Episode 332: How Business Mentorship Is Helping Studio Owners Grow: Real Client Testimonials

What’s it really like to work with Christa Gurka?

In this episode of the Female emPOWERED Podcast, Christa Gurka steps out of her comfort zone and lets the results speak for themselves. Instead of teaching a strategy or business framework, Christa shares real testimonials from women inside the Fit Biz community — Pilates studio owners, physical therapists, and wellness entrepreneurs who are building profitable, sustainable businesses.

You’ll hear directly from business owners who have:
 ✔ Doubled their revenue
 ✔ Built teams and stepped out of full-time treatment
 ✔ Increased their salaries while working fewer hours
 ✔ Installed systems that allow them to take real vacations
 ✔ Built profitable PT practices, Pilates studios, and wellness businesses

These women share the real impact of coaching, mentorship, and community — and how having the right framework, accountability, and support helped them grow as CEOs.

If you’ve ever wondered:
 • What does business coaching actually do for a studio owner?
• How do boutique fitness and PT practice owners scale sustainably?
• Is mentorship worth the investment for wellness entrepreneurs?

This episode gives you the answer straight from the women doing the work.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• How boutique fitness and wellness owners are scaling their businesses
 • Why systems and structure matter more than “marketing tricks”
 • How studio owners transition from practitioner to CEO
 • The role of mentorship and community in business growth
 • Real revenue growth stories from Pilates, PT, and wellness businesses

Who This Episode Is For

This episode is perfect for:

• Pilates studio owners
 • Physical therapy clinic owners
 • Boutique fitness studio owners
 • Wellness entrepreneurs
 • Female business owners in the health and fitness industry
 • Anyone looking to build a profitable and sustainable wellness business

Join the Fit Biz Community

If you're ready to create more structure, profitability, and freedom in your business, start here:

👉 Join the Fit Biz Community
https://www.christagurka.com/community

Inside you’ll get:
 • Monthly live coaching
 • Business frameworks for studio owners
 • Support from a community of women building wellness businesses
 • Systems to help you grow without burning out

About the Female emPOWERED Podcast

The Female emPOWERED Podcast is the go-to podcast for ambitious women in wellness. Hosted by business mentor Christa Gurka, each episode delivers practical strategies, honest conversations, and real-world lessons to help you grow a profitable PT practice, Pilates studio, or boutique fitness business.

New episodes every week.

👍 If you enjoyed this episode:
Like, subscribe, and share with another wellness business owner who’s building their dream business.

#boutiquefitnessbusiness #pilatesstudiobusiness #physicaltherapybusiness #womeninwellness #fitnessbusinesscoach #wellnessentrepreneur #christagurka #femaleempowered

Transcript

Speaker 16 0:52

Hey there everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Female Empowered Podcast. I'm your host, Christa Gurka, and today's episode is gonna be little different than what I'm used to. And to be honest, it's gonna be a little bit uncomfortable for me, but I think in a good way. If you know me at all, most of you might know that I don't really love to sit around talking about. Myself, I to highlight the women that I'm working with. I to highlight their accomplishments. I to highlight those of my clients, whether they be Pilates or physical therapy, et cetera. It's just not my style to sit around and talk about myself. Something has been happening recently that made me think that this might be a good episode to put together over the past few months, whether it be on coaching calls in Voxer messages in our in-person retreats, or people reaching out saying they've listened to my podcast before. I'm just hearing some just amazing. Results from people, not only in exact results of I doubled my revenue in the last three years, I've doubled my salary in the last 18 months, but to the mindset they had around how they felt and their relationship with their business and their relationship with their team and their family at home, and what really changed the their business. For them and how they're thinking differently now as leaders and CEOs. And then I realized for someone who's considering possibly joining my programs or working with me, working with me in a deeper way, it's actually really impactful, to hear it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. So I'd like for you today to hear directly from women that are living it women, some of these women you'll hear. Our solopreneurs, some of them have teams, some of them have passed the seven figure mark. One of them literally doubled her revenue from 300,000 to 700,000 in as little as three years. And so what you're gonna hear are the real words. From real women doing the real work inside the Fit Biz community, my Fit Biz accelerator and my inner circle, there are studio owners. They're physical therapists, they're wellness entrepreneurs who are in the trenches day in and day out, building businesses just like you. Who are listeners. Right. They will share what surprised them. They share what changed their business. What I will tell you is what makes these women different is that they're doing the work, right? So if you've ever wondered, ah, I wonder what it's like to actually work with her.'cause most of the thing that you're thinking is will this work? Will I invest this money? And what kind of results will I get from it? Well, now you are going to hear. From the women that are experienced working with me and their real life results and the work that they're doing each and every day on their business. So let's dive in.

