I don't know about you but I actually feel quite relieved right now...

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm still worried about how this whole thing is going to pan out but on the other hand I'm relieved that we have a clear cut decision from the government to take action, rather than hear say that's been all over social media.

 

So just to reiterate what Boris said yesterday….

 

"All pubs, bars, restaurants, cafes and gyms will close until further notice"

 

I knew this time was coming and yesterday was the day!

 

With yesterday's announcement, I’m sad to say that The Studio is closed with immediate effect. It's been extremely emotional for me to have to close The Studio.

 

However, that doesn’t mean the end of The Studio! I’ve been working on a solution for you as some of you know.

 

I will be taking The Studio online so that I can still serve you. I want to continue to help you and be a part of your fitness journey.

 

I still have a few things to organise, so please give me the weekend to finish putting the plans into action and I will have a solution for you all within the next few days.

 

I promise you I will do everything in my power and within our team to ensure you feel supported in your health and fitness and supported as friends of ours during this time.

 

I have been working hard to create exercise videos for you to do at home and I tested out a couple of LIVE classes this week and will be creating an online LIVE class timetable to start on Monday 23^rd March.

 

I wish there was another way. I wish this wasn't happening. From here I won't stop working to ensure that we have our lovely little studio still open for business for years to come.

 

The Virtual sessions have been so well received and I really hope to see as many of you as possible on them next week.

 

Clearly this is a very difficult time for our small business, cash flow over the next few months will be what determines whether we will be able to open again. We need to be creative and resourceful to survive, so with this in mind we will need to monetise our online content.

 

I’ve received lots of lovely messages of support and lots of people have been kind enough to ask how they can support us over the coming weeks. Here are a few options:

• Existing Studio members paying membership via a monthly standing order, you can keep your existing membership in-situ. This will give you unlimited access to all LIVE and recorded sessions in our ONLINE AT THE STUDIO Facebook group.
• For those of you who pay as you go or use class passes, (I will of course extend the expiry date on the class passes for you to use when we re-open the studio) there is an option for you to make a weekly payment for temporary membership or join our monthly membership giving you access to the ONLINE AT THE STUDIO Facebook group where you will be able to access the online workouts.
• By recommending our online content and it’s benefits to friends and family…. We certainly all need to keep ourselves fit and healthy now more than ever!
• By sending us lots of photos doing your workouts and sharing them on Facebook or Instagram, tagging us into them.
• Follow our Facebook pages for all the updates.

I know not everyone is a member of Facebook for personal reasons, however, as you can appreciate, we are a small business and delivering on lots of different platforms is going to be very difficult for me to achieve. So, if you could set up an account on Facebook just purely to access the group that would be very much appreciated. I have clients who have done this and used a different name so you can do this if you want to stay anonymous, just let me know what name you are using! If you need any help setting up an account, let me know and we will help you. Don’t forget to send me a friend request so that I can add you to the group. My Facebook profile is under Nicola Carless.

 

These are sad times for everyone... not forgetting small businesses, a lot of which might not re-open when this crisis is over.

 

Talking of local businesses, please do what you can to support yours, such as local beauty salons, hairdressers, independent local stores and retailers etc to help ensure that we can all come through this together.

 

I'm one of those small businesses myself and feel very lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive studio family. I want nothing more than to be able to continue to provide you with the best classes and for us to be there for you when we are able to open again.

 

Sending you lots of love and thanks for all of your support over the last few years.

 

Take care of yourselves, your families and your communities and I look forward to seeing you online soon.

 

Nicki x