From Investment Banker to Pilates Studio Owner

If you're familiar with Pilates, you've undoubtedly come across the renowned franchise "Club Pilates." With 1000 studios worldwide across 4 continents, Club Pilates stands as the largest global brand and network of Pilates studios.

Meet Isaac, the owner of 3 NYC Club Pilates Studios: Midtown East, Gramercy, and Cobble Hill. He has been a pleasure to work for and so kindly agreed to answer a few of my questions about his journey to owning these studios. Links to his studios can be found at the bottom, for those interested in experiencing the Club Pilates method. Catch me at Midtown East on most Mondays at 8 PM! 🙂 

Lets jump right in -

What did you do before owning a studio?

Investment banking!

When did you realize that you wanted to open a pilates studio?

Around 2016. I decided to do something completely different and boutique fitness was starting to take off around that time.

What made you pick franchise vs boutique?

Although I considered myself to have good business acumen having come from a corporate background, I had never actually owned and operated a small business. Franchising seemed to be the way to go with the built-in support.

Do you have other businesses/jobs or is this your full time job?

Not at the moment - all the back end things occupy most of my time. I’m trying to transition more of that to others.

Did you face any adversity when first opening your studio? If so - what?

I was the first franchise owner to open in the 5 boroughs of NYC so there was virtually no brand recognition. Also, most people practicing Pilates in the area were used to a classical approach in a private or semi-private setting, and as a contemporary studio offering group reformer classes in a “fusion” format we were often frowned upon.

What advice would you give to others who want to open their own studio? 

Find your niche - the market for boutique fitness is hyper saturated and very competitive. Also, starting a business often costs more and takes longer than you expect, as I myself experienced, so be sure to budget for that.

If you have never tried Club Pilates - make sure to schedule your first FREE intro class!

Midtown East: https://www.clubpilates.com/location/midtowneast

Gramercy: https://www.clubpilates.com/location/gramercy

Cobble Hill: https://www.clubpilates.com/location/cobblehill

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Also - I added 1 more July 7th Sunday class to my schedule 🙂 https://movewithanj.as.me/schedule.php 

Unable to make your class? DM me - I will try to find a replacement! Also, you can give your spot to your friend to try instead, just let me know ahead of time!