Here's a relaxed and upbeat podcast from lockdown.
After helping top executives at some of the biggest companies in London discover yoga and pilates, Amanda transferred her business to Hampshire three years ago. After expanding from village hall to a residency in a health club, her audience was growing organically... Then COVID hit. When the shutters fell on 16 March 2020, it was a real shock, but Amanda turned her business around in hours. By talking to colleagues, looking after clients and researching her options, technology provided the answer...
A great discussion on small business growth and thinking. From analogue to digital... From Hampshire to the world?
"What have you got to lose?"
Here's a relaxed and upbeat podcast from lockdown.
After helping top executives at some of the biggest companies in London discover yoga and pilates, Amanda transferred her business to Hampshire three years ago. After expanding from village hall to a residency in a health club, her audience was growing organically... Then COVID hit. When the shutters fell on 16 March 2020, it was a real shock, but Amanda turned her business around in hours. By talking to colleagues, looking after clients and researching her options, technology provided the answer...
A great discussion on small business growth and thinking. From analogue to digital... From Hampshire to the world?
"What have you got to lose?"
Amaiz talks to Business: Amanda Frost of Yoga & Pilates Live.
SPEAKERS: Jake Shaw, Amanda Frost
Jake Shaw 00:05
Hello, and welcome to the Amaiz podcast. We've been talking to small business owners about their businesses and how they're managing through this difficult time. How have they changed their businesses? And what are the challenges with their current banking? Amaiz was launched in March 2020, to a banking and bookkeeping easier for small businesses. Please check out our features if you recognise the problems talked about.
Jake Shaw 00:32
Today I'm talking to Amanda frost of yoga, and pilates, Hampshire. And she's got a really interesting story about how she changed her business in a matter of hours from its old business process to a new one. So hello, Amanda, how are you?
Amanda Frost 00:48
Hello, Jake, thank you for that lovely intro.
Jake Shaw 00:50
Tell me first a little bit of background about yourself, and what is the business.
Amanda Frost 00:55
So firstly, I'm a yoga and pilates instructor. So I have a small business based in Kingsley and Hampshire. And I have been doing that for the last three years previous to that. I was the on-site yoga and classes instructor for several blue chip companies, including Google Time Warner, and AOL, I have trained all sorts of people from Blue Chip companies, CEOs, financial officers, right down to stay at home mums.
Jake Shaw 01:27
So following that you decided to set up your own business in Hampshire. So take me through what happened then.
Amanda Frost 01:35
So my husband and I moved out to Hampshire, and we got a place settled in. And I sort of saw that there wasn't an awful lot going on, in terms of organised exercise. So I set up my classes really for mums to come and exercise. Then, more recently, I got offered a contract in a big private health club, where again, I was running my own business, but it was just on a slightly bigger scale with a slightly more grand setting as it were. So March, the 16th, was the day that the manager sent me an email saying, We're closing because of the announcement from the Prime Minister, and the government has instructed us to close overnight, everything shut down. So my whole business, bang, done, my options, were taking Universal Credit, all my work is gone. In effect, I'm unemployed, or because I was very lucky, in that I had my own mailing list. And I had my own client base, I had a core of people, I sent him an email on the mailing list, just saying that this is the situation guys, we can't meet because we don't we no longer have a venue. In the interim, I'm trying to sort out a service that I can offer you. So I'll be in touch. And I'll let you know what services I can offer you. put my head down, figured it all out, right. So we can do this through zoom, how can we do that, you can actually see everybody exercising, it's very, very cool in their own front room. So I could still provide the same service that I was providing in a class, I can see into their house, and I can offer them corrections. So we pretty much got classes up and running within a few days, tried a couple of classes the first week, within the second week, a full timetable was up and running, you know, it was just a really sort of like trial and error process. You know what I can see people better, you know, right on to them. Whereas if they're standing in a class, maybe they're standing behind someone, and you can't quite see them as well. I tried to keep what I was doing going but sort of just transfer it online, which which wasn't easy, because obviously you've got the technology barrier. We've introduced live streaming options now that people can just watch the class and join in at home. So if people were struggling a bit, and they couldn't quite afford the normal class price, there was a cheaper option for them. Probably about a quarter, my business is transferred over. And I've actually picked up local people who've heard about doing the classes and there's they're so grateful. They're like, Oh, I can't do it with my normal classes teacher, but it's so great that you're doing this. Thank you so much. So there's been a lot of positivity as well to keep me going, which is, which is great.
Jake Shaw 04:16
You said trial and error. But I think you've actually managed to nail this sort of transition from being a very analogue business to being a very digital business in one step. So you've managed to overcome a lot of the problems that people have about making this transition. So congratulations to you.
Amanda Frost 04:34
Thank you.
