Teacher Training for Studio Owners: Build a Stronger Team (and a Stronger Studio) with Jessica Spillane (EYT Pilates Teacher Training)

In this episode of The Pilates Business Podcast, host Seran Glanfield sits down with Jessica Spillane, founder of EYT Pilates Teacher Training and longtime Pilates studio owner, to unpack what it really takes to build a strong, sustainable Pilates business through exceptional teacher training. 

With decades of experience growing a successful Pilates studio in the New York Tri-State area, Jessica shares why so many studio owners struggle to find qualified instructors - and what’s actually missing from most modern teacher training programs. 

This conversation dives deep into the importance of mentorship, foundational education, and developing teachers who can problem-solve, connect, and elevate the client experience. If you’re a Pilates studio owner or boutique fitness business owner looking to grow your team, improve retention, and protect the integrity of your brand, this episode offers powerful insights into building a stronger studio from the inside out.

Connect With Jessica at EYT HERE
Or learn more at: www.eytpilatesteachertraining.com

~~~
GRAB YOUR FREE RESOURCE 👉 The Studio Owner's Guide to MASTERING REELS 

📲 Follow Seran on Instagram @seran_spring_three

❤️ Loved this episode? Leave a review - your review helps spread the word about the show and I read each and every one!

🎧 Never miss a new episode! Be sure to follow or subscribe to stay up to date

Work with Seran:

🌟 Join the Thrive  Business Coaching Program and get smart strategies that drive growth (and profit) in your boutique fitness studio

🌟Enroll in the Marketing Intensive and get everything you need to finally master your marketing and stand out from the competition

Transcript

From Studio To Teacher Training

SPEAKER_01 0:00

What does it really take to build a thriving Pilates studio and then pivot into shaping the next generation of teachers? In this episode, I'm talking with Jessica Spillane, founder of EIT Pilates Teacher Training, and owner of one of the longest standing studios in the New York Tri-State area. She's seen the industry evolve, led through tough transitions, and now she's on a mission to elevate the quality of Pilates education. So whether you're thinking about offering teacher training or you want to grow a stronger, more sustainable business, you'll want to hear this conversation. Well, hi there, I'm Sarah and Glanfield. I'm a business and marketing strategist just for boutique fitness studio owners like you. If you're ready to be inspired and make a bigger impact, you're in the right place. All you need are a few key strategies, the right mindset, and some support along the way. Join me as I share the real life insights that will help you grow a sustainable and profitable studio. This is the Pilates Business Podcast. Well, hey there, and welcome back to the Pilates Business Podcast. I'm Sarah and Glamfield and I am your host here

Meet Jessica And Her Track Record

SPEAKER_01 1:21

today. And I'm always thrilled to have fabulous guests on the show. And today I'm joined by someone whose experience in the Pilates industry runs deep, both as a business owner and as a teacher trainer. Jessica is the founder of EYT Pilates Teacher Training, a program that she launched back in 2003, that has since grown into a powerhouse, producing confident and highly skilled Pilates teachers across the country. Now, before dedicating herself fully to the educational element of our industry, Jessica built a large and popular Pilates studio in the New York Tri-State area and led it through the kind of real-world business challenges that many of us face, from growth to perhaps evolving through various uh industry developments and change. And she's classically trained through power Pilates and she has a really strong belief in the importance of building a solid foundation when it comes to teaching. And she knows exactly what it takes to really thrive in today's evolving, fast evolving boutique fitness space. So welcome, Jessica. I'm so thrilled that you are here with us today.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

I am so happy to be here. I have been a long-standing admirer of you and your work and uh have watched from afar your coaching process. And I just align very much with your approach, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Absolutely. We've had some great conversations and it's been great getting to know you. And it's been great getting to know um and to learn a bit more about what you do and what you've done in this space. And so why don't you share with us and the listeners? Um, you

Building And Scaling A Studio

SPEAKER_01 3:10

know, you've you've obviously, like I mentioned, been in this industry for a long time. So why don't you tell us a little bit about how you how you got started way back when?

