Meet Elizabeth Kennedy and Ellen Cobb of Novo Fitness Studio in Midland (Columbus) GA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Kennedy and Ellen Cobb.

Elizabeth and Ellen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In 2013, we were both at a crossroads in our personal lives and in our careers. Ellen was actively involved in a fitness studio in Franklin, TN, and was given the opportunity to get her first specialized fitness method certification. This ignited a passion for teaching fitness, which quickly spread to Beth Anne as she was introduced to the studio and method also. We decided to write the creator of the method to see what all went into opening a studio and if she would be willing to let us teach her method in our own space. Simultaneously, we began looking for potential properties for our studio. Within a few weeks, we had permission to license the BarreAmped method, and we found the perfect spot to build out our dream space. We knew both of these doors opened for us to walk through and take a leap.

Novo opened with a soft opening in February 2014, teaching $1 sample classes to friends and family. We began with just the two of us as instructors, offering 12 classes per week. After the ribbon cutting ceremony was over, the balloons had deflated, the refreshments were gone, and the sample classes had ended, we looked at each other and wondered if anyone would come back the next day, and thankfully, they did.

Today, five years later, Novo has several hundred clients who make up our Novo community. Our team of two has grown to four staff members and 18 instructors. We’ve expanded from our original location by adding an addition which doubled our space and provided us with another studio room and more! And we are proud to offer over 70 classes every week.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Running a small, local business has definitely brought about challenges, but we feel that each “hurdle” we’ve jumped has helped us grow and improve as a whole.

The biggest lesson we have learned (and are still learning) is how to juggle the business with our lives. Our goal is to give our very best in everything we do for Novo, from leading our team, to teaching our classes, to planning Novo’s future. However, we have families and also need to prioritize self-care (after all, we are in the business of health and wellness). So, how is it possible to keep everything afloat when running the studio is a 24/7 job that demands all of our attention?

While there is still room for improvement, we have gotten a lot better at time-blocking and delegating, so that we can focus on the things that only we can do. Time-blocking has allowed us to better organize specific times for working, holding meetings, planning classes, etc., which then frees up other time blocks for family time, sleep, etc. Delegating has been a challenge from the beginning for us, as we both are “doers” and type-A personalities. But we quickly learned that we only have 24 hours in a day, and that just is not enough time to do it all. Thankfully, we have a wonderful team who we’ve hired to help us stay on top of the ever-changing, on-going lists. These two concepts changed the way we ran our business and the way we ran our lives.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Novo Fitness Studio is a boutique fitness community specializing in form-focus, mind-body methods. We offer a unique selection of music-driven, high-energy group fitness classes including BarreAmped, the Pow{h}er method, Bellicon Rebounding, Buti Yoga, ((305)) Fitness, and more!

What were you like growing up?
Growing up as sisters, we did not always get along. But when we got creative and innovative, we made a fantastic team! We ran a variety of “businesses” as kids, from movie rental stores to theme parks in our backyards, and then as we grew older, we partnered in babysitting jobs and pet-sitting services. Though we initially pursued careers in teaching (Beth Anne) and social work (Ellen), it seems we were destined to be entrepreneurs!

Pricing:

• New Client Special – One Month of Unlimited Classes for $50
• 12 Month Unlimited Membership – $95/month
• 6 Month Unlimited Membership – $105/month
• 3 Month Unlimited Membership – $115/month

Contact Info:

• Address: 6713 Flatrock Rd Suite 200
  Midland GA 31820
• Website: www.novofitnessstudio.com
• Phone: 706.561.9868
• Email: novofitnessstudio@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/novofitnessstudio
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/novofitnessstudio

Image Credit:
Shannon B. Whittington
Z. Michael Smith

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