Shift, Move, and Nourish

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Amy Tattrie, co-founder of The Practice: Energy Movement Centre, located in Dartmouth, NS, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We are a movement studio located in Paddlers Cove, Dartmouth, NS. We offer yoga (Hatha, vinyasa, restorative, and yin) influenced, cathartic cardio, and mindful meditation group classes. We also have a curated wellness boutique to support an intentional lifestyle through carefully selected self-care and home goods products. More than any of this, we are a place for community, connection, and inward inquiry. Our mission is to continue building a place for the community; we have movement & stillness for everyone.

Our vision is to provide everyone with the resources and support they need to experience movement, breath, and stillness that feels supportive, empowering, and good to them. We strive to provide our growing community with a safe, accessible, inclusive, and judgment-free place. We aim to ensure that everyone who walks through our doors or interacts with us virtually gets to experience the feeling and community we are creating.

Our customers are vast and varying- they are anyone interested in getting curious about themselves. They are people who are looking for a space where they feel accepted. They might be people who have not felt at home in other wellness places. They are people looking for (or at least accepting of) something different, outside the norm- something both supportive and challenging. They are interested in self-discovery, and they come to know the power of both community and the individual.

Tell us about yourself

We both come from a background teaching for a franchised yoga studio, and while we loved our practice, our students, and teaching, we felt something was missing. Over time, the cracks in the industry became more apparent to us, and it was clear that it was time to diverge from the norm and create our own path forward. We both are big believers in learning and take great care to educate ourselves and shine that knowledge through our teaching.

We are motivated largely by the community and the importance of a societal shift towards community care. We know there is a change to be made in both the wellness industry and, on a greater scale, society as a whole, and knowing our responsibility to be a part of that shift keeps us moving forward, learning, and practicing.

We believe in resting when you need to rest and moving when you need to move, not changing your physical shape, and not because a “10 ways to be a better person” article advised it. Instead, we celebrate both rest and movement as integral to the human experience, and we believe that human experience is extremely important and needs to be acknowledged as special, unique, and valuable- in whatever way it wants to be expressed.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Our biggest accomplishment as a business would be the community we have fostered. We have such a lovely group of humans who are open to learning and supporting each other and The Practice as a whole. We have made a space where people feel safe expressing emotions, moving in new ways, and building new relationships. We have created a space where people feel safe to inquire about their relationship with themselves and let go of harmful aspects that their connection to themselves used to hold.

We have watched people evolve, shift, and change within our space, simply from being given a safe container to getting curious about who they are. We simply offer the invitation, and watching people accept it and embark on their personal journey is the most rewarding process.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The things no one tells you, such as you never know when a global pandemic may hit! I know that is the easy answer; however, we were only in business for six months before the first lockdown. I suppose on a greater scale, the hardest thing that comes with being a business owner is the frustration that can accompany all of the unexpected things that come up, big or small, that take up all your time and attention when all you want to do is build your business with events, promotions, hosting great classes in our case, and so on.

Being a business owner initially (before there is any other support or systems in place that are tested and true) is a lot of dealing with daily issues on varying levels and just hoping you get the bare minimum done in a day outside of that.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

I recommend entering with the understanding that you will spend a lot of time at first just dealing with little (or big!) unexpected daily tasks, as mentioned above! I suppose that can sum up to:

1.) Be flexible/ expect the unexpected!

2.) Keep dreaming and jotting down those big ideas in a notebook, but know that real work on those big ideas will come in time, but likely not right away.

3.) Trust the process will become very annoying to hear, but it is also true. Build your foundation, and grow from there! Know this is not a linear process, and expect ebbs and flows. Bonus tip: seek and accept help wherever you can get it! More often than not, others in your life want you to succeed! Don't be afraid to use the resources at your disposal- this is community care!

Our Values:
• Community. As a community, we hold up, encourage, and support each other to continue to show up for ourselves and others.
• Exploration. Through the choice of movement, breath, or stillness, we are empowered to explore in a way that feels organic to us on any given day.
• Authenticity. There’s an invitation to arrive at this space without judgment from ourselves or others. Through this safety and comfort, we are able to embrace our authentic selves as it shows up at any given moment.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.practicemovement.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/practicemovement.ca/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/practicemovement.ca/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.