Episode 38: Craftsmanship, Connection and Community Keep Balanced Body the Leader in Pilates Equipment.

This episode I'm speaking with Roz Van Auker, wife of Ken Endelman, the founder of Balanced Body. The story begins with an unexpected twist of fate and the touch of skilled craftsmanship. Imagine Ken with hands expertly shaping the first Pilates machine, with Roz, his wife, orchestrating logistics while nurturing a young family. This episode invites you to witness the evolution of a humble family business into a global leader, with over 400 employees championing Pilates education worldwide through initiatives like Pilates on Tour. Roz and Ken embody the harmonious blend of family and business, weaving a tapestry of support and inclusivity that extends beyond blood relations to a vibrant community of Pilates professionals.

Community is the heart that beats within Balanced Body, and this episode uncovers how the company stands as a connector in both personal and professional spheres. We explore the value of instilling generosity and community service in younger generations, fostering a culture where giving back becomes second nature. Discover how Balanced Body's dedication to building a supportive network has created unexpected avenues for growth, transforming the simple act of connecting studio owners and teachers into a business philosophy steeped in meaningful relationships and shared success.

You're invited to a nostalgic journey through the joys of hospitality, where simple gestures like hosting a dinner can spark genuine connections. Reflecting on the enduring marriage of Roz and Ken, the episode shares insights into the magic of understanding and mutual support that fuels family unity and business success. With laughter, shared experiences, and a supportive community, we reveal how these elements intertwine to craft a fulfilling life and a resilient family business. Join us in celebrating the power of family, community, and the joy of giving back, as we share stories that inspire and unite.

To learn more about Balanced Body, visit the website: https://www.pilates.com/

To learn more about the Capital Region Family Business Center visit our website HERE. To learn more about River City Bank and how they can benefit your family business, visit www.rivercitybank.com

Transcript

Steve Fleming: [00:00:00] Hi, my name is Steve Fleming, CEO of River City Bank, which was founded almost 50 years ago as a leader in a family business, myself and a longtime board member for the Capital Region Family Business Center. I understand firsthand how incredibly important family businesses are to our economy and the unique challenges they face in sustaining from generation to generation.

I think that you'll find this podcast series informative. Entertaining and even humorous at times. That's why our family business, river City Bank is proud to support this podcast. I hope you enjoy today's episode, 

Roz Van Auker: and we've tried to teach our kids to do the same thing. If there's something you can contribute to in your community, you're gonna feel like it's a positive thing for you.

You're look around and say, I helped do that. I helped build that. I helped promote that. Whatever it is.[00:01:00] 

Natalie Kling: Hello and welcome to a Seat at the Table Trials and triumphs of Family Business, brought to you by the Capital Region Family Business Center, helping family businesses to grow and prosper. I'm Natalie Mariani Kling, your host, and a fourth generation family business member. I am so excited to join you around the table for real conversations about what it's like to grow up in, become a part of and navigate the complexities of a family business.

Special thanks to another family business, 

Speaker 4: river City Bank for their generous support of this program. 

Natalie Kling: There's a big difference between a family business and a family culture. Today we speak with Roz Van Ocker of Balanced Body, the world's largest manufacturer of Pilates equipment and education. Roz shares her story of the family values that she and her husband Ken both grew up in, [00:02:00] and how extending those values into the way they operate with employees, customers, and vendors has created such a strong community that it's become a movement with two to 300 people regularly showing up around the country to their events and how connection between those people has grown their business in ways they couldn't have imagined.

Hi everyone. We introduced you to Paul, the son of Ken, and Roz from Balanced Body, the world's largest manufacturer of Pilates equipment and education in episode 12 of a seat at the table. And today we have the pleasure of recording episode 38 with Roz. Paul's mom to dig a little deeper into what it means to create a true family culture by extending family beyond the family members and into the lives of employees and customers and the larger community.

So, hi Raz, and thanks for being with us. 

Roz Van Auker: It's nice to be here. 

Natalie Kling: So for people who may not have listened [00:03:00] to episode 12, give us a brief understanding of how balanced body began and help us visualize what balanced body looked like in the beginning and what it looks like today. 

Roz Van Auker: Well, let's see. At the beginning, Ken was approached, and I don't know if you know this, 

Natalie Kling: you, you can just give us, yeah, give us the beginning story.

That's great. 

Roz Van Auker: Okay. Ken and I were college students. We met each other working part-time in a library shelving books. That was our job to pay for tuition and stuff. And then he had this talent of he could make anything and fix anything. It's just like a gift. So he opened this waterbed store in West Hollywood, which was quite an adventurous place in those days.

And one day a woman came in looking at some of the furniture that they had there, as well as water pets, much of which was made by either Kenny or my cousin Mimi, talk about a family business right outta the chute. [00:04:00] And Mimi was a super good woodworker and kind of a quirky person. And so this woman had bought a table that Mimi had made and said, I have a proposition for you to Kenny.

