We were lucky to catch up with Kate Andrews recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kate thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

As a business owner do I allow myself to take vacations? Absolutely! Taking vacations as a business owner/entrepreneur can be scary and nerve-wracking, but it’s SO needed!

Stepping away from your business allows you to recharge, gain fresh perspectives, and return stronger than ever. I will say that even though you are “on vacation,” you are often still answering emails from clients and answering questions from staff. It really never fully stops. But if you can integrate time to recharge into your yearly calendar, you will be better for it.

The prep work is the most important piece to enjoy your vacation as much as possible. You have to prepare your business as much as possible for when you are away knowing that there could be things that pop up that you can’t handle immediately…but that’s okay. It all works out. So it can feel like a lot! You’re prepping for your trip. You’re prepping your business. Then when you get back from your trip, you’re catching up on a ton of work. But the moments where you can truly unplug and unwind meant the most! You just have to make it happen.

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

My name is Kate Andrews and I own AVENIR, an athletic Pilates studio in Los Angeles with two locations: Silverlake and Burbank.

I grew up dancing and eventually received my BFA in Dance from CSULB. I performed internationally with LA Contemporary Dance Company and Australia’s Strange Fruit. As a dancer, you dedicate your time to technique classes and rehearsals as well as conditioning. This is where I found Pilates. I loved the way it allowed me to connect to my core in a way I hadn’t felt in any other exercise program. I studied under Karen Clippinger and received my Comprehensive Certification through BASI with a specialization in dancers.

I wanted to work in every setting possible to explore every opportunity as a Pilates instructor. I worked in large gyms, private boutique studios, physical therapy clinics, and private homes. I found myself loving the larger studio settings that still held that community feel. In 2018, my now-husband and I opened our first business together, AVENIR.

AVENIR is our athletic Pilates studio that promotes community, creativity, and wellness with two locations in Silverlake and Burbank. We created 4 signature classes that fit our clients’ needs of athleticism, cardio, beginners, and recentering. Our studios offer over 60 classes a week at each location allowing for flexibility in scheduling. We also offer private and semi-private training for those who want to work slower, or faster, have a specific goal in mind, are working with an injury or limitation, or even prenatal clients.

When we first opened the studio, I was teaching ALL THE TIME. I didn’t know how to find the energy to live my life if I was doing everything myself. After I got pregnant with my son in 2021, it was the first time I was forced to take a step back from teaching and really focus on all other aspects of our studio. This is the moment when the studio really started to flourish. I hired incredible instructors who are experienced and knowledgeable. I hired intelligent and friendly front desk staff who offer so much support to our clients and instructors. And I think our clients can really feel all the love and dedication from our staff as a whole. I love being able to provide a caring community to our staff and clients alike. This is what brings me the most joy from owning AVENIR.

Any advice for managing a team?

In our business, we have quite a few coworkers, but we often never work with each other at the exact same time. It’s proven difficult to maintain connections across the board when two coworkers’ schedules could be in complete opposition. However, these coworkers are always servicing the same clients. So it is so, so important that we are all on the same page. When we were a smaller company, we could manage team-building events a bit better. Now with such a large team, it makes it challenging to get everyone together at the same time. We do our best to provide fun events for our staff throughout the year such as private yoga classes, self-defense classes, soccer games, happy hours, and of course our annual End-Of-Year party.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My business partner is my husband Nick and we met on Bumble! After I flaked on him at least 2 times, we finally had our first date and we found an incredible connection. We dated hard and fast. It was so fun and we’ve been in a whirlwind ever since!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.avenir-la.com
• Instagram: @avenirpilates

Image Credits
Jimmy Bazan