(Or, Why I Changed My Business Name...)
Why does it matter? Why should you care?
Well, it doesn’t really matter if you DON’T care, but if you’ve been with me a while, maybe you do and are wondering what the heck I was thinking?!?
I figured I’d let you know.
Sometimes we’re just consumed by the need for change. This all-consuming need for change started late August 2021. I couldn’t sleep, my mind was racing, I wondered if I was having a business mid-life crisis…all the things. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Let’s start back at the beginning, shall we?
I started taking Pilates in September 1999. I loved it from the very first class and I was in so far, I was sharing things we did in class with friends and family (I know, it was THAT bad). In the start of 2001, it was suggested to me that I start teaching it and getting PAID for it. I’d just lost my job – that I hated anyway – and in May 2001, I started my Pilates teacher training certification with Stott Pilates/Merrithew Health & Fitness. By September 2001, I was teaching a couple of classes at the local YMCA. It took 8 months of classes, a year to get my 100 apprentice hours done, and by October 2002, I was fully certified (yay!).
I started my business, Dreamlife Pilates, in late 2001. I loved the idea that I could help people feel better about the way they move AND about themselves, leading you to live the life of your dreams, and at the same time living MINE. Teaching filled me up, made me feel like I was making a positive, tangible difference in people’s lives, and it felt like I had found my place.
And it was for TWENTY YEARS. Through marriage, kids, operations, part-time, full-time, working for others and for myself, it has been - and continues to be - my joy to teach people how to move well and help themselves! I didn’t even really THINK about my business name because it’s been around for so long.
Until one day, I was checking in on a client and she messaged me back, saying, “Thanks for the text earlier, I appreciate you checking in on me. You’re a good friend, I live a charmed life, for which I’m grateful.”
When I read it, I smiled and thought to myself, “Aw, you’re welcome. It’s like I’m your Bestie. Your PILATES Bestie!” I laughed and then went back to my day. I didn’t even text her that, I literally just thought it to myself.
And a couple of hours later, it popped back in my head.
Your Pilates Bestie.
It was like an earworm. I thought about ALL my private clients. I don’t just see them as clients, I see them (and treat them, and teach them) as friends!
I think about you on my days off. I worry when you don’t feel good, when someone you love dies, when you’re stressing about work, when you’re not taking care of yourself.
I tell you the truth when you ask questions, even if it doesn’t make ME look so good.
I get emotional when you get married, have babies, graduate from school, and get promotions.
I’m not afraid to get honest with you, even if you don’t really want to hear it.
And I like to laugh, joke, and have FUN with you (even outside of class when I can).
Sounds like a Pilates Bestie to me!!
Then and there, I KNEW.
Like, I KNEW I knew.
I couldn’t turn my mind off. I barely slept for 3 days. I was thinking about WHY I was even considering this. Thinking about whether Dreamlife Pilates was who I even was anymore.
Because 20 years ago, I was a different person.
I was just starting my teaching journey, even just starting my life (literally. I was 26 years old).
Pilates was NOT a household name. When I first starting teaching, Mari Windsor had just come out with her VHS (yes, VHS!!) tapes and was selling you in infomercials…because, you know, the internet was not the thing it is today!
And looking back, I think I approached my business like I was trying to be like MY Pilates instructor. She was beautiful, graceful, and a ballet dancer through and through.
BUT. I. AM. NOT. HER.
Never have been, never will be, but that was the only exposure I had to someone in the Pilates business, and I looked up to her. So (clearly, looking back) I felt I needed to model her.
And 20 years later, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
I am no longer Dreamlife Pilates.
Because I am sillier, more fun, more supportive, and more connected than that.
Sometimes we just need a good stretch & release instead of a push. Sometimes we just need the push. Maybe you need a shoulder to cry on (it’s happened to EVERY one of my clients at some point); maybe you need to vent about your day, your week, your life…
Maybe today you need a cheerleader, or a coach, or a kick in the THASS!
And that’s what I am. I show up for you however you need me to. I’m truly invested in YOUR success, inside our sessions AND out!
So, this mid-life business crisis, 20 years in?
I’m not looking at it like that. I’m not sad, because I’m excited for the next chapter, even if it is saying goodbye to that season of my life.
I’m looking at it more like a metamorphosis.
I’ve changed, and my business has, too.
So, welcome to Your Pilates Bestie.
I can’t wait to see how YOU change.
Xo, Kimberly
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