I have this old piece of equipment they called Pilates. I don't know if you're familiar with it. And Kenny didn't know anything about it. Of course. And could you make one? This is a just a falling apart thing and I, it's not gonna last very long. I can tell right now and I've just been kind of holding it together.

But I see that you do woodworking and maybe you can make one. 'cause part of it's made of wood. So Kenny did not need another project on his plate, and if you ask him, he'll say, I put her off for quite a while, but finally committed to a date and went and saw it and said, oh, yeah, I could do that for you.

Let me, you know, take it with me and think about it a little bit. And so we ended up making one for her, and then kind of the word got out. There were only a couple of Pilate studios in Los Angeles at that time, and this woman mentioned it to some of her friends who either took classes at those studios or [00:05:00] taught in those studios.

And Kenny started getting calls, can you make me one? Can you make me one? And most of Pilates at that time was going on in New York City where Joe Pilates had a studio. And there were a number of people in the entertainment industry that went back and forth between New York and Southern California. And so that was the kind of clients you typically saw in these classes.

And many of them wanted machines for their home too. So they could have a teacher come to their house and teach them. And so we. A couple years later, closed the waterbed store, sold it to his partner. We moved to Sacramento 'cause I got a job offer and he kept getting these calls. He figured, well, when he wasn't in town anymore, people wouldn't want, you know, to be waiting for him to bring stuff down.

But no. So our life was basically, I'd go to work, he would go to, he'd rented a little space. He would make these machines every other weekend. We would load up a trailer with tie downs holding these reformers on them, drive down I five, stay at his parents' house, [00:06:00] speaking of family. And he would take a couple of 'em at a time in our van to deliver them.

And so it was just a crazy life. So then we had our first child, Adam, and so we would just take Adam down with us in the van. When I was on maternity leave, I would take Kenny to work and then take the van to the lumberyard. Get lumber and these guys working at the lumberyard would look at that, is that a baby in the front seat?

And they'd all come over to look at the little baby. It was funny. So that was the kind of way that, you know, I started to contribute more directly besides just money from working. And that's when I was on maternity leave. Does that answer the question a little bit? 

Natalie Kling: Yes, it's beautiful. And tell us now what it looks like today.

Roz Van Auker: Well, what it looks like today, we have a. I don't know, about a hundred, over a hundred thousand square foot space. Kenny bought when he finally had enough money to get out of a space he was renting. And so that was pretty exciting. And it's turned into now our [00:07:00] main factory or manufacturing facility, if you wanna call it that.

It's also got sales off offices and everything, and we have some rented space, not too far from there. It's located near Fruitridge and South Watt, so that would be in a kind of a little industrial area, and it's. If you look around, you see that there's all kinds of people working there. It's really like a little mid United Nations and it, it's really heartwarming and we often have cousins of employees come and work for us and sisters and brothers and you know, nephews and we provide space for the Muslims to do their daily prayers.

By identifying a classroom space that is closed in the afternoon so that they have time to do that, and just accommodate with different languages when there's training. It's just kind of amazing. We're bursting at the seams. 

Natalie Kling: And as I understand, you have about 400 employees 

Roz Van Auker: Yes. 

Natalie Kling: At this time. Mm-hmm.

Roz Van Auker: Mm-hmm. 

Natalie Kling: [00:08:00] And you've taken Pilates on the road. You have Pilate Pilates on tour, is that what you call it? 

Roz Van Auker: That's what we call it. We realized early on that a lot of these Pilates teachers were sort of isolated in either a small studio or even teaching outta their home. And we decided that we would kind of look at our role as providing not just equipment.

Building community and creating spaces for Pilates teachers and enthusiasts to not only learn more and to hear from people who had interesting experiences or points of view or had expertise in particular areas, but also to become friends and to create a network. So I think that was an extension of our philosophy about most of life is, you know, everything can be a family.

Natalie Kling: And tell us the dynamics that you and Ken grew up in, the family dynamics you grew up in that that inspired this, just wanting to have this kind of [00:09:00] big family feel all the time. 

Roz Van Auker: Well, I'm the oldest of five kids and grew up where we weren't very far away from our cousins and we would hang out with our cousins all the time.

And my mother's siblings were around. My dad's family was back in Ohio, so it was harder to see them regularly. But so it just felt like it was logical to do things as a group. You know, if there was a problem to be solved, somebody will know what to do about it and fix something or whatever. And then Kenny grew up in the middle of three boys.

Both of our parents were teachers. Both of our dads were teachers, and he was the one who could fix anything. It was just amazing. And so his mother's. Siblings would all come over with things that needed fixing. Kenny, could you take a look at my garage door? Or I've got this thing that isn't working. Can you take a look at it?

Or, this is stuck in the locked position, whatever it was. And so we'd go over there on weekends to visit his parents, and there would always be extended family there. And Cambridge always have to [00:10:00] make a trip somewhere to fix something. Even when we moved to Sacramento, it continued. We'd get calls, are you coming down next weekend?

