Since opening its doors in 2015, Pūrvelo Cycle has been a cornerstone of the Charlottesville fitness community. When the studio opened, Maxine Clifford, a first-year student at UVA, became involved with Pūrvelo as a rider and intern. Seeking something to fill the void of sports, she was eager to get involved in a fitness activity that didn’t require the experience or commitment of competitive club sports. Little did she know, she would go on to support Pūrvelo through her passion and vision for the studio, helping them successfully dominate the Cville fitness scene for over 8 years and through the pandemic.
To survive the opening of more locations as well as the pandemic, Pūrvelo became a franchise in 2022. Today, Maxine owns Pūrvelo Charlottesville and Pūrvelo Athens, which are both located just a few blocks from the UVA and UGA campuses, respectively. If there is anyone who knows about the challenges of operating a small business in a college town, it’s Maxine Clifford.
One of the most significant factors Pūrvelo must consider is the cyclical nature of business in a college town, where the student population ebbs and flows with the academic calendar. “Both businesses have a seasonality that mirrors college schedules,” Clifford explains. Pūrvelo experiences a massive influx in August, but it slows down during holidays and summer vacations.
Financially, Clifford plans for the winter breaks and summer months when students are away: “There are certain metrics that I strive to hit when students are in the market that help offset the slower foot traffic in the studios for periods that are breaks for the student population.” Despite the challenges posed by the constantly changing environment, she finds the fluctuations predictable, saying, “I really enjoy having seasonality to my work schedule…the ebbs and flows I think are healthy as an owner and for my employees.”
Clifford added that some inconsistencies exist between the Athens and Charlottesville locations derived from the market differences. She went on to explain that despite its smaller population, Charlottesville has more through traffic due to its local airport, proximity to DC and Richmond, and appealing climate for tourism, not to mention a higher socioeconomic status average than Athens. “That means in the off seasons, there are more young adults living in Charlottesville that bolster the business,” Maxine explained. Another variation she noted between the two studios was the difference in the timeline, “Because the Charlottesville studio is older, we’ve built up a local population that is generational at this point,” explaining that there are mothers who have ridden with Pūrvelo since its inception who now bring their daughters in to ride. Additionally, the Athens studio was opened right before the 2020 pandemic, which Clifford believes set the studio back to some degree compared to the Charlottesville studio, which had been around longer.
When asked about finding the happy medium between catering to college audiences and maintaining a strong local customer base outside of the universities, she replied, “That’s a great question. I don’t necessarily find it difficult to balance, but it is definitely a factor that I actively consider,” Maxine expressed. “One of the ways that we do that really effectively is having teachers that are adults living in Charlottesville full-time and also having teachers who are students that are here seasonally,” she added, emphasizing that having a diverse team is key to catering to different demographics.
Maxine has found that word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective way to reach the college demographic. “Before the franchise acquisition, it was the only form of marketing we did,” she says. She also finds that her connection to the university helps her stay up-to-date with current trends. “My background as a UVA alum allows me to have a finger on the pulse when it comes to what’s happening on campus,” she explained. Hiring student employees and partnering with local businesses with similar target demographics has also helped Pūrvelo integrate into the UVA community. “In these smaller, niche towns that are built around universities, there is a lot of group thinking, " Maxine continues, explaining that having a diverse team with diverse connections to their customer base is extremely important.
When it comes to fostering more partnerships with the university, she remarks, “I would love to, especially because I am a UVA alum …and 7 years into my role, I’m beginning to see more opportunities for this.” In the past, Maxine has experienced some difficulty with partnering with the schools themselves. “Universities don’t often want to work with for-profit organizations outside of the school,” she commented, reflecting on a time when she was turned away for taking photos to promote Pūrvelo on the UGA campus due to their school policies.
However, she has noticed a shift away from this hostility in Charlottesville. At this time, Maxine was looking forward to partnering with UVA in November, explaining that “UVA is dropping a UVA-branded Lululemon apparel line…they have asked me to be a promoter of this apparel because of my position as the owner of a fitness studio, business owner, and UVA alum.” This line recently launched successfully, with strategic promotion from Pūrvelo and Clifford herself.
Looking back on her journey, Maxine admits there is a lot she didn’t know when she first began managing studios. Through trial and error and a deep passion, she has successfully grown Pūrvelo into a thriving boutique fitness studio that continues to pedal through the challenges of a college town economy and environment. As Maxine looks ahead, she remains optimistic about the future of Pūrvelo, viewing the upcoming collaboration as the “beginning steps to partnering with UVA in a more meaningful capacity.”
All content is the intellectual property of the Virginia Undergraduate Business Review.
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All images sourced from Instagram: @purvelocville; @purveloathens; @maxinejclifford
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