Meet Sara Slifko | Pilates Studio Owner, Pilates Instructor & Nutrition Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Slifko and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve always been interested in entrepreneurship. I come from a family of entrepreneurs; my dad, mom, and sister do or have all run their own businesses. My dad’s dad (my grandpa, hehe) was also an entrepreneur, which drew my dad into that career path as well. I have several extended family members who own their own businesses and run successful ones at that. I may be like most people, or I may be on my own with these feelings, but I also carry a lot of anxiety around being employed by someone else. I had a heck of an experience with my first job in high school. I didn’t know anything about working as an hourly employee in high school and always felt inadequate and worried about my performance. That has definitely been the undertone in every job I’ve had as an employee since. I recognize there may be some extrinsic motivators in regards to owning my own business from that. I do enjoy the risk/reward of relying on myself to provide a specific product/service and see how it does out in the world. I only have myself to blame for my success/lack there of and there’s some control in that. To relate my desire to be my own boss and being a Pilates Instructor & Nutrition Coach, I spent many years working manual labor and really loved having exercise & feeling healthy as part of my day to day and getting paid for it was an added bonus. So I decided that I would open a business that involved exercise/nutrition in some shape or form. I’ve been interested in nutrition since high school and I started doing Pilates in High School. Then I took an extended studies Pilates Mat Class while I was in college at Western State College (Now Western State Colorado University). I learned about the Pilates Method there and was hooked. My body responded well to it and as years went on, I got to the point where I wanted to pursue a career in Pilates and Nutrition. I still dreamed of being my own business owner. Voila, from there my Pilates Studio/Nutrition Coaching Business – Western Slope Pilates was born.

What should our readers know about your business?
Located in New Castle, CO, Western Slope Pilates (WSP) is the only operating Pilates studio between Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs, on Colorado’s beautiful Western Slope where founder and instructor Sara Slifko offers private, duet, and group Pilates equipment sessions, as well as virtual private Pilates equipment sessions and virtual and in-person Pilates mat classes. WSP is fully equipped with state of the art Balanced Body® Pilates equipment. WSP also offers one-on-one Nutrition Consultation.