Uncle Ru's having problems with this garage door or the dryer pooped out, or whatever. In fact, I think I may have mentioned this to you before, but. He even, this was even when he was little and his parents didn't have all that much money, so his parents would always try and get him to fix things and said, don't worry if you can't fix it, if it has to be replaced, it has to be replaced.

And so he got really creative about figuring out ways to fix things and super good at it. You know, he'd be fixing the dishwasher, the washing machine, the faucet that busted or whatever it was. There was a little hardware store, not too far. I know I told you this before, I love it. Hardware store, just a few blocks from his house, and so he would go over there on his bike and see if he could get whatever part it was that he thought he might need, and if he didn't need it.

If he couldn't find it, he would still talk to the, [00:11:00] these old guys who worked at the hardware store and they would say, try doing this. Do you have, do you have, you know, whatever kind of screwdriver or drill bit or whatever it is. I think that'll do it, but you might, you might need this due, so just take it and if you use it, you can pay us on Friday.

So. Middle school, he had an account at the hardwares door or whatever he bought, he was able to pay for. At the end of the week. They would, he'd go over there on his bike after school, find out how much he owed. His dad would give him the money and he'd go pay. 

Natalie Kling: Because you both grew up in these close knit big families.

You both took on this value of contributing and being part of the bigger community very early on. Mm-hmm. Right? 

Roz Van Auker: Yeah. 

Natalie Kling: And that just felt like a natural extension once you started Balanced Body to really bring that into your culture. And you told me a few stories about how. You just do what needs to be done, whether you're on maternity leave and you have a baby in the [00:12:00] backseat.

Yeah. And you gotta pick up lumber. Mm-hmm. Or you have sisters that still help you. Right. And, and tell us the story. Tell us that what, what you guys do when you're at events. 

Roz Van Auker: So these Pilates and tour events are anywhere between two and 300 people. It's typically held at a hotel. People may stay at the hotel or they may find an Airbnb or whatever.

Driven in maybe, or even flown in from another city. We do them about 10 a year or so in various places. We do international ones as well. Eventually we started out just domestic, but, and so my sisters often like to come and we all pitch in with whatever is needed. Unpacking boxes, packing boxes, taking things out on dollies to people's cars.

We. If somebody wants to buy any of the equipment that was used, 'cause we bring all new equipment to the event. If they wanna buy something, it's discounted as being used 'cause it was used for the weekend. And so they'll come in trucks and trailers and vans and all kinds of stuff to load these things up.

In fact, [00:13:00] one time Kenny and both boys were out there loading somebody's truck and the person looked at their badges. And said, this really is a family business. She's got the CEO and both the sons loading her car. 

Natalie Kling: Oh, that's so 

Roz Van Auker: great. It is just a crack up. So everyone always asks, are the sisters coming?

Natalie Kling: Are the sisters 

Speaker 4: coming? 

Natalie Kling: This doing what needs to be done. Roz and, and helping people around you was really prioritized, obviously, as you were growing up, and there's such a beautiful simplicity about all of that. And I would say generationally mm-hmm. Women especially had a lot of burnout in, in helping people and, and, and working, you know, at the expense of themselves.

And now we kind of find ourselves in this funny place where I think the pendulum has probably swung the other way into this. Kind of like you do you mentality. Oh yeah. You know, if you've, you've heard that and I think it can prevent us from contributing to a community [00:14:00] that's greater than ourselves. How do you, how do we walk that line?

How do you walk that line of taking care of yourself and also continually contributing and, and being part of the bigger whole 

Roz Van Auker: Well. I guess most importantly, it's not just me. You know, Kenny does the same thing, so, and we've tried to teach our kids to do the same thing. If there's something you can contribute to in your community, you're gonna feel like it's a positive thing for you.

You're look around and say, I helped do that. I helped build that. I helped promote that, whatever it is. And so I guess I don't ever. It's just not particularly in my nature or can's either to say, oh, this feels like too much. I need some time to myself. I need to go get my, you know, nails done or something.

You know, men really don't really take care of their toenails, so 

Speaker 4: I mean, PSA for all the men listening, [00:15:00] 

Roz Van Auker: I've actually. Gotten Kenny now into the habit of getting pedicures and it's a great thing. He loves it, but it is 

Natalie Kling: a great 

Roz Van Auker: thing, part of it, and we do it together, which makes even more fun. 

Natalie Kling: That's so great.

Roz Van Auker: Yeah. Maybe it's 

Natalie Kling: so much So how, how do, how, what would you say to this younger generation who may not, who may not have been raised with the level of, of, you know, you guys really experienced the value of giving back at an early age, right? 

Speaker 4: Mm-hmm. 

Natalie Kling: How do you, how would you guide the younger generations who, who are maybe have kind of grown up in a more individualistic society?

Mm-hmm. 

Roz Van Auker: You know, that's a really interesting problem because it's a hard thing to describe and encourage if somebody hasn't had the chance to experience it. So I do think that many of these programs at schools and in neighborhoods and parks that encourage young people to get involved in community service in some way, shape, or form, I think that does give them a chance to see that, [00:16:00] you know, it's not totally just up to their parents, it's up to the whole community to give them those opportunities.