Speaker 3:39

Am the owner of Pure Pilates. When I joined, I realized that I could have a small boutique Pilates studio, but still grow the business to a bigger place. A place where I could step away from the day-to-day teaching and put a little bit more time and energy into running my business. And it was the best decision of my life. I've learned that I've can hand off things to other people. In this last year, my revenue has grown. I had the ability to take a three week vacation where I truly was able to disconnect. Trust my staff, trust, trust the policies that I put into place. I am here to tell you that. The money I am spending and investing in the business is the best decision that I've made. I've been in business for 17 years and it's the best money and investment that I have made in the studio for myself, and I am excited for what's to come. I recommend that you talk to Christa, find out what it's all about, and you will not be sorry.

Speaker 2 4:50

I'm the owner of Balance Yoga and Pilate. If you're considering working with Christa, I would never hesitate to suggest that you keep moving forward. It's been a great experience. Christa's really been an instrumental part of helping me grow the Pilates program in my studio. When I first came to her, I had minimal classes on the schedule. We only had four reformers. We didn't have an intro special for new clients coming in the door. And now I have all of those things. I now have six reformers'cause she helps me with the plan to expand the space and finance another reformer and get all of that system set up for new clients to come through the door. And if you're considering signing. Don't hesitate. It's been such a positive experience. One of the things that has been the best part about working with Christa is the emotional support that she gives all of us. She never dismisses your feelings. She validates them and helps you navigate how to get through them. Running a business is one of the hardest things I've ever done, and Christa just helps make things easier, helps make things feel doable, and that you can make it through because she made it through. And she has the tools and skills to help all of us as business owners, as female business owners, get to that other side. Get out of the trenches, pay yourself, have systems in place, hire team members to support you and help you learn how to let go and trust the people that work for you. Long story short, I wouldn't hesitate. It has been such a gift for my business, one of the best things I've invested in, and I highly would recommend it.

Speaker 3 6:18

Can I say that? Your email, your follow up email made my heart so happy. The fact that I could check list, I think we all need accountability. It's something I can so easily follow, but also the fact that you said my vision is attainable. No one's ever told me that. Everyone from day one's been like, oh, a little too big. And you're like, yeah, this is fine. It's totally attainable. We just got to get some things in place. It.

Speaker 4 6:50

I am the founder of Paradise Pilates. I had decided to open three studios in about 16 months support, not only from Christa, but also the women in the inner circle. I've been able to cut back my teaching hours. I've been able to hire a gm. I've been able to really make some organizational changes within my business, create SOP, all sorts of different changes I've been able to make because my mind has. Switched. I've never owned a business before, never done any of the business side of it, and I really have a lot to learn, still have a lot to learn, and I would be lost. So I am feeling super confident in my CEO shoes now. I feel like when I go and make the decisions, I know not only do I have someone to bounce off ideas off of, but I also just feel more confident in the decisions that I make. So if you are considering to join Christa or not, I highly recommend it. It's one of the best things and best decisions. Not only did I ever do for myself personally, but also mostly for my business, and I can't wait to meet you if you do.

Speaker 5 7:56

You've been in the Fit Bs program and what would you say has been your experience now having been in it for a whole year?

Speaker 6 8:01

The opportunity to get real time feedback and ask a question, and I think probably the biggest thing is your transparency to say, this is what worked for me, but also you challenge us to kind of think it through in a really cool way. You've put together an amazing group of women, those that are learning and learning how to scale. You get that feedback and, and a little bit of guidance. It's good to have that sounding board.

Speaker 10 8:26

I am the owner of Empower pt. It's a cash-based physical therapy in Pilate Studio in Tampa, Florida. I've been working with Christa for about five years. When we started working together, I was bringing in a hundred percent of the revenue and completely overwhelmed all of the time. Today I'm bringing in about 20% of the revenue. I've been able to increase my salary and overall decrease the amount of hours I'm working. Even more importantly though, she really has helped me bring structure and systems into the business. She's helped me hire and train an amazing team. I've learned how to delegate a lot of the day-to-day stuff that was completely consuming me before. I know that I wouldn't be here where I'm at today without Christa's help, and I can't thank her enough.

