We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kaitlyn VanderMeer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kaitlyn below.

Kaitlyn, appreciate you joining us today. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.

Thank you so much for having me and taking the time to learn a little more about KP (Fit)ness.

I started my business relatively quickly and it has been a learning curve since. My business was up and running its first class within 7 weeks (and that was with me being out of town for about 2 of them). I quickly learned that not everything has to be perfect to start and it’s ok to change things as you go. I picked appropriate times (anniversaries or achieved another certification) to raise prices. I changed how my pricing was offered (and then changed it back), I changed policies (as issues arose), I changed booking systems (wouldn’t suggest it), and now I’ve changed business locations.

If I were to start over, I would at least pick the current booking system that I use today then. I had wanted to use them from the beginning but they are expensive- but having to move everyone’s information and teach people how to use a new system was a headache- if I could do it all over again I would just start with them then.

The rest of the things- sometimes you just have to learn before you know better. I changed how my pricing was offered numerous times- I tried a “pay what you can” scale and that confused people more often than not- so I changed it to more standard pricing that other studios in my area use. I’ve raised prices, I’ve done sales where only one person bought something, I’ve had to cancel events for lack of participation. You learn from your ideas and either try the idea again later or move on! It happens.

The one thing I think I would definitely do differently is ask for more help. I did almost all of it on my own, figuring things out slowly, learning from studios around me… but I didn’t ask for a lot of help. Things could have been more smooth if I had.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Kaitlyn, I’m originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I grew up adventurous and athletic- playing soccer and rock climbing. I’ve always worked hard- taking on more than probably one person should! I came to Kalamazoo to go to school at Western Michigan University. I have my Bachelor’s of Science in Interior Design and was in the field for about six years when I knew something had to change. I was designing Kitchen and Bathrooms at the time and was starting to realize as much as I loved computer work, a desk job was not for me. I had been a yogi for years but had NEVER considered teaching. The thought of teaching started to come up more after I was introduced to barre- and then decided to take a barre training. Someone I had taken the training with reached out to see if I wanted to teach at her studio. I took a chance and said yes. A few months later I was teaching at a second studio! Then maybe the thought of teaching yoga started to come up so I quit my design job and signed up for my first 200 hour yoga teacher training.

Fast forward through Covid, and we get to my own yoga and fitness studio space. The studio started when the same friend who asked me to teach at her studio reached out to see if I would be interested in sharing a physical building with two other businesses- we would run our business separately but share the expenses. What a great way to start a business from scratch. Over time, one of the businesses decided to close and now I have moved my studio to a new location to expand the schedule and hire more instructors. We will celebrate two years in September 2023! :)

We offer a variety of unheated yoga styles- vinyasa, slow flow, restorative, yoga nidra, buti yoga, and soon standup paddleboard yoga; we also offer a variety of fitness classes- barre, bootcamp, and soon dance fitness. Aside from group classes, we offer sessions for private clients and a few instructors are Thai Massage certified.

This has been a crazy roller coaster- being just an instructor to owning a studio in seven weeks, seventeen months of teaching by myself, now the studio has four more instructors and has just moved into its own new space! It’s exciting and terrifying all in one!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I’m the hardest working person you’ll potentially ever meet or read about. 2019 was a big personal year for me. I lost numerous close family members and it made me step back and realize I wasn’t happy where I was in life and wanted to change this. I had a full-time design job and a part-time job in the service industry. I signed up for my first barre teacher training and started teaching at numerous studios. I quit my full-time job to sign up for my yoga-teacher training and then Covid hit.

When life started opening back up, I had a friend reach out to see if I would start personal training her in her home, one friend led to the next, which led me to start thinking about a space for my private clients. I never thought I would own a full-time studio! But here we are!

Key milestones:
-Taking a huge risk and quitting my desk job to take a yoga teacher training
-Debating EVERYTHING when Covid took over
-Sticking with my gut and figuring out how to make an income in a new industry during Covid
-Starting the first location of KP (Fit)ness
-Quitting my part-time job in the service industry to take on more private clients and classes
-Hiring instructors to take over classes and Thai Massage clients
-Moving the studio in under two years to expand

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

What a personal question! :)

A lot of KP (Fit)ness started from my savings because everything moved so quickly- which maybe wasn’t the smartest. I know a lot of people have opinions of whether you should take out a business loan or use savings to start a new business. If I could do it all over again I would take out a loan. Over the past few years, I’ve been slowly working on getting all expenses in the business’s name and not my own. But it takes time. Plus having to move the studio and essentially start over in a lot of costs didn’t help. But there’s no need to be concerned or to be worried- everything has worked out so far! :)

Contact Info:

• Website: kpeacefitness.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__kp.fitness__/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kpeace.fitness/

Image Credits
Kayla Raquel Photo