Because their parents may be working as hard as they can to take care of the family and really just not have the energy to go out at night and you know, speak up at a community meeting or whatever. But if you learn it as a habit when you're younger, I think it's easier to say, well, that wouldn't be so much I could do that.

Natalie Kling: Mm-hmm. And that, that continual contribution seems to really have made your payback for you and your business and the way that people have. Identified with balanced body as, as being a part of that community. 

Speaker 4: Mm-hmm. 

Natalie Kling: Give us some examples of the payoff that you've seen in, in developing this, this community and this culture of family and contribution and doing what you can and.

Roz Van Auker: Besides just feeling good about it. 

Natalie Kling: Well, yeah. And, and for other people, you know, for, for like the Pilates teachers, let's say mm-hmm. Who come [00:17:00] and uhhuh and experience the, what's the what's, what do they report as experiencing that's different with your family business? 

Roz Van Auker: Well, I don't know if they're comparing it to something else, but I know when we're at these events or when they come to Sacramento for a training here.

People are so excited to be, oh, I heard Nora St. John, one of our instructors that actually ran our education program for a while. She's retired now. I heard her talking about, you know, the value of this particular movement or this particular piece of equipment, and it showed, showed me some things I hadn't ever done before, and that's just amazing having that opportunity.

'cause we don't make money off the events per se. It's more, you know, bringing people together with common interests. And sometimes it's people. This is my first Pilates on tour. I cannot believe it. It's so exciting. And you know, just being around like-minded people that. We'll share their thoughts with them and be on the other end of a phone or a communication to [00:18:00] give some suggestions if they're feeling isolated.

Natalie Kling: That's one of the things that I think is so interesting about what you guys are have done is this real intention around building community. And as you mentioned. You know, a, a Pilates teacher or a Pilates studio owner, it can be very isolating because they're really so focused on building a business.

Speaker 4: Mm-hmm. 

Natalie Kling: And so what you guys provide is, is this opportunity for them to connect and, and that's not something you had to do, but, but you've, but I think. What I understand from the way you, you talk about it is you've just seen this benefit over and over and over again in building that community. So, so can you speak to that?

What, what is the benefit, do you think that people really, that that, what, what's the benefit to. The business of mm-hmm. Of people feeling like there's a community there. Mm-hmm. 

Roz Van Auker: Well, we have a, a brand, you know, we have [00:19:00] the fortunate position of being the largest manufacturer of Pils equipment, commercial pils equipment, especially buts equipment in the world.

And we think that that is means we have an obligation to try and help it be used for good and create opportunities for people. So I think that that's what we get out of it. I mean, we also have managed to get our business to grow in a way that we never thought it would be able to grow. But that wasn't the original intent.

The original intent was you gotta get these two together. They're really, both of 'em are really interested in. Healing from knee replacement and have some really great ideas on how to deal with that and whatever. And sometimes you just say, oh, you gotta talk to so and so. You gotta talk to so and so. At other times, they meet at these events or we have people saying, I am so excited I'm opening my own studio.

I've been going for years and I'm ready. And you know, I. Talk to some people with getting advice about the financial end of [00:20:00] things and my first equipment's being delivered next week and you know it, it's just, oh my gosh, you can't even measure it. And it's not necessarily money in our pocket. It's the whole, this is creating something really positive.

I mean, yeah, you could sell widgets all day long, but to sell something that allows women to be self-employed many times that that help. People help each other, which is then again, part of that whole way of moving through the world. Right. Being on the other end of the phone when someone you just met calls and says, remember I met you with that thing in Chicago?

Yeah, 

Natalie Kling: yeah. That's, that's really. Beautiful. And I think something you have, you and Ken and your family have uniquely created around around this business because there really is a difference between a family business and a family culture. 

Roz Van Auker: Yes. 

Natalie Kling: So now these people feel like an extension and it comes from such a place of authenticity within you and [00:21:00] Ken, of this is what you believe in.

Mm-hmm. Another great example of that and is. Is when you had to face the lawsuit around they, you were sued for using the word Pilates, right? Right. 

Speaker 4: Mm-hmm. 

Natalie Kling: And what I think is so interesting is, is at the time that it happened, you had a choice to fight it or not to fight. It is obviously very expensive.

You have an unknown amount of time, you're gonna have to pay legal fees, et cetera, et cetera. Mm-hmm. But you and Ken chose to fight it for what ended up being five years. 

Roz Van Auker: Mm-hmm. 

Natalie Kling: For, not necessarily for yourselves, but because you knew that other people were going to be affected by this and other people who may not have the resources or ability to fight it themselves.

And so tell us a little bit about the conversations you and Ken had around that and, and, and what was the catalyst for you to really want to do this as the right thing to do? 

