BizWeek By Jiya: Staying Fit In A Pandemic

Welcome back to my weekly column, BizWeek. In this week’s article I interviewed Shannon Link, the owner of Link Family Fitness, at her Lorton Studio. I highly recommend this studio to any mom reading this article. Link Family fitness is a great way for moms and kids to stay fit.

Jiya: What days are you open during the week?

Ms. Link: I have classes seven days a week because I have a lot of online classes.

Jiya: What are your business hours?

Mrs. Link: We have several different classes. Starting from 5:30 in the morning then in mid morning at 9:30, then we also have lunch crunches workouts at 11:40. We also have 1:30 nap time workouts, and we have 8:00 pm workouts at night, so we have a variety from Monday through Sunday.

Jiya: What changes have you made during the pandemic?

Mrs. Link: We have gone from in person classes to virtual classes, so we were able to pivot our business to go online. All the moms just get a zoom link in order to sign on. We also have outdoor classes where we keep 10 feet space.

Jiya: For how long and since when have you owned this studio?

Mrs. Link: So I have owned Fit4moms since 2014, I’ve been doing Stroller Strides for seven years, so I’ve been in the business for six years. I then decided to open a studio here since March of last year, so I’ve been in the field for a year and a half.

Jiya: What kind of equipment do you have at your studio?

Mrs. Link: We have a variety of equipment at this studio, but for our moms what we like to do is workout with a resistance band that way they are empowered and are able to do workouts where ever they are in the world. They can even do it on business trips from a hotel. Here in the studio we do have additional equipment like dumbbells, free weights, step ups, bocce balls, and items to use on the circuit.

Jiya: How many people come to your studio on average to do your classes?

Mrs. Link: Our classes range anywhere from 5-20 people per class, so it really just depends on what the class type is. We have classes for prenatal, mommy and me stroller classes, so the kids even get to come to that class in the strollers. We also have high intensity training, and quickness training and those are mom only classes.

Jiya: How is the Pandemic affecting your business, your employees and you?

Mrs. Link: The pandemic has affected the business greatly.

It hasn’t affected most of our classes in that way we were able to pivot it to online classes. So we have been on with this for five months now, but I’ve been lucky that I was able to switch to an online platform. I do have a total of 25 women on my team, not all of them are teaching right now because of the pandemic, so some of them are sitting idle waiting to be instructing again, but otherwise yes, 25 women on my team, all moms.

Jiya: Why did you decide to open this studio?

Mrs. Link: I decided to open this studio to give moms a safe place to feel empowered, inspired, and motivated to make health a priority, to take care of themselves, and also to show their children it’s okay to be a little bit selfish to take care of themselves.

Jiya: What made you think Fit4moms as your title?

Mrs. Link: So, Fit4mom was actually founded back 19 years ago in San Diego by a woman named Lisa, so I don’t have the glory of taking credit for the name, but I want to make sure that we have a safe place for moms. This way they realize that it’s all about the mom.

Jiya: What is the most popular used station or equipment in your studio?

Mrs. Link: My most popular piece of equipment is our resistance band. That way we can work on lower body, mid-section, and it’s a total body piece of equipment that can fit right in your diaper bag, or in your purse, and this way it can be done any where.

Jiya: What kind of classes do you have?

Mrs. Link: So we have Fit for baby. Fit for baby is all financials of pregnancy, then we have mommy and me, then we have body

Ignite. Which is strength training we work with a weighted bar, we have strides 360 which is agility and quickness training, we also have body wealth. We have stroller bar which is a mommy and me, and ballet moves, and we have kids yoga, then we also have adult yoga, then there’s family zoomba that are on Sunday mornings as well.

Jiya: What is your role at this studio?

Mrs. Link: I have a lot of roles. I am the owner of the franchise, so I’ve been doing that for six years, and I’ve also read all of the business, I do my own book keeping, I run my own website, Fit4mom provides the website, but I'm the one who does all of the technical dates and all of the pricing updates, and anything there. I also run payroll. I am also an instructor so I teach all of the certifications. The only thing I’m not certified in is run club, but everything else I am certified to teach. I do have a team manager she manages the team for me to make sure everyone is on schedule and they are where they are supposed to be. And then I also have a client relations manager she does take care of all my emails, making sure that all of the moms get all the information and all of our programs, and all of the class locations. I have a fit for baby manager she takes care of reaching out to all of the birthing centers and hospitals and makes sure we have guests speakers that come in, or on zoom to provide extra support for moms.

Jiya: Do you meet at a particular place or do you have multiple locations?

Mrs. Link: We have multiple locations at Lorton Station Town Center. Then we also meet at Fairfax County Parks and recreations areas, so we have Burke Lake Park, River Mill park, Occoquan, I have Potomac Mills Mall, Springfield Town Center, we have Kingstown Center, and Veterans Memorial Park in Woodbridge, so we have a lot of class locations.

Jiya: What would you say to other studio owners during this time?

Mrs. Link: What I would say to other studio owners is keep your fingers and toes crossed, keep marketing your classes, keep being the best studio owner you are able to do, give all of your love onto your clients, and make sure that they get the support and quality that they deserve, it’s very hard to stay positive right now, but chin up things will change people will always need fitness, and they always need community and connection.

After this interview I hope that any of you moms reading this article are dying to go to Link Family Fitness. I also suggest young kids and teens reading this article will try stretching their muscles with some kids yoga. You can check out their class schedule online

Learn more about Shannon Link's business at FIT4MOM Studio - Link Family Fitness.

Check out my other articles about local businesses:

• BizWeek By Jiya: Phó Chateau Boasts Loyal Customer Base
• BizWeek By Jiya Doctor: Spartans and Olympians