How to Run a Successful Pilates Home Studio (with Andrea Haritan)

Have you ever considered running a home-based Pilates studio?

Many passionate Pilates instructors find that running their business from home is a wonderful opportunity to do what they love without the hassles and risks of a traditional storefront studio. The biggest perk of working from home is having minimal overheads (or none at all.) However, there is more to running a Pilates home studio then just putting a Reformer in your spare bedroom.  Listen as I talk to Andrea Haritan, a Pilates instructor who is living her dream of running a home-based Pilates studio in the Lake Norman area, NC.

I had a chance to connect with Andrea during the Balanced Body training. Andrea was going through the Balanced Body Bridge program after being a STOTT-certified instructor for many years. We had a wonderful conversation in which she shared the lowdown on running a Pilates home studio. I also had a chance to ask her about her STOTT training (its strengths and weaknesses) and why she decided to get a Balanced Body Pilates certification on top of it. If you are trying to decide which school to get certified through you will find her insights very valuable.

Andrea is a movement professional with over 40 years’ experience as a dance student/performer/teacher, group fitness instructor/personal trainer, and Pilates instructor/student.  Before becoming a fully-certified STOTT Pilates instructor, she earned a master’s degree in Human Movement from Boston University and was certified by the PhysicalMind Institute to teach Pilates Matwork and by Alternative Fitness to teach Pilates Reformer. Andrea enjoys encouraging her students to move more efficiently which results in them ultimately feeling better and looking better.

1. PilatesBridge:How often do you personally practice Pilates?
   Andrea Haritan: I generally take at least 1 mat class and do 2 Pilates equipment workouts on my own each week. I also walk daily and take yoga classes.
2. PB: 3 of your favorite Pilates mat exercises.
   AH: 1. Shoulder Bridge- because you are working the back of your body while supine.
   2. Push ups-because these work the entire body, especially the chest and arms which don’t get much of attention in the rest of a mat class.
   3. Breast Stroke (a contemporary thoracic extension exercise done prone) – who doesn’t need to strengthen their thoracic extensors?
3. PB: 3 of your favorite Reformer exercises.
   AH:
   1. Short Spine
   2. Snake
   3. Long stretch series
   
4. PB: Your favorite piece of Pilates apparatus.
   AH: Reformer – because it is the most versatile piece of Pilates equipment and allows for maximum fluidity of movement
5. PB: What’s your favorite equipment manufacturer?
   AH: Balanced Body – because they manufacture very functional and beautiful equipment that lasts forever. Balanced Body has been manufacturing Pilates’ equipment for over 30 years and continues to improve on Pilates’ original equipment designs to accommodate modern materials and greater adjustability. Balanced Body also uses practitioners’ feedback to improve their product. (I recently tested a reformer modification for Balanced Body that they had made based on my suggestion.) I also have some Peak Pilates and STOTT Pilates equipment in my studio.
6. PB: The worst Pilates cue you’ve ever heard.
   AH: Suck in your stomach.
7. PB: The main thing Pilates taught you over the years.
   AH: Patience. Pilates is a life-long pursuit that takes focused practice and repetition. As soon as you have mastered an exercise, there is always another exercise or a new variation of that same exercise to challenge you!

Questions discussed in the interview

1. What is better, running your own studio or working at a studio?
2. What are some of the challenges of running a home studio?
3. What is the best strategy for finding clients for your home studio?
4. What are the benefits in your opinion of a home studio?
5. What Pilates equipment/props are a must for a home Pilates studio?
6. Are there any aspects of running a Pilates home studio that you would like to warn other instructors about?
7. The most important piece of advice for any beginner instructor.
8. Bonus: comparison of STOTT Pilates training vs Balanced Body training