We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Adriana Vargas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Adriana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
I picked this question because it was recently during this last pandemic that I question myself so many times if being my own boss was the best choice I have made in the past. So many people that have a traditional job where able to receive some help or assistance during the hardship but as a business owner some of us really didn’t receive much assistance, guidance or help to survive as a business. It was my true passion for helping my others through Pilates what keep me sane and help me evolve and find other ways to keep my business going . I feel very blessed of the connections I have created with my clients and how appreciative and supportive they where through this hard times. So I hope I can keep helping others and build more friendships through having this amazing community that I build through Pilates.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
For the ones that don’t know me I have been a movement instructor for as long as I remember( age of 14 to be exact) started as a fitness instructor, experimenting all kinds of modalities that luckily expose me to the Pilates Method. I immediately fall in love of the method and became a Pilates instructor. What I love the most about it is the ability to cater to all fitness backgrounds and levels and how I can make a difference not only on my clients physical fitness but also on their lifestyle and mental state. As a fitness instructor and athlete I was exposed to different Injuries what really evolve on the passion for specializing on clients with special conditions. I love the ability to help them with their pain management, almost re-learning how to move with proper biomechanics, become stronger and the most amazing thing is to see them go back to practice other activities that they couldn’t do before because of the pain or injury. I love enhancing my clients life through my Pilates knowledge and my special positive encouragement. I specialize on private sessions for all fitness levels or backgrounds. But I also offer a few group classes a week for the ones that like to workout in a group environment. I love my studio, it’s full of windows with natural light and plants where I help my clients, stay fit, strong, happy, challenge and feeling accomplished on every session.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Wow, I know it’s gonna sound repetitive but again. The most recent pandemic taught me that nothing is stable and that in order to keep existing and evolving I needed to be creative and open to pivoting my business to an online studio and finding a way yo still help others. So I had to learn to be a performer and a camera women, a video editor and more in order to move my business to the online world. It wasn’t easy but I learn so many other things that help me grow as a person and as a business.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Yes pilates was my side hustle for years, I used to have a 9-5 Monday to Friday kind of job and after that job I used to drive to teach Pilates 2 to 3 times a week, just as a little side hustle.I actually got let go from that office job because my position wasn’t needed anymore and my Pilates boss at that time was so happy that I have so much availability that she offered me a full time position as a Pilates instructor. So grateful for that opportunity. Before that I never thought that I could sustain and support a family with a pilates instructor salary. As a single mom I was very hesitant to make that big leap of faith to become a full time instructor. But thanks to that opportunity I realize that Pilates was where I was meant to be. After years of working for other pilates studios I save money and got the amazing opportunity to open my own practice. It’s been 7 years of hard work and the opportunity to help others through my Pilates skills .
Contact Info:
- Website: www.live-lovepilates.com
- Instagram: @yourpilatesmentor