Today we’d like to introduce you to Leslie Dadidakis
Hi Leslie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In 2016 I was a stay at home mom to four children under 10. I had often itched to find something outside of the home to work on that felt separate from my role as Mom or wife, but nothing had resonated and held. When my youngest turned 18 months and could go to Mother’s Day Out a few times a week I discovered Pure Barre Round Rock.
I could drop my son off at 9 am and be at Pure Bare in time for the 9:30. It was a challenging workout, but more importantly it was 50 minutes of complete focus on myself. No phone, no kids, no distractions, just me thinking about tiny movements.
I fell in love.
It was a community of kind women, giving me a social outlet without feeling like I had to be consumed by making plans and devoting hours to a lunch or coffee meet up that often would leave me feeling anxious because I hadn’t accomplished anything on my list. The transformation in my body also fueled my desire to keep showing up, feeling stronger, more flexible and leaner after the first few months of regularly taking classes.
Pure Barre Round Rock became a sanctuary for me. A safe refuge from the chaos and constant focus on other’s needs. I attended 3 to 4 times a week for the next several years.
In 2021, under out of town ownership, the studio had declined in class time offerings, the community had shrunk, and I often found myself wondering how I was going to find another place to be my source of fitness. I also found myself with all four of my children in full time school.
My husband and I had often discussed investing in a small business and one day the found myself curious if I could take my love of Pure Barre and build the studio back to it’s former self. I decided to reach out with an offer to purchase. After a few months of details, I became the owner of Pure Barre Round Rock in late March 2022.
I had no idea what I was doing. The studio was in a deep hole financially. The membership was extrememly low. Marketing was not in place. There were far too few teachers to have an appropriate schedule of classes. The members who were there were not happy. Oh, and I still had to function as the primary parent for those four children.
I was extraordinarily overwhelmed.
Slowly, one day at a time, I asked for help. I asked anyone I could find to help me with the bookkeeping, teacher recruitment and training, marketing, and any other aspect of the business I approached. It was humbling, difficult, frustrating, and some days I questioned why I had decided to take on so much.
It was also satisfying, empowering, and filled with so much joy. It was a steady climb with two steps forward and one step back, but there was progress. I showed up ready to rebuild a community, a welcoming place for people to have a fantastic workout, and an opportunity to have real connections that so often are a challenge now .
Balancing home life and work life has been a constant struggle, but the last two years have been full in the best of ways. Membership has more than doubled. The community is filled with the most authentic and kind group of women. The team of teachers and front desk is amazing. Most importantly, I am amazed at what I have learned, who I have been able to help, and the joy I get from building a place for so many people to feel connected.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Taking over such a failing business was definitely not going to give me a smooth road. Financially I have had to figure out how to manage cash flow, sometimes better than others, rising costs, negotiating, contracts, broken HVAC, plumbing issues and more. The dynamics of managing a team while containing my constant desire to be well likes has thrown many challenges my way. Marketing has been a bit of a guessing game with a lot of misses to find the hits. I continue to have bumps in the road, but I attempt to view them as opportunities now more than anything else becuase I know I always grow through each challenge.
We’ve been impressed with Pure Barre Round Rock, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Pure Barre Round Rock is part of the Pure Barre franchise. Pure Barre is a low impact, high intensity workout. There are other low impact workouts, but Pure Barre is able to produce results in building strength, toning, flexibility, and general functional life movements. Our fifty minute classes are challenging, but also very modifiable so that anyone can start and build from where they are currently. The classes are musically driven and follow the same format each time, but the choreography changes everytime so that boredom never sets in while attending regularly.
There are hundreds of awesome Pure Barre studios, but our studio has been able to consistently excel in attracting new members and keeping them at a better rate than most. In addition to focusing on delivering high quality classes we make the way people feel while they are here a top priority. We want everyone to feel welcome. We want to be kind.
As a small studio, focused on a personal experience, our whole team genuinely cares about giving the best to everyone who walks in our door. We aren’t perfect, we make mistakes and sometimes we fall short, but we are intentionally trying to do our very best and make it right when we don’t.
If you are someone seeking a challenging workout in an amazing community, you should absolutely try a class at Pure Barre Round Rock.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I grew up in a suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana called Carmel. I had a very happy childhood. I was shy through elementary school, then started to gain confidence through middle and high school. I was an avid tennis player though I lacked competitive drive. I found my place more in building relationships with people through humor and service. I was class president and always socially active. I went to Purdue University after high school and majored in speech and hearing science, though I was far more interested in my three minors; psychology, English, and communication.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.purebarre.com/location/round-rock-tx
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purebarreroundrock/
Image Credits
Monique Pinon Travis
