We recently connected with Jessica Valant and have shared our conversation below.
Jessica, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
I became a physical therapist and Pilates Teacher in the year 2000. For the most part, I personally had experienced a healthy and active life. A few years into my career I started experiencing severe pain and various other symptoms. It took a year of testing and hospital stays until I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis. I was told this was not a curable condition and I would have to learn to manage it for the rest of my life. This was a turning point both for how I viewed movement and also how I spoke to my patients and clients. I learned what chronic pain felt like and I experienced the frustration and loneliness that various diagnoses can bring. I also began to experience the power of movement as a healing modality (not just a way to burn calories!). Since then I’ve personally experienced prolapse, IVF, infertility and numerous surgeries, and all of them have helped me to become a better and more empathetic practitioner.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Jessica is a physical therapist and Pilates Teacher with over 20 years of experience. She goal is to help her clients celebrate their bodies through movement, science-based knowledge and heart forward teaching.
Jessica started her career in the orthopedic outpatient clinical setting, eventually owning her own Pilates studios and physical therapy clinics. After the birth of her first daughter 9 years ago, Jessica moved her services online and Jessica Valant Pilates was born.
Jessica Valant Pilates is an online resource providing workouts, tutorials, resources, one on one virtual consults and more to clients who want to feel joyful and safe in their bodies. Jessica has a popular YouTube channel with hundreds of free workouts, as well as a robust website with many different free resource guides.
Her signature program is UNLIMITED, an online membership program offering home workouts, workout plans, recipes, inspiration and a powerful and supportive community.
Jessica’s hope is that everyone feels safe and powerful in their own bodies and can release any discouragement or defeat they have felt in the past. She approaches her teaching with physical therapy knowledge, compassion, laughter and loads of grace.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
Yes! I am one of the lucky few who knew what she wanted to do at the age of 14 and now gets to do it. It looks much different than I originally visualized and I’ve been through many iterations of my career, but I wouldn’t ever change what I get to do every day.
Conversations about M&A are often focused on multibillion dollar transactions – but M&A can be an important part of a small or medium business owner’s journey. We’d love to hear about your experience with selling businesses.
I sold my brick and mortar Pilates studios and physical therapy clinics about 8 years ago. I have three main pieces of advice for those looking to sell.
One is to have all your numbers and books in order. The top question I received from all potential buyers was for my financials. They didn’t care about my personal stories or amazing clients – they simply wanted to see the numbers. Have them organized and in order for the past three years of your business – it will help you tremendously!
The second is to have professionals help. My accountant and lawyer were both invaluable for preparing financials and all the paperwork necessary to sell. There are many different types of sales, tax implications, state laws, etc and it will help to have people on your team to walk you through it all.
Finally, you truly have to be able to separate the emotional aspect of selling from the process itself. Selling can be exciting, but it can also come with a lot of questioning if you really want to do it, mourning of the loss of the business and even wondering if you could have done some things better (I had to go through a lot of that!). Going back to the first point, potential buyers don’t care about any of that – they care about numbers. It’s hard not to take it personally when they are sifting through your financials without caring about the rest. Make sure you are emotionally ready to give your baby away 😀.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.jessicavalantpilates.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/jessicavalantpilates
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicavalantpilates
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JessicaValantPilates
Image Credits
Tim Gillies