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Entrepreneur Profile

Lynda Gene Lippin

balanCenter Pilates

Narberth, PA

www.balancenter.com

Lynda Gene Lippin has learned how to overcome obstacles and run a successful business, despite two failed business partnerships. One led to a legal battle over a non-compete contract, and the other drove her into bankruptcy. Some people might give up, but these experiences only fueled this entrepreneur’s desire to succeed.

Lippin and her husband, Tony L. Pitts, are the owners of balanCenter Pilates, a studio located in a busy office building in Pennsylvania. Lippin discovered her passion for Pilates while working on her philosophy degree at Purchase College. During grad school, she responded to an ad for a Pilates instructor, and has been in love with the method ever since.

To write her business plan, Lippin relied on a copy of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide Business Plans” and opened her studio in 1998. “Everything and nothing prepared me for opening my own business,” says Lippin. “I’m not sure why I wanted to open my own business, but I did always think that if I had to bust my ass, it might as well be for myself!”

BalanCenter offers up a host of services including individual instruction, group classes, Pilates certification for instructors, and special events. The instructors also work with clients who are living with physical conditions like fibromyalgia (a disease that causes chronic muscle pain), multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, and arthritis.

Training session fees are based on the instructor’s level of expertise. A private session with an Apprentice-level instructor is $35 and a session with a Master instructor costs $80.

To get the word out about her business, Lippin says, “We have mostly marketed through word of mouth,” and adds that she also advertises with direct mail coupon ads. Some of her clients work for local news stations and have helped her get air time on newscasts. Lippin also writes a column for PhillyFIT magazineâ€”an excellent opportunity to give her and her business credibility and exposure in the community.

Her passion for staying on top of the latest in Pilates practice keeps her at the top of her game. She says, “Over the years I have taken lots of seminars in Pilates, exercise science, anatomy, etc. I now have many certifications and am still hungry for more knowledge. I find the body and its systems to be fascinating and I’m always learning as much as I can.”

An average work week for Lippin is about 60 hours. “In a typical day I see my first client at 8 a.m. and my last client at 7 p.m. When I do a training weekend, I am teaching a group of six to twelve teachers from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.”

Clients are the primary focus at balanCenter. According to Lippin, “We strive as a company to serve our clients with care and respect; to always put them first and do our best to create good exercise programs and experiences for them so they stay healthy and happy.” She also says that many of her clients are savvy business people who have served as mentors for her business practices.

Overcoming obstacles seems to have made this entrepreneur stronger. “I’ve had many challenges, legal, financial and health-wise,” says Lippin. “At one point I bounced payroll and paid my staff in cash every week! But in the end, I’m still here, the studio’s doing well, all my staff is still with me, so things could be much worse.”

Lippin plans to expand her current location when the space next door becomes available. She is also working on a book proposal and wants to travel and teach Pilates in regions around the world.

Her advice for new entrepreneurs is to, “love what you do, because you will be doing a lot of it. And try to have enough money set aside, just in case.” She adds, “You will work your ass off and it will take years to really see the result, but when you start to see glimmers of success, you will be so proud of yourself--and that’s the best thing about owning your own business!”