Roz Van Auker: [00:22:00] Well. When Kenny realized that this was gonna happen, you know, and he had been receiving communications from this person who said, you have to stop it or I'm gonna sue you.

And it wasn't like it was totally out of the blue when he finally did. I mean, you think he's a crack pot, he's gonna go away. But he didn't, and I shouldn't say that. That's disparaging. You know, he was someone who was really convinced he was in the right. And so this lawsuit was filed in New York District Court and.

We had been getting calls from our customers saying, I got this letter from this guy that says I can't call my studio a Pilates studio anymore without paying him. These are small entrepreneurs. They aren't, and they're thinking, why should I pay him for something? I don't even, and Kenny said, well, you know, we're talking about it, trying to figure out a strategy.

We'll keep you in the loop. You know, give me your contact information and I'll let you know what we're trying to figure out. And so. He finally realized that he was gonna just, somebody was gonna have to fight it, and he was probably the only one that had any means at [00:23:00] all to do so. And so he actually even had started a business with a couple of people in the industry.

It's a physical therapist and a Pilate teacher, and he said, I'm gonna remove myself from that because I don't want you guys to be sucked into this. So it'll just be me. Sure enough, you know, knock, knock, knock on the door. One afternoon I was at home and the guy just said, you've just been served and handed me the papers, which I thought was pretty stinky.

I would've been named in it, but regardless, 

Speaker 4: yeah, 

Roz Van Auker: I guess I was peripherally as the spouse. But anyway. And so then we had some business insurance that had some intellectual property coverage. And I don't know if you and your listeners realize that even if you win a lawsuit like that, you are not entitled to any damages.

You're not. So all your expenses and hiring attorneys and defending yourself from this, nothing. In addition, we had registered pilates.com as a domain. We were early on understood the [00:24:00] significance of that. So we were fortunate enough to have pilates.com and the lawsuit required that to be put into abeyance.

So it means that we still own it, but we're not allowed to use it. During the, during the lawsuit, well, lucky Kenny had also thought to dial 1-800-PILATES and see who had that number and buy that number. That is an option. But yeah, so it was really difficult time and it went on for five years in New York and he was gone a lot and he missed things, you know, like the kids Giant Boy Scout camping trip through Yellowstone and stuff.

But we looked at each, we didn't even know all that was gonna come. We just said, well, we just have to do it. It's the right thing to do. 

Natalie Kling: That leads me to another thing that I think you and Ken have intentionally really established is this idea that nothing's a guarantee and you're not gonna worry too much about it.

Roz Van Auker: That's true. Yeah. 

Natalie Kling: And that, that's hard. That's really hard, you know, when, when, especially when you're faced with something like a major lawsuit or, or something. Right. But, but what's, what's the [00:25:00] benefit of, of, of taking that approach and perspective? 

Roz Van Auker: Well, life is too short to be a worrier. I myself am a natural born worrier, and Kenny is not.

He just puts his head down and fixes things and solves it and figured out what to do. So that is kind of thing rubbed off on me to some extent, and I, I feel fortunate to have learned to finally in my dotage, learned that, you know what? It's. Well, I don't know if you can use this word, but Kenny always says it's just more shit.

So that's, that's the philosophy is on this. 

Natalie Kling: Oh, that's great. You said something interesting to me about. Materialistic things you said. Who needs a bigger house or a nicer car? Yeah. Who cares? Yeah. We just, we wanna be able to give back and, and this belief that you share that people should, we should all be just be doing good in the world and I wanna explore that.

A little bit with you, [00:26:00] because of course everyone's gonna feel differently about how much is enough, right? Of course. How much is enough? But for you, I imagine you and Ken got to a place where you felt you had enough. Mm-hmm. And then the level of fulfillment you get from giving back outweighs the things.

You might also, might also be nice to have. So can you remember a time in, in all of these years when, when you thought, oh, I'd really like that thing, or that house, or that trip or something. But we're gonna really choose to kind of stand by these values of, of giving back. 

Roz Van Auker: Well, I don't know. We live in a 1950s ranch house.

It's not a fancy house. It's in a nice neighborhood. It has a big yard. So Kenny could build a shop in the backyard when the contractors, we, we reed and added on this shop and enlarged the garage. Interesting that, that was the two things that we did at this house. Both of them were Kenny, but regardless, we did that.

The contractors that were there working in the, you know, all the [00:27:00] trades people and stuff, they said, I can't believe you're letting him have a shop and a garage. 

Speaker 4: Best wife ever. 

Roz Van Auker: I had what I needed. Right? I had plenty of room. There was an extra bedroom so people could come and stay and, and you know, for example.

We drove this little Toyota that was pretty marginal, but, and then Kenny's van that we needed to go back and forth to LA all the time. And I said, you know, we got that little Toyota just is not gonna work for very much longer because now we have two car seats and it was hard to get two car seats in the back of the this Toyota Corolla.

And so we thought we might have to buy a car. So Kenny said, well, let me look around and see what's, you know, what I can find. We probably had enough money to buy a new car, but why would we do that? So we ended up, we, one of these guys that I worked with had a Dotson station wagon that was, you know, only about five years old.

