The Reality of Opening a Brick and Mortar Fitness Concept -- 10% Expectations, 90% Beautiful Chaos

I’m sitting on the floor of the studio we built seeing the clean beautiful beige walls with arched mirrors towering over me. Watching the instructors who trusted our vision teach a class format that we developed. It is grand opening day after a full year of bringing a seed of an idea into this wild world. The music is loud, every single spot is full, the quietest snow shimmers outside as the sun shines in illuminating the vision I held in my head for what feels like a lifetime.

I close my eyes, fight back a few tears and whisper to myself, “we did it,” before looking back to my laptop and finalizing my first Rêve Studios class audit.

Before the moments of peace and satisfaction, there was the chaos of the weeks leading up to opening our doors for our first classes — the whirlwind days, sleepless nights, racing mind and anxious thoughts. The “what am I doing” when I laid my head down at night and the “I can’t wait for today” when I woke up. The constant up and down rollercoaster of emotions that are evident in the process of bringing something to life.

Let’s rewind to a few weeks before opening day…