In Her Own Words: Randi Whitman’s Chicago Pilates studio keeps moving through Covid-1

Ellen Sherberg, Bizwomen Contributor

As our communities continue to struggle, women across America see their lives becoming more complicated as they juggle responsibilities at home and at work (which is often still at home), Randi Whitman learned more about technology than she ever imagined possible in order to keep her business alive.

"I opened Frog Temple Pilates in Chicago in 2001. Being one of the first people to introduce Pilates to the Chicagoland area, we were extremely popular from the word GO. There have definitely been many ebbs and flows, ups and downs over these past 20+ years in business. You know how the old adage goes — 2 steps forward, 1 step back — that definitely applied to me. I survived landlord drama, recession, competition opening on every corner, staff coming and going, etc. But I have never experienced anything like keeping a business alive during a global pandemic.

One day, I am an open studio with 10 instructors and three front desk staff working at full capacity. A studio full of chatter and laughs, of people working out side-by-side on the reformers, barrels and mats, sweating it out and getting strong and flexible. Then, literally the next day I am shutting our doors until further notice. It was such a terrifying and upsetting moment to turn out the lights, turn on the alarm, and lock up that day — not knowing when or if I would ever return to the business and community I had worked so hard to grow all these years.