Meet Christine Garcia of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Garcia.

Hi Christine, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
After college, I pursued a Master’s in Hospital Administration, with hopes of becoming the CEO of my own hospital one day. After having my daughter, I realized that my career aspirations were changing and this was no longer a dream of mine. I liked being an involved mother and having the time to be with my daughter. While she and my son were little I was able to work part time, and I am not upset about the choices I made. After spending 20 years at the VA medical center in various roles, I decided to take the early retirement buy out. After speaking with my husband about the early retirement option, it was his suggestion that I not just teach Pilates, but I look into opening my own studio. It was after that discussion that I started looking into opening my own studio. Since my husband is staying at his full time job, we decided that franchising would be the “easier” option. In my research, I found BODYBAR Pilates. After having a call with them, speaking to other franchise owners and going to headquarters in Texas, I decided this was the franchise I wanted to open.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the largest struggles for me was obtaining an SBA loan to fund the business. Between the pre-approval process, the actual approval process and the closing process, it is an exorbitant amount of paperwork. Not only that, I wasn’t aware the loan couldn’t close until much closer to your opening date. I was not financially prepared for all the expenses that needed to be paid before the loan closed. I was under the impression rolling over my retirement from my 20 year career would help me until the loan funded, and then the loan funds could be used for the remaining business expenses until the doors opened. There was a much longer time between my retirement funds being used up and the loan closing than I had anticipated.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am the Owner of BODYBAR Pilates Strongsville. We specialize in modern, athletic Pilates classes based on the core Pilates principles. BODYBAR Pilates’ purpose is to build a community of people who love, respect, encourage and motivate one another to be strong, healthy and happy human beings. Our mission is to cultivate a balanced, athletic, and real community. We are committed to providing a fiercely effective workout experience powered by Pilates that helps individuals discover their physical potential and enhance their overall well-being both on and off the Reformer. I am most proud of the community we are already building, even before our doors open. I think the community we build definitely sets us apart from other gyms and studios. I also believe our workouts set us apart from other Pilates studios. We believe that everyone possesses an inner athlete—a source of strength, resilience, and determination that can be tapped into through the practice of Pilates.

What does success mean to you?
I define success in a few different ways. It has been amazing to see the response in the community. We have heard from so many how something like this is needed in the community. Knowing how many people have been waiting for something like this, and I am bringing it to them definitely feels like success to me. Also, in talking to all potential members and hearing their hesitation because they have never done Reformer Pilates and being able to assure them we all start somewhere and we will all be there to support one another as we continue on our Pilates journey would also be something I define as success. It’s also successful to see we are able to sell out our community events because of the excitement people have for our opening.

Pricing:

• Until 5/24, people can lock in the best pricing we will ever offer (20% off)
• Starting 5/25 the discount will go down to 15%

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bodybarpilates.com/studios/strongsville/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodybarstrongsville/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bodybarstrongsville
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-garcia-6836b039/ ; https://www.linkedin.com/company/bodybar-pilates/posts/?feedView=all
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BODYBAR_Pilates