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Uh way back when. So I uh the I'll I'll do the shorts, the short version because 25 years is a long time. Um so I had worked in the advertising industry in New York City, and I lived a very fast life in the sense that I traveled all the time, constant client uh outings, late nights, and it was exciting and it was fun. It was all the stuff that I an early career should be, but it was not a good career path for someone who wanted to be a mother. And that's really where the story comes, comes, you know, starts. I was taking Pilates as a student to help with my own spinal issues, mostly born from sitting on airplanes and conference rooms for so long. And I looked at my Pilates teacher and I said, you know what? This is a career path that I can do and be a mom at the same time. And I sort of looked at her life and lifestyle as inspiration. So I opted to go to Power Pilates and start my training. Um, and I did that, you know, while still working in the advertising industry, but then I slowly evolved out, retired from that, so to say. And I gave myself a goal of opening up my own studio within one year of graduating from the power program. And I did. I think I was actually ahead by one week in terms of the calendar. And I was really the first we'll say boutique studio within um the at least northern New Jersey, but one of the New York City suburbs. And I caught lightning at a bottle. You know, that the time um that I had launched and the time that I had brought Pilates to the area, no one else had done it. And on my first day of opening, I had zero clients, obviously, day one. And within six months, I was teaching 50 private sessions. Oh my goodness. That's incredible. Yes, it really is. And I think actually I was working longer hours than when I had been to wait in advertising, right? But having way more way more fun.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

Way more fun.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

Way more fun, yes, way more fun. So it was um clearly I was on to something. And I it was very humble beginnings. My studio environment was really um no, not well lit, uh, no fancy greenery, no fancy lit walls. We're going back, you know, a long time, paper and pen to schedule my sessions. And over time, I knocked down walls, I moved, I expanded, I knocked down more walls, I moved and expanded uh to the point where I wound up having a 3,000 square foot studio. I acquired studios that had been born um in that time. Um, and then I sold. I bought the gym where I was uh renting space. Um I then sold that gym and I started a Pilates-inspired retail store within my studio long before Lululemon had come to town. Uh, we need to reform after the reformer. Um, and then I obviously brought the teacher training program in during that whole process. So I really have been on every side of this business and uh and seen it grow and change. And I'm very proud of the, you know, the journey that I've been on and whatever I have contributed to make that happen.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

Yeah, absolutely. So you transitioned into, you know, the the the obviously you've seen a lot happen in that period of time. And tell us a little bit about what you do today, because I think, you know, that is something that evolved probably from a need that you saw in the industry.

Why Create A Training Program

SPEAKER_00 6:57

So uh my teacher training port program was really born out of accessibility. Uh and and it was born for my own accessibility. I never really had grand aspirations that I was going to bring this out into a worldwide marketplace. I was experiencing such rapid growth that I needed teachers. When I went to Power Pilates and asked if I could host their teacher training program, they said no because they looked at BathQuest because we didn't have Google Master time. And I'm so close from a miles standpoint. Like as the crow flies, we're very close. So they said, just send people to us. We'd be cannibalizing our own market if we let you host. But what the the short-sightedness of that was women at that age and generation, generally speaking, have small children. The commute across the George Washington Bridge, finding parking, it's a barrier, right? It's a giant barrier. And so that was of no help to me. So I went about creating my own program and was able to service the people in my community and in turn serve serve my own studio needs. It wasn't until fast forward during COVID that I started to really tune into what the rest of the industry was struggling with, which was exactly what I had struggled with way back in 2007. So I was listening to my fellow colleagues who were in secondary markets or tertiary markets and had no access to teacher training to deal with the same issues that I had been dealing with back in the early 2000s. So I sort of put it out to them and said, hey, uh, let's try this. I have a teacher training program. I've been in your shoes. Let's see if I can take this program and bring it to you. Now, at the time there were travel restrictions. We weren't really doing a lot of in-person things. So we experimented. I got a few two uh studios to beta test it with me in offering it in a hybrid format. In other words, I broadcast out to their studio, but they were on site in person to offer that hands-on live experience, the in-person experience. Best of both worlds at the time. But over five years, like with anything that you put any energy into, it has changed, it has evolved, it has grown, and it has certainly gotten a lot

