We were lucky to catch up with Elaine Entenza recently and have shared our conversation below.
Elaine, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
I’ve taken several professional risks in my life, including back in 2009; I moved to NYC to take a job with one of the biggest Pilates training schools in the US, only to soon discover the company was not going in a direction that aligned with my values. So I quit, cold turkey, living in NYC only after a year of being there, and all while definitely NOT having the financial means to sustain myself for that kind of decision. But, I did it anyway because it felt right. And shortly after, I got a job at at large health club studio, where within a year and a half, I was managing their Mind Body department, and turned it from a flailing department to one of the most successful departments in the entire club.
When it comes to this studio, Pilates Brevard, the origin story stems from another “risky” move. I got divorced in 2021, and after separating, my ex and I decided to co-parent our kids (3 and 5 at the time), and he bought me out of the house we owned.
So he kept the home, and I had this money…. but I also didn’t really have a job. At the time I had been teaching only 5hrs a week because he worked full time and I had to take care of the kids. So, I decided that instead of taking the money and using it for a down payment on a house – and then having to get a job at someone else’s studio – I’d take a chance and used the money to open up a small studio space. And the rest is abundant history (as told in my Intro question/answer). 😊
I want to say here, at the time I didn’t view these decisions as risky, because they didn’t feel risky to me. It looks risky looking back and hearing other peoples’ opinion about them, but they just felt like the right thing to do at the time. It also felt like – I don’t want to sound woowoo or weird here – but at the time of decision-making, it felt like I was being guided to grow in these certain ways, and in order to grow in these certain ways I had to make these decisions that probably looked crazy from the outside. So yes, quitting a full-time job in NYC and starting fresh, or opening a studio space in a small town fresh out of divorce probably seems risky but, deep down, these decisions were just what I needed to do to grow. So even if it makes me look like a nut job, I think I’ll continue to make heart-led, “risky” decisions in business (and in life) because the results continue to be abundant and fruitful!
Elaine, 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?
I’m Elaine Entenza, a 46yr old mom/powerhouse/leader who owns, manages and teaches at Pilates Brevard, in Brevard NC.
I got into the wellness industry my freshman year of college – I was going to school to become a teacher, and that first year of school I got a job at Barnes & Noble where they assigned me to the fitness/wellness section. I was immediately fascinated by the fads that were occurring and being written about… it was the era of Dr. Atkins and Sugar Busters diets, where the advice was to eat like steak, butter, and bacon, instead of apples or whatever, because I guess at that time fats were good and carbs were bad? (insert sarcastic, upsidedown smiley face emoji or something to further the point). In any case, I was so intrigued by diets and food that I switched schools, and switched my major from education to nutrition. But after only a semester of classes about food, I realized I loved eating waaaay too much to ever enjoy or be capable of telling people what to eat. And during that time I had taken a few weight training and aerobics classes and enjoyed them very much! So I switched my major once again to follow this calling, and that’s how I got into fitness and wellness.
I eventually received my degree in Exercise and Sport Sciences, and during my internship before graduation, I worked at a gym where a woman had a small, small small (it was small) room within the gym that housed all this crazy looking equipment. I soon learned that it was Pilates “stuff”, but I didn’t know much about it. It was intriguing though (similar to the intrigue I felt with the diet books way back when), so I started doing a session with her every week. Soon after starting, she let me know that she was pregnant and was having a 3rd baby, and she did not want to shut her little space down again for maternity leave. So, she offered to pay for half my training if I got certified. I was really busy at the time teaching spinning, aerobics, personal training, etc and didn’t want to add another fitness modality to my professional plate. But I decided to go (50% off high quality fitness training? Yes please 😊) and wow, that first weekend I went… Michele Larsson of Core Dynamics… I’m still in awe of that magical experience. It was like all the questions I had ever had about the human body were answered in that one weekend. Like, where pain originates from, why we are holding our posture incorrectly and what to do about it, how to hold ourselves correctly instead and as a result become strong, vibrant beings… Pilates seemed to be the answer for all these things.
