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

Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I opened up my first business in the fall of 2013–a pole dance studio in Lancaster, PA called Studio Spin. I’ve worked very hard in curating a unique, transformative experience for my clients over the past 10 years. However it wasn’t until the pandemic hit in 2020 that I came to the realization of what my true purpose is…

I watched an episode of Euphoria, which made me feel all sorts of depressed because I knew that the stories portrayed in that show were actually happening to so many teenage girls. And I wondered how many women today live in fear or shame because of the poor choices they made as teenagers due to a lack confidence and self-worth.

It all became very clear to me what my purpose in this world is: I want to help women and young girls learn how to own their value–use their voice to speak up, learn to love their body and sensuality, free themselves from fear, shame and self-doubt.

I realized that my career as a pole dance instructor had been preparing me for this next chapter in my life because I was already teaching my clients confidence through the dance classes that I taught. And now I was ready to use my skillset on a deeper level and create a specialized, signature program just for women.

For the next two years I worked endlessly to build my program–researching, taking coaching courses and creating the curriculum.

In February of 2022, I launched my first 6-week Fierce Confidence program.

Rachel, 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?

I’ve been a pole dance instructor for over 14 years and opened my own pole dance studio 10 years ago. I loved how strong I became and felt after each pole class that I took as a student. I became more confident in myself, in my body and finally had an outlet where I could express my sensual self. I’ve always loved dancing and I’ve always been a bit of a daredevil. So pole dance came very naturally to me. It met my need to feel sexy in my own body.

I knew that if it had that powerful of an effect on me, it would have the same effect for other people. I always knew that I wanted to be a business owner by age 30. So after becoming a pole dance instructor, I realized my business opportunity. I was going to open and run my own dance studio.

After running my studio for over 6 years, I was hit with the pandemic 2020. While it was a devastating time for the world, it gave me the reset button I didn’t even realize I needed. It was actually a blessing for me. I reflected a lot on my life, my business and my purpose. I reimagined my studio’s vision to become more aligned with my passion for sensual movement and introspection. And I set off to pursue a life coaching career starting with the creation of my first signature program for women called Fierce Confidence.

The Fierce Confidence program is the culmination of my own life’s journey to confidence, a 12-year teaching career and the desire to help women find their voice and own their value. But this program is only the beginning. I am currently working on additional programs that center around confidence and body appreciation.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

A person isn’t born with confidence, it is developed through the trenches of life. I believe that when you hit a point of resistance in life, it’s an opportunity to grow and strengthen your mind. But it takes effort and desire to push past that resistance.

Last year, I lost 3/4 of my staff at the studio all within a 3-month period. I was down to one instructor, myself and a new assistant manager. How was I going to manage the class schedule, run the business and keeping my sanity? At first glance, it all seemed so overwhelming. I had 7 classes per week that now needed coverage as well as front desk.

After having a mini freakout moment of “how am I going to get through this?” I divided the problem into smaller pieces. I needed new instructors. I took this opportunity to formalize my apprenticeship program and invited 4 current students of mine to join the program. I put out a job ad and began interviewing for not one but TWO Front Desk Admins so I would have extra front desk coverage when needed. I delegated more responsibilities to my assistant manager so I could free up my time to train my new apprentices and cover 5 additional classes on top of the 5 I was already teaching.

I taught 10 classes per week for 2 months until my apprentices were ready to take on their own classes. I didn’t allow myself to become paralyzed by everything that was going wrong. Instead I focused on addressing one problem at a time and took comfort in knowing that I was moving forward with progress.

Having to restaff my entire studio strengthened my confidence as a leader and business owner. I’ve learned how to work smarter and how to make sure I wouldn’t end up in this same situation down the road. I am a stronger leader for having the resilience to get through that very difficult time in my business.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I run my business with integrity. I stay true to who I am. Authenticity and connection are very important to me. I want my clients to feel seen and heard. They may not remember what exactly they did during class, but they remember how they FELT after class. I am always so very honored when a client expresses how much better they feel about themselves after having worked with me. And it’s that positive feeling that my clients carry with them that speaks for itself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rachelskye.com & www.studiospin.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__rachelskye__/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelskyeisfierce/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-skye-092074283/

Image Credits
Redlite Photos, Heike Martin Photography