The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
In life or business, when you take a moment to reflect, you will see that there are so many obstacles that need to be overcome in order to succeed. Your perceptions of what success means are important too and this will be different for each individual.
In the last five years, these are just some of the challenges that I’ve faced and overcome. Some have been easier than others and I’m sure you can tick off a number of them even if you are not a fellow business owner.
- Gave birth, twice
- Recovered from a prolapse
- Recovered from a fairly horrible disc bulge while pregnant that would see me lose function in my left calf
- Survived not one but two lockdowns with full studio closure and welcomed almost all of my clients back both times plus grew the numbers
- Breastfed two babies who both had tongue ties – this is probably my proudest achievement in life. It took all the mental grit I had to keep going, especially the first time around
- Navigated COVID with a husband who worked in the hospital system – the first time was terrifying, the second time less so
From a really personal point of view, there is a constant underlying challenge of feeling that I am not as good as other teachers/studio owners/mothers/wives, etc. This is something that I have just grown to accept and try to mostly experience and then ignore. I believe in what I do and I have a little folder full of texts and emails from happy clients that I refer back to when I am feeling down. I have changed people’s lives and for that I am so grateful.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The flexibility is both a blessing and a curse. Yes, I can move clients so that I can attend school things and I have extra time off before my oldest starts school, but often the pressure to get things done follows you around everywhere. There is a constant tug of war between what I need to do, what I want to do and what I feel I should be doing.
Also, a passion that becomes a business can sometimes change how you feel about said passion. Ultimately, a business needs to be profitable and you need to accept that some things will need to change so that you can make a profit. Not always an easy pill to swallow.
The pro is looking back at how far you’ve come in business and also when the profits finally start to come, the sense of accomplishment is pretty amazing too.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
This year is all about nailing my marketing and growing the online business whilst maintaining the studio business. The studio is almost at capacity so I need to make sure I keep all of my current clients reaching their goals and getting them stronger each week so they feel a sense of accomplishment.
In terms of bigger dreams, I’d really like to one day have a larger studio outside of my home that has all the good bits of a home studio and then some. I’d like it to be a hub for women to come and move, feel great and learn all about their bodies. A place they can come and unwind at just like the name.
Visit the Unwind Pilates Studio website to find out more about the wonderful courses Laura offers, You can also find her on YouTube and join her supportive communities on Facebook and Instagram.
