It has been a journey of nearly a decade and it’s not over yet, but for Alexandra Schwartz, starting her own business lets her Breathe.
Now she’s kickin’ it old-style, passing on the wisdom of ancient gurus, martial arts masters and palookas. Ms. Schwartz, 46, gave up a career in the high-fashion industry and is deploying her MBA and a black belt in karate to run Studio Breathe in Montreal and Sherbrooke, Que., specializing in yoga, karate, kickboxing and boxing.
Yoga and fighting? “Everyone said they couldn’t imagine the two going together. They did for me, and I knew there had to be others who felt the same way as I did,” she says.
“We use hot yoga and boxing to get the client in the door, not too heavy on the spiritual side and a great workout. We have converted so many men to yoga who came first for box, or pretended they were coming in for boxing when they really wanted to try out yoga.”
With yoga studios seemingly opening on every block, Ms. Schwartz has maintained and grown Breathe’s business in Montreal since 2006. Last May she opened the second studio in Sherbrooke, near to the country property where she and her family have moved.
Sherbrooke was also chosen because it’s a relatively untapped market for yoga studios. But her business strategy includes additional growth in Montreal.
“In 2012 we relocated our [Montreal] business as our space became part of a large condo development and was to be demolished. The move was costly, but with a strategic street front location we doubled our sales and memberships. We are almost at capacity, there,” she says.
Ms. Schwartz made her move into her own business after working for a dozen years as a manager and buyer for Italian designer Gianni Versace, then getting her MBA at McGill University in Montreal. After that, she moved to Los Angeles to work at American Apparel’s headquarters.
That was enough, she says.
“The novelty and the glamour had worn off. I was using about 5 per cent of my intellectual capacity and I wanted out. My dream was to carve out a new career that was more meaningful to me, but to build on what I had learned.”
Organizing the financing was a huge challenge.
“My original business plan secured financing through a small business loan with a conventional bank, a working capital loan from the [federally-owned] Business Development Bank of Canada, my personal savings and some help from my family. Credit cards, friends and unconventional lenders have all come to play at some point. You do what you have to do to keep afloat,” she says.
“The business plan was well researched and based on personal experience. I didn’t pitch a yoga studio, but a new concept, a boutique health club but based on the studio model,” she adds.
“The yoga trend was just starting to take off [before Breathe’s 2006 debut]. Montreal had the advantage of still being far behind Toronto and the West Coast yoga markets. The Montreal market was fragmented with small specialty yoga studios and grungy boxing gyms or sweaty dojos. My plan proposed a beautiful urban oasis. … I wasn’t targeting the converted yogis; I was targeting what I called the fitness homeless.”
Conventional banks liked her plan but it still wasn’t enough, Ms. Schwartz says.
“Personal guarantees, strong credit, tangible assets and personal savings were all critical factors,” she explains.
“Our business is slow growth. The first six or 12 months can break your cash flow. The traditional bank financing and repayment structure is not ideal because the banks won’t lend you more money when cash is tight.”
Ideally, “If you can secure financing from private lenders who you know at reasonable rates, with flexible payments in the first year. Or bring in a strong financial partner who wants to participate in your dream but doesn’t want to handle the day-to-day work.”
It’s actually harder to ask family and friends for help, Ms. Schwartz says.
“You have to psyche yourself up. Family and friends are the first to criticize and burst your bubble. They don’t want you to fail but they are so scared that giving up the paycheque and comfortable life will spell disaster. You need to convince them that this is your dream and that you will do anything to make it succeed.”
Being an owner is great, but not easy, she says.
“My day starts around 6 a.m. and winds down around 10 p.m. A bad day is no sales. A great day is when a client posts a glowing Web review, we do $5,000 in sales and I make it to a yoga class,” she says. “I didn’t give up the hours, but at least they’re owned by me.”
