Just three months ago, ORA Health Club opened its doors in the heart of Berlin. A new boutique fitness studio. A clear vision. And the challenge of building the right processes from day one with the help of the right fitness studio software, while creating a place where people genuinely feel at home. The first months after opening a studio are often the most intense. As new members join, processes need to be established, services refined, and daily operations organized. At the same time, maintaining a personal connection with every member remains essential. We visited Ruud and Franni from ORA Health Club to talk about their first months in business, the challenges they have faced, and how Trainin is helping them build a solid foundation for sustainable growth.
More than just a fitness studio
ORA Health Club is all about high-quality coaching, personal guidance, and small group training. Unlike many fitness concepts, ORA deliberately focuses on quality over quantity.
"From the very beginning, it was important for us to really get to know our members," says Franni.
Especially in Berlin, where many studios grow rapidly through aggregators and welcome new visitors every day, Ruud and Franni wanted to take a different approach. Instead of serving as many people as possible, they wanted to build a genuine community.
Members shouldn't simply book a workout—they should become part of a place where they feel welcome and supported for the long term.
"ORA has become our sixth baby"
When we ask Ruud what ORA means to him today, he smiles, and Franni adds:
"ORA has become our sixth baby."
By that, they don't mean another business. They mean the role the studio has taken on in their everyday lives. Ruud and Franni spend a significant amount of time there. They coach members, run classes, manage the business, discuss new ideas, and work on exciting partnerships.
Today, they're also supported by their first employee, who regularly teaches classes and helps lighten their workload. In just a few months, what started as an idea has grown into a place that has become a major part of their lives.
The reality behind opening a studio
Most people see the training floor, the classes, and the community.
What often remains invisible is everything happening behind the scenes:
Answering customer inquiries
Managing memberships
Coordinating schedules
Running marketing campaigns
Building partnerships
And making sure every single member has a great experience
"At the beginning, everything happens at once," Franni explains. "You're building processes, attracting new members, testing new ideas, and constantly figuring out what actually works."
With every new member, operational complexity increases.
That's exactly why ORA knew early on that they wanted systems and processes that could grow alongside their business.
Being in the right place at the right time
Through contacts in the Netherlands, ORA discovered Trainin, the all-in-one software platform for fitness studios.
"Trainin came at exactly the right moment for us."
What mattered most to Ruud and Franni wasn't simply finding another software solution. They wanted a platform that would simplify their daily operations while remaining flexible enough to grow with their business.
"Not everything has to be perfectly set up from day one. The important thing is that it works, and it does."
Especially during the early stages of growth, reliability and smooth day-to-day operations are often far more valuable than an endless list of features.
More structure, less complexity
As the number of members grows, having efficient processes in place becomes increasingly important. Today, appointment management and calendar synchronization are among the features ORA relies on every single day.
"The booking system simply works. The synchronization with our own calendar is reliable. We know we can count on it."
Many processes that were previously spread across different tools and communication channels are now managed in one central platform.
Another major improvement for the team: moving away from WhatsApp.
"We didn't want to constantly switch between private messages, group chats, and different communication channels."
With one central platform, information stays where it belongs: organized, accessible, and transparent for the entire team. That leaves more time for what really matters: the members and the continued development of the studio.
Staying boutique or growing bigger?
One of the biggest questions ORA is currently asking itself is: How do you grow without losing your personal touch?
For the next twelve months, the focus is clear: successfully build the existing studio and continue optimizing internal processes. After that, additional locations may follow. Or perhaps not.
"It's a fundamental decision," says Ruud. "Do we want to become bigger, or do we consciously want to remain a boutique studio and preserve our personal approach?"
Franni shares the same perspective. "Personally, I believe Berlin is looking for boutique studios like ours right now."
At the moment, they're closely observing what their members value most. Is it the concept? The workouts? Or is it the people behind ORA? The answer to that question will shape many of their future decisions.
What ORA appreciates most about Trainin
Today, ORA primarily uses Trainin for:
Customer registration
Membership management
Calendar synchronization
Member communication
One feature they particularly appreciate is the ease of customer registration.
"As an administrator, you can quickly create a new customer, assign a product, and they're ready to go immediately."
For young businesses, that simplicity is invaluable. During the first months after opening a studio, time is your most valuable resource.
The next steps
The exciting part is that ORA is only just getting started with Trainin. Many possibilities haven't been explored yet because the team's current priority is successfully building the studio.
Looking ahead, Ruud and Franni see tremendous potential in:
Online coaching
Digital training programs
Further automation
Community building
Enhanced customer communication
Selling additional services and products
Trainin already provides the building blocks to support these ambitions, from the Coaching Module and video integrations to website widgets and automation tools.
But just like everything else at ORA Health Club, they'll take it one step at a time.
Advice for anyone starting a fitness studio
To finish our conversation, we asked Ruud and Franni what advice they would give to entrepreneurs who are about to open their own studio.
Their answer came without hesitation: "Don't focus only on growth. Focus on building genuine relationships with your members."
Because people don't come back just for the equipment or the training programs. They come back because of the people. And that, perhaps more than anything else, is the foundation of ORA Health Club.
We're proud to be part of ORA's journey and look forward to seeing how the studio continues to grow over the coming years.