Ever since this first weekend, I put all my fitness eggs in one basket per se; I focused everything on Pilates, or made Pilates the core of all my offerings rather, and it has paid off.
I now manage a thriving Pilates studio here in my small but mighty home town. I have a long Pilates business history between that weekend (Fall of 2004) and now that is too long to share in this article. But our Pilates Brevard studio started with me teaching one mat class in 2017 at the only yoga studio in town, on Saturdays at 7:45am that had only 3 people attending, every morning, for, let’s say, 2 years or so? But we started to grow and we moved through a small burst of growth in gyms around town before COVID, when I then went “underground” and taught via Zoom for 2 years, before coming out the other side after a divorce and opening up an official brick and mortar space for Pilates Brevard.
Our main bread and butter offerings are our small group Pilates equipment sessions and larger group Pilates mat classes. But people need more than Pilates to stay balanced and well, so we also offer what I like to call “adjunct” events and classes: movement classes like The Feldenkrais Method®, MELT® and yoga, and specialty offerings such as SoulCollage®, IFS (Internal Family Systems) group workshops, Art of Living breathwork and meditation classes, and more! Our community is so unbelievably supportive and vibrant, and I think that comes from the slow growth history, along with the passion and team building qualities I mentioned in previous answers.
Pilates is corrective exercise, but it is different from modalities like physical therapy, because it is centered-based and corrective via active, flowing movement vs. single prescriptive exercises. And to get the most bang for your buck from the Pilates Method, you have to stay centered and focused while doing the work! So our entire team is focused on: how is the spine, where is the spine, and is it long and stable, and is the core engaged, for every student, in EVERY. SINGLE. EXERCISE, to keep the quality high and the results consistent. This in and of itself is no small feat, and I think it is why we stand out amongst other studios; we put in the work to teach our students to focus on the details and move with integrity, vs. succumbing to the whim of our culture to move fast to feel the burn, and further perpetuate mindless movement. When teachers help students orient their movement practice around the center (core) with awareness, the benefits are tenfold. And not only are we getting people to strengthen their physical bodies, this centered, awareness building approach also influences their mental and emotional planes. We might be working on centering the core before we do leg circles for instance, but this practice can indirectly help a student stabilize amidst chaotic times in their every day life. And who doesn’t need to be stable during times like this?
So centering and building awareness is out main, underlying jam that leads to a lot of our success😊.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
To have a passion about what you are teaching/offering, and to care about who you are working with! People can feel when you are excited or passionate about something, and this translates into them wanting to be a part of whatever it is you are offering. Add a touch of care and love for your students that is genuine, and you’ve got yourself the start of an amazing, supportive community/customer base that is invested in you as much as you are in them.
I think a main aspect of this comes from building experience and continuing to gain knowledge in your field, along with self-practices that keep you centered. The experience and knowledge-building helps you build confidence, and when you are more confident in what you are doing, it’s almost impossible not to be passionate about it!
And doing daily self-practices that build your sense of connected/centeredness adds a healthy dose of compassion and love to both yourself and others, which helps keep the ego out of your affairs and your business intentions pure.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
YOU SUPPORT YOUR TEACHERS/WORKERS/EMPLOYEES via good pay, effective and clear communication, and a business model that is based in ethics and benefiting all: students, customers, clients, the community etc. If you train your team well and support them (while having healthy and clear boundaries for yourself), they will in turn be able to do this for your customer base. If you bypass your team and focus instead on the bottom line, meeting illogical or misaligned consumer demands, customer base growth, etc etc, you’re missing the mark.
Your people, i.e. your team, ARE your business. Get a solid mission statement and objective, hire the people that want in on what you are creating, and then make your business an amazing place for them to come to work every day. Abundance will grow from these well-nourished roots.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pilatesbrevard.com
- Instagram: pilatesbrevard
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pilatesbrevardinc
