Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

January 15, 2007

Flex time | A chat with Kaye Richardson, founder of Forever Fit in Biddeford

Founded: July 2006
Employees: One, plus a full-time subcontractor
Startup costs: $30,000-$35,000
Projected revenue, year one: $65,000-$85,000
Projected revenue, year two: $120,000
Contact: 282-6262
116 Main St., Biddeford 04005
foreverfit@maine.rr.com

What kind of services do you offer?
We offer a full range, from body fat testing and flexibility testing to personal training services, including cardiovascular work and Pilates. We also offer Pilates classes, and some specialty classes ˆ— a fit-kid/fit-teen program, a movement matters class for seniors and a men's only class.

What is Pilates?
Pilates is about reeducating your movement. It's strengthening your core muscles ˆ— your abdominals, your back, your glutes. You can work on the floor or with an apparatus [like] the reformer. With the reformer, there are springs, and the springs add resistance. You're laying on a small platform, and your feet are on a foot bar and you move the [platform] back and forth while your abdominals are stabilizing you.

Are people intimidated by the equipment?
Definitely. When some people first look at the equipment, they say, "Oh, it looks like a torture chamber!" But when I put them on the equipment and show them what they can do on it, they find they're enjoying it. It can be very relaxing. It's very popular these days, especially with the Boomers because Pilates is a non-impact form of exercise. For all the Boomers, myself included, we did the step aerobics and the boot camps and our joints are hurting. And with Pilates there's no impact to your joints.

Why did you want to open this kind of studio rather than a gym?
I wanted to be able to offer an alternative to the gyms ˆ— there's a huge population [that] doesn't exercise because they think that they need to walk into a gym where everybody is grunting and groaning and hot and sweaty and you have to look really good.

What do you charge?
There's no membership fee ˆ— you pay by the hour. A class runs $10, a one-on-one pilates apparatus session will be $60 and straight-up personal training is $50 an hour.

How did you find clients when you first started out?
I started out in Kennebunk nine years ago, working at a local gym. When I opened up this studio I was able to bring a clientele with me. I think I came here with about eight people and two classes.

How many clients do you have right now?
For our last class session, we had 63 people, and hopefully that will grow. For my personal clientele right now, I have 26 people.

What persuaded you to go on your own?
It was something I dreamt about for a really long time ˆ— I worked in the local gym for five years, I worked in a Pilates studio in Portland. There was nothing in York County. So I was hoping it was a niche that needed to be filled and I think it does.

What has it been like to do all the business planning on your own?
Very overwhelming. Business is not always my strong suit but I will say I've gotten a lot of help along the way. I think the marketing is probably the most challenging at this point ˆ— trying to figure out what works, what catches people's attention. At this point I rely on word of mouth. I do some newspaper advertising.

What are your goals for this year?
I would like to have the studio become a certifying studio, for folks who would like to learn how to teach Pilates. There's a huge shortage of qualified Pilates instructors. The other thing that I want to accomplish this year is to start up a Pink Pilates program. And that is specialized Pilates for women with breast cancer ˆ— helping them through their treatments or helping them to regain their strength after their treatment.

Given that it's just after the new year, have you received a lot of phone calls from people?
The phone has been really busy. It started about two days ago and it really picked up yesterday. I think it's a combination of it being a new year, so the New Year's resolutions are out there, plus we're starting the new class series, so the phones have been really busy, which is a good thing.

Interview by Kerry Elson


New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to kelson@mainebiz.biz.

Sign up for Enews

Mainebiz web partners

Most Recent

Most Recent

Comments

Order a PDF