Question for anyone who runs classes in village halls or similar

[PinkPiano]

Hi there,

I am a Pilates teacher and I am new to my area. I have been looking to find venues for holding my classes but am finding it hard to find a location that doesn't already have a class running in it. I can tell that there is a market for it (ie it's not totally saturated yet LOL) as I've had a few emails via my website asking where and when I'm holding classes.

I've found one place which has a time at the slot I'd most prefer and I see that another Pilates class runs at the same venue the night before. Do you think it is OK to hold one there? If so should I contact the lady that runs that class out of politeness or something? I suspect a man wouldn't and I should maybe take a more business minded approach in that way. If you hold classes what would you do / feel if someone else took another slot with a similar class to yours?

I run classes in village halls and can confirm that no one checks it's ok with me to run similar classes on different days. You are being too nice! It's cut throat out there in the world of village hall based sessions.

People just go with the days they can make and with the teacher they prefer. Unless you're both using the same class plan, your classes are different, your style will be different. It might be an idea to attend the other class, so you know what level the other teacher pitches her classes, and then you can make yours harder/ gentler as you wish, so at least they're a bit different. Also, don't undercut her - make sure you charge the same or more as she does. But I don't think you need to tell her you're starting a class.

I used to manage a village hall, we had three different yoga teachers there on different days and all seemed to be successful!

Just book your slot, as pp said, in my experience people book according to the time they prefer/instructor they like and maybe also proximity to home or work, but not really for to a specific hall.
Also as pp said, you could be polite and not undercut. It's probably worth starting off on a good footing. My instructor often cover for other instructors that she is friendly with and vice versa, so you could potentially benefit from eachother