This week I’d like to introduce you to a dynamic woman, business owner and believer in making yourself and the world better at the same time, Amy Barnes is the owner and founder of The Barre Code exercise studio in Alexandria, VA. She has a great story to tell about how to follow your passion to achieve success, satisfaction and to do good in the world.
Q: Why did you decide to go into business for yourself and why did you think you’d be successful?
I went into business for myself because I am driven, ambitious and passionate about the work I do. I am a teacher at heart, and therefore I naturally have a need to share my passion, to mentor others, and to prove that a person can achieve anything when they put their mind to it. It is key to balance feeling good on the inside while achieving results on the outside.
I thought my business would be successful because I believe in setting my mind to a goal and achieving it. In fact, I spent almost a decade as a lead teacher, trainer, and choreographer where I helped several studios to become extremely successful. However, it was always a dream of mine to start my own studio. This dream became a reality when I met my husband, Matthew Morgan, two years ago. He once told me, “you have to go for your dream and we will make it happen.” He not only inspired me as a teacher but also gave me the means to be the entrepreneur I am today. It has been almost one year since I launched my own business as the Founder and Owner of The Barre Code in Alexandria, Va.
Q: Are you successful today? What does success mean to you anyway?
Yes, I am successful today. I have built a business that is not only profitable in a short period of time, but I have also been able to give back to my community by partnering with charities such as the Campagna Center and the American Cancer Society. In the course of only one year, I’ve donated thousands of dollars to local charities and built a network of female entrepreneurs.
From my perspective, success is measured by a few things. First, it is by way of building and growing a business through relationships and partnerships that keeps the studio connected to the community. Second, it is offering a unique range of challenging workouts (across Yoga—Barre, Cardio—Barre, etc) that people can’t find in any other studio. And, third, it is about the impact I make on others in seeing the results they achieve through my classes.
Q: How do you connect your passion with running a successful business? How do you make these (sometimes unaligned) things align in ways that help you achieve success?
I do what I love and go to work every day to it give my all. The fitness world is about becoming the best version of yourself, or at least is for me, and that includes more than just the physical body. The mind, body and soul are all interconnected. By building a close knit relationship to your community, it feeds one’s soul. My end goal is to give my clients’ bodies a dose of energy and confidence to carry out their mission in life.
Q: What does your tag line mean to you? How did you come up with it and why is it important?
My ethos is to believe in “fueling one’s desire to be the best version of yourself, inside and out…and that begins by loving who you are and giving back to your community.”
This approach is important because my program and method of barre is not only vigorous but fun. It is hard work but highly rewarding. You feel energized and ready to do anything after class. For example, a client scaled a mountain oversees and outpaced people much younger than her after attending classes regularly for two months. Her accomplishment was empowering to her and she felt the need to share with others. That is what the work I do is all about. I design my workouts to empower every student (male or female), therefore fueling their desire to be the best version of themself. This empowerment begins with loving who you are and sending that positive feeling back into the community.
Q: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from running your own business that you think would help other women?
It is critical to find one’s balance across all the elements in your life first and then invest yourself wholeheartedly. I say stay committed and remain honest to yourself and clients.
My biggest lesson learned is to find the right support system, because without my family, friends and community support — I wouldn’t be where I am. They continue to drive and inspire me to learn and grow every single day, not only as a business owner and teach but as an individual as well.
My end goal is to empower my students and teachers to fuel their desire to become the best version of themselves by giving them the tools and the friendly environment to achieve that. If you take just one of my classes, I can guarantee you will see what I mean.
Q: Tell us a little about the event coming up, how to participate and what we can do if we can’t participate this time but would like to stay connected to you.
We are hosting a wonderful fundraiser called “Shop. Sweat. Give.” This event is being held on Sunday, July 28th at 12 pm, at The Barre Code studio in Del Ray (Alexandria, Va). The goal is to bring in guests who have somehow been touched by cancer in their lives (i.e. friends, family etc). The end goal is to educate and inform others on the latest tips on cancer prevention, while taking on a workout that make you feel energized and relieve stress while connecting with others. This is the first of many charity events to come and will be held on a monthly basis. They will focus on feeding the mind, body and soul both inside and outside. For more information on the event, and if you are interested in attending, please RSVP to: Facebook.com/thebarrecode.
