This week, we spoke to Natalie Leworthy, aerial athlete and business owner of Urban Circus in Harrogate.
Tell us in fewer than 30 words what your firm does.
We’re offer fitness classes for adults and children. We cover aerial and pole fitness – basically anything off the ground. Anything not too conventional!
It’s loosely rooted in the circus tradition, but I’m not – I’m a fitness instructor. I started with the pole, then went on to the aerial hoop (or lyra), aerial silk and hammock.
What does it take to be successful in business?
Good question – when somebody answers that for you, tell me!
We’ve been around for over a decade and we’ve survived entirely through word-of-mouth. If you have a good product and a safe environment, it sells itself.
Having a passion for whatever it is you do is very important. Also, when you’ve been doing something for a while, it’s very easy to think ‘I’m the master of this now’, but that’s not how it goes in any business. It’s always evolving. So I’ve scoured the internet over the years to find courses to learn more, and I’ve grown with my industry. It’s important to keep up with the times.
Natalie (centre) with her instruction team at Urban Circus.
What drives you to do what you do every day?
I really, really enjoy it. Not many people are excited to go to work, but I am.
I also love the impact what we do has on people who do it. Women often walk in here so self-conscious and embarrassed, but within a few weeks they come in wearing fewer clothes so they can grip the pole better, and they’re just generally more confident and sociable.
I have two daughters, and I love the fact that here they can be in a really positive, female, empowered environment.
What has been the toughest issue your company has had to deal with over the last 12 months?
Keeping up with inflation. Our electricity bill has gone up by 500% over the last year – it’s crazy.
My biggest struggle, though, is being a mum at the same time as trying to be a businessperson. Finding that balance is very challenging!
Which other local firms do you most admire, and why?
There’s a business near me in Claro Court Business Centre called Atlas Fitness – it used to be called Schofield Fitness. They try to change people mentally as well as physically, so they grow in confidence. I like their ethos.
Who are the most inspiring local leaders?
One person I find super-inspiring is Tim Broad, headteacher at Western Primary School in Harrogate. Nobody works harder than him.
Both my nephews have autism and one has ADHD, but they’re both thriving there, and that’s due in large part to the effort Mr Broad and his staff put in.
I’ll also mention a teacher, Miss Ward, who has gone above and beyond, doing research in her own time to learn more and put in place better systems to help the boys. She doesn’t have to, but she makes a huge effort.
Training on the pole builds up strength, fitness, flexibility and confidence.
What could be done locally to boost business?
There could be easier access to support for small businesses. I got in touch with North Yorkshire Council about grants for leisure businesses but I didn’t hear anything. I was bounced around different departments but I’m still waiting!
Best and worst things about running a business from Harrogate?
For me, the worst is that I’d like to expand the business, but I can’t find suitable premises. There are lots of offices and large industrial units, but not many light industrial units in between. Every so often I’ll see one, but every time it turns out it’s been bought by a developer to turn into something else.
The best thing is that I like the community in Harrogate. I’m terrible at social media, so my business survives on word-of-mouth. Everybody in Harrogate and Knaresborough seems to know everybody else in Harrogate and Knaresborough, so once you put something out there, people talk and tend to find out about it.
What are your business plans for the future?
I’d love to expand. We offer children’s classes and birthday parties, but we don’t have the space to accommodate them all. I also want to get into primary schools, doing taster days. We did it last year, introducing children at Grove Road Primary School to the pole, hoop, hammock and ground skills, and they loved it.
I think it’s really important that children learn that exercise isn’t just about changing your body – you should also do it because it’s fun and it’s good to move.
What do you like to do in your time off?
What’s ‘time off’?! I like to run around after my children, and when I’m not doing that, I’m really very boring – I like doing DIY or training.
Then again, if there’s any chance in hell I can get to a spa, I’m gone – you won’t see me for dust!
Best place to eat and drink locally?
Thug Sandwich Company is the best place in North Yorkshire, if not the country. Everything seems to taste amazing – I don’t know how they do it. I’m a picky eater, but they mix different flavours together that you would think would work, but they do. I also like how cheeky the owners are.
Another good place is Tilly Peppers on Cold Bath Road – it’s really nice to be able to take a toddler in without fear of upsetting anyone!
This is the latest in a regular series of weekly Business Q&A features. If you’d like to suggest someone in business in the Harrogate district for this feature, drop us a line at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Read more:
- Business Q&A: Andrew North, Alexanders Prestige
- Business Q&A: Tim Brown, Brown Trout
- Business Q&A: Hazel Barry, H2K