Steve Hartman took a New Year’s resolution and turned it into a business.

The Middletown native said a conversation with friends three years ago about breaking New Year’s resolutions gave him an idea.

Hartman decided to make his resolution more realistic with a goal of making it last for a month.

“I wanted to help people, but I didn’t know how,” Hartman said. “I had been working out a lot myself at that time, so I decided to train some people for free for one month straight.”

Hartman rented a hall and put the word out about his training sessions. He also rearranged his full-time work schedule so he could achieve his goal. At the end of the month-long period, Hartman told his trainees it was time for him to get back to his full-time job, although he felt a tug to continue with the training.

Following some struggles with his full-time job, he eventually committed full time to his physical training business, which is called Dedicated Motivated, Inc., located at 1290 Elliott Drive in Middletown.

“I had to make a choice,” Hartman said. “I relied a lot on my faith, but I just felt this was my calling.”

Hartman said he felt like giving up a few times early on, but every time he felt that way, he said “another blessing would walk through the door.”

“I’ve had a lot of great support,” Hartman said. “I see so many people that leave Middletown because they think that is what they have to do to succeed, but I don’t see it that way.

“We think no one here can support us, but the truth is we’ve really got something good going here,” he continued. “Middletown has been very good to me.”

Hartman said he trains people to look at fitness as an extra benefit to what is really important, which is their mindset.

“You have to get people focused on doing something they thought they couldn’t do,” Hartman said. “When you go into a gym, you see pictures of models flexing their muscles. Here, you see words of encouragement like inspiration, dedication and motivation because I believe words stick with you longer.”

“You may never look like the bodies in that picture, but everyone can be one of these words,” he said.

Hartman said this resolution-turned-career has become more than he thought it would because he didn’t have any expectations going in.

“I had no fear going in if it was going to last 10 days or 10 years,” he said. “I just had faith.”