Zudio is expanding and will soon be giving instructors more space to give their classes. The launch of the new room, which is intended for smaller groups, coincides with the one-year anniversary of Zudio’s launch.
Louise Stephenson, Zumba instructor and owner of Zudio, had quite the dilemma; even though her space was fully rented in the peak hours, she needed to add more classes in order to make the studio sustainable.
She worked with Éric Charlebois, a business coach from the Prescott-Russell Entrepreneurial Academy, who convinced her to make use of the basement. “The renovations are expensive,” said Stephenson,” but it really is a good investment as it will enable us to offer more classes.”
The upgraded and fully redesigned basement, dubbed Zudio B, will launch in September and be primarily used by Eight Dance Company and Willett Boxing Club.
Stephenson bought the former Pottery Lane Imports building with her husband a year ago, out of growing necessity. It was hard for her to find reliable spaces to give her Zumba classes. After speaking to other instructors of various activities, she realized that there was a need for a beautiful, large and reliable space for instructors and their clients.
“There was no stability for me and my clients and I found this to be really difficult. Sometimes I would get my room cancelled on short notice, so I had to run around to find another space and then inform everybody about the change of location. When I passed by this place, I just fell in love with it and knew it would be perfect.”
Zudio offers instructors a dependable space for their classes and helps them build credibility by having a fixed schedule in a comfortable, dedicated space. Zudio now has Zumba, dance, yoga, boxing and tai-chi classes and still has a few time slots available for events or classes.
Right from the first class she attended more than six years ago, Louise Stephenson fell in love with Zumba. Just a few months later, she decided to become an instructor and eventually quit her full-time translation work to pursue her career as a Zumba instructor.
Her passion and dedication was noticed by Ricardo Marmitte, a renowned Zumba Education Specialist, when he came to Zudio in August to give a master class.
“We had such a blast with Ricardo and he was just so impressed by our ‘Zu-Lou Tribe’ and the vibe at Zudio, with all its vibrant colors and artwork. Zumba is my passion, but Zudio has grown into something much bigger. The quality of the instructors, in all of the disciplines, is just astounding. Offering them this space at a reasonable price for their students and participants brings me a lot of joy,” concluded Stephenson.
