We recently connected with Lucia Tringali and have shared our conversation below.

Lucia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I became a business overnight quite literally overnight. The owner of the studio I taught at asked me if I wanted to take over a space they were leaving and within 30 seconds I said Yes! – two days later I had an LLC. Then I woke up the next morning feeling squirrely wondering what did I just do, can I even do this, with what money, what is happening etc. I had already comitted before really brainstorm my course of action- talk about risk. Then to pile on the that, I vowed to renovate the space, spin up booking, financials, website, and app and open within 1 month. Obviously, another risk. A month full of blood, sweat, tears, money, and questions later and I did it! I was able to honor my promise and open THE|BAR on May 1 2023.

Was it perfect? Of course not. But was it up and running? Yes it was! Being off the ground allowed my to refine my ideas in tandem with business operations, and actually allowed my students to impact my decisions with their suggestions. This was the gold! Having my customers input for direction ensured I was building something people wanted; something I most likely wouldn’t have had if I didn’t take the risk and instead did all my planning in a silo and launched when “it felt best”.

Ever since then, my answer to any idea is always Yes! Just say Yes! Don’t worry about having it all figured out, mapped, or thought through. Those things will happen organically. The risk lies in saying Yes but there is no success, reward, or progress without taking that risk.

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

I’m Lucia, but most people call me Looch. I started pole dancing in 2014 and instructing in 2017. Fast forward to late 2022 and I decided I wanted to solve a pole problem – how do I get the grip aids we use off of our body so I can put my leggings back home. From July 2022 to November 2022 I worked to create a product that solves this – and I did. Enter Apolethecary and its flagship product Antidote-The Grip Remover. I tested it among my peers and officially launched Jan 2023. Since then Antidote has been distributed nationwide and wholesaled in several other studios. Today Apolethecary is a 3 product pillar body care line (with 2 new products on the horizon). My goal for 2025 is to pimp Apolethecary and build awareness by distributing PR boxes, bumping up social awareness, and plugging the brand wherever I can.

But that’s not all…

In May of 2023 I also opened my own pole dance studio, called THE|BAR located in Bellingham Massachusetts. This decision was way more impulsive than it was to launch Apolethecary. The studio I was an instructing at was moving, and the owner asked if I wanted to open my own spot in the location she was leaving. Almost without a thought I said “Yes!” and two days later filed my LLC. I loved the idea of building my own brand and curating the space I was already familiar with. From that conversation to doors open was just over 30 days. The wildest 30 days of my life! Today THE|BAR is 19 months old, hosts 77+ classes a month, has 92 active members, and has appeared on The Blox.

What I am most proud of it a brand built around inclusion. We celebrate and welcome persons from all backgrounds and walks of life. We encourage diversity and collaboration and strive to support our community by valuing their insights, their interests, and ideas. I view THE|BAR community as a sort of family that all come together for the good and fun of the group, my role is the person to execute on what the group has decided. (within reason of course). I believe this sets me apart from other studios and business owners. Many times business owners can get stuck in their own vision of how its going to be, which is not wrong – it is after all their company, but it can cause their vision to be limited or not fully evolved for their customer. Don’t be scared to let others in, they most likely will point out things you are in too deep to see!

I also don’t strive for perfection. I think its overated. We all know and want to point our toes, and have straight legs, and be super strong and super fluid, etc etc. Harping on students on these flaws can wreck the experience. After all people pick up a hobby or sport for fun, so why would I work to take the fun out of it? I believe every movement is valid, and you need to move how it feels best for you. Who cares if it looks like polished and flawless? That’s what repetition and practice is for. I’m in the business of guiding people through self exploration and movement that their body craves to perform and that looks different for every single person.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

For 6 years, my Friday classes were always stacked and waitlisted without fail. When I launched my own studio, I kept my Friday classes the same and expected the same result. Boy, was I shocked when I saw week after week my friday classes get cancelled due to low signups. I excused it as “new business low clientele woes” which definitely was part of it…but months later when other classes are waitlisted and packed that excuse no longer held weight. I played with the time of the classes, I played with social media promotions of the classes, I directly asked students their thoughts on Fridays offering. Didn’t make a difference, my tradition Friday routine was gone.

So what happened? 1. Several of my Friday students were now instructors of mine. They were already poling during their own classes and were too spent to continue our Friday routine. and 2. We had a new audience. My Fridays worked before because that studio had the clientele and audience for it. When I opened my own, the audience I expected fractured, split, and left with the former studio. Now, the clientele I was building came from a world that didn’t have those Fridays built into their expectations.

So what did I do? Pivot. Which meant I had to humble my ego. Having a strong (almost groupie like) following and then nothing is a blow to your ego. Then having to look into the situation and ask why is quite humbling. I had to swallow my pride and let go of my routine that I had for close to a decade and try something new. Fridays became a flex day to host workshops and pop up classes. I took myself out of the equation and chose to offer things my students actually asked for and they started showing up!

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growth for my business has been transparency and incentives.

Transparency – I’m not afraid to take accountability for my mistakes, when something fails, or if something is not possible and I let my customers see this. It reminds them that I too am just a human and trying my best. Beyond this, I explain why I choose to enact methodologies, like pricing structure, policies, etc. When your clientele knows your “why” it helps build trust and loyalty to your brand because they know you are looking out for them and caring for their experience.

Incentives – it goes without saying that everyone loves free things. For me, my customers are presented with a no brainer offer “heres a free class and if you don’t like it then we will pay for you to try something else somewhere else”. Boom who would say no to that? Then once they say Yes to us there, they have further oppurtunties to get extras: The Happy Hour Shot – one google review for 1 free class, our referall program – your friend buys a package you get the same free, random trivia for free classes around the holidays, a St Patricks day bingo for prizes, and preset sale dates for the whole year available to the customer. These offers thoroughout the whole year not only keeps them engaged but it makes them want to share their excitement with their friends – and what do you know? THE|BAR grows!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.the-bar.co
• Instagram: @thebar.studio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebar.studioma
• Other: https://tringalilucia.wixsite.com/luciatringali

  My Professional Site all about Lucia Tringali the technical writer and sm biz owner!

Image Credits

Danielle Ariadne Photography