Horizon West resident, Studio K owner talks balancing businesses

If one were to look up “jill of all trades” in the dictionary, Horizon West resident and Studio K owner Kristin Weissman would be a good definition.

Weissman works as the director of marketing and communications for Windermere Preparatory School by day. In her spare time, she also runs her dance and fitness studio, a cosmetics line, her own public-relations firm and a photography team. She’s also an author, with two books published and a third in the works. 

Studio K was born in 2010 after Weissman stepped back from the world of entertainment PR. Traveling and working all the time had burned her out, and her doctor suggested doing something for herself to get healthy again. That’s when the idea of operating her own dance fitness studio came to mind.

“I decided to take my whole life savings and open my dream business,” she said. “We opened in 2010, and it (the studio) was just a construction shell. I met a developer who offered me a two-year lease. … I literally invested my entire life savings since I was 11 years old to open the studio on my own. It was dance, photography and a PR firm all in one, and we were the first of our kind in the country.”

But on the two-year anniversary of the original Studio K, Weissman went to sign a new, five-year lease and instead walked into a table of attorneys from the premium outlets who had bought the land for expansion. She had 30 days to pack up her studio and leave. It was a complete surprise, she said.

At that point, Weissman went back to work full-time for a year, until her web designer convinced her it was time to do something new. Although the studio was closed, thousands of people still visited her website, so she began a blog.

“That’s when I started our blog,” she said. “I started to get the word out and the blog grew, and today that blog has 37,000 subscribers. From there we started our ‘Backdrop’ magazine, and I started the cosmetics line and pop-up dance workshops. We were the first in the country to do pop-up dance, so anywhere anyone wanted to see Studio K we showed up. We taught classes and did workshops.”

Weissman worked three jobs over the span of three years to earn back the money she had lost, and in 2015 Studio K reopened in its current building on International Drive, but in a smaller space that was previously a dance studio. The studio was once again successful, and in December 2016, Studio K moved to the other side of the building in its current location. The space is much larger, and the ambiance is more relaxing, decorated with fairy lights. 

Now, Studio K offers 35 styles of dance and fitness classes for ages 15 and up. It also hosts custom classes, such as ballet rock and lightsaber fitness, the latter of which encourages participants to bring lightsabers and work out to fights choreographed from the “Star Wars” films.

“We are truly the judgment- free studio. The floor is yours. No matter your age, size, background, level of ability, everyone is welcome to dance here. It makes me proud that it all came together and my dream is happening.”— Kristin Weissman

Balancing her many business endeavors with taking time for herself is a challenge, but her friends and family are the support system that keeps her going and reminds her it’s OK to take time out.

“I have an amazing boyfriend who reminds me every day I have to take care of myself, too,” she said. “Truly staying crazily organized is key, because I run a lot of stuff. For one person, it gets very overwhelming. I think I learned a lot because I got so unhealthy and got burned out and not well. I learned how important it is to take care of yourself, too.”

The next step, she said, is to grow the business. Eventually, she’d like to franchise Studio K and continue to reach more people.

“It’s truly so exciting for me,” Weissman said. “I know I’m meant to be an entrepreneur, and I love it. I’ve loved to dance since I was a little girl, but to be able to be here and connect with all of the members (is incredible). We’ve become not only a place for working out, but a place for adults who desperately need a place to connect that’s positive. I can’t tell you how many people come here, make new friends, fall in love here.

“We are truly the judgment-free studio,” she said. “The floor is yours. No matter your age, size, background, level of ability, everyone is welcome to dance here. It makes me proud that it all came together and my dream is happening.”

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].