And he said, yeah, I was thinking of getting a, you know, a nicer car. So if you guys wanna buy this one, you can buy it. So we bought this, used Dotson and just drove that till it [00:28:00] was the end. But you know, stuff like that. Why? Why? Because it just felt like, okay, it does the trick. 

Natalie Kling: Talk to me a little bit about what, what the fulfillment is in, in the giving back that matters more to you than the nice fancy car or whatever.

Roz Van Auker: Well, you live in a community, right? So we have our community of Pilates people, we have our community of balanced body employees and, and contractors and stuff that help with things. And you can, it's so, doesn't take much to make a difference. I mean, you've spoken to my kids, right? So yeah, they'll spend their weekends trimming Ivy off trees with the Rotary in Midtown Sacramento.

They're both in scouting and you know, there's a lot of giving back involved in Boy Scouts and I don't know, it just like, it feels so good to know that you don't even have to do much to make a difference. [00:29:00] It's a fascinating thing and there's so many people who work so hard and. Why not look at ways to make their lives a little easier?

Natalie Kling: Well, I think that really is also reflected in the way that you invite people in to not just your family, but your home. Right? Yes. Tell us about the, there, there you have a great story about, uh, a marketing agency that I think was coming from Oregon Yes. Or something. Yeah. Tell us about that. 

Roz Van Auker: So we.

Sometimes we use consultants for projects where they've got more expertise than our eng. We have five great engineers at Balance Body. I think it's five right now. And Kenny is a engineer at heart, even though not a trained engineer. But anyway, so we work on a project and so they brought this company in and a group from Sacramento went up from Bounce Body, went up and met with them up there, and then they wanted to come down and, you know, see some things that we had in the, at the manufacturing facility and some prototypes that engineering had been working on.

So they were coming to [00:30:00] town and you know, these guys, they fly down. There was a group of about seven of 'em, I think, because they each had like different areas. Kind of a complex project anyway. And so we thinking they're staying at a hotel, let's just have 'em over for dinner. So, and he says, why don't you come to dinner at our house?

You know, he says, I'll barbecue some salmon, it'll be fine. Anybody have gluten? You always have to ask how to, you know, gluten sensitivity, allergies, anything. So they showed up, they walked in and, you know, we started talking and they fi, they finally said, this has never happened to us before. You know, we call on clients all the time and you know, you just find someplace where you can eat close to the hotel or whatever, and it's just so restful to be in a home, right?

It's just so relaxing and I, they were just, you could tell they were just blown away by it. And does, you know, Kenny Cooks, you know, Kenny who owns the company, is the one he, he's grilling for 'em in the backyard. 

Natalie Kling: I think that's so special because, you know, for other family businesses [00:31:00] we, you know, you don't, you don't think that necessarily that that's, you know, gonna be a big deal for people.

So to hear that feedback Yes. Is so cool. And I, and I can. Speak from experience to, uh, the times that our family has extended ourself to, to anyone, you know, to employees, to vendors, to community members, it's people. The, the feeling that they have of being part of your family is really priceless. Mm-hmm.

It's really priceless, isn't it? 

Roz Van Auker: Mm-hmm. 

Natalie Kling: Yeah. 

Roz Van Auker: It's just, 

Natalie Kling: it's so special, 

Roz Van Auker: so surprising because having people over at the last minute to eat was something we both grew up with. It's just 

Natalie Kling: right. 

Roz Van Auker: Yeah. Oh, so and so's, you know, cousins are visiting from New York. Let's all have 'em over to eat or whatever. It just felt normal, and I think that that's probably like human civilization forever.

You know, hosting people was really important. Builds connections, right. 

Natalie Kling: [00:32:00] Totally. 

Roz Van Auker: Yeah. 

Natalie Kling: Yeah. That inclusivity. 

Roz Van Auker: Mm-hmm. Well, and we have actually had over a hundred people at our house when there was Pilates teachers in town for something that Kenny was putting on a balanced body. I don't even remember one time there was even a circus in the parking lot, and I'm not kidding.

And they read it up with acrobats and stunt people and all kinds of stuff and put in a bunch of chairs and, yeah. 

Natalie Kling: Amazing. How about when people come to town and Ken just invites them to do activities that you do as a family normally, like biking. Tell, tell us about that. 

Roz Van Auker: Oh gosh. So one of the things about having a.

Garage as well as the wood shop is the bike stuff that lives in the garage and the woodworking lives in the wood shop, so that means we have a wall of bikes at our house. Some of them have been hand-me-downs from like my brother's. My brothers are avid bike riders that they've said, you know, I'm getting a new bike and if you want want my old one, you can have it.

So we can fit quite a few people onto bikes. [00:33:00] We even have a folding bike and a friend with a folding bike. You know, those little commuter rail bikes if someone was very short because you know, we're not a short family and so a lot of the bikes are kind of big, but Kenny's got out and gotten a couple of shorter ones.

