Happy 17th Birthday...to our Center

HI All,

Yet another rainy, humid day...but tomorrow is our 'birthday'!

Our Center is 17 and she's growing up fast. It seems like only yesterday we were setting up for our very first Open House, in the old church with a sad sign made out of a sawhorse and a cardboard sunshade. Sad...but it worked!

We had a card table for a desk and just me and K teaching. We had, maybe, 20 people but we got a few newbies that day in 1995 who are still with us!

Fast forward 17 years...

I still have nightmares no one will come.

I still run around like a NUT the week/day before getting things done/ready.

I still agonize over the One Day Sale offer, how many balloons to buy, if we have enough help on the desk...

And still wonder just how we're doing in this business that came from a chat over pizza so many years ago.

Here's how it went down:

Once upon a time the "Olympic one" (aka Karen) subbed a class in Newton where Anna just happened to be taking class, on her way to certification herself.

They struck up a friendship over the next few weeks...and one night after class decided to grab a bite to eat.

Karen was giving Anna tips on her upcoming audition and, by tips, I mean she was telling me what to do and making fun of me all through class...

So we sat at Bertucci's in Newton and said, "Wouldn't it be cool if we had our own Center one day..."

Um, yes.

Karen never believed it. We started in a church with 3 morning classes and 2 nights and a weekend. We taught all alone in the heat of the summer and freezing cold (literally freezing) bathrooms in the winter. We sent out postcards, lugged equipment and were having the time of our lives.

Then, Karen got pregnant with Little K and called Anna at work, "Dude, I cannot teach pregnant in this heat. Find us a place with A/C."

Uh, ok.

Cue the dance studio in Westford. Smaller? Yes. A/C? Yes. Low rent? Yes please. More classes, more customers...oh and a cute baby.

We outgrew that place super fast-thank you all!

I had been driving by and sitting in front of our current Center, it had been empty for YEARS and the building was being sold and revitalized by a local guy. We took a chance-Karen said they'd never go for it. I got approval from Corporate, the keys from the Owner (his daughter is our landlord today-what a great family, we are so blessed!) and off we went.

We painted like mad while baby crawled around-we had a couple weeks to get the place ready for a June 1 opening. We cleaned, we stressed...Mista built the desk and on June 1, 1997 we opened. It was SO big in here (3100 square feet compared to the 900 in the dance studio) and summer was coming...but people came, and came and came some more.

14 years later (in this same space) we have 32 classes, 14 instructors and many, many smiling, dancing faces in every class. We got whole families, couples, mothers and daughters, sisters, friends, co-workers...

And it all came from that one little conversation about 'someday'...

Well, folks the day is here and it's been here, thankfully, for 17 years.

So, to Karen...

I know you're here to keep me grounded when I'm dreaming with my head in the clouds and I'm here to grab your hand and lift you up with me into dreamland when your feet are too strongly planted on earth.

I hope for many more years of Open Houses, laughter, arguments and fun...because I know it's my dream come true and, secretly, I know it's yours too!

The Lost Week

Hi All,

The most important part of last week was yesterday-the day of rememberance for those lost on 9/11/01. That's really why I really have a hard time believing what we went through here last week...

Given that thousands of souls were lost, only 10 years ago, in a horrific attack on our Nation, it's hard for me to comprehend why I spent the week at the police station, writing certified letters and dealing with a client whose number one issue in life was the volume of our music and acting like a bully in class with a few of our instructors when she was really the only one bothered. (Chatted with another lady who totally listened to me, we had a productive convo-no problem!) And, when asked to leave permanently and stay away, decided to show up, unannounced and uninvited.

Let's think about that for a moment...

Really?!

We all have problems, right? Of course. Everyone is going through something and none of us know just what at any given time. I respect that. I've gone through some serious crap myself but I realize that it's NOT my right to take it out on, oh, everyone around me. (That's what husbands are for...KIDDING!) I also try and keep in mind that someone I'm dealing with may be going through something...but I and my staff do not deserve to be bullied, disrespected and treated like doormats.

Sometimes I have to be the 'bad cop' and tell a client we can no longer serve them. I hate it. I never want to do it. But do it I will if I see that this client is going to disrupt my staff and my other clients. And especially if I am not sure what threat they may pose with erratic behavior.

And when one of my instructors tells me she doesn't love her job anymore because she feels bullied and stressed coming in. That's bullying.

Definition of bully: "A blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people."

We're here for folks to get fit, have fun and be part of a great group. Bullying we will not tolerate. Ever.

Hopefully, we are past this now and this client will move on, in peace, to another place. That's what I pray for. Go in peace.

Raining on my parade

Hi All,
It's our 2nd rainy day (all day). Hopefully, we'll have a great weekend! Unfortunately, I'm not talking about THAT rain today...

I start back at my actual, real, normal schedule tonight and I'm so excited. I wanted to spend yesterday learning new routines and revamping my set but...

There was quite a lot of 'raining on my parade' around here yesterday.

As you all know, we've been in business a LONG time-almost 20 years at this point. This means many good things-lots of long time clients, good community exposure, success...but it also means some 'not so good' things.

I've talked to many J Owners, and our DM, and we all say the same thing-why is it that some people patronize a business for many years and think they can then tell the business owner how to run their business? Now I'm not talking about the occasional suggestion, complaint or concern. I'm talking about, "YOU need to do this and YOU need to stop doing that."

