More than a business: how to open a studio in the metropolis and stay on trend?

The format of small studios is becoming more and more popular. And now in Moscow, in the manner of New York or Paris, you can find anything you like: yoga, Pilates, stretching or Crossfit. But, unfortunately, not all studios can withstand serious competition with successful and large fitness chains that have long established themselves on the domestic market.

Author’s project, and even more so a family business – the enterprise is quite risky. Each of these studios is more like an original dish, cooked with a sauce of their own vision, experience and flair. Today we met a beautiful couple who inspire everyone not only on social media, but also in life (if you are lucky enough to communicate or meet them in person).

Samira Mustafayeva, the champion of Russia and the medalist of the world championships in rhythmic gymnastics, together with her husband Nikolay Kondratyuk told “Championship” how to open their own business and keep the bar of quality for a long time, without forgetting about the balance and harmony in the family. Let’s learn how to make decisions that can fundamentally change your life!

Starting point: how did the idea come about?

Samira: at some point I realized that at my previous job I was not growing and was standing still for a long time. I started to feel very uncomfortable about it. That’s when my husband said to me, “You can do more. Try teaching adult stretching.” So I recruited a group. We practiced twice a week in a rented gym. After two or three months, I realized that I had outgrown the rented room and that I needed to start looking for my own space. That’s how the story of SM Streching began.

Nikolay: I have my own, slightly different version (smiles). When it all started, I was passionate about my project in a completely different sphere. All my time and attention was directed there. Samira at that time really felt uncomfortable at work and came home in a nervous state. So everything else took a back seat for me. And so my main task was to make sure that Samira was in a good mood more often and not to be nervous about work.

That’s how we got the idea to organize a group where we could do stretching with adults. Then, as things slowly took off, we started to get a lot of feedback that people were enjoying practicing with Samira. Once we realized that the product was interesting, we started actively looking for our first location.

To be honest, I didn’t really want to do that (smiles). I realized that I would have to do everything else apart from training: marketing, renting. But then Samira, to my surprise, showed complete seriousness in solving the issue and did everything so that I just had to get up and go to see the new premises. It was in a very old building, under reconstruction. But the location was well chosen: the very center, the metro station “Kuznetsky Most”. By the way, one of our studios still works there. Apart from the right location, it was very important for us to feel the energy of the room: clean, pleasant. So the small room on Kuznetsky Most attracted us to it.

Recipe for happiness: what a studio consists of

Nikolai: Like most entrepreneurs at the start, we didn’t have the money to do everything properly. So the primary task was to find and equip a clean room within walking distance of the subway. To choose the most convenient location. Back then we couldn’t even afford a locker room, because we would have had to take a neighboring room, and it would have been much more expensive. So we simply put up a screen and divided the hall into two conventional parts.

All we based ourselves on at the beginning was Samira’s experience and our vision of the final product. We tried not to do business like a copycat, it was important for us to stand out.

Samira: For me the most important thing was (and still is) not even the location near the subway or the availability of showers, although, of course, now we try to invest a lot in making everyone in the studio as comfortable as possible. The most important thing that people are ready to go anywhere after work for is a good trainer, a real professional. Someone who will lead you to results. That’s why for me, working with a team has always come first.

It is also very important to always offer the client something new and interesting. For example, now we have a new direction called barre. This is functional training, but with small weights, a mixture of yoga, Pilates and ballet. The workout is divided into three parts: upper, lower and abs. It’s a bit like dancing, all done to the beat. I studied it in America. In Russia, this trend is new. The effect of such classes is that you literally crawl out of training, but in the morning your muscles do not ache as much as after a strength session in the gym.

Two halves: how do you divide responsibilities in a family business?

Nikolay: I am a manager by nature. I like the process of organization. And Samira has given her whole life to sport and enjoys it. Together we create synergy and quality. I want to give advice to everyone who is searching for themselves. Each of us is good at something. Often you just need to find someone to use your knowledge with. We were lucky in this respect, we didn’t even have to look for anyone (laughs).

Partnerships and teams are the basis of everything. It’s almost impossible to launch projects alone, you have to unite. It’s not that difficult to find like-minded people, you just get a feel for who you can work with and who you can’t. My wife and I have been in touch for a long time, we have been friends, we have traveled together… So when the business appeared, we didn’t even think that there might be a problem. We knew that everything would work out.

Each of us is good at something. Often you just have to find someone to use your knowledge with.

Samira: It must be a challenge to realize what you do well. My story is direct proof of that: once I was done with sports, I didn’t want to think or hear about it. Seriously. Then I met my husband and after a year, I realized that I really missed sports. To realize this, I had to abstract myself and take some time off. That’s how I realized that mine is what I’ve been doing since I was a kid.

Nikolai: I would also add that it’s really important: everyone should do their own thing. Samira stays out of my responsibilities, and I stay out of hers. That’s why we do not fight. The coach should create, the manager should deal with everything else.

A product that speaks for itself

Nikolai: Bill Gates said: “If you are not on the Internet, you are not in business.” This is a popular expression today. Everyone is well aware that when a consumer sees the face of a business, their credibility grows. That’s why we actively use social networks to promote studios. They help both to expand the circle of clients and to add loyalty to our brand. But social media is not a panacea, it’s important to remember that, because advertising works in the aggregate. There’s selebrity advertising, online promotion, media, and banners around town.

If you make a good product, sooner or later a lot of people will know about it and the principle of “word of mouth” will work. That is why it is so important to do your work well, then people will tell each other about you.

Samira: The ways of promoting the studio can be different: for example, I often hold trainings with stars, I pay a lot of attention to creating a personal brand, maintaining my Instagram page. You can’t say for sure that advertising makes a blogger’s “direct” explode. Kolya is right, everything works in the aggregate!

The ideal client that doesn’t exist

Samira: The audience in our studios is very different, so we fundamentally do not want to be tied to one image that represents the studio. People are all different and unique. But at the same time everyone can train, do sports. We like our clients, they are all wonderful, because they want to be in harmony with their bodies, they want to look good, feel good.

Nikolay: We don’t have an image of an ideal client, we like that all our clients are so different. At first we focused on girls from 20 to 30 years old. Active, modern, who look after themselves and are interested in fitness. But now the audience has greatly expanded, we have teenagers and adult women. Everyone is comfortable. Regardless of age, everyone has a result. You could say that stretching has no boundaries.