On this last day of Women's History Month, WRBL wanted to bring you the story of two sisters from Columbus who have carved out a unique fitness niche for women in our area. These local entrepreneurs recently celebrated their company's tenth anniversary and their survival of the pandemic.
Beth Anne Kennedy and Ellen Cobb are the founders and co-owners of Novo Fitness Studio on Veterans Parkway in north Columbus.
"Neither of us have a business background or exercise background," according to Ellen. "I think people think we grew up lifting weights or something. Everyone's like... Beth Anne was the ballerina and I was the gymnast. I cannot even do a cartwheel!"
As small girls, Beth Anne and Ellen fantasized about running their own business. That dream became a reality in 2014. Ellen was living in Franklin, Tennessee at the time where she discovered an intriguing boutique fitness studio.
Ellen says, "I fell in love with it. It was barre, so they used the ballet barre to tone. There was some cardio. It was full body workout and I loved it!"
Beth Anne says they decided Columbus needed that same kind of environment for the women in this area. "Maybe if we tried it, people would come."
They found an old pool supply building located next to Tractor Supply off Flat Rock Road. "We thought with some work we could make it into a cute little place."
In February of 2014 Novo Fitness Studio opened to the public.
From the very beginning, family has been the backbone of the business. Ellen and Beth Anne's grandparents, Robert and Sara George, were huge supporters of their dream business. Ellen says, "Our Nana was so proud and I know Papa would have been so proud, too. Nana loved taking her friends to the studio, and she was at the grand opening. She was just such an important part of who we are to this day."
"Our husbands are involved in every bit of the behind-the-scenes work, from building and putting together the lockers, to handling payroll, to big vision boards and business plans because we don't have that background."
Ellen and Beth Anne's parents, Angie and Bruce Bacon, have been a guiding force from day one. "Our dad is an incredible businessman with really good thoughts that we don't always have," according to Ellen. "He provides so much wisdom and is such a good sounding board for us. Our mom is the angel for everybody. She takes care of all of our kids."
Beth Anne adds, "She helped us decorate and came up with the vision behind how the studio would look. Our family together, all of us, runs this business, for sure."
The community responded well to their new venture, and it was off and running... until March of 2020 when the pandemic hit.
Beth Anne says they talked to other studio owners who voluntarily closed their doors, from New York to Tennessee, because of the spreading of Covid. She and Ellen decided to close their doors, too, and immediately created an on-demand platform.
"We were able to very quickly start creating this library of workouts. We just set up an I-pad and created this platform so our clients could watch workouts and participate from home."
The sisters can't say enough about how incredibly loyal their clients were during the pandemic. Those who could said to keep their memberships at the same amount. They kept paying $100 per month even though they couldn't come into the studio. Others contributed by paying for the on-demand platform to help keep the studio running.
At one point, some of their clients arranged a drive-by parade, making signs and taping them to their cars, then driving by the studio's front door as Beth Anne and Ellen greeted them with smiles of love and appreciation.
Beth Anne says, "The outpouring of support brought us to tears on multiple occasions."
Earlier this month Novo Fitness celebrated its tenth anniversary. A new studio has replaced the old pool supply building. They've gone from two instructors (Beth Anne and Ellen) to over 20, from 12 classes to over 30. As they look back over the last decade, they see the hand of the Lord.
Ellen says one of her favorite quotes is that the Lord doesn't call the qualified. "I think if you were to look on paper, there was nothing that would have made us qualified to run a business. I was 22 years old. Beth Anne had just had a baby. We had no business background, no marketing experience. We were living in two different states. That is where you say...only the hand of God could have been so meticulous to have paved the way for my husband and I to move back here. Everything ended so smoothly with my school. We were able to find a space (for the studio). All of the pieces that fell into place...that's not luck. That's not, oh, we took a gamble. That is God and He has qualified us every step of the way."
Ellen and Beth Anne believe their establishment helps build women up.
Beth Anne says, "For a long time it was like... you need to be prettier, or skinnier, maybe even a push for eating Special K and dropping 20 pounds. That's kind of the mentality around women. But lately there's been a shift into women needing to feel strong and empowered because what we do is crazy. Our clients are moms with careers and multiple children that they're toting to after-school activities. They're just trying to find a minute for self care, and we're able to provide that. But in doing so, we are affirming their strength. We're affirming that they're valued. We call their name. We see them. One client said when you hug me, that's the only time I'm touched that day. And that's what we're about, just taking women and building them up."
Joanne Speakman is a good example. She lives close to the Novo Fitness Studio and decided to give it a try. Then cancer reared its ugly head. She's been going through chemotherapy which sidelined her for a bit, but she's been cleared to resume her workouts.
"Between the loud music and the high energy level and fast pace, you can't think about anything else but what they're doing," says Joanne. "It takes your mind off your cancer, your epilepsy, your life, whatever is bothering you, and it completely clears your head."
The sisters look at it this way. "We know each other's names. We know each other's stories. It is truly a community. It's not just come in and get a workout. You can get a workout at a lot of places. But we say people come here for the workout and stay for the community."
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