Jake Shaw 04:35
No, I think it's an amazing story and actually is a great case study for how a business person to person business like yours can transition to where it is now. If you think about the expenses that you would have incurred if you're doing this as a physical event. Mm hmm. Would you say that the business is now more profitable, doing it in this fashion
Amanda Frost 04:57
in terms of expenses out there? Going to have come down significantly. Because obviously my rent for my facilities, this was my main expense, that's been absolutely great not to have that rent, especially such a starting up, I have had a little bit more expenses in terms of the zoo webinar that I pay for. So there's the platform that I'm using, I'm paying for that, which is something I wouldn't have had in person. I'm actually probably making the same amount at the moment, because my numbers have dropped a little bit from the person's classes. They are increasing every week, but almost doubling every week, like you said, it's a psychological thing. I think a lot of people at the beginning, we're just trying to keep up, then they're in a little bit of denial or things will that be back to normal in a couple of weeks? And then once they're realising, well, actually, this could be quite a long term thing that was separated from each other in our own homes. Now, people are coming around, and a lot of people are coming back and saying, Oh, yes, I'd like to join up, please. So I'm just trying to be as fluid and as flexible as possible with it. And the expenses are definitely a lot less being digital, and the physical work of setup and, and lugging equipment is obviously a lot less for me. So actually, I feel like I've freed up to do more consecutive classes, things like that.
Jake Shaw 06:22
suddenly, you've gone from being the Hampshire yoga and Pilates instructor to obviously, you've now got a global audience. I mean, are you finding that people are joining you from further afield
Amanda Frost 06:33
as word spreads? I'm getting further afield, I mean, it is a quite a big jump, obviously, now have the potential to broadcast to anyone. And in that, I think I'm just sticking with what who I am, I am, I am in my 40s mum living in Hampshire. And if people relate to that, then I think they will by me, by my, my classes. I'm not trying to compete with 25 year old blondes in LA, because that's not me, that's not who I am. I'm fairly real and very down to earth and language that I use this is hopefully fairly accessible for people. I'm kind of that's, that's who I'm used to talking to. And that's my audience. So I think my audience will be the same, but just on a bigger scale. And I can only see that as a positive. And as the numbers climb, you know, really quite rapidly, you can see that as people's psyche changes. They are starting to look for these options.
Jake Shaw 07:29
last things I wanted to ask you was in terms of how people are paying for it. I mean, has that changed? I mean, obviously, now you're not taking cash from anybody. So how are you handling that?
Amanda Frost 07:40
Well, luckily, I was fairly organised. Before this all happened. I had an online booking system, that people would pay me through credit card or PayPal. So that just stayed the same. I mean, there are options, you can actually there's some platforms that where you do the video webinars that that will take payment, but I just integrated it with my current booking system now. So I use a booking system, which is for fitness instructors,
Jake Shaw 08:04
Once the lockdown order has been lifted, hopefully sooner rather than later. Yes. How will that affect the difference between your online and your in real life? classes? Will they they coexist from now on, do you think?
Amanda Frost 08:19
I think that largely depends on how long we're in lockdown for. I know, for some people, it's not going to be the same, you know, and they're going to want to go back to regular classes. And that's something that I would definitely like to offer people in the future. I would say that I definitely will stick with the online because it is really exciting. And it's great for me to learn the things I think it's great for people that can't get to a class I mean there's all these people that are stuck at home for whatever reason, you know, and and yoga classes are something that's very easy to do in your house. So it's very, it's very suited to home exercise. So I would like to continue to offer both
Jake Shaw 09:00
the COVID lockdown has opened up new vistas of opportunity for you.
Amanda Frost 09:04
Oh yeah, absolutely. And you know what, it's been really helpful and encouraging that a time like this, to have something to do you know, because when you've had all your, your everyday day to day activities taken away. Sure. I know a lot of people have their children at home. But you still you know, as a intelligent person, you want to be doing something don't do with yourself. And I think if you if you're one of those people that likes to work with people, you like to help people. It's great to feel like Well, I'm actually I'm keeping people going. It's a way of having I'm trying to be very relaxed with people upbeat talk about breathing and how that's helping us you know that there is ways to help.
Jake Shaw 09:48
If you had one piece of advice right now for somebody in a similar situation with a small business right now what would it be?
Amanda Frost 09:56
What have you got to lose? Given Go. Who knows, you know, you may well find out a whole new business that you can continue doing after the lockdown.
Jake Shaw 10:09
Amanda that's been absolutely wonderful conversation. Where do people find you?
Amanda Frost 10:13
So my website is www dot Yogapilateshampshire.com
Jake Shaw 10:23
Amanda it's been lovely talking to you serves Amanda first from yogapilatesHampshire are in fact like yoga and pilates global. I think we can probably say now. Amanda,
Amanda Frost 10:33
Brilliant. Love it.
Jake Shaw 10:34
Thank you very much. Thank you for listening. If you'd like to hear more podcasts like this, please go to www.amaiz.com and don't forget to like and share this podcast.