Today we’d like to introduce you to Kay Min.
Kay, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was in a corporate ladder-climbing, hamster-wheel running rut for a good 15 years and then made the decision to abandon all of it by co-founding a website consultancy in 2001. Unfortunately, it was no different than the other jobs I had had in the past. I just got to call myself “boss”.
While I was working insane hours for peanuts and literally making myself sick with worries, deadlines and anxieties, I found solace, sanity, strength, and inspiration in Pilates and Gyrotonic–two movement modalities that are responsible for where I am now. I started off as a client and loved the work so much that I decided to become certified to teach both systems. I did not know what I would do with the certifications but wanted to have those credentials in the event that I would undergo another career shift.
Once I acknowledged corporate entrepreneurialism was really not aligned with my core values, my business partner and I successfully sold the company, amicably parted ways and I channeled everything I learned from starting a business to opening my own fitness studio in Evanston in 2010. Actually, I bought an existing studio which was a 1,200 square foot business from someone who was moving out of state.
Within a year and a half, I tripled the space by taking over an outgoing retailer next door, offering more services, developing wonderful talent and solidifying a strong brand that has kept our clients coming back over and over again. The success of my business is credited to a supportive and loving husband, a great team of instructors, good old fashioned hard work and staying true to my vision.
I love what I do. I love teaching. I love running a business. I do not have a Plan B–I hope to do this for another 40 years!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As cliched as it sounds, I would not have grown and have become who I am today if it were not for the tangled paths and 27 forks in the road.
When faced with choices, it is not just about a positive or a negative outcome nor a good or a bad decision–a choice is just a choice and how you deal with the outcome is heavily dependent on your perspective and approach towards it. When we built out our studio, there was fear of whether we would be able to sustain the overhead expenses while trying to grow our clientele.
Sometimes you just have to wear blinders and work your butt off. By blinders, I mean tuning out the naysayers or negative energy, having a single, laser-sharp focus on your goal(s) and sticking to those little steps that take you closer and closer to those goals.
But you also need to be flexible and understand when to pull out or when to invest more capital and manpower in the things that matter. When I expanded the studio space and services, we offered classes that were not really within our scope of interest or expertise–like Zumba, cardio boot camp, yoga, ballet barre, etc. There are other studios and fitness centers in the area that offer these classes and do them well.
In a course of a year of throwing things on the wall and seeing what sticks we decided to scale back to our core offerings–Pilates and Gyrotonic–because that is what we excel in. Struggles and challenges should always bring you back to what matters most for your business and they should also inspire and stretch you to consider options you would never have thought were possible.
Please tell us about Chicago Northshore Kinetics.
Chicago Northshore Kinetics is known in the Chicagoland area as THE place for quality Gyrotonic and Pilates instruction. The instructors are really adept at identifying movement issues and patterns that prevent our clientele from enjoying a pain-free, optimal lifestyle. We develop a long-term partnership with our clients to improve the quality of their lives and help them fundamentally transform their bodies.
Everyone is familiar with Pilates but not everyone has heard of Gyrotonic, which is a fluid, multi-planar movement system that incorporates spinal motions and joint articulations to develop flexibility, strength, and tone and help reduce adhesions, stiffness, and restrictions. Very active individuals love this work and Gyrotonic offers very therapeutic and rehabilitative benefits.
Although this methodology has been around since the 1980’s it does not have the cache that Pilates has. It is like a well-kept secret but I want to let the cat out of the bag and I spend a considerable amount of time and energy to bring awareness of Gyrotonic to the community.
We are the largest studio in the Chicago area–possibly in the Midwest– with the most equipment for Pilates and Gyrotonic. Yet, we are not a gym–there is a sense of intimacy here. I know everyone by name, who they work with, why they started coming to us, what their progress has been. And I have had many opportunities to cultivate genuine friendships. The attention that the staff and I give our clients is pretty phenomenal.
Contact Info:
- Address: 515 Davis Street Evanston, IL 60201
- Website: www.cnskinetics.com
- Phone: 847-644-0637
- Email: info@cnskinetics.com
Image Credit:
Cheryl Mann Productions
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