Female Founder Roundtable: Hiring, Paying and Retaining Talent for Your Boutique Fitness Business

After the pandemic, hiring is the next big challenge that many fitness business and studio owners are facing. If you’re struggling to find the right help, keep them, and figure out what to pay them, you’re not alone.

In this roundtable, I'm talking to:

In this 1-hour roundtable, Lauren, Kari, Kelly and I will show you:

• What other fit biz owners are doing to recruit, hire and retain top talent
• What are the current challenges in finding the right talent for your company
• How to tackle tough conversations about pay and expectations
• What your unique business can and should offer new talent and why
• Best practices for interviewing, finding great candidates, and more

Kari Saitowitz, Founder + CEO

Kari is the Founder + CEO of Fhitting Room. She oversees three Fhitting Room studios in NYC + NJ, and has created Fhitting Room On Demand and Fhitting Room LIVE virtual classes. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she graduated with honors, and she graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania. 

Prior to creating Fhitting Room, Kari was a marketing executive at Pepsi. She focused on building equity for powerhouse brands and launching new product innovations.

In 2007, she left the world of boardrooms and bubbles and entered the world of diapers and sleepless nights. Exhausted and time-starved, Kari began High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and functional strength training as a means to work off her pregnancy weight in her scarce free time. As someone who hasn’t always loved exercise, Kari was blown away by the physical and emotional results of her new, only 2x weekly, workout routine.

Kelly Montgomery, DPT

Kelly Montgomery received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, MA, and is a board-certified Physical Therapist. Kelly has experience working in inpatient rehabilitation, acute care, and outpatient clinics. Kelly has completed extensive continuing education in orthopedic conditions and management. She is a Level 1 Kinesiotaping specialist. 

After joining the Pilates in the Grove team, she completed her Pilates Teacher Training and is a nationally certified Pilates teacher. In 2021 Kelly stepped into the role of Director of Studio Operations for Pilates in the Grove and handles most of the day-to-day operations of the studios, including hiring and onboarding new employees.

Lauren Sok, DPT

Lauren took the leap into entrepreneurship and founded Functionize Health & Physical Therapist in Atlanta, GA in 2015. After working for nearly 16 years in a conventional physical therapy practice, her ultimate goal is to create a legacy for her family and her colleagues with a forward-thinking approach to health and wellness.

To create her dream team, Lauren carefully curated a culture comprised of dynamic, invested, and innately curious experts in relentless pursuit of providing best-in-class care and a customized approach for each individual patient. With two locations and 6 employees, she ensures that each one is equipped with the education, support, resources, and empowerment to be successful.