Hybrid Education And Access

SPEAKER_00 9:20

better than where it was back in 2020 when we were beta testing.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Yeah. Yeah. It's it's always uh I always find it so fascinating to hear how things come to life in the business in business. Um, so you've seen obviously a lot of change over the years. You know, in the industry has, I mean, evolved dramatically. Uh, we've both seen it. Um, and and so has uh the options for you know teacher training and what those teacher training programs look like. So, I mean, I can I I see what I see, and I'll, you know, uh for those for the you know, for the listeners um listening in, you know, they're there one of the biggest challenges that I hear from most, many, many studio owners um is is that they have a very hard time finding well-qualified, well-trained teachers. Is that something that you, I mean, I presume that that's something that you have you're aware of? And I I guess my question for you is how do, you know, how do we define what that looks like in the world that we're in today? You know, how do you define a well-trained teacher and what does that really mean for you for you and in what you do?

SPEAKER_00 10:32

Uh that's a great question because it's something I feel like I encounter often. But my goal is to create teachers where anybody can learn the academic piece, anybody can learn the names of the exercises and the bullet point the cues. But a teacher problem solves, a teacher finds new ways in. A teacher connects, a teacher knows how to communicate. There's the soft skill side, there's the learning to adapt for the person in front of you, not learning a script. And I think that's what we're seeing is sort of there's this fork in the road. And when you turn one direction, you're going to get those high touch point, more intensive programs that focus on those skills and those tools that really at the end of the day are the tools that are lasting and create the lasting client base and the successful studios. But if you turn the other direction, you're going to get the quick fix, you're going to get the script memorization to a certain beat of the music. And those are fun and great, but they aren't sustainable, in my my personal opinion. They're not sustainable long term. And when you have someone who's been through that kind of a program apply for a job at a studio that operates in a different way, that's where the breakdown is. And we have studio owners like myself or like you and people who are in our space who are saying these people

What Makes A Well Trained Teacher

SPEAKER_00 12:05

aren't qualified. They're not, they lack so much knowledge. They don't know how to think on their feet. They're writing class plans, you know, at night to music rather than knowing that's who's coming into the room the next day. So, you know, it's there's the quick fix and the Instagram-worthy trainings that are out there. But then there's the high touch point, more in-depth um knowledge that we bring. And others like me, you know, there are certainly a lot of quality programs out there, but I feel like even they're starting to get watered down in order to meet what the masses are asking for, which is quick fixes.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Yes. I couldn't agree with you more. And I think, you know, to add to what you were saying, you know, the the the there is such an importance of having the person in the room who is leading the class or leading the session be of a certain caliber because they are representing your business and your brand. And it's not just about some, you know, having a teacher's name associated with a class or just allocating a client to a teacher and moving on. They are the one who is connecting with the clients. They make they're helping them make sure that their experience is enjoyable but also impactful. And it has such an impact on the overall client experience, which we know is associated with how they perceive your brand, but also ultimately whether or not they decide to come back. And so when you have teachers who are, you know, perhaps not as experienced or not as talented or haven't developed some of the skills that you talked about, it really, it really does have an impact on your business, you know, and the bottom line.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

