Here at The Bedford Mom we love sharing about and celebrating local businesses! This month we are so excited to feature Pure Barre Bedford, which is owned by Adrienne Boss. She owns two Pure Barre locations in Nashua & Bedford NH, along with Boss Blow Dry Bar in Hudson NH. She is passionate about health, fitness, and helping people (especially women) feel strong, confident and capable of taking on each day. Learn all about Pure Barre Bedford and Adrienne below!
Tell us about yourself!
My name is Adrienne and I live in Windham NH with my husband Ken and two Havanese dogs, Margs and Duke. I am from the area, but Ken is from Perth, Western Australia. I met Ken in 2011, after completing my business degree at Bryant University. I was working for the summer at a camp in North Carolina teaching waterskiing and wakeboarding. Ken and I met about 10 minutes after I arrived at the camp, and the rest is history. We moved around for a few years, living in Fort Lauderdale Florida, followed by Fort McMurray, Alberta Canada (about 14 hours north of Montana.. it was COLD). In 2014 we moved home to NH to open our two Pure Barre locations and it was the best decision we have ever made. Nothing compares to the feeling of when someone tells you that they had never stuck with a workout before, but they fell in love with Pure Barre, our community and staff. Our goal was to not only provide a place for health and fitness, but bulked a strong community with passionate staff and members- and I can genuinely say that I feel we have succeeded in that and I’m so proud of what our team has built.
About 3 and a half years ago, my sister Ellen and I decided to open Boss Blow Dry Bar for similar reasons- to provide a service that would encourage women to feel more confident walking out than they did coming in. We realized there were no blow dry bars nearby, saw the opportunity and an ideal location, and ran with it. Boss Blow Dry Bar is not a full service hair salon, but instead offers blow outs, styling, special event and wedding hair, make up, facials, lashes and more!
Outside of work, I am an avid triathlete and love endurance training. In 2021, I had a goal of completing an Ironman Triathlon and did so in Madison Wisconsin. I thought it would be “one and done” but I was hooked, and now I can’t get enough of the sport. I have made great friends through it and love catching up for early morning workouts or traveling to races. I have since completed Ironman Lake Placid along with 11 half Ironman races all over the country including the 2022 World Championships in St George Utah and upcoming 2024 World Championships in Taupo NZ. I am already signed dup for my 3rd full distance Ironman next year in Ottawa Canada.
Tell us about your business!
Pure Barre is so special! It is so much more than a workout- we often say that people come for the workout and stay for the community and friendships built. Believe it or not, we have many members who have been with us since day one, which we think is pretty incredible. Our group class full-body workouts focus on low impact, small movements that strengthen and tone in 50 minutes or less. We have 4 regular class formats, plus a 30 minute intro class called Engage:
Engage: Free Intro Class
If you’re new to Pure Barre, or even barre, this is a great place to start. Pure Barre Engage™ delivers a 30-minute full-body workout showcasing our proprietary barre technique in a small group setting to leave you eager to “engage” even more with the Pure Barre experience.
Classic: Strength & Definition
Pure Barre Classic™ is our original barre class. Our proprietary technique is the fastest, most effective low-impact, full-body barre workout using a ball, light hand weights and a resistance double tube. For 50 minutes, you will be guided through a series of low-impact, high-intensity isometric movements designed to improve your flexibility while strengthening and toning your body.
Define: Strength & Power
Pure Barre Define™ fuses concepts from our classic barre technique with weight-based strength training to develop muscular strength and power. In 50 minutes, you will experience the best of our Pure Barre technique fundamentals combined with additional dumbbell training in functional movements to enhance muscular definition and build confidence in your form.
Align: Balance & Flexibility
Pure Barre AlignTM combines our classic strength-building barre technique with a unique emphasis on flexibility and balance training to deliver a restorative full body workout. In 50 minutes, you will focus on various flows of stretching to increase your joint mobility, while building muscular strength and stability.
Empower: Cardio + Barre + Intervals
Pure Barre Empower™ is our fusion workout of Classic Pure Barre and high-intensity interval training designed to elevate your heart rate, build strength, and increase your metabolism. For 45 minutes, you’ll use dynamic movements with ankle weights and a plyometric platform to target different muscle groups simultaneously.
Videos of class formats: https://www.purebarre.com/class-formats
We also have a retail boutique in each location and sell popular brands including Lululemon, Alo, Beyond Yoga, Spiritual Gangster, and more!
What does a “day in the life” look like for you?
What does a “Day in the Life” look like for me? That’s a tough one:) Every day is different. I often go where I am needed or spend time driving between locations, but I do try to keep some schedule in my life to maintain my sanity. In general, on Mondays I am in a studio either on the desk or teaching at some point, with stops at Boss for weekly meetings. Tuesdays I try to keep as a work-from-home day so I can catch up on emails, get payroll done, and sort through the endless piles of paperwork. Wednesdays I go where needed between the salon and studios but try to keep early mornings work from home so close out anything from Tuesday. Thursday is my one blessed day off per week, when I don’t answer the phone, emails, texts or slack messages and try to mentally check out for a day. This is crucial to my well-being and not only gets me through the week, but makes me driven and excited to get back to work on Friday. Fridays I am usually on the desk at one studio followed by stopping by the salon, and occasionally teaching in the evening. Weekends go in any direction- sometimes I work from home, other times I am on the run for events at any of the three locations. I squeeze in my triathlon training all throughout the week and often have long workouts early morning on Saturday and Sunday. It’s a tornado all the time, but I feel so lucky to do what I do!
What are your goals for your business in the next 3-5 years?
My goals for Pure Barre in the next 3-5 years include growing back to our pre-covid membership numbers. Covid really took its toll financially and we’re still digging out of the hole it put us in, but our growth has been steady due to the incredible community and workout. All it takes is getting someone in our doors, and they are pretty easily hooked once they see how welcoming it is and how the workout is challenging but doable, and results driven- both mentally and physically. For 50 minutes, your brain shuts off, the music is turned up, and you focus on yourself alone- leaving you feeling like a new person.
What are your favorite local spots in town?
My favorite local spot in town: The inside Scoop (best coffee and ice cream and a new favorite spot for pop up classes!)
What is your best piece of advice for people looking to start a business?
My best piece of advice for anyone looking to start a business would be to thoroughly put together a business plan and answer all the hard questions. If you don’t know how, find people and resources to help you. Don’t breeze past the hard parts and expect it to all work out, because at some point you will have to face it and it’s better to do so before hand. Be ready for it to be all consuming, and never settle down. I used to think that I couldn’t wait for the day that things would be “business as usual” and after a year or so, I realized that would never be the case- and that was a good thing! If things became business as usual, we weren’t growing and evolving with the needs of our members, and we would be out of business. The learning curve was steep and at times still is, but if you aren’t constantly learning and growing, you aren’t going to survive.
How can people connect with you and follow your business?
How to connect with and follow Pure Barre Bedford & Nashua:
Pure Barre Bedford
bedford@purebarre.com
603.218.3817
www.purebarre.com/mh-bedford
Follow us on instagram: @purebarrebedford
Pure Barre Nashua
nashua@purebarre.com
603.943.5092
www.purebarre.com/NH-Nashua
Instagram: @purebarrenashua