6 minute read
Coping with COVID Adaptation, loyal customers help small fitness centers survive
By Tim Smith
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In September 2019, Jen and Matt Douglass opened White Buffalo Yoga in Plymouth and immediately knew they picked a winning business model centered around hope, selfcontrol and inclusivity.
“We were going pretty strong for six months,” said Jen Douglass, whose facility is located at 1145 Starkweather in Old Village.
As 2019 turned into 2020, Courtney and Kurt Hessenbruch regularly welcomed a growing legion of fitness-loving men and women of all ages into their eight year-old business at 406 N. Main Street -- Hale Strength and Shape.
And then came the pandemic.
Both independent businesses were forced in mid-March to pause operations because of the worst public health crisis in a century. They did provide virtual offerings during those first few months, finally getting Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s okay to resume in-person sessions in June – albeit with plenty of stipulations to abide by.
Even today, as autumn races toward winter signs are plentiful that life still is not back to normal. There are maskingtape markings six feet apart across the White Buffalo studio floor indicating where to place mats. Weather permitting, some students opt to set up their personal space in the parking lot.
“Students can place their mat outside or inside,” said Douglass, one of the instructors at White Buffalo. “Teachers are mic’ed so they can hear us no matter where they are.”
Hale Shape and Strength also adheres to the “open garage door” policy, so that clients can maintain plenty of distance if they so desire.
Yet the Douglasses and Hessenbruchs are cautiously optimistic that because of strong two-way community ties, their respective Plymouth businesses are still planning on thriving long after COVID-19 finally dissipates.
FINDING A WAY
“With all of this we have definitely survived,” Douglass said. “And we continue to survive right now because of our students and our community. When we first shut down for the quarantine, … it was our only thought that we were going to offer free on-line classes – to everyone.
“And our virtual. We didn’t charge for that. It just ended up strengthening up our connection with our students. We had students that obviously wanted to hold or suspend due to financial restraints. We had a ton that did not want to suspend or hold even when we weren’t offering anything. That was their form of helping us.”
At Hale Strength and Shape, the Hessenbruchs also offered strength and conditioning programs free of charge via platforms such as Google Hangouts or YouTube.
“I was really happy with how virtual went,” said Courtney Hessenbruch, who helps teach a hip-hop class at Hale. “It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t people in the building. But it gives me a little more hope that if it starts to slow down (again) or people don’t want to come back inside that they will hop back on virtual and feel comfortable doing that.”
With a base of between 170-190 loyal clients, Hale Strength and Shape was able to withstand the lockdown.
“The people we have, they are like family,” Kurt Hessenbruch stressed. “We don’t get people that just come in off the street. They are all people that have been with us for a long time. If not, they find out about us through someone that has been here.”
In the latter category is Canton’s Rachel Perry, who started attending workouts at Hale in mid-2019 after a friend recommended it. In the spring, she and her 13-year-old son hooked up with Hale’s virtual offerings and eagerly came back to the in-person workouts as soon as they resumed.
“I’ve been to a lot of gyms before and I never stayed,” Perry said. “It’s definitely a family vibe, you feel comfortable regardless of your age, size or ability here. Everybody is comfortable, everyone is welcome, everybody is super friendly.”
A THORNY ISSUE
On a cool October evening, Perry didn’t mind doing her workout outside. But as cold weather returns, that will probably no longer be an option. At that point, Perry would continue with the proper protocols of social distancing and frequent hand washing. But what about wearing a mask?
“We leave it up to them,” said Kurt Hessenbruch, a former engineer who first opened the business eight years ago in his family garage. “It’s such a polarizing issue. A lot of people find it really intolerable to do high-intensity weight training with a mask on. So we try to keep the social distancing as best that we can, kind of space out our stations.”
The quandary of what to do about wearing a mask, however, is removed from the equation over at White Buffalo Yoga. According to Jen Douglass, face masks inside the premises are mandatory.
“It’s wear a mask,” Douglass said. “Teachers wear a mask. Students wear a mask. It’s (social distancing), temp checks, all of that. We just try to follow those rules. And it’s been well-received by our students. I was a little hesitant about that. It’s all new territory for us. They’re thankful that we are having these requirements.”
Both businesses benefited from nice summer weather which enabled classes and workout sessions to proceed outside. With temperatures dipping, moving everybody inside would certainly follow.
Douglass stressed that clients have shown adaptability along with their obvious yogic flexibility. Because of that, she is optimistic about getting beyond whatever the pandemic might serve up – including a potential second lockdown and return to virtual programming.
“It’s working together, but following the guidelines as well,” Douglass said. “Clearing up that gray area. Every day is different here. Since we’re capping it (class attendance) at 15 (which is 25 percent capacity), they have to sign up ahead of time.”
Courtney Hessenbruch said the fact Hale Strength and Shape is a spacious facility of about 3,800 square feet also helps ensure the health and safety of participants who plan to keep working out – smartly and cautiously -- regardless of the coronavirus or cold weather.
“We feel really fortunate that our business model was already set up for small class sizes being socially distant,” she noted.
STAYING POSITIVE
Of course, having a reliable customer base of friends and neighbors always helps ride out any rough patches.
“Truly, we withstood the first one (lockdown) because our members are so great,” Kurt Hessenbruch said. “They supported us through the whole thing. Without them, it would have been really tough.”
He conceded that another shutdown, however, might be more difficult to overcome.
“We made it through pretty good,” Hessenbruch said. “But the more times that happens the harder it’s going to be because it affects everyone and not everyone has disposable income to just keep throwing at places – no matter how much they love a business.”
The strong and loyal community link is what keeps Hessenbruchs optimistic they will get their business through any dark days ahead.
Similarly, White Buffalo Yoga’s Douglass can envision a bright future, if for no other reason than yoga’s prevailing mind-over-matter mantra.
“It all breaks down to the human connection, compassion and support for one another, to help each other through this,” Douglass said. “We’re here to help everyone else, (with) just the mental health aspect.
“Whether that’s you coming into our studio and you just lay on your mat and you don’t do anything we’re teaching you or instructing that day. That’s okay, because you just benefited from setting aside 60 minutes to figure out what you need to figure out.
“When we opened this space, I wanted it to be a place of inclusion. I wanted it to break down the barriers of yoga being intimidating, or only for a certain demographic, you know?”
Inclusivity is a hallmark at both Hale Strength and Shape and White Buffalo Yoga – with clienteles including everyone from young athletes to spry senior citizens. And they all have the desire to keep getting after it.
That is considerable balm for any worries the Hessenbruchs and Douglasses might have about what their businesses resemble as 2020 morphs into 2021.
