‘A local business is different – you’re part of the community’: how a pilates studio kept spirits up by going virtual
Shutting down her business completely during lockdown was never an option for Michelle Smith – running classes online boosted everyone’s morale
Michelle Smith’s passion for pilates was sparked when she developed chronic back pain after a car accident, swiftly followed by heartbreak. Seeking a fresh start in Australia, she quit her job as a web designer and packed her bags.
“Back in 2001, pilates wasn’t that well known in the UK – so when I saw my local gym in Australia had a studio, I decided to give it a go,” Smith says. “At first I thought: ‘I don’t understand this.’ But afterwards, I realised my back pain had gone away. When I returned to the UK in 2003, I decided to retrain as a pilates teacher, mainly so I could learn how to do it properly.”
Once trained, Smith began working part-time as a teacher, meeting with clients in homes, offices and rented studios. But after having her first child with husband Ed in 2011, she decided to set up a permanent base – The Pilates Pod in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
The business gradually grew from a one-day-a-week enterprise to opening seven days a week, with seven staff and 30 classes catering for approximately 150 core clients. Then two years ago, after the birth of her second child, Smith decided to refocus her business on classical pilates – and found her niche.
“We all retrained in the authentic approach that follows the legacy of Joseph Pilates,” Smith says. “We completely changed our model, and really hit the nail on the head in terms of what we wanted to be about. We’re now one of only a handful of classical studios across the country.”
Such a unique offering means Smith’s clients are fiercely loyal – one makes monthly five-hour round trips to the studio – so when lockdown struck, it was a devastating blow.
“I felt sick and sad at the same time, because I didn’t get the chance to officially shut my doors,” Smith remembers. “The day before lockdown, I left the studio like any other day – then the announcement came on TV.
“We’d started our company as a family, and felt like we needed to go back and close properly. We went to the studio together that weekend, and acknowledged that we were shutting the doors – something we haven’t done in nine years.”
Despite suffering such a personal setback, Smith quickly rallied, working with her trainers to bring The Pilates Pod’s classes online.
“This is by no means the first time we’ve experienced a crisis,” says Smith. “We set up the business in a credit crunch, and have come through Brexit and the birth of two children. There have been lots of times where we’ve nearly hit the bottom and had to pull ourselves up – so this is different, but not necessarily new.
“I’ve been teaching privately on Skype and Zoom for a long time, and looking at bringing more classes online for a while, but we’ve never had the time to do it before. Coronavirus has actually given us the time and headspace to put it into action.”
Within three days, Pilates Pod had gone virtual, with Zoom classes and curated content available online. Members were gifted bundles of lessons to use themselves or give away, and free sessions were offered to NHS staff.
“Clients might have come to the studios once a week before, but now they’re doing classes three times a week, and still chatting to each other before lessons,” Smith says. “The ethos of the Pod was always about creating an environment, not just pilates. Clients have told us they feel supported by and connected to us and to each other, and that’s so important.”
Although she doesn’t yet know when small studios like hers will be released from lockdown, Smith is putting safety measures in place, ready for a phased reopening.
Meanwhile, she’s going the extra mile to retain the personal Pilates Pod touch.
Despite being classed as vulnerable to Covid-19 herself, Smith regularly phones vulnerable clients to check in on them, delivers pilates equipment to those who need it, and runs virtual quiz nights to boost camaraderie.
“Financially, it would be more beneficial for us to close the door and put our staff on furlough, and ride the storm – but that has never been an option for us,” says Smith. “It’s such a personal thing, to have a small business and nurture it – it’s like your baby. A local business is a very different thing to a big chain – you’re part of the community.”
Her efforts shine a light on those small, high-street businesses that deliver something different, and desperately need their customers’ support to stay afloat.
“It’s so important that giants like Visa, as well as regular customers, support the high street,” Smith adds. “To see that they care is everything. Sometimes you’ll be struggling through – but when someone pats you on the back and says: ‘Keep going’, it makes you think: ‘You know what? I will.’”