So if he says, well, I'm gonna be going for a bike ride tomorrow morning on the American River Bike Trail. I get out there about six 30 and we'll ride for maybe an hour and a half and then go into work. Anybody wanna join me? All these people wanna join. So they show up at our house. We've got, we've got a wall of helmets.

We've got all these bikes, Kenny, make sure we have it. Sizes, he can borrow from friends if he needs to, and off they go and they come back. Just so impressed by the American River Bike Trail. I mean, one special thing. And we donate money to the American River Parkway Foundation also, just because of that.

Yep. It's a great, great opportunity to help people see what you're all about. Right, 

Natalie Kling: right. It's simple and it's connection as you, as you spoke about, and I think that's such [00:34:00] a, a valuable tip for, for family businesses is is those simple, just, that's something you guys do anyways, right? Ken was gonna go on the bike ride anyways.

Yes, exactly. And to invite people. Especially as a ceo. Mm-hmm. Or a founder, but any probably family business member. What a difference it makes to those people. 

Roz Van Auker: Yeah. 

Natalie Kling: Yeah. When I asked if you earlier, if you and Ken believe in people over profit, you said Absolutely. Mm-hmm. So share with us what, what are some of your favorite examples of how you've implemented that?

Roz Van Auker: Well, I will say. Ken doesn't talk very much about a lot of his philanthropy things in terms of the Pilates community. It's a hard thing to do and not take the credit for this yourself. You know, you don't wanna publicize it because that seems very self-serving and uncomfortable. And it [00:35:00] might also might make the personal uncomfortable, but, you know, trying to help people that have had various things come up that were unexpected and there.

Not in a position to solve it by themselves. I could tell you all kinds of things, but I know Kenny wouldn't want me to be sharing these things. He's a pretty, pretty generous guy. And you know, like I said, we, we have a house, we have cars. We, we don't feel like we need to. I don't even know what people do with lots of extra money.

Natalie Kling: I mean, that's a beautiful, you know, just kind of innate. Quality that it seems you and Ken share and you've passed on to your, your family and, and you. You have really put your time and energy into building community. It reminds me of how you used to celebrate Thanksgiving, which I [00:36:00] think is really cool.

Tell us, tell us that. 

Roz Van Auker: Okay. Well, you know, when you're a kid, you take things for granted. So you don't really realize that this is atypical. But my parents had a lot of good friends that also had kids but didn't necessarily live super close, lived in other parts of LA or they, they were all vaguely connected to the arts and so many times they would go to exhibits together or, you know, see each other on the weekends.

So every Thanksgiving. A bunch of the families and the moms were connecting with each other, making these plans before I even realized this, you know, I, it just sort of appeared. So everyone was assigned things to bring or offered what they were gonna bring for Thanksgiving, and instead of coming to our house, we went to the beach.

So there was about, oh my, it was at least seven or eight families and there were often like friends that people had brought with that didn't have anywhere to go on Thanksgiving. And there was a nice beach north of Los Angeles. That [00:37:00] had a grassy area and picnic benches and some trees and things, and then the beach was right there, and then there's the ocean.

It was just go gorgeous. It's called Point Mago. It's near Point Magoon Naval Air Station, which is a little ways farther up the coast, but it's wasn't real crowded, so we went all rendezvous. Then she schlep everything down to these picnic tables, put it all out. Everyone would chitchat and eat. The kids would run around like crazy.

They'd go up the beach. Usually there was at least one adult, you know, keeping an eye on 'em up there if it was not too cold. This is Southern California. The water's cold at the beach. It's not the east coast. Put our feet in. I don't remember anybody ever actually going swimming in November, but the thing about November in Southern California is it's very sunny and nice.

Natalie Kling: It's beautiful. 

Roz Van Auker: It was just gorgeous. Only one time do I remember. A little bit of rain, and one time we decided to go up in the mountains and it actually snowed lightly, which the kids loved. The parents thought it was a big. 

Natalie Kling: Pain. [00:38:00] 

Roz Van Auker: We never went to the mountains again. We went to the beach. Yeah. 

Natalie Kling: Well, what I love about that story is, and, and you had said it earlier when we spoke, is it really was about being together.

You didn't have to have the fancy dining table and the, and you know, everything done just, it was just about being together and gathering. And if there were new people, there were new people. And if there were unexpected guests, there were unexpected guests and it 

Roz Van Auker: didn't, 

Natalie Kling: and, and I love that story because.

You have carried that thread through your life and through your business, and it's obviously paid off. It's obviously created win-win relationships in all facets of your business. Mm-hmm. Your family culture is stronger because of it. You've passed these values on to your boys. I mean, it's just you, you know, when we spoke to Paul, he talked a lot about the, the way he's, he's been intentional about helping the Sacramento [00:39:00] community and the art scene.

And so, um, obviously it, you've created a business that extends far beyond the bottom line. And far beyond your little house. Mm-hmm. With your little family. 

