Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Louise Fitzsimmons Dreams Have Come True Starting Her Business - White Wolf Yoga & Kitchen

 ‘All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them’ – Walt Disney

Louise Fitzsimmons dream of opening her own Yoga Studio and Kitchen came about in 2013 when she was studying to be a Yoga Teacher in Rishikesh, India. But at that point, that’s all it was. A dream. Now 3 years on, Louise is the proud owner of White Wolf Yoga & Kitchen on Cook Street in Liverpool City Centre.

‘I live in Crosby and down on the beach there is a little Coast Guard’s building. When it shut down, I started thinking that if I won the lottery I would turn it into a Yoga Studio and Vegetarian and Vegan Kitchen. It was only me talking to myself in my head, but from there I started to think more and more about it…’


Prior to opening White Wolf, Louise admits that she had done a bit of everything! ‘I’d been an Air Hostess, English Tutor, Production Development Manager for a local Film Company and a Production Assistant for a national Events Company!’ but had always pursued Yoga as a hobby and that turned into a passion, and Louise found that the more that she practised, the more she wanted to share this passion with as many people as she could.

After completing 200 hours of Yoga Teacher Training over a year and a half in Liverpool, Louise still knew that she wanted to deepen her knowledge of Yoga and further her qualification. This mission took her to Rishikesh in India where she completed another 300 hours of training; ‘India was absolutely life changing, and I think it set me up and gave me the confidence and clarity to know that Yoga was what I wanted to do.’ 

‘I’ve always found that through doing lots of other jobs in the past that I need to be doing something that I’m really passionate about and because I have done lots of other different things when I took the Teacher Training courses, everyone would say ‘Oh Louise is doing this course to add to long list of everything else that she’s done’ and I was a bit like that to myself, but when I went to India, I knew right then, that was it.’


After returning from India, things stepped up to the next level, Louise had already been running a small class in the old Mello Mello on Slater Street, but from here expanded and began teaching in Camp and Furnace and later Frederik’s on Hope Street. It was during this time that White Wolf Yoga was born. ‘When I started working in Camp and Furnace, I got in touch with The Women’s Organisation to get some support and advice around the business side of things.’

‘The idea of starting a business was completely new to me and the prospect was quite daunting to begin with. I could visualise what I wanted to create but the practicalities of actually doing it were a bit scary!’

Louise worked with our Business Adviser Francine to put together a business plan for White Wolf Yoga, attend our training and workshops and also think about what Louise might want for the future of White Wolf. ‘The Women’s Organisation has been brilliant. Right from day one, I was given great advice and support with understanding the basics of business. Since then we have kept in touch as I have grown the business with their continued support.’

After teaching for a while, Louise began to think about creating a space that specialised in Yoga and Healthy Eating; ‘My aim was to create a peaceful sanctuary within the city centre – and that was the idea for White Wolf Yoga and Kitchen.’

Once she decided to chase the dream of opening this peaceful sanctuary, the first step was finding the right location. It took almost a year of searching but Louse finally found the perfect place – an old ballroom in the Victorian Property Exchange on Cook Street. ‘I got a feeling as soon as I walked through the doors that this was the one! We have renovated the space with love and care and I feel honoured to have White Wolf’s home in such a beautiful, historic building.’



White Wolf Yoga & Kitchen is indeed an incredible space, taking influence from Scandinavian design with clean lines, grey and blue colours and lots of natural light streaming through the large windows. Along with her best friend Becky, who manages the Kitchen side of the business, White Wolf opened back in April 2016.

The Studio now boasts a full programme of yoga, meditation and relaxation classes which are open to men and women of all levels, ages and abilities, and the Kitchen serves high-quality, nutrition-rich plant based food and drink.

Louise told us; ‘I love the variety of every day – from teaching different yoga and meditation classes to researching and creating new recipes for White Wolf Kitchen. Working with Beccy is brilliant; we have such a laugh and keep each other smiling. Opening the Studio and the Kitchen really is a dream come true for me in every way.’


So, as Walt Disney said; ‘All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them,’ and we know that is exactly what Louise has done and will continue to do! And some advice that she has for anyone in a similar position and wanting to start their own business; ‘Listen to your heart and not the niggling doubter whispering in your head, you’ll need 100% commitment and faith in whatever you are doing and be able to keep positive and trust that things will work out.’

If you would like to find out more about White Wolf Yoga and Kitchen, you can do by following the links below! And if you’ve been inspired by Louise’s story of pursuing her dream and would like some support and advice on starting your business – get in touch with us! Email us on hello@thewo.org.uk or ring us on 0151 706 8111.

0151 345 6023



1 comment:

  1. which must be paid each month without fail. In the first few months of starting your business you may have little or no income coming in, so keeping business costs down is essential. Busines

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