Can Fort Worth support more than one Barre?
That’s a question clients will answer when joining Katherine Graham’s Barre Code franchise or opting for its similarly named Pure Barre competitor.
Either way, women have more than one option for female-focused fitness centers in Fort Worth.
“I never really thought about owning my own franchise of any company until I started going to the Barre Code in Dallas,” said Graham, whose career trajectory hardly presaged fitness coaching.
Before leasing a 2,180-square-foot space at 900 Museum Way, Graham worked for TrueLogic, a Plano-based chemical analysis software company. She spent her off-hours earning a petroleum management certification from Texas Christian University.
“But I found more joy in fitness,” said Graham, who was impressed by her own workouts at the Barre Code location in Dallas, which followed the Chicago-based company’s emphasis on cardiovascular conditioning, strength training and restorative full-body workout classes. Founders Jillian Lorenz and Ariana Chernin named the business for the bar used in ballet to lend support for exercising clients.
“I never actually worked in the fitness industry, but just my business background has helped this process,” Graham said of creating her business.
Ahead of the studio’s scheduled opening in October, Graham is training six instructors and plans to hire two to three more. Specific instructor certification is not required, but the Fort Worth franchise requires prospective instructors to pass anatomy and other exams administered by the business, as well as learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Trainees also spend time with the company’s chief training officer in Chicago.
“We’re all very connected,” Graham said of herself and other franchise owners. “Everyone is very helpful.”
Graham took out a bank loan and sank some of her own money into opening a franchise offering kickboxing, yoga, plyometric exercise, high-intensity interval training, dancing and controlled movement training, among other exercises.
While attending the Barre Code in Dallas, Graham saw potential in opening a Fort Worth franchise.
“I’ve always loved Fort Worth. Seventh Street is one of the hottest parts of Fort Worth right now, and I love being here,” she said. Her new studio overlooks the Trinity Trails.
More information about the Barre Code in Fort Worth is available at http://www.thebarrecode.com/studios/texas/fort-worth/