Speaker 4: Mm-hmm. 

Natalie Kling: And I think that's really important for us to hear as family businesses, because as family businesses oftentimes you don't have a ton of resources.

You know, you're often, it's often a, a thin line you're walking and, and, and we forget. I, I think sometimes we, we don't realize how important it is. What an impact we can make in such small ways, as you say, you know, inviting people out for a bike ride. Mm-hmm. Having them to your home and barbecuing in the backyard mm-hmm.

Whatever it looks like. I, I think those are really important messages that you've driven home for us, Roz, that hopefully we can take a little bit of that in, in all of our respective businesses and, and, and have some tangible ways to really create family [00:40:00] culture 

Speaker 4: mm-hmm. 

Natalie Kling: In, in our family businesses. One thing I I want to ask that we always ask our, our guests is, do you think that the success of balanced body is due more to hard work or luck?

Roz Van Auker: Oh my goodness. Well, I'm a firm believer in luck, but nobody works as hard as Kenny. I mean, he doesn't have to go into the office every day. He goes into the office every day. He travels and just he's, yeah, he just puts in 110, 150% for everything. And he loves it, and I do think that, but we've been very, very lucky.

You know, super lucky. You know, as my sisters and I always say, pinch me, pinch me. You know, you just can't believe how fortunate you are, right? 

Natalie Kling: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You know, and, and one thing I think I, I'd love to go back to you because you did, you talked so beautifully about Kenny. 

Roz Van Auker: Mm-hmm. 

Natalie Kling: And you've been married for over 40, 48 years.

Roz Van Auker: This year, it'll, [00:41:00] this. June, this December it'll be 48. Mm-hmm. 

Natalie Kling: Okay. Okay. So that's a huge accomplishment. Mm-hmm. And to be able to speak so sweetly and, and, and genuinely about, about your partner, what do you think you and Ken have done in your relationship to, to really keep that, that genuine kindness and respect alive.

Roz Van Auker: You know, it's, I don't know, it's like magic. I, it's hard to even figure out, you know, cutting each other's slack. Everybody's allowed to be tired sometimes everybody's allowed to say no. You know, I know we were gonna do this, but I just can't, and that's okay. You know, it, it, none of that stuff really matters, but some people, I guess, are just, that's what, I guess I would call luck.

We managed to figure things out as we went. Through, and I'm so happy to be able to share that. 

Natalie Kling: Yeah. 

Roz Van Auker: I, I don't even, I can't even figure it out. If I [00:42:00] able to tell you it's like magic. 

Natalie Kling: What would you tell, what would you tell your sons if they came to you and said, mom, I'm really trying to, to, to build a, you know, kind and respectful relationship with my wife.

Roz Van Auker: Mm-hmm. 

Natalie Kling: What, how do I do it? What, what would come to you? 

Roz Van Auker: Oh, my. Focus on listening. You know, even for things that aren't said, sometimes you can hear them and, which is ironic 'cause Kenny doesn't hear very well, but he, he does and he hasn't hearing

Speaker 4: that's so good. 

Roz Van Auker: But, you know, it doesn't slow him down. He doesn't let much stand in his way. It's, it's kind of wonderful. But I guess I would say to them, yeah, focus on. Listening and doing things together. Even that you don't have to do together. Like if you can both go to, you know, the co-op or whatever, instead of just one person going so somebody else can watch their TV show now, you know, set it aside and both of you go, [00:43:00] something exciting might happen and it usually does.

I love 

Natalie Kling: that. I love that. It usually does. It usually does. Mm. And laughter, you did mention laughter when we spoke 

Roz Van Auker: earlier. Yeah. You gotta be willing to just, yeah. Things happen and you think, how could this possibly have happened? But whatever, you know, it's, it's actually has a funny aspect, so let's go with that.

Yeah. You just have to laugh. Yeah. 

Natalie Kling: Yeah. Well, thank you Roz. I think that your perspective and and what you and Ken have built is such a great example for all of us as family businesses and what we can contribute and create just by being a family. 

Roz Van Auker: Well, thank you so much for those kind words. I just think we've been super fortunate and have enjoyed so much being part of the family business center.

Yeah, 

Natalie Kling: that's great to hear. Mm-hmm. Thank you. 

Roz Van Auker: Yep. Met a lot of wonderful people. 

Natalie Kling: Awesome.[00:44:00] 

Thank you for listening to a Seat at the Table Trials and triumphs of family business. If you like what you heard today, please be sure to subscribe. Post a positive review and share with another family business owner. For more information about the Capital Region Family Business Center, visit cap family biz.org.

That's Cap family BU s.org. You can also follow us on Facebook at Capital Region Family Business Center and on Instagram. At Cap Fam Biz BIZ. If you know of other family businesses that have a story to share, please contact the Family Business Center at info@capfamilybizz.org. That's BUS. We're grateful for the support from River City Bank to make this program possible and special thanks to Guy Roz from how I built this for a wonderful closing question that's become one of our [00:45:00] favorites.