Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniela and David Wells.
Daniela is originally from Brazil, but has been living in the US for almost 20 years, and for 12 of those years she has been calling Houston home. She graduated with a Juris Doctor Degree and practiced in small firms and international corporations. After moving from VA to TX she decided to become a stay home until 6 years ago, when she took on her first experience as business owners of an online retail.
David is a New York native, he and his wife Daniela and not quite 1-year old son, transferred from VA to TX 12 years ago, and he couldn’t be happier with the decision to move and stay closer to family. David holds a Bachelor Degree in Arts and a Master’s of Science in Occupational Technology. He is an accomplished organizational development and training professional leader with experienced in instructional design, learning management systems and adult learning and worked in several fortune 500 companies, Sprint, Baker Hughes, and Cameron International to name a few.
About two years ago, the couple decided it was time to leave corporate America and search for a more balanced work lifestyle, which would enable them to enjoy their 2 children and have a more fulfilled family life. They worked together with a franchise and business consultant to pinpoint the business they would like to own, the ideal would be a happy business that could bring positive to people. When they found Club Pilates, they fell in love with the business model, the support provided and the idea they would help their members to be healthier and more connected to their body and minds.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been an easier ride, a new business is always a challenge; we are constantly learning and improving and trying our best. There are ups and downs in personnel and other business we relate with, from construction to marketing to vendors. But our main struggle so far is recovering from hurricane Harvey. We opened our doors August 19 and not even a week later hurricane Harvey devastated Houston and surrounding areas, we were blessed we did not flood but we suffered damages in the studio and had to close for repairs and one of our staff had to be rescued since her apartment complex got flooded and she and her daughter stayed with us for a couple of days until her family came to assist.
It opened our eyes to understand that as business owners, we are not only dependent on our success for our own livelihood, but our achievements will have an impact on our staff and their family as well. This realization gave us the drive to keep pushing hard to do our best.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Club Pilates Atascocita – what should we know?
Founded in 2007, Club Pilates is a boutique fitness studio that specializes in strength-training classes for anyone, at any age or fitness level. Based in Costa Mesa, CA, the company is experiencing rapid growth and expects to have 350 locations open by the end of the year. It is the first studio to create a 500-hour Teacher Training Program designed to thoroughly and safely teach group Pilates apparatus classes along with TRX, TriggerPoint, and Barre. In 2017, Club Pilates was ranked No. 4 in Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 5000 and Inc. 500, listed in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 ranking and ranked No. 17 on the magazine’s 2017 Top New Franchise list.
And we are very proud to be able to bring Club Pilates to Atascocita and soon to 2 other locations: Kingwood and Pearland. We believe in their message that Pilates is for anyone at any fitness level and we have several members and me (Daniela) included, that have disabilities or need to target something specific and we are all able to safely work out in our facilities, feel welcome and have a great time.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
As an entrepreneur we are constantly faced with challenges… for us the key to success is staying focused. By creating plans and setting (and sticking to) goals, it is also very important to build strong relationships with our team and with our customers.
The life of a business owner is not easy. There’s always more work to be done and ups and downs, it is important to learn from the downs and keep working hard on attaining our goals and most of all to cherish and love what we do, since you breathe, sleep and live your business.
Contact Info:
- Address: 16430 West Lake Houston Pkwy
- Website: https://www.clubpilates.com/atascocita/
- Phone: 832-779-2622
- Email: atascocita@clubpilates.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clubpilates_atascocita/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/clubpilatesatascocita
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/club-pilates-atascocita-houston
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