Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Guion.
Amy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I wanted to be a ballerina and trained at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School while growing up in Seattle. My senior year of high school I had a back injury, and that combined with a full ride to Loyola Marymount University for an academic scholarship brought me to LA to study natural science/physical therapy.
While in LA, I took a pole dancing class for my birthday because I thought it would be silly and fun. I ended up loving it for the freedom of movement that was very opposite of ballet. It also introduced me to an amazing community of polers. I can travel anywhere in the world and hit up a pole studio by email or on social media and I always get invites to hang out, stay in people’s houses or go out and have dinner or see the sights.
I ended up managing the same studio that I started dancing at, and then eventually entered the competition circuit and did very well. I was invited to tour and teach my signature style around the country and also internationally, so I spent a good 2 years on the road.
After competing at an event that was poorly produced, I thought, this really isn’t that complicated, I think that I could host one of these competitions. In May 2012 we had our first event in Los Angeles. Now, Pole Sport Organization (PSO) has 17 shows in 3 countries and we host thousands of competitors per year on stage.
Has it been a smooth road?
Building a business is never a smooth road! Some struggles:
1. It’s definitely decreased as pole becomes more main stream, but we were turned away by venues trying to book during the first few years. My goal was to book theaters, convention centers or hotel spaces and get the pole competitions out of nightclubs. Some of the theaters would decline, saying that the program wasn’t in line with their missions, etc. I think now most venues are more receptive to pole as a sport, which is cool to see!
2. Business partners and communication – I used to have a business partner and we separated in 2016. My biggest takeaway there is to definitely work with friends, but always prepare like it’s going to end. Since our separation, I’ve had really amazing conversations with my other collaborators. My lawyer suggested “sit down and think of every scenario that could possibly go wrong, and then discuss how you would solve it”. We got down into like what happens if I die, if they die, etc. – super personal and it’s strengthened my connections to them as well as protected the business.
3. Lack of support and education – I think when we started I was too naive to really know all the ways in which I could fail. That ignorance gave me courage! Now, I see how not knowing what we were doing in the beginning creates problems. I sought out and became a member of the Entrepreneurs Organization Accelerator program which is for small business support and education. I’ve met a bunch of people who are like me – enthused about their work, have big dreams, and work their tails off.
4. Your friends won’t always get it. One of my favorite books is Ignore Everyone and the first chapter of it talks about how your friends like who you are right now, and they don’t want that to change, so they discourage change. I have absolutely had very supportive friends who have been with me a long time, but others don’t always understand my choices. Yes, I work weekends, Yes, I travel 2 weeks out of every month. No, I cannot party with you every night. Yes, I’ve made personal financial sacrifices so that my business might have a future. Not everyone wants to do that (which is fine!) but you have to let me make my choices.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Pole Sport Organization run the national league for competitive pole dancing. We are known in our industry for having an inclusive competition approach – anyone can enter with no submission videos and no required moves. Our events are filled with first time competitors showing off their skills to family and friends as well as professional athletes looking to create a career out of pole dance.
One of the things I’m most proud of as a company is that although we are a competition, we are a neutral space for people to get together from different studios and be creative on a beautiful stage. Yes, there are winners and losers but we try and foster a sense of community and connection between all of the performers.
I’m also really proud of our studio map. Since our industry is fairly new and very niche, there’s not a lot of research and data on it. We are constantly updating our studio map so it can be an accurate visual representation of our industry. We have the USA done and are working on expanding our reach into other countries. www.polesportorg.com/map
I also love the emails that we get afterwards – people saying that they always wanted to perform when they were young but never got the chance until now, or that they were too scared for many years but finally did it and were successful.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I love Los Angeles because of the wide variety of things to do and people to meet. There’s a big art community and lots of people have chosen different lifestyles, so I definitely not the odd on out or struggling here against any stigma like I might be in other places. The pole dance community here is huge, varied, and fun.
As far as improvements, California in general is a terrible place tax-wise for small businesses. But it’s my home, so here we are! Rents are also pretty high, so we’ve moved storage to Long Beach where it’s cheaper and everyone works remotely so that I don’t have to get office space.
Pricing:
- Tickets to a show $33
- Sign up to compete $99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.polesportorg.com
- Phone: 323-790-4688
- Email: info@polesportorg.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polesportorg/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PoleSportOrganization/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/PoleSportOrg
Image Credit:
Alloy Images
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