Hi-Ignition Fit Lab’s Going Virtual Success Story

COVID-19 certainly rocked the fitness industry hard and nearly every business has kept going with an online model. For multi-disciplinary fitness studio, Hi-Ignition Fit Lab, it’s been a total team effort to get them through this global crisis.

Hi-Ignition Fit Lab—located in London, Ontario, Canada—has four studios where they run personal training, group training, barre, yoga, JOGA (yoga combined with sport), Pilates, circuit training, Metafit, and spin classes.

Since COVID-19, they’ve been offering many of their classes online, including barre, circuit, and pulse classes. Owner April Crake couldn’t have gone online if it wasn’t for her operations manager Hannah, team of instructors, and business management software—WellnessLiving.

Hi-Ignition’s experience going virtual

In the last two years, Hi-Ignition has experienced a lot of growth, and April gives a lot of the credit to WellnessLiving.

“I can honestly say, if it wasn’t for the WellnessLiving system adding new exciting features, that we couldn’t run this place at the capacity that we do. Every time I feel, I really need a feature, or I want the system to perform in a certain way, WellnessLiving does a release, and most of the time, the things I’m hoping and wishing for, magically they’re added to the software,” says April. “It’s awesome!”

The latest features April had been excited to see were WellnessLiving’s Zoom integration and their video-on-demand feature, FitVID on Demand. All you have to do is connect your Zoom account with your WellnessLiving account to set up your online classes, events, or sessions, and invite clients to sign up, all within the software! You can then upload and store your videos to WellnessLiving with FitVID on Demand and offer clients exclusive access to your library of video content.

“We wouldn’t be able to pay programmers to do what you guys have done,” explains April. “It’s a true partnership. I wouldn’t have survived the COVID-19 crisis or had success going online without WellnessLiving in our corner.”

WellnessLiving CEO Len Fridman recently spoke to April as part of WellnessLiving’s Virtual CEO Tour. Check out the video below to learn how Hi-Ignition’s virtual business is thriving with WellnessLiving’s Zoom integration, FitVID on Demand, and more.

How have you rented equipment to members?

Many of their classes like barre and yoga are accessible to anyone and only require using your own bodyweight, and so you don’t need a lot of equipment. All clients need is their yoga mat, a towel, and maybe some soup cans.

However, equipment is needed for other classes at Hi-Ignition like spin classes and personal training. With Hannah pushing April, and WellnessLiving’s flexibility, Hi-Ignition actually created an online rental store right in WellnessLiving where they inventoried their equipment from their four in-house studios at their one location.

“Clients can pick and choose their own items, put it in their basket, and they have a custom weekly rental package where they can be at home doing circuits with our personal trainers,” says April. “Our spin bikes were just sitting here, not generating any revenue, so we loaded them into the pickup truck, and within 24 hours all 28 of our bikes were rented out and creating a weekly, recurring income for us.”

Why is it important to offer online classes to your community?

Hi-Ignition Fit Lab has risen above COVID-19 by keeping their community healthy, getting them into virtual classes, and moving from home. Although pre-recorded classes are available anywhere online, April knows that nothing can replace working out with your favorite instructors and fitness community that you’ve come to love.

“When we created Hi-Ignition, it was a bit smaller because we wanted a family environment where people came to see specific instructors and the same faces in class, and this led to friendships and bonds,” explains April.

By offering classes online, Hi-Ignition can continue to create those bonds with clients. April says, “People will join the class 10 to 15 minutes ahead of time, and we can catch up and see how everybody is doing!”

Since a lot of people struggle with fitness at home, it’s also about accountability, too. “Our instructors know their regulars, and when they don’t see them signing up, they text them (using the Elevate Staff App) to see where they are,” says April.

How has going online boosted business?

Another really cool thing is that Hi-Ignition Fit Lab can now offer classes to regulars who live in other cities. The studio is located in a college and university town, where from September to April the population goes up, and that’s when Hi-Ignition sees a dip in revenue. When COVID-19 happened and the schools were shut down, the students went home. Some members and former instructors have even moved across the world for work, but now they’re able to take classes or teach online from whatever city is home to them.

“We have people logging in from Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Arizona, and Ireland,” says April.

With Zoom, what will business look like after COVID-19?

When the lockdown ends, Hi-Ignition Fit Lab is not going to stop offering classes online after they reopen the studio.

“A lot of my incredible instructors have started to waitlist in the last couple of years,” explains April. “And, now if you can’t get into the class in the studio, you can log in online. We’re still going to be airing our classes live with WellnessLiving and Zoom. So, nobody is going to miss any of the class that they want to get into.”

People have full-time jobs and nobody’s schedule is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. anymore, and with a smaller studio like Hi-Ignition Fit Lab, it’s not always easy to pinpoint the exact day and time when everybody wants to workout.

To combat this issue April says, “We don’t have to be mind-readers anymore because if they can’t come at that day and time at the studio, maybe they can just turn on their laptop and join from home, they just can’t do the travel time.”

What do you like about FitVID on Demand?

Hi-Ignition also loves the flexibility of on-demand classes with FitVID on Demand. “Clients can purchase one of our pre-recorded classes and then we don’t have to worry if they can make it at 6:30 a.m. Monday to Friday. Now, they can take class whenever suits them best!”

For Hi-Ignition Fit Lab, it’s also hard for their barre instructors to teach up to 10 times per week due to the level of intensity the classes put on their bodies, but with FitVID on Demand, clients can take a barre class whenever and wherever they want!

Going virtual has been a total team effort!

Hi-Ignition Fit Lab knows that going virtual and remaining in business has been a complete team effort, and they’ve couldn’t have done it alone! April says, “Honestly, you’ve leveled the playing ground for the little guys. We could never do any of this on our own if it wasn’t for WellnessLiving!”

From setting up their online store, offering clients online classes through Zoom, and providing an on-demand class option, WellnessLiving has been there for April and Hi-Ignition Fit Lab every step of the way! WellnessLiving’s all-in-one software can also help you go virtual! What are you waiting for? Book a no-commitment demo today!