Speaker 13 9:08

Is there something else that you feel was really invaluable to you in terms of joining the mentorship program and maybe something that you didn't expect that you would get out of it? A year ago when you joined.

Speaker 14 9:21

Oh my gosh, yes. Yes. And by the way, the numbers support was not just a little bit of support that has been really impactful for me. But I would say, so I had some coaching early on that was part of a big group, and while that was maybe the right thing for me at the time, I think one of the really special things about the inner circle truly is that. It's not just a title. There's this really warm, welcoming space that you hold and you hold it really authentically. If we have a coaching call day and maybe on the verge of tears, I don't have to feel oh gosh, I have to show up as this. I can just show up as me and no question is a dumb question, and. You just approach it from an empathetic space as well, and I think that then allows at least me to feel really safe in it. At least for me that has come up later and that just having you has been just such a big part of getting through that, but evolving through it, it was the best decision. I think I, I can absolutely say that what you said would happen is happening and did happen.

Speaker 12 12:10

Hi, I'm Kristen Harden, the physical therapist and owner of Gold Coast Pilates Therapy in Beverly, Massachusetts. I joined the Fit Foundation's membership in 2022, about six months after opening my studio, and I did it because so many other clinicians, I was never trained formally on the business side of things. So after listening to Christa's podcast for a while, I was deciding that she was the person to work with. I also did this because at that point I knew that I had a great service. But I was really craving more structure and clarity as to how I made business decisions and wanted to set it up to be really sustainable in the long term and pay myself in a way that would support my family. So fast forward to almost three years later, and both myself and the business have grown tremendously. I've learned how to build a team, understand my numbers and my metrics, and price our services, and pay my staff in a way that is fair, sustainable, and profitable for everybody involved. Because of that, I am able to better support my family from a financial standpoint. I get to pick my kids up from school every day and juggle all the afternoon craziness and evenings, and we take family vacations usually a few times a year where I don't bring my laptop. So I have worked toward getting that work life balance that we all want, and Christa's guidance have really, has really given me a clear roadmap to make the decisions and set up the systems that make that possible. The other part of the Fitbit membership that has been amazing is the just the community of women. You will find no one else this who understands what you're going through in business. When you join here, so the women here celebrate the wins. They understand the challenges, and they really hold me accountable to the things they know that I want for myself and the studio. So if you're in those early years and just feeling stuck and alone, trying to figure it all out, I can't recommend joining this enough. It's truly one of the best investments I've made both in myself and in my business.

Speaker 15 14:10

My name is Stacy King and I am the owner of Aspire Physical Therapy and Wellness in Potomac, Maryland. And I am a brick and mortar practice and I am a solo practice, but I am growing thanks to this program. I specialize in orthopedics and sports, physical therapy, as well as functional medicine, health coaching, and also provide some Pilates services. I've been in business. On my own for 10 years now in my brick and mortar location, and I decided to enroll in the inner circle because I needed direction and I needed guidance in terms of, I have all of these great ideas and places I want to take my practice, and I didn't know how to implement that. So my systems worked, but in order to grow, I needed better systems. And I needed some direction. I needed some coaching. I needed to get a handle on my financing and my social media presence, and just really tweaking ways and being super specific on those ways to grow my business. From the one-on-one standpoint, but also from a direction of how can I grow my business? So the coaching with Christa and being in the inner circle has shown me how other people are doing things, which is really nice. It has shown me that I'm not alone in this process, that other people are struggling, even though it looks everyone's got it all together and, but really a safe space to talk about the numbers, talk about blocks into growing your business and. And I've had quite a few of those. So just being able to get out there and have open discussions in a safe space has been really important for me and comforting and invigorating and inspiring. So far, my experience, I think I joined about eight, seven months ago. Seven months ago, and it's been great. I look forward to the calls every week. I don't feel I'm missing it. Anything in my work schedule by blocking that out. It's just an accepting and inspiring group of women owned practices that makes you feel really comfortable right from the beginning. And I love that Christa has altered things a little bit based on our feedback for what's gonna work for us, and that's really amazing. That's a good coach. I said that on a recent review. I was a coach really shines the light on their clients and Christa's really helped me turn my brights on and I. Love that. I feel I'm lit up right now and inspired to move my practice forward and actually do the steps instead of being stuck with my feet in the mud. I'm probably gonna stay on after my year is up'cause my experience has been so good on a month to month. You're committed for a year, which I feel you need the year, and then deciding what to do after that. Knowing that I still need some guidance and help and coaching along the way is amazing.

