1970s-era disco maven Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 40 years ago, but the new, 20-second clip the 76-year-old singer posted on social media—she sang while washing her hands—went viral as the coronavirus pandemic gathered steam.
It garnered 52,000 likes on TikTok, 343,000 views on Instagram—and frames the work of Brittany Freeman who co-owns with her husband, Michael, two fitness studios in Brea and Orange. Both are now empty under shelter-at-home strictures.
COVID-19 has created “serious financial strains,” she said. A Wall Street Journal article last week chronicled entrepreneurial efforts—from a Pennsylvania movie theater to a Texas doggy daycare to a San Francisco supper club—that closed their doors.
Freeman said her role is to adapt and change, so “we can survive, and serve our members.”
Grace, Pressure
“You can’t panic when chaos hits,” she told the Business Journal.
It’s a business owner and leadership essential, along with being “optimistic [but] not naive.”
Freeman founded Tone Barre LLC in 2013; the two studios focus on a female clientele: it has 275 members paying $149 a month.
Most normally come three to four times a week.
Classes have now gone virtual with tech backing from Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Loud Rumor; Tone Barre moved to a digital platform in 12 hours.
Clients workout to pre-recorded classes at times they choose, though most go for live sessions on a reduced schedule using the newly ubiquitous teleconference software from Zoom Video Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: ZM). Shares in the San Jose company have risen 50% since mid-February to a $42 billion market cap.
Furlough, Funds
Live sessions include real-time interaction between instructors and members, she said, “so they’re still getting some of the energy and motivation” in-person classes can provide.
Freeman furloughed eight of her 13 employees. It was “one of the hardest things I’ve had to do,” as an entrepreneur.
She sought a disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration—before the $350 billion in new SBA funds offered courtesy of March’s $2.2 trillion stimulus package (see related stories, this section).
She’s waiting for both, but news reports last week said the stimulus money is already committed.
An estimated 30 million small businesses were eligible for the new loans, reports said.
Staying upbeat is vital for “interacting with my members and staff,” Freeman said. “There’s so much need.”
Zoom In
Local fitness operators under the “old normal” pitched group session fun and scaled-up camaraderie as features, but are moving online as COVID-19 lockdowns turn those into a bug:
• Spectra Yoga in Costa Mesa says “reveal your radiance” but practitioners must do it privately. Its website notes a “temporary closure” and “daily livestreamed classes” during the coronavirus pandemic;
• Bar Method’s new $39 weekly rate from Newport Beach digs gets “unlimited access to our virtual studio.”
The two represent options out there which, Peloton memberships aside, can scratch the fitness itch.
Others may be out of luck.
The rock climbing and bouldering set that used to get a north face fix from gyms like Santa Ana’s Sender One Climbing—profiled by the Business Journal in September—can’t chart virtual paths.
Some might train finger strength with hangboards but apart from that, not so much.
Still, with small kids at home, there’s always climbing the walls.
