“Remember that I'm Human. Before you judge me or decide how you'll deal with me, walk awhile in my shoes. If you do, I think you'll find with more understanding we can meet in the middle and walk the rest of the way together.” - Eric Harvey
Coming out of another lockdown on the news of another major studio closure has left this re-opening bitter sweet. When we lose another studio it hits so close to home and we have lost too many. It feels like a death, the death of someones dreams, hopes, community and livelihood.
I said it over a year ago on national news and it still rings true today. The Government support is NOT enough. Yes this pandemic has been hard on everyone in one way or another, 2 years of life changing experiences. Some harder than others, a lot harder.
But I can only speak about what I know. We have been asked to keep our small businesses running for 2 years with majority of that having to be forced closed or open with strict regulations that cut our revenues making it the impossible to survive. Overnight studios lost 85% of their revenue if not more. For 2 years straight we have been operating under profound losses while expenses have continued, relentlessly. Imagine your paycheque just stopped overnight for 2 years while your expenses kept pouring in….what would you do? How would you show up in the world under so much constant stress? How would you be able to show up as your best constantly for the people who relied on you when you are carrying so much weight on your shoulders?
We have been asked to do the impossible. When “help” shows up in the form of Government subsides we have to jump through hoops, sift through sites, mountains of paperwork and a LOT of red tape to get an amount that doesn’t even cover a fraction of our expenses and only receive it MONTHS later. Many small neighbourhood studios didn’t even qualify for ANY help while big corporations or studios with deep pockets just kept getting payout after payout. The result closure after closure. It’s been 4 months since I have received any financial support from the government and still waiting for a big unknown with the new programs just coming into place. This has left studio owners with insurmountable debt.
It costs on a LOW end $25k a month to run my studio and that’s with me cutting as many expenses as possible. Most months bringing in a quarter of that in revenue. Some months as little as $3k during lockdowns. It doesn’t take much to do the math. It also requires me doing most of the work myself, from marketing, graphic design, bookkeeping, managing, scheduling, staffing, training, payroll, merchandise, learning tech systems, customer service and more.
Just because you do reopen doesn’t mean “you made it”… not even close. Most of us reopen to a handful of people in classes and we continue to eat the losses. Adding to the already impossible debt pile. On a daily basis people offer advice on what we “should” be doing. We studio owners eat, sleep, breath our businesses and I guarantee you 24/7 it’s all we think about. We are doing EVERYTHING in our power to keep our businesses open. The best support you can give a studio owner right now is to take a class and pay for it or offer emotional support (not unsolicited ideas or advice), cause none of us can see the light anymore. It’s been dark a long time and any hope quickly gets cut with another closure.
It never ceases to absolutely amaze me how quick people are to cast judgement and make assumptions on things they have no idea about. Until you have stood in the trenches as a studio OWNER where you assume all the risk, and been through the crippling stress, trying to follow difficult mandates, financially, emotionally all while you watch your dream slowly die all while silently expected to show up your best and with a smile while running on empty for the last 2 years, please try not to cast judgements.
Until you have stood in the shoes of someone else’s traumas and struggles the best thing you can do is show empathy and compassion unless you know first hand what it’s like because you too are trying to do the impossible.
I’m not talking about boutique studios run by corporations or deep pockets but the studios run by individuals who have poured every ounce of their being into their spaces and communities. The ones who took huge risks and made dreams come true only to have it destroyed overnight and are still crawling their way out of the rubble. The ones who have been kicked down day after day by one closure after the next and still find the strength to get up and keep going when they have nothing left to give. The studio owners who’s livelihoods and everything they have are tied into their spaces. Who everyday are at risk of bankruptcy. Those who have sacrificed more than should be asked of anyone to keep their spaces going for their staff and communities. Who stay up night after night haunted with worry.
Until you have run a studio for 2 years and counting through a pandemic please be mindful of your words, expectations, solutions, advice, disappointments, judgements of small studio and business owners. Better yet, let’s show more empathy and compassion to everyone while all of us are going through individual traumas and triggers daily.
