BOZEMAN — At KBZK we are launching a new Rebound series featuring some of the fearless women of Southwest Montana.
Fearless, when it comes to business. You might call them Boss Babes. These are the women business owners who made it through the pandemic, overcame obstacles and now continue to thrive.
First, we spotlight Amy Darr, owner of Pure Barre, Bozeman. She is a lady who knows a thing or two about fitness but says that was not always the case.
“What I tell everyone is, if you had told me that I would have a career in fitness I would’ve fell on the floor laughing. I did not think that was my path at all,” said Darr.
She worked as a manager for Aveda for 20 years and says she never saw herself as a fitness guru but Pure Barre changed all that.
“I came in as a client and I was hooked after my first class. I just loved the community of people,” said Darr. “The workout was great because I didn’t feel like I was working out.”
She became an instructor - then manager - and eventually co-owner. She says her favorite part is seeing the women who come in for a workout blossom as they find a new way to stay fit and so much more.
“By class ten they are blazing in and they know people,” said Darr. “My favorite part is watching them evolve as a person. They grow more confident and then being in studio, they find their happy place.”
It is a feeling of love she shares so much the next transition was natural. She recently took over as sole owner of Pure Barre.
“This has been my happy place for so long I knew this was where I wanted to be for all time,” she said.
It is a milestone by any standard, but especially after the challenges brought in 2020, and the pandemic bringing changes daily.
“I think I knew we would make it through, at first I just did it know how,” she said.
“We basically had to build a new online business with online retail. Every day I was dropping off deliveries for people who bought on Instagram. We were doing online classes and my staff came here every single day to keep those going.”
As luck would have it Pure Barre had already implemented a format for online classes. But the real key she says was the close team of instructors that rallied to teach and the Pure Barre community that wanted to stay connected even when they had to be apart.
“I would just say embrace those people around and find your support system of those people that will help you get through because you can’t do it alone,” Amy said.
It is a fiery fusion of fitness and friendships, the formula for success at Pure Barre, Bozeman.
“I knew we would make it and I knew we had to make it through for our clients,” she said.
Amy hopes to show other business owners that when strong teams and strong women come together anything is possible. We will be featuring different female business owners each month on Montana this Morning and MTN News. If you know some Boss Babes with great Rebound stories, contact us.
