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Goals to teach/Open a studio
I need to get these thoughts out of my head and hear any and all advice that is offered to me!â¤
A little background on me.. I had been over weight/ obese for most of my life. I was never into physical activity of any kind. I have always had a very sedentary lifestyle. Exercise was looked at as a weightloss tool and quite frankly I just hated sweating and moving my body.
In 2019 I saw a pole on Amazon and thought it could be fun. I had no idea how difficult it actually was, and to be honest I didn’t even know spins had actual names. Thankfully I found studioveenaâ¤â¤ but even then, weighing 290 pounds it took me 2 months to be able to lift myself.
I have been determined and consistent and totally fell in love with pole & feeling strong in my body! I strength train almost as much as I learn new moves.
I don’t have much interest in flow/Dancey things. I love spins, conditioning, training, and even just fun workouts routines with the pole.
I have lost 130 pounds unintentionally since I started. But aside from the weightloss pole has absolutely changed my life and I NEED to share my love with my hometown. I would love it to be a studio where larger bodies feel comfortable and confident coming to.
(also there are no local studios where I live)This takes me to my 5 year plan. Where do I start?! Do I need to be certified in pole dancing? Do I need to be good at everything? Do I have to teach flow and routines or can I base my classes around spins, tricks, conditioning, and workouts? I’m feeling overwhelmed because it’s a big dream and I’m aware I need to put a lot of work in to make this happen. So I guess I’m looking for any advice at all to help me along! I have so many more questions and concerns but I’ll start with this huge post for now🤣
Here’s my immediate plans for the coming months: •Read Veenas method to teaching
•get a studioveena membership again so I can go over all of the videos and really grasp the fundamentals.
•Buy and read books on Confidence & Leadership. -
5 Replies
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They sound like great goals. The first thing you need for teaching is passion and it sounds like you have that.
You don’t have to be able to do every move. Here’s what I think makes a great teacher.
You need to be able to modify moves, make them harder or easier along with that you need the awareness to see when someone might need a modification.
You’ll want a good understanding of body mechanics, there are a lot of ways to do this on your own. Look for reputable people to learn from. Remember, just because someone has a large following on social media doesn’t mean they are sharing safe and effective training methods and ideals. Learn the major muscle groups. I have all of this info in the Veena method course!
You don’t need to be certified in pole (those who sell certifications will not be happy I’ve said this). You can be certified and still have no idea what you’re doing. I took the CPR certification I’d say 5 times before I felt I could actually use it! Certs are a great way for a studio to make money and I don’t fault them for that. But from what I’ve seen what you get is not worth the cost. You can learn a ton on your own if you want to. I’ve been doing that my entire fitness career. I was ACE certified for years before I stopped doing the continuing ed to maintain it. I realized that I was not getting my money’s worth with the courses I was taking.
Train your friends and family, ask them if it’s ok that you try out teaching methods on them, that’s how I started.
You don’t need to teach flow, but a lot of students really enjoy the dance part of pole and it’s a great way to get cardio in without feeling like you’re doing cardio!
Start by getting familiar with the fundamentals and go from there! Remember that owning a pole only studio is tough, most places need to offer more than just pole dance to financially make it work.
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Wow thank you so much for such a great reply! Very helpful information. This is a big and slightly overwhelming dream, but I know I’ll either do it right or I won’t do it at all.
I’m very lucky my brother is a personal trainer and has taken many courses on fitness. I practiced teaching him the other day and it was honestly
so awful! He told me to avoid ‘like this’ and ‘like that’ when trying to teach and it was extremely clear I needed to go back to basics and learn proper terminology.😂 but like you said my plan is to bring in friends and family to start practicing teaching them once I’m more knowledgeable!Thank you for being honest about the certifications! That’s actually a big relief.
I may like some flow routines but that’ll have to be something I play around with in the coming years.
I plan to host specialty classes and events as well, but if you don’t mind me asking what else would someone include in a pole studio to stay financially stable? I’m planning on starting very small in the beginning, and being the only teacher for a while.
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Most studios offer things like, yoga, pound classes https://poundfit.com/ stretching classes, workouts, chair dance, aerial and really anything you can thing of that allows for more people in a class. Pole is very limiting because of the space it needs.
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My ultimate goal is to open a studio too!
Veena is probably right about the certification BUT consider your audience will probably appreciate you having some form of certification, also insurance providers would probably like it.
About me- I started poling 7 years ago now and didn’t make much progress the first couple of years for various reasons and pole 4-5x a week, also no studio here either, and it’s quite rural (12,000 inhabitants).
I’m very nervous about the upfront costs of a studio (rent, buying the poles, ideally safely installing rigging points for lyra too- I do lyra occasionally) and we have two small children. I was a freelance fitness trainer specialising in pre- and postnatal exercise so I have basic fitness experience but I’m worried about not covering my costs soon enough/my studio being an expensive hobby etc.
I don’t like training flow imo or routines, I always find I take too long working out the elements and it usually frustrates me. I like playing around with entries/exits, or taking one or two elements and working that into something. But you don’t have to do flow straightaway in your studio.
I want to also offer general fitness classes (eg cross fit/HIIT etc) in my future studio to bring in some “normal” people who maybe wouldn’t be interested in pole/aerial.
Anyway, that’s lots of my thoughts- me and my husband have agreed I will save up now and plan courses and in 3 years time when I’ve hopefully finished my degree (I’m training to be a kindergarten teacher atm for safe money and child friendly hours) I can open my studio and maybe work part-time in the mornings to help pay the bills (Or maybe not work, that part is flexible XD)
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This is such an inspiring journey! Your focus on spins, conditioning, and strength training will absolutely resonate with students who want to build confidence in their bodies, especially in a space that welcomes all sizes. Starting small and gradually building your offerings is a smart approach, and testing your teaching methods with friends and family will give you invaluable feedback before opening to the public.
Many small studio owners find that offering a mix of classes, such as specialty workshops, private sessions, or fitness-focused pole conditioning, can help keep revenue consistent while you build your student base. You could also consider collaborations with local wellness or fitness professionals to expand your reach and offer complementary services.
On a financial planning note, having guidance in place from the beginning can make a huge difference. Working with experts such as Mercer Wealth Management could help structure your studio’s finances, from managing startup costs to long-term growth planning. This kind of support allows you to focus more on teaching and community-building, rather than worrying about budgeting and cash flow.
Ultimately, your passion and dedication are what will make the studio thrive. Keeping a clear plan, embracing small wins along the way, and ensuring your students feel supported and empowered will set a strong foundation for success.
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