We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Laura Wilson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, thanks for joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

I started Natural PIlates in 2005 when i was only 24 years old. Originally from Romania i was only here for about 3 years at that point in time so i was just learning step by step on how are things working. When i moved in USA from Romania i started with cleaning for motels, then hostes in restaurant, So it was a steping stone process. soon after i went to massage school which led me to work into a PT office where they were teaching pilates for rehabilitation. That Was my first intro to pilates. I started my businss with one room and couple pilates mashines. I started building my businss with one client one at the time. My space is across the street from the Peninsula hotel, which is a busy street with hair and nails salons, so i started to meet a lot of people. Slowly my businss started to build up. Every year i hired a new trainers and i expanded the space by taking over new office space that was coming available. Today after 18 years i upscaled from 1300 dq ft originally to 3500 sq feet today. Natural Pilates grew from 1 studio to 5 studios today. We lost one along the way during the pandemic. Over time we spend a lot of $ trying difrent things that did not work. For me offering clients the best experince was the driving factor, but i understood you need to narrow it down to one nitch vs all of it. Overtime i tried to add spinning, treadmills, other gym equipment for variety in training but at the end i learned my strengh and nitch is Focus on pilates.

Laura, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Laura Wilson is one of the most sought-after fitness experts in the country who specializes in Pilates. In 2005 she launched Natural Pilates, a form-focused athletic approach to classical Pilates that helps increase strength, improve flexibility and gain mindfulness. She began with one studio in Beverly Hills, California and for 10 years she grew her clientele eventually adding locations in Brentwood (2017) and West Hollywood (2019), Soho in NYC in 2022 and also Sherman Oaks.

Wilson’s success has been one of discipline and focus that began in her native country of Romania where she grew up a gymnast, dancer and member of Romania’s National Archery team winning two national titles. Through an inter-exchange student program in college, she arrived in America in 2002 at the age of 21 with just $100 in her pocket. Wilson took a job as a housekeeper in New Jersey, cleaning houses and motels until she saved up enough money to move to LA where she enrolled in a massage therapy program. While working at a physical therapy clinic, she was introduced to Pilates and recognized the many benefits it could offer athletes like herself for full-body conditioning, injury prevention and rehabilitation. In fact, the physical therapist she worked for, recommended Wilson pursue her Pilates Certification regardless of her English not being that great…however she could speak the language of fitness and a whole new career path was opened.

Through her continued hard work and determination, Wilson was able to establish a Pilates empire in both Los Angeles and online and the Natural Pilates training method was born. She was also able to fully self-finance the first studio and the other locations that followed.

Unfortunately, a year after opening the West Hollywood location, Wilson was faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. She became aware about potential COVID closures two weeks before it hit the U.S. because she was in close touch with friends in Romania who were witnessing it. Concerned about finding a solution for everything she had built; Wilson held an emergency meeting with her staff explaining what was about to happen. She safely maneuvered her business and clientele by moving two studios outdoors, revising programming schedules, setting up Zoom classes & sending goodie bags of props (bands, weights, fitness circles, etc.) to attendees while not having to lay off any staff. At the same time the shutdown was happening, Wilson immediately launched Natural Pilates TV, an online subscription that provides access to Pilates anytime, anywhere with over 250+ mat/reformer workouts for every fitness level.

Wilson’s perseverance and drive are qualities that stem from her upbringing in communist Romania, her background in competitive sports, and her pursuit of the American Dream. Whether she’s teaching clients or running the studio businesses, Wilson is very much at the center of the action. It is through her numerous certifications (Stott Pilates-2005, Gyrotonic-2008,Vinyasa Yoga-2011, Resistance Training Specialist and Muscle Activation Technique Specialist-2012), training and extensive knowledge of the body that enables her to provide the most comprehensive workouts tailored to each person’s individual needs. Together with her team, Wilson trains teens, adults, and even active seniors as well as athletes and anyone recovering from injuries.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

As a self funded business, I Started my opration in beverly Hills with a $25 000 loan for equipment and rent. In the next 10 years of expansion i reinvested everything i made back into the businss, for exansion, remodeling and more equipment. Most of the studios i started by taking a loan on the curent businss and luckly i was able to make it through as i was the instructinstructor that worked most of the hours. If you want to open a studio from scratch today you need an aprox $550 000 to take the right steps for faster growth. Today, i am ready to raise capital to francise and open 5 more studios in varies parts of the country.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

We try to keep a tight community of clients. We incentivize existing clients to bring their family and friends but also try to create a consistent comunication about their goals. We comunicate via email, text and in the studio.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.naturalpilates.com
• Instagram: @naturalpilates
• Facebook: @naturalpilatesla
• Linkedin: @naturalpilates
• Youtube: @naturalpilates
• Yelp: Natural Pilates

Image Credits
Attila Luhasz Photography Matei Harvath Photography DBUSH photography