictive, although not especially helpful. However, you can also watch visitors as they journey through your site, which, although it feels a little creepy, can give you helpful insight into how people use your site and where bottlenecks might be.
Automations
Although I didn’t originally pick Wix for its automations, it has been a massive time saver for me.
Each time someone books a class, there is important safety information they need to read and forms they need to fill out. Automating an email for when someone made their first booking was as easy as selecting the trigger, then designing the email and hitting ‘publish’.
As I use Wix Forms, I also get a handy notification once a form is completed. However, it would be easier to ensure no one falls through the gaps if Wix let you see a list of your contacts with a note on which ones had completed which form.
I’ve also been able to use automations for marketing purposes, such as requesting reviews after a certain number of sessions, helping me grow without extra legwork.
Over the last couple of years, I have had a couple of occasions where the automations randomly broke, leading to some confusion and time fixing them, but overall, they have saved me much more time than they have taken from me.
Dropshipping
Community and brand are a big part of Borderlands Grappling, and our members proudly wear our merch. But with limited space and funds, I didn’t want to hold piles of hoodies and t-shirts in various sizes. This is where Wix’s integration with dropshipping provider Printful came in helpful.
By connecting my Wix store with Printful, I could design and sell merchandise without ever having to hold stock. People simply order from our online store, and Printful fulfils it on my behalf.
It works perfectly for my needs, but profits are low. With convenience comes high costs, which means adding anything more than a tiny percentage of profit to each item is impractical.
For me, dropshipping lets me build community and get our brand out in the local area.
Would I recommend Wix for side hustlers?
There are endless options when it comes to launching a business website. Code from scratch, pick from one of the best website builders, use a CMS, select a hosting provider – the list goes on.
Which approach is right for you depends on your situation. Wix isn’t the cheapest option, but it is affordable. It keeps things simple with everything in one place, but this can also limit flexibility in some areas.
Some businesses will outgrow Wix, needing more advanced features and tools. But Wix is a great place to start, especially for those who run side hustles.