We Care About How You Move - Dynamic Pilates

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Faye Li, owner and founder of Dynamic Pilates Inc., located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

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

My business is a Pilates studio focusing on movement education and therapeutic movement. Our mission is to work with people's bodies and posture to get them to the best place they can be in order to optimally recruit muscles. This is important because we teach and train the body on how to be used properly. We go back to the functional basics of the body and build from there. This means that if you are a runner, you will feel yourself running better. How? You'll feel lighter, your endurance will feel better, your muscles will work for you and not against you, and you'll breathe better. We train your body so that your body will always be on your side and a comfortable home.

We are more than just Pilates because we use Pilates as our method to educate people on how to move optimally and functionally. Our clients come from many different backgrounds. Some are older clients who require help with chronic pain or injury, some clients are ex-athletes who want to maintain their bodies, and some clients are just here to want to get the best movement and exercise for themselves. We work with everyone, and we always meet people at their level and work with them to get to the level they want to achieve.

We always check in with clients to ensure that we are on the same page regarding their goals, which usually are strength, mobility, flexibility, and doing some cool tricks on the Cadillac.

Tell us about yourself

My name is Faye, and I am the owner and founder of Dynamic Pilates in BC. I first started working on my business because I found that there weren't many studios in Vancouver that had the same mindset as me. In sense that many people had Pilates studios in Vancouver teaching Pilates, but not many used Pilates as a method for actively realigning posture and movement education. So I decided to work hard, start something small, and work from there. I first started in a small room located within a chiropractic office, but the hours that were offered to me were sparse, and it ended up feeling like a place that did not allow me to grow. So I really committed and rented proper studio space to teach and grow in.

It has been two years now, and I'm not going to lie; it has been really hard but also the most rewarding two years of my life. I now have another amazing instructor that works for the studio, and I cannot be happier. My main motivators are my clients. Every week I see them, they get stronger, grow taller, get more confident, etc., and it is truly so rewarding. I have had clients who told me that their lives have changed because of me or that they have started loving their own bodies because of me. There's nothing more rewarding than being able to help people, and not only that, be life-changing. Sometimes I have no words for how amazing that feeling can be. I am also really lucky to have been able to grow as much as I did in just two years. My clients have been awesome.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Honestly, the growth that I was already able to have in just two years. My business started during the pandemic, and we are still in a pandemic, but my business has steadily grown and has become self-sufficient in 2 years. As a business owner (not an instructor), I feel that this has been my biggest accomplishment.

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

The hardest thing that comes about being a business owner is making time for yourself. When I started my business, I was literally working 24/7 to build something up from nothing (I am still building two years in and will continue to be building ten years later). It's really easy to get lost in your own business because your business becomes your baby, but being able to distance yourself once in a while to rest and recoup is just as important as a business owner, and I find that to be the hardest part. Especially since I am dealing with clients every day, I don't want to be burnt out from that either. So, as silly as it sounds, rest is the hardest and most important part.

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

1. Ask for GOOD advice and help. I.E., Financial planners, accountants, other business owners, HR (if you plan on having employees), etc. Starting a business is a lot of work already, ask for specific advice from other professionals. You don't have to be caught in a mistake that could have been easily avoided.
2. Have a plan and budget (see above). After asking for all the advice and help, sum up that advice and set up a plan. What is your budget? Do you need a loan? How much of a loan can you get? Do you need an office space? What equipment will you need, etc.? That way, you set yourself up to have the least amount of surprises as possible (surprises will still pop up).
3. Expect nothing to go to plan. I know it contradicts number 2, but the key quote here is "set yourself up to have the least amount of surprises as possible, so don't be surprised when things also don't go to plan."
4. Have good boundaries and rest because if you burn out, then you will want to give up, and that is the worst time to give up.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.dynamicpilatesbc.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DynamicPilatesBC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dynamicpilatesbc/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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