Happy Friday, Female emPOWERED listeners! My #FemaleFridays guest this week is Jess Hughes. She is the founder of Citizen Pilates in Houston, Texas, and just recently celebrated the 6 year anniversary of her first studio opening!
Although she comes from a background in corporate oil and gas economics and loves the numbers side of her business, she also holds the branding of her business in high regard. We talk about all things business and branding, how COVID impacted her studio, and how to use “COVID-like situations” as a blessing.
Citizen Pilates
After working with her now ex-husband in a previous cycling/triathlete business, Jess decided to brand into the pilates world as it is a great medium for athletes to focus on core strength and flexibility. She opened her first location of Citizen in 2015 and since then has opened 2 more locations. The mission at Citizen Pilates is inclusivity and to bring group fitness to everyone. Jess opened the studio with the vision to create a community of people who welcome and push each other to be the strongest version of themselves, no strings or stereotypes attached.
Tune in as we discuss her journey to starting Citizen and how COVID really impacted her business for the greater good.
In this episode we discuss:
- Who Jess Hughes is and her process of starting her business, Citizen Pilates
- The journey to opening her first studio
- How to know when it’s time to expand your business and when to borrow money
- The impact COVID19 had on Citizen and how Jess used it as a time of growth
- Building a business vs. building a brand
- Jess’s experience building Citizen’s brand
- Their approach with marketing and branding
- The 3rd Citizen studio and how things are going
Check out Citizen Pilates and their class offerings and be sure to follow them on IG @citizenpilates. You can find Jess @theogcitizen too!
Looking for advice and resources to help you market and grow your clinic or client based business? Visit my website or follow me on Instagram!
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Interested in being a guest on a future Female Friday episode? Email me at [email protected]!