We pride ourselves on being a personal business. We know everyone's name, many times their families, kids...we share their joys, sorrows and challenges and we try and always be a positive influence in their lives. Sometimes, however, that closeness we share turns into something negative. There comes a time when someone who has been with us 'forever' turns from a positive influence into a less than positive one. The person starts acting out, as if they are a child, and demanding negative attention from our staff and from us. Thankfully, most of the time, we can talk it through and keep everyone happy-us, our staff and our clients, including the person with the issue. And, many times, folks just have an issue with something, bring it up and we address it and fix it the very best we can. Of course there are those times when we cannot change or meet their expectations and issues flare.

This week has been rife with that thus far. Thankfully, I realized many years ago that I cannot please everyone. I also realized (and say it many times in class...) that my job is to keep 3000 women happy. Let that sink in for a minute. Could YOU do that? Ask the man in your life. Could HE do it? Let me help you...NO. No, no, 1000x no. No one can. As a woman I already know we're fickle, difficult, emotional and that's not even during our 'ladies days'. That's just a typical day. Oh, you're not like that? Ok...right.

I have given it the 'college try' and, frankly, I'm proud of how I handled this week. I won't stand for bullying of my staff, I took a stand and stayed calm and collected. I acted with kindness but firmness. We warned, cajoled and to no avail.

Unfortunately, nothing I have done or said is going to make a difference. My DM has gotten involved and, still, this person is not going to be calmed nor will they be able to continue on with us.

Yes, sometimes it comes to this. I am so thankful it's rare. We ask only for mutual respect (we give it and, honestly, we deserve to get it back) and a realization that this is a group activity and one person cannot dictate how things are. We follow industry guidelines and Inc. guidelines. We are meticulous when it comes to temperature, sound, quality, facility and comfort for our clients. We know that, as noted above, we will still not be able to please everyone. I wish we could but that is an impossible task for anyone. And, while we're ok with that-we wish it could be different.

As I bid farewell to the tropical storm that came through here this week, I am saddened but resolute nonetheless. For the good of my staff, KL and me and our other clients what's done is done. It has been years since I've had to do this and I hope it's many years until I have to do it again.

And, so far as 'raining on my parade' goes-it's part of the job and I take this job completely as it is. I still love it, and all our clients. Everything that didn't get done yesterday will get done. all in it's time.

Here's to peace in the valley.

And...we're back.

Hi Everyone,

(Or at least those still reading...)

I'm sitting here at the Center and it's the quiet time I've missed every Saturday for the last 4 weeks. I've loved being home with my family, getting up later and eating breakfast together but...I've also terribly missed my other love-teaching.

It feels a bit like the first day back at school and I truly wanted to get up at 4am and come over here...I didn't, but I certainly wanted to.

You know, lots of people have jobs they love and lots of people have jobs they do not love. Then there are those of us who have a calling in life and we're lucky enough to do that as our 'job'. I am one of those lucky few. And, I put job in quotes because, well, it's not a job if you love what you do with just about your whole heart.

See, in 1981 I found Jazz. I was in high school and they were holding classes at the State Fair grounds, right next to the cow paddock. (Yes, it smelled in the summer.) It was 'dancing' exercise and, since I have THIGHS, I wasn't allowed in a real dance class (20-somethings, back in the olden days girls with thighs weren't allowed in dance class, thankfully that's changed now). So, it was perfect for me. We danced in stirrup tights and bare feet (hold on...that was the style back then AND there were no shoes invented for exercise yet). I performed in public for the first time on the back of a flatbed truck at the State Fair, surrounded by hay. I'm convinced that's where my hay fever comes from...

I was hooked.

Years later, I realized that my calling in life is to hook YOU...and by 'hook' I do NOT mean 'get your money and not care if you're really fit/healthy'. You know, like the regular gyms do. Our mission here IS to make you fit and healthy FIRST both inside and out. And, if you've taken even a few classes with us, you know what the word 'hook' means. It means love, it means joy and it means fun.

So, now that I'm back to 'yell' at you and push you-try and remember that, when you have a calling in life-there's PASSION in what you do. What you're hearing is me and my passion for keeping you fit and healthy. You know-like the favorite teacher you HATED in school, who pushed you, who knew you could do better and MADE YOU DO IT. At the time you called him/her every name in the book but, later, you realized they wanted the best for you and pushed you because they cared. I care. We all do.

If I didn't care I would have given up teaching when my pain was so bad I could barely move. I would have quit when I could barely walk and was taking more Advil than any human being should take in one day. If I didn't care I would have quit when I was told, at age 45, that I had a birth defect and surgery was my only option. I would have quit after the first surgery when most people (and thankfully NOT my surgeons) told me I couldn't do it anymore. I would have quit when the mean girls were getting me down. I would have quit after this second surgery when I found out there are NO OTHER Jazz instructors in the WORLD with 2 hip replacements.

I don't quit.

And you better not either.

I lead by example, I live what I say.

That is passion, that is integrity and that's how we run this place, every single day.

So, when you're making faces at me in the back row when I'm yelling at you to work harder-do it. Because...

I'm going to save your life whether you like it or not.

You can thank me later! ;)