Carly and Greg Goidosik's decision to open Michigan's first Dailey Method fitness studio in downtown Birmingham is a positive for the city, but their decision to return to Michigan from the Chicago-area to start said business is a broader sign of the economic tide-turner that's bringing Michigan's young ex-pats back to their home state.
"There's this whole new energy in Michigan, especially with people of my generation," says Carly Goidosik, 27, a Dailey Method master trainer turned franchise owner. "People I went to high school with, people I went to college with, they want to come back and be a part of the changes happening here."
Clearly there is a market for
Dailey Method Birmingham, which opens Friday, Jan. 11, in Birmingham Place, 34665 Woodward Avenue, a very visible and prominent spot on the ground floor of the Birmingham Place condos. Renovations of the last several weeks make sure that the spot isn't too fish-bowlish, just the right amount of exposure and privacy.
"The interest is beyond anything we could have imagined," she says. There are already nearly 10 classes that are booked and waiting lists have formed. Their sales goal for the opening weekend has been exceeded.
Inside the 2,000-square-foot studio, Dailey Method's "community classes" will be taught Monday - Saturday, initially. Dailey Method formed in San Francisco in 2000 and is a mix of strengthening, toning and body-lengthening approaches that mix yoga, pilates, a ballet barre and more. Down the street is a few-months-old lululemon athletic wear, a company that has named Carly a local ambassador.
The Birmingham Dailey Method franchise is the first in Michigan and one of 46 nationwide. In the Chicago area,where the Goidosik's moved after graduating college there were 10, she says. She started as a student, went through training to teach and eventually became a master trainer for other teachers before she decided - with the encouragement of the owner of the studio where she worked - to open her own.
"We wanted to come back to Michigan to be near family," she says. But once they started their search for locations they learned they were part of a boom in entrepreneurs, investors and developers looking for property in metro Detroit.
"Probably two years ago we never would have even considered the Detroit-area to start a business," she says. "Our broker told us if we'd started six months earlier it would have been different story."
While competition for a storefront wasn't ideal, it was uplifting to see the interest in metro Detroit, she says.
"It's a great thing being in the Detorit area. One of the great things about being here is a quality I see in the Midwest, a loyalty. If people love you, they will support you."
Writer: Kim North Shine
Source: Carly Goidosik, owner, Dailey Method Birmingham
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