女性康体教练：线上会员平台成了疫情期唯一的收入来源
玛丽莎·拉维雷特于2018年自立门户，为健康和康体行业的女教练提供指导。当时经济正处于上扬期，所以对于自己的业务，她充满了信心。
然而，时过境迁。拉维雷特发现，经济下行时期对于个体户来说又是另外一种境况。她说：“我必然要想很多事情，如今，在这场健康危机中一切都变了。在经济正常时，我对于财务的不确定性并不感到担心，而如今，我真的希望能够拥有可预测的经常性收入。”
近期，《财富》杂志采访了拉维雷特，询问了有关新冠病毒对其未来规划的影响，以及她的工作和前景因疫情发生了哪些变化。
为简明起见，以下对话内容有所删改。
《财富》：作为女性康体教练，你的工作内容都有哪些？
拉维雷特：2018年7月，我辞去了作为中学西班牙教师的全职工作。在私立学校教书是一份不错的差事，能拿到各种福利和养老金计划401(k)，但我放弃了这份工作，选择了独自打拼。我的主要收入来源于餐饮服务和个人烹饪工作，如今，我靠的是教练业务Attune + Align，与健身与康体行业的专业人士一道，提供一对一的瑜伽、冥想以及教练指导综合服务。在这个行业，很多人并没有把大量的精力放在线上。但我创建了网站，包括瑜伽练习视频和YouTube频道，并提供社交媒体和新闻资讯策略。我还在自家的在线瑜伽会员平台上教授瑜伽。
自新冠疫情发生之后，你的工作和收入发生了什么变化？
当我无法再教授瑜伽课时，我意识到线上会员平台成了我唯一的收入来源，而且如今我也只能将精力和资源投入到这一块，但收入最高的是一对一教练培训业务。通常，我一次会指导1至2名客户，但如今变成了4名。费用为3小时995美元，或者2300美元的4小时培训套餐。
健身与康体专业人士在将其服务转至线上时倍感压力。他们在过去曾有过类似打算，但当时并没有这种紧迫感。如今，他们需要第三方支付平台和在线店面。他们都说：“早知道6个月前就应该做的，这样的话我的网站也就能为应对疫情做好准备了。”
最近几周签约的教练客户都会和你谈论什么内容？这些康体专业人士是否对其业务感到担忧？
过去两周我所共事的每一个人都松了一口气。即便未来依然存在众多难以预料的挑战，但他们感觉自己终于不再将线上业务当作一个可有可无的项目来看待，而是意识到这是他们目前唯一的出路，而且在眼下可能没有其他的替代方案。
听起来，你教的这些教练客户都已经适应了疫情的新现实。然而，随着这场危机的延续，你是否认为这些客户会继续光顾你的生意？
随着财务状况变得越发紧张，人们是否会继续订我的课？我不知道，这反映了我们当前所有人面临的现实。
我自身指导业务的小幅增长弥补了正常工作室课堂收入的损失，然而，我们所处的这个局势每天都在发生变化。我很难保证那些女性瑜伽教练、康体专业人士或保健师在几周之后仍会预订我的课程。一切都是未知数。
如今，作为老板的你有什么感受？不确定时期的创业与经济上行时期的个体业务有什么区别？
我一直问自己：“在2018年我计划创建全新业务的时候，如果我当时就知道18个月后我们的生活将发生彻底变化，我是否依然会越过自己安全职业阶梯上的那道安全梯级，并从事全新的职业？”
我现在会说，我认为自己依然会做出同样的决定。当时我深知，干一番新事业的时候到了。（财富中文网）
译者：冯丰
审校：夏林
玛丽莎·拉维雷特于2018年自立门户，为健康和康体行业的女教练提供指导。当时经济正处于上扬期，所以对于自己的业务，她充满了信心。
然而，时过境迁。拉维雷特发现，经济下行时期对于个体户来说又是另外一种境况。她说：“我必然要想很多事情，如今，在这场健康危机中一切都变了。在经济正常时，我对于财务的不确定性并不感到担心，而如今，我真的希望能够拥有可预测的经常性收入。”
近期，《财富》杂志采访了拉维雷特，询问了有关新冠病毒对其未来规划的影响，以及她的工作和前景因疫情发生了哪些变化。
为简明起见，以下对话内容有所删改。
《财富》：作为女性康体教练，你的工作内容都有哪些？
拉维雷特：2018年7月，我辞去了作为中学西班牙教师的全职工作。在私立学校教书是一份不错的差事，能拿到各种福利和养老金计划401(k)，但我放弃了这份工作，选择了独自打拼。我的主要收入来源于餐饮服务和个人烹饪工作，如今，我靠的是教练业务Attune + Align，与健身与康体行业的专业人士一道，提供一对一的瑜伽、冥想以及教练指导综合服务。在这个行业，很多人并没有把大量的精力放在线上。但我创建了网站，包括瑜伽练习视频和YouTube频道，并提供社交媒体和新闻资讯策略。我还在自家的在线瑜伽会员平台上教授瑜伽。
自新冠疫情发生之后，你的工作和收入发生了什么变化？
当我无法再教授瑜伽课时，我意识到线上会员平台成了我唯一的收入来源，而且如今我也只能将精力和资源投入到这一块，但收入最高的是一对一教练培训业务。通常，我一次会指导1至2名客户，但如今变成了4名。费用为3小时995美元，或者2300美元的4小时培训套餐。
健身与康体专业人士在将其服务转至线上时倍感压力。他们在过去曾有过类似打算，但当时并没有这种紧迫感。如今，他们需要第三方支付平台和在线店面。他们都说：“早知道6个月前就应该做的，这样的话我的网站也就能为应对疫情做好准备了。”
最近几周签约的教练客户都会和你谈论什么内容？这些康体专业人士是否对其业务感到担忧？
过去两周我所共事的每一个人都松了一口气。即便未来依然存在众多难以预料的挑战，但他们感觉自己终于不再将线上业务当作一个可有可无的项目来看待，而是意识到这是他们目前唯一的出路，而且在眼下可能没有其他的替代方案。
听起来，你教的这些教练客户都已经适应了疫情的新现实。然而，随着这场危机的延续，你是否认为这些客户会继续光顾你的生意？
随着财务状况变得越发紧张，人们是否会继续订我的课？我不知道，这反映了我们当前所有人面临的现实。
我自身指导业务的小幅增长弥补了正常工作室课堂收入的损失，然而，我们所处的这个局势每天都在发生变化。我很难保证那些女性瑜伽教练、康体专业人士或保健师在几周之后仍会预订我的课程。一切都是未知数。
如今，作为老板的你有什么感受？不确定时期的创业与经济上行时期的个体业务有什么区别？
我一直问自己：“在2018年我计划创建全新业务的时候，如果我当时就知道18个月后我们的生活将发生彻底变化，我是否依然会越过自己安全职业阶梯上的那道安全梯级，并从事全新的职业？”
我现在会说，我认为自己依然会做出同样的决定。当时我深知，干一番新事业的时候到了。（财富中文网）
译者：冯丰
审校：夏林
Marisa LaValette struck out on her own as an entrepreneur in 2018. With the economy in a strong position, she was confident about her decision to launch a coaching business for women in the health and wellness industries.
Things are different now. LaValette is finding that an economic downturn is a different experience while self-employed. “There are certainly a lot of thoughts going through my mind, now that I find myself a brand-new small-business owner in the midst of our health crisis,” she says. “I felt comfortable with financial uncertainty when the economy was healthy, but now I’m really wishing I had a predictable paycheck on a recurring schedule.”
Fortune spoke with LaValette for a new series, The Coronavirus Economy, to ask about how COVID-19 has affected her plans for the future, and how her job—and outlook—have changed so far because of the crisis.
