We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nikita Chugani. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nikita below.
Nikita, 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.
If I had to start over, the one thing I would definitely do is hire at least 2 other instructors right from the getgo, When I opened my Studio I felt I needed to focus primarily on building clientele in order to grow the business, so I was the only instructor. In an effort to provide a wide range of class times, I was teaching 11-15 classes a week, That, in addition to the many private sessions I was teaching, led me close to the point of burnout. I knew then that I had to hire more instructors. I hired a wonderful instructor to teach some of the classes and private sessions but the problem was that by this time the clients were so used to me that they were hesitant to sign up for the classes of another instructor. I decided to take a short vacation and the clients had no choice but to take the new instructor’s classes. They then realized what a brilliant instructor she was but it was definitely a sticky situation initially.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Pilates With Nikita is a boutique Pilates Studio offering group Pilates classes and private sessions. In my early 30s, I was very much into fitness. I enjoyed running, working out with weights and Spinning. Exercise was an important and enjoyable part of my life and I was also a certified Spinning instructor and Personal Trainer. One day I met another personal trainer who was also a Pilates instructor and when I learned more about Pilates and how it began with Joseph Pilates, I became completely hooked. I trained with Polestar Pilates and became a certified Pilates instructor. I quickly learned the benefits of combining Pilates with my other exercise. I have now been teaching Pilates for 24 years and during this time I have helped numerous clients achieve their goals and see results. I have never stopped learning, constantly participating in specialized workshops and courses to give me the knowledge to make me a better instructor. My speciality is making sure that my clients perform the exercises with correct form as that is how they will achieve results and prevent injury. My goal is for every client to leave my Studio feeling better than they did when they walked in and to first and foremost eliminate any existing pain that they might have.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My business had only been open for one year and I had built a great clientele. Clients who had taken my classes in other Studios I used to work at before I opened Pilates With Nikita were coming to the Studio and referring their friends to us. Classes were full and we had many private clients too. Then Covid happened! I was thrown for a loop but knew that I had to keep the business going. Within 2 days we were teaching online classes and online private sessions. This was a first for us and our clients. Some clients did not want to do virtual classes but thankfully many did. 2 months later we reopened the Studio taking all the necessary precautions to keep our clients safe and we continued doing online classes and private sessions for the clients who were still not comfortable coming to the Studio. It was a stressful time that we will always remember!! We also decided to offer an online video library called ‘NikiTeasers’ due to scheduling issues so that clients could continue their pilates workouts at their own schedule. NikiTeasers has been very successful since our clients travel a lot and do not want to miss their Pilates practice.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
New clients come to us either from google search or through personal recommendations. I have also realized what an important part social media plays in attracting new clients so I make sure that our website is always current and relevant and that I post on Instagram and Facebook.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pilateswithnikita.com
- Instagram: pilateswithnikita
- Facebook: pilates with Nikita
