When COVID-19 hit, Dayse Tarakdian and her husband, Sanio Gomes Ferreira, closed for three months then temporarily moved their Pilates exercise business outdoors to a parking lot.
Now with the help of a Small Business Administration loan, Full Body Pilates and Movement Therapy in Tustin is back to full strength.
The couple had acquired their studio with an SBA loan—known as a 7a—tied to the prime. The monthly payment started increasing significantly, putting pressure on monthly cash flow. They were able to refinance into a fixed-rate loan program—known as a 504.
After COVID-19 struck, the business got a $100,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), which was designed to keep businesses afloat during the pandemic. The EIDL loan was facilitated by SBA and the 504 by Jennifer Davis with TMC Financing in Irvine.
They used the EIDL money for payroll and equipment, paying no interest in the beginning because of the structure of the program.
“The first year we didn’t have to pay,” she said of the EIDL emergency loan.
The business also got some help from the city of Tustin, according to Tarakdian.
Early Payments
Now that the business has returned to growth, Dayse and Sanio are paying off the EIDL loan early.
“We’re actually paying extra,” she told the Business Journal on April 19. “We are paying over what it’s supposed to be.” That means instead of $488 a month, they are paying $988 a month.
“We want to pay it off early.”
The company has seven employees and is now profitable, she said.
The first months of the pandemic were rough.
Tarakdian said they lost half of their 100 clients during the pandemic, but are now back to 160.
Brazil Start
Born and raised in Brazil where she studied ballet at Vera Bublitz Dance Company and School for 10 years, Tarakdian performed in numerous presentations as a main character, soloist and in the ballet corps.
In 1999, she moved to the U.S. and performed with various dance companies.
Ferreira was also born and raised in Brazil, where he discovered and developed his “passion for helping to bring health, happiness and quality of life to people of all ages,” according to the website.
