We were lucky to catch up with Natasha Fine recently and have shared our conversation below.
Natasha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.
When I first started teaching it was out of my apartment in Nashville, circa 2007, after spending nearly a decade stripping. I had purchased a pole from Xpole and installed it in my living/dining room area. It was such a small area, I had to move my dining room table and a chair to be able to practice or teach. My first client/s came from Myspace and Craigslist, you know before it was super weird. I had a craigslist ad advertising Pole lessons for 1-2 people, and I used my Myspace page to cold email people about the lessons I was offering. Myspace had a cool feature that would let you filter your search so that I could specifically look for people in my area that I thought would want to take lessons. I also advertised by sharing my own pole practice photos on the platform, as well as making posts about my offerings. Eventually I had 2 people that contacted me and wanted to schedule together. They took from me for a good while, once or twice a week for 6 months or so. Once I had them, and other students I could share their experiences and progress on the platform. This not only helped me market my buisness, but it legitimized Pole Dance, which was very niche at the time, especially in our area. My new clients responded so well to my curriculum and gave great feedback. I was ecstatic to say the least, and even more passionate and driven to build my dream.
Natasha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Natasha Fine is the owner and founder of Knoxville, Tennessee’s premier Pole Dance and boutique fitness studio in the heart of the Old City, Sheer Inspiration Pole Fitness. Pole Dance pioneer since 1999, her signature style of movement is rooted in Natasha’s background as a stripper, which not only led to her witnessing, but participating in the evolution of the art and sport of Pole. It wasn’t solely the pure athleticism, but the freedom of expression and confidence that pole dancing provided which would inspire her dream of sharing this art with others. She has successfully directed and produced Pole Performance shows in Knoxville quarterly, since 2013. Natasha is an Ambassador and experienced competition judge for Pole Sport Organization and has been educating people with her own curricula since 2007. Through her platform and art, Natasha is dedicated to creating and maintaining safe, judgement-free spaces that are completely inclusive to all genders and races. Natasha has trained with countless fellow accomplished professionals and continually strives to host the industry’s best and brightest at her home studio. Her dreams are encouraged and inspired by her challenging students, whom display unparalleled passion and drive.
Pole Dance is wild and beautiful, a path through the world that will open new adventures and immeasurable growth.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
I took a seminar at Pole Expo one year that was for Studio Owners. One of the key notes that stuck out to me and stayed with me was, 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your clients. I know now that the 80/20 principle is a common buisness management strategy, but I didn’t then. I took that knowledge and really set into creating a model that centered around my what kept my students not only happy but motivated. By that time, I was teaching in the bonus room of my home and I was able to expand my offerings to include not just private lessons, but varied series classes for up to 5, Private parties/events, specialty workshops, and small showcases. Also, word of mouth was and continues to be an essential part of my buisness growth.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
I primarily use social media as a way to keep in touch my students and staff. We have a private student group to keep everyone connected, both current and past students. That group gets all the info first – whether it’s a new class, an upcoming workshop, a competition opportunity, or us opening submissions for our show. The messenger app in Facebook is my main way to communicate and organize my staff, show, competition, and personal threads. I cross post between TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook on my personal pages, as well as my buisness ones with different content. I feature students in class, private lessons, studio shows, and competitions to showcase the attainability of Pole and Aerial for everyone. I create tutorials for all the apparatuses we offer at the studio during live class sessions that I share through the week. Through these I believe folks can really see that Aerial work can be for anyone, and it highlights the positivity, support, and community that is Sheer Inspiration.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.sheerinspirationpolefitness.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natashapagefine/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sheer.inspiration.pole.fitness/
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100060809143627 https://www.instagram.com/sipolefitness_knoxtn/
Image Credits
Starrlight Images Awsnapshots