The following Q&A has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Fortune: What do you do in your work as a women’s wellness coach?
LaValette: In July 2018, I quit my full-time job as a middle school Spanish teacher. It was a great teaching gig at an independent school with benefits and a 401(k), but I chose to give that up and go out on my own. My main income became catering and personal chef work, and now it’s my coaching business, Attune + Align, where I do one-to-one yoga and meditation and mentorship packages with professionals in the fitness and wellness industry. I build websites, including yoga practice videos and YouTube channels, and provide social media and newsletter strategy in a profession where many people don’t have big online presences. I also teach yoga and run my own online yoga membership platform.
How has your work and income changed since the coronavirus crisis began?
When I could no longer teach yoga classes, I realized I would have to rely on my online membership platform as a source of income. That’s where I’m putting my energy and resources right now. But I earn the most from my one-on-one coaching clients. Usually I have one to two coaching clients at a time, but right now I have four. They pay $995 for three hours, or $2,300 for a four-hour coaching package.
Fitness and wellness professionals are feeling the pressure to get their offerings online. These are people who had been interested in the past, but the sense of urgency wasn’t there. Now they need payment platforms and online storefronts. They’re saying, “I should have done this work six months ago—then my website would be ready for this.”
What have those conversations been like with coaching clients who have signed on in recent weeks? Are these wellness professionals concerned about their businesses?
Everyone who I’ve worked with over the past two weeks, there’s been a sense of relief. Even though there are so many unforeseeable challenges ahead, they feel like they are finally ripping off the Band-Aid on this thing that’s been a back-burner project for them. They’re realizing that this is their only way right now, and maybe there is no other alternative at this time.
It sounds like coaching clients are approaching you as they adapt to the new reality of the pandemic. But as this crisis continues, do you expect the flow of clients to continue?
As finances become tighter and tighter, do I think people will continue booking with me? I don’t know. That’s a reflection of the state we’re all in right now.
The uptick in my coaching work—it has replaced lost income from my regular studio classes—but we are in a situation that changes every day. There’s no guarantee that women who are yoga teachers, wellness professionals, or health coaches are still going to book with me a few weeks from now. It’s up in the air.
How are you feeling now about having struck out on your own? How does entrepreneurship in uncertain times compare with self-employment during an economic upswing?
I’m asking myself: “If I had known in 2018 when I planned to launch a brand-new business that our lives would be altered forever 18 months from now, would I still have passed on the next secure rung in my secure career ladder to undertake something new?”
I can say now, I think I still would have made the same decision. I knew it was time for me to try something else.
