Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Estelle Underwood. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Estelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I was taking a few years off as a school teacher to have and raise my two daughters and since exercise was a big part of my life after being a gymnast in high school and college, I joined the local YMCA. It wasn’t too long afterward that I was asked if I’d be interested in teaching some of the fitness classes. Me? I had never done that. But I was convinced by others that I should give it a whirl, and I quickly realized that I loved it! Over time, my classes grew in numbers and I then became interested in becoming a certified instructor. Thus began many years of ongoing education.
Soon afterward, I began thinking about starting my own small business and marketing to mothers of pre-school children through the local pre-schools. I and my friends were of that age in our lives, and we knew how important it was to be able to take care of our bodies in addition to the socialization that went with it. So I rented a local dance studio four mornings a week, and that was the launching of my soon to be full time business.
Almost 40 years later, some of those clients are still my clients today. From that studio rental I went to leasing a warehouse space to start my own full time fitness studio where I offered many different classes and modalities. I eventually even teamed up with a chiropractor who believed in my work and the way I taught. While in that studio, a client who became a good friend (to this day!) suggested that I start doing one on one personal training and she said she’d love to be my first client. So in my continuing education and certifications, I then began the coursework to be a certified personal trainer. She did indeed become my first client and until recently, due to illness, has been with me all these years. Over the years as my clientele grew through word of mouth, I changed locations and for over 20 years I had a lovely private training studio in South Pasadena, CA. Due to Covid, when all my work went online with Zoom, I gave that studio up and then eventually built a studio out in my home which is where I am still working full time seeing clients in person again.
Over the years I ran through a gamut of emotions at each stage of my career. Fear was a big one every time I chose to step up and take a risk to expand my business, or watching the economy bottom out and wondering when and if my business would go down. But walking through each of those stages and holding the hand of something bigger than myself and the hands of wonderful friends and clients, courage I didn’t know I had showed up…and then faith…and then excitement. Today I feel extremely grateful and blessed. I’m about to be 70 years old later this year and I’m going “strong” and still loving the work of helping others in my age group to stay strong and healthy. It’s a privilege and an honor that I will never take for granted.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I’ve already explained how I got into this line of work, so from that point on I began training clients as per their age, physical abilities and limitations, and their goals. Many of my clients have been with me for over 30 years, so obviously, we have more or less been aging together. We went from the child rearing stage of life, to middle age, and now we are considered seniors! It’s hard to fathom how fast that time went. But with the passing of years came a changing of issues that each age group contends with. I know first hand that the way we trained in our 20s and 30s is much different than how we must train going through life as seniors. So now we train to prevent or stop the progression of osteopenia or osteoporosis (bone density loss), sarcopenia (the loss of muscle and therefore strength), cardiovascular issues, mobility issues, balance issues, and so forth. Additionally, as we age, we need to maintain the ability to perform daily functional activities, making sure that we continually work on strength, joint mobility, and flexibility.
These are the premises that my business is built upon. I’m so proud of the fact that clients have stuck with me for so many years–because I meet their needs and I keep it interesting. I don’t put clients through the exact same workout week after week–it is always changing because our bodies respond better and clients stay interested and stimulated. They would probably also tell you that no matter what may come up for them physically, I can find a way to keep them exercising in spite of a new limitiation, and they will continue to progress. As seniors, building strength through muscle and maintaining joint mobility is no longer an option to living a healthy life in these golden years. So exercise is no longer an option.
Since my private practice is pretty full, I also offer an On Demand platform which is a collection of the recorded live Zoom classes that I teach three days a week. These classes are for seniors and anyone else who just wants a great workout–which doesn’t mean that they’re easy. However, throughout all the classes, I give modifications and progressions for those who are either just starting out or those who want to bump it up. But the exercises are appropriate for seniors and the issues that we need to be mindful of at this stage. There are over a hundred workouts on this platform and the subscriber has access to as many of them as they want per month for $69.95. The first week is free, and they can be accessed at www.mybodyworks.fit.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I have two examples of pivoting in career and business–the first one being a slow pivot. I was a school teacher in bilingual elementary education for 6 years before having my first child. I took time off after the birth and ended up leaving my teaching position as I knew I would have a second child before too long. It was while I became pregnant with child #2 that I started dabbling in teaching fitness–just for fun. About three years after my second child was born, I found myself going through a divorce so I didn’t want to go back to a full time teaching job in a school as I wanted to offer my children a stable home life. It was during this time that I experimented with offering my own fitness classes on a limited basis while my children attended school. The classes were successful so over time, I expanded my offerings while becoming certified in various areas of fitness. The business grew over the years into a full time private training/group exercise program. So this “pivot” was unplanned and happened rather organically.
My second pivot was rather forced and happened at a time when many people had to pivot–during the Covid-19 pandemic. I had a very successful private training studio for many years in South Pasadena and by December of 2020 with no end in sight for and end to the pandemic, I decided to give up my studio. I had been working full time from home on Zoom with all my clients, and it didn’t make sense to keep paying rent. Moving forward, I made the decision to convert the lower level of my home into a beautiful studio, and when things began to improve and people were willing to come back in person, I was ready. Both my clients and me love our new space, and working from home has many perks! This was an example where making a scary decision turned out to be just the right thing!
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The number one way that I have always gotten new clients is through word of mouth. For me, the returns on paid advertising were minimal. I have always networked with other professionals such as nurse practitioners, doctors, chiropractors, acupuncturists, etc. so I was consistently fed new clients over the years through them. I also had the benefit of running my business in a small town where everyone knows everyone, so when someone experienced my one on one training or my group classes, oftentimes they would tell someone else about me. My work has always been very personal–I know people need to be heard, and I’m a good listener. Non-judgment and confidentiality are essential and my clients learn very quickly that their personal business stays between us. My exercise programming is not cookie cutter. A client’s program is always specific to their needs and goals–and that is different for everyone. I am constantly engaging in continuing education so that I can stay on top of new research and methods, therefore bringing the best possible training experiences to my clients and keeping things fun and interesting. These are some of the ways I have acquired and maintained my clientele.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mybodyworks.fit
- Instagram: @mybodyworksfit
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/mybodyworks.fit/
- Linkedin: estelle-underwood-555b6923
Image Credits
Photographs by Stephanie Miller.
Client photographed: Ross Johnsen