We had the good fortune of connecting with Jen West and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jen, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
I want to cultivate a supportive and welcoming studio and I feel that attitude attracts good people whether it is a person coming to a class or the 3sixT team. When I look for a potential instructor, they exude that attitude as well. I hire people that I trust, and I let then be who they are when teaching. There is no need for me to hover after they are trained and I think they appreciate the trust.
I also believe it is truly important to provide great customer service. Problem solving with clients and even instructors is helpful to gain loyalty and just feels good. Practicing the golden rule is never wrong. t is not hard to be nice.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Studio 3sixT opened in 2011 and at that time had 3 owners – Missie Johnson-West, Xiaohui Janecek and Jen West (myself). I am now the sole owner and am proud that we have been open this long. The studio is in a lower level space that is very private and I think that helps take the scariness of trying a pole dancing class off a bit. We specialize in pole dancing but we do offer non-pole dance and fitness classes as well. Part of our logo is “pole.dance.fitness.”
Pole fitness is such a wonderful thing to experience because It can be whatever you want it to be which can mean many things: you can use it as a workout, to gain confidence, to feel graceful, to be sexy, to empower yourself, to recover from something that life has thrown you, etc etc etc. SO many special benefits! This is such a beautiful sport because of those things. I feel very happy to be in this industry.
I wouldn’t say starting this business was easy but with 3 owners at that time, it was easier to take on all the daily and ongoing tasks since we split those up. We were also teaching the majority of our classes so that was a lot, but also necessary to be able to put some money in the bank. Now that it is 13 years later, I know what needs to be done sort of like clockwork. With that said, I can easily fill up a day with all the things that need to be done. Covid closures was one of the hardest times to get through but with our pole community support, we were able to recover. The economy now is also quite challenging and unpredictable, so creativity is important.
What I am most proud of is the feeling of community that we have. We are a bit of a smaller studio with 7 poles, and we do not overcrowd our classes. Pole classes max at 14. Having more than 2 people on a pole is not easy to teach, nor is easy to learn. In my 16+ years of experience, pole dance has always welcomed anyone that wants to try it. I can tell you that the sense of community and support here is dang special and it does start with the team we have here, but includes the wonderful people that come check us out and hopefully stay! I try to show how grateful I am for this environment however I can including a simple thank you for coming.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am more of a homebody at times, but I do love supporting other small businesses because I know how important they are, so I would say first we would do something active. In good weather, a hike or show at Red Rocks and in cold weather, Vail for snowboarding and apres. Shopping in Cherry Creek North is always great and I love Cherry Creek Grill for lunch. For dinner Steakhouse 10 in Englewood for sure!
To chill out and catch up, my patio is the best 🙂
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Dedicated to anyone who has stepped through our doors! Thank you for the support!
Website: https://studo3sixt.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/studio3sixt
Facebook: https://facebook.com/studio3sixt
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Studio3sixT/feed