Starting at the beginning where I obtained my Pilates Instructor Certification and ending at where I am now with my business wasn’t easy. This process spanned from 2018-2021. With COVID, I had to become more resourceful, finding ways to complete my training hours remotely while living in the tiny town of Parachute, CO. While in most other years, trainees spend their time at studios with equipment, clients, and knowledgeable instructors at their fingertips, I had to find used Pilates equipment (new equipment costs $4K-$7K) to practice on on my own and seek out instructors 1-2hrs away as well as find my own clients to train for free. I had to practice self discipline like I never had before. That definitely prepared me to be my own boss. It was a great day when I passed my Pilates Instructor Exam, which included practical and demonstration sections. It was so scary to spend an hour teaching Pilates to a stranger in front of an evaluation team and perfectly demonstrate only 3 exercises out of a hat of over 600+ exercises. I obtained my certification through BASI (Body Arts and Science International). Reputable Comprehensive Pilates Training programs, such as BASI, require these requisites and they are no joke. These schools of study operate as if at the college level. The cost to become a Pilates Instructor through a reputable program is about the same as an associates degree $9K-$10K. So it’s comparable to the cost of an associate degree. After obtaining my certification, I ran full speed into getting my business started as I found a place to rent three months later and was up and running the business six months after obtaining my certification. It was hard but has been very rewarding operating my own business. There were a lot of doubts from the public about the success of a new business opening in 2021, but there couldn’t have been a better time to open a business that’s all about fitness and health. That was all the head lines over the last 3 years, so why wouldn’t it be a success? People are looking for preventative methods to support their health and you can’t get any more preventative than with Pilates and Nutrition Coaching. I am definitely lucky that the time worked out as it has. I’m seeing a lot of nutritional and fitness goals being met from clients who have been attending studio classes and services since 2021. To touch on what Pilates is about and how it’s represented at Western Slope Pilates, is that Pilates is a form of low-impact exercise that aims to strengthen muscles while improving postural alignment and flexibility with focus on the core muscles as well as full body integration. Pilates is an innovative and safe system of mind-body exercise using a floor mat or a variety of equipment. It was developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates. Joseph Pilates called his method “Contrology”, the art of controlled movement. With this philosophy of exercise, people can expect to gain stability (strength) and mobility (flexibility) in large and small muscle groups. In the Pilates sessions taught at Western Slope Pilates, we aim to work the whole body and move in all 3 planes of the spine to provide the body the functionality and athleticism it needs to perform tasks and reach performance goals outside the studio. Pilates isn’t a one size fits all, but it is one of the most inclusive forms of exercise and has been proven to improve sports performance, and reduce/prevent injuries. It is used throughout the Physical Therapy Industry for therapy/post rehab exercise. In fact many rehab clinics house Pilates equipment in their clinics. My husband is a Physical Therapist (that’s how I know all of this). To mention the Nutrition Coaching piece of Western Slope Pilates, the nutrition industry is evolving. It’s stepping away from “diet” fads and focusing more on creating and living out realistic habits that prioritize feeling good, vitality, and longevity. That’s how I operate as a Nutrition Coach. I help clients create achievable goals, put those goals into action, and see how they become long term habits that not only help them lose inches/weight, but improve their overall sense of well being without any sense of deprivation. Combining Pilates and Nutrition are valuable pieces to living well.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Favorite places to do/go to around Colorado: 1, Mountain Bike Monarch Crest
2. Enjoy a pie a la mode at Sargents Trading Post
3. Go Wake Skating on Blue Mesa Reservoir
4. Backpack in the la Garitas
5. Soak in the Ouray Hotsprings
6. Go shopping in downtown Ouray
7. Mountain Bike the Pueblo Reservoir
8. Eat a Slopper at Sunset Bowl in Pueblo
9. Go to Pueblo’s Green Chili Festival
10. Ski Pearl Pass

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to acknowledge a few people who really supported me throughout my struggle to become a Pilates Instructor, Nutrition Coach, and Small Business Owner. My husband, Andy, is the most supportive man in the world. He always encouraged me as I completed my 500+ training hours and studies required to obtain my comprehensive Pilates Instructor Certification. He was even a test body for me to teach while I gained teaching hours. He probably racked up as many hours doing Pilates as I had by the end of my requirements. He’d never bat an eye when it came to the investment costs and time needed to build the studio and make it presentable for clients. He spent hours with me renovating the rental space that Western Slope Pilates has now become. I continue to doubt myself at times and my decisions as I grow in my roll as a Business Owner/Pilates Instructor/Nutrition Coach, but he only reassures me that I got this. My dad has also been integral to the success of my new business. He has provided me a lot of good business advice. He is a very savvy business owner with good business sense. I admire him for that. Thank goodness I have someone to look up to. My mentor/Pilates Instructor, Jen Kaplan, owner of Pelodog South Lake Tahoe, has been such a great resource to me, not just as I worked to get my Pilates Instructor Certification, but as I navigate the ins and outs of running a Pilates Studio. She is the best example of a woman in the industry who is always pushing other women to succeed and helping them reach their goals, which is hard to find. My friends have also been very encouraging. Not one of them have asked if I was sure I should pursue this. They just believed in me, which is what I now realize as so important to have. My friends know me very well, so they’d know and tell me if this was a good path for me to chose. Some of my friends were also test bodies for me as I completed my training hours and without them, I would not be here either. I can’t leave out the Pilates enthusiasts in the New Castle Community and beyond. All of the people who come to Western Slope Pilates to workout have been essential to the success of the studio. Every single person has been so kind, supportive, understanding, and just a pleasure to teach I’m so thankful for this community.

Website: www.westernslopepilates.com

Instagram: westernslopepilates

Facebook: @westernslopepilates

Image Credits
Bramley & Co. Photography