Speaker 11 17:05

Hi, my name is Laura Summer and I'm the owner of In Motion Physical Therapy up in Farmingdale, New York. And I started working with Christa in 2022. When I was ready to pack it all in, close the business down and say, I'm done. It's time to get a job. Working with Christa changed the trajectory of not only my business, but my life. Christa took a, took a chance on me. She believed in me when I needed it most. I was trying to rebuild my business after COVID. I had three kids under the age of three at home, and I just couldn't figure out how to run the business, be a mom, be a wife, be a friend, do all the things that I needed to do without completely losing my mind. So back in 2022, we did maybe$350,000 in revenue and I was not paying myself. So that way I could pay my team. We were barely profitable and I just didn't know what to do. Christa gave me the roadmap. She told me exactly what I needed to do, exactly how to make these things work, and I built a solid foundation. We're now in August of 2025. I just doubled my location size. We added not only physical therapy, but we now have a Pilates reformer studio. We were able to hire another full-time pt. So now I have. Three full-time PTs plus myself. I am down to treating one day a week, running the business. The rest of the days I am home. Every single night for dinner, I'm able to be with my family. I'm able to support my employees, and now we're about to almost double our revenue from three years ago, and we are at an 18% profit margin and I'm paying myself. So these things work. Christa has really transformed my view of myself. My abilities as a business owner and I am so grateful.

Speaker 17 19:06

All right, then before we wrap up today's episode, I'm back to say something directly to you. If you've been listening and thinking, well, I want that, I would love that. For that to happen to me, I would love to get that kind of support in my business. And the one thing I wanna say is you deserve it. You work really hard in your business and, I don't have all of the answers, but I am 1000% committed to the conversation of helping you achieve the goals that you want and you set for yourself. So whether that's not just the revenue growth, not just the strategy development, but the clarity, the support, the accountability. The ability for you to actually step into the role of leader and CEO of your business instead of feeling you're constantly reacting to everything around you to feeling you're a chicken with your head cut off on the hamster wheel. We can use all of the analogies. I used to tell people that I felt I was being dragged behind a bullet train and getting beat up because one of the things that I think is a. Central theme that you've heard from the women today is that they didn't start out any different than where you are. I didn't start out any different than where you are. We were all overwhelmed. We were second guessing. We were. The blind leading the blind trying to figure things out in the dark. And what I've learned over my 20 years of being a business owner is how to provide you a roadmap, for a easier way, an easier trail. And you can decide how hard and difficult you want the hike to be. And I can give you the roadmap of. If based on the decision you make here, this is a trail you'll have to go down. Okay. What change for these men, women isn't necessarily a specific tactic or a marketing trick? I'm not someone that believes in oh, you can create a million dollars in seven easy steps. no. What changed was having a framework, having support, having accountability, having another. Community, a room full of women owners who are all committed to the same thing. So you recognize, one, you're not alone. Two, there's more than one ways to skin a cat. That's really what this community and my mentorship is about. It's not about hustle. It's not about working more hours. It's not about getting the one magic bullet or the magic fix, or the one magic spreadsheet that's gonna get you to a million dollars. It's about the framework you need. And you deserve to build a business that is profitable, sustainable, and one that supports the life that you want to live. So if you've listened to this episode, if you've listened to these women and you're I'm ready for that. The best place, the easiest place to start is our Fit Biz community membership. It's$99 a month. It's less than what all of you charge in your business on a daily basis, and you can cancel any time. There's no commitment. It's where our studio owners, our physical therapy practice and other wellness entrepreneurs start together. We get live coaching each and every month, and you can start to create the systems, the structure. With a lot more confidence and more direction. Okay, so for$99 a month, if you're not willing to invest$99 a month in yourself, in your business, then why would your clients invest a hundred a thousand dollars in you? Right. Learn the systems to make your business better so that you can help more people in your community and help you and your life achieve all of the dreams that you want. If this is something that you're interested in, you can visit my website, www.christagurka.com/community You can sign up right there. I said,$99 a month. It literally is a no brainer. Alright, as always. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for being a part of my community, my podcast community. I am on a mission to transform the fitness and wellness industry, one female business owner at a time. So if you would like to join me on that mission, I would be eternally grateful and excited for the opportunity to work with you. All right, so until next time, my friends. Bye for now.