Flexing their muscles.

Keeping a fitness business flexible and strong.

The coronavirus pandemic has been hard on a lot of small businesses. We caught up with the owners of two local fitness boutiques to see what they are doing to keep their businesses as healthy as possible under trying circumstances.

MC Sweet, owner of Lotus House of Yoga in Nebraska, has always been forward-thinking when it comes to bringing innovation to her studio. “We have always been early adopters and excited about how technology could serve yoga. When all of this started, we already had a clear pathway to our customers via their mobile devices.”

MC has used this pathway to pivot quickly, moving the majority of her classes online. “Students can go to our website and access everything from yoga to cardio to sculpt to pilates to meditation.”

Brian Wrench of Wrench Army in San Francisco needed an obstacle like a major pandemic to see the potential of teaching his clients online.

“When all of this started, I had a couple of days when I thought ‘Hmm, we’ll see how this goes,’” remembered Brian. “Then it dawned on me, why don’t I start my online workouts? I immediately set up a six-day schedule that I stream live on Instagram, something I had never done before.”

With Brian’s clients unable to access the physical equipment in his gym, it pushed him to embrace routines that are more in line with his overall fitness philosophy. “What I’ve always wanted to do is eliminate excuses. If you can workout at home using only your body weight and a streaming service, that knocks out about 90% of most people’s excuses,” said Brian.

Despite the hardships, MC refuses to see her current situation in a negative light. “This is an opportunity,” said MC. “The possibilities are infinite and the people who work for a company like Verizon are creating new ways of communicating and connecting. Any time you find a limit, look beyond it because there are tons of opportunities on the other side,” urged MC Sweet.

Thanks to a $2.5 million investment from Verizon, the LISC is offering grants to help small businesses fill urgent financial gaps until they can resume normal operations or until other more permanent financing becomes available.

In addition, Verizon PayItForward LIVE connects big names to small businesses, offering streaming entertainment to those at home and financial support to those small businesses in need.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, tune in to PayitForward LIVE on Verizon’s Twitter, Yahoo or Twitch pages to view that night’s performance. To support small businesses, use the hashtag #PayitForwardLIVE - and for each mention, Verizon will donate additional money to LISC.org to support small businesses.

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