Absolutely. But I think there's also the element of mentorship that's that's important. Every, every teacher, no matter what program they come out of, whether it's a weekend warrior or whether it's a one-year-long comprehensive, everyone has to start somewhere. And as an industry, we have to not let go of the mentorship and apprenticeship that is what you know our roots are. That's how many of most of us have come up through the ranks, is through the guidance of others. And if we as studio owners don't provide that, we're never going to really evolve the teachers and the industry and continue its strength, to continue to build its strength. So I, you know, I also sort of ask, and this is something that my hosts do, right? And that's why I love the model that I've built, is that it takes a village, right? It takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to raise a Pilates teacher. And and, you know, it's it's it takes me. I deliver the education. I it takes my student advisor who answers the questions that come up on an ongoing basis. It takes my assessors who go through all of the videos and give such detailed, thoughtful feedback, the good, the bad, the ugly. And it takes the hosts who are on the ground in the studio to listen and to stop somebody and say, hey, hold on, don't forget to tell them to flex their feet underneath the safety strap. Or, you know what, let's meet for five minutes after your session. I want to give you some feedback on what I heard, or maybe help you improve your cues. But it takes all of us. And so the programs that just basically hand a manual, go through a seminar, and then say, Cyanara, good luck, go source your own apprenticeship. There it's it's we're failing those people and we're failing our industry. You know, we're failing us as a group because if we don't do that for each other and for ourselves,

Mentorship And Apprenticeship Matter

SPEAKER_00 16:04

guess who's gonna be left? The only people that are gonna be left using the Pilates name are gonna be the big franchises. That's all that's gonna be remaining. We have to put in that work to keep our side of this industry true and maintain the integrity and keep us strong.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

Yeah, absolutely. I completely completely agree. That the the the mentorship and the continuing education element for teachers I is is absolutely critical. And I and so on in so many levels, right? Because I there is so much to learn, you know, that you and so much to learn that you you and and you cannot learn at all from a book. Um and so, you know, that there is an you are always learning, and I think teachers are always learning anyway. And I think that the for many, many of the folks who teach teach because they love to learn and they love to learn, to learn more and to understand more and to be better and to get better and to help their clients also. Um so, you know, I some of the questions that come up, or some of the sort of um the queries that folks have is around, and and I'm these are probably questions or thoughts that you've had over and over and over again developing your program. Um, and maybe this has evolved, I'd love to know. But what would you say are sort of like the minimum standards for a teacher or to be sort of to to feel or to be qualified? Where do you sort of, is there a line or is it how do you how do you define that?

SPEAKER_00 17:34

Well, I think that a lot of people would agree with this, including you, that once you finish your apprenticeship and you get your hours done and you take your test, that's actually when the learning starts. Right? That's when the learning starts. So the way we we break out our program into modules. Um, we do Matt and Reformer together, beginner through advanced, and we have a 300-hour minimum for that component. And the reason I do that, I obviously believe in the system, and but it's because many of my hosts are not comprehensive studios. So I don't want to start educating students on the chair when they're when their host doesn't have a chair, right? It's not fair. So the baseline of we can see a difference in somebody's exam. We know whether they have put in those 300 hours or not. We can see it. They don't even have to give us their log sheet. We know that they haven't done something magical happens around a hundred hours of practice teaching, just the practice teaching piece. Something magical happens around that 100 hour. Just like something magical happens at the intermediate math seminar, beginner math seminar, their deer in the headlights, their eyeballs, the buyer's remorse sets in. They're like, How am I gonna do all of this? Yeah, yes. It's so you know, beginner reformer, it's a whole nother layer. I have to, I have to actually think about this this reformer in addition to what I'm gonna say, right? But something clicks at intermediate mats, and then it's really clicks at intermediate reformer, and it's like you can see the gelling happen. The same thing happens at the hundred hours of T of practice teaching. Their words are a little bit more concise, they don't say um, they don't say now I want you to. They unfold their arms, they walk around as opposed to standing static. So that's when we start to see the the the

Setting Standards And Hours

SPEAKER_00 19:38

foundation getting solid. The cement is actually starting to congeal and we can build the house, right? So but the house being built is only gonna come from experience, right? And you know, uh the 10,000 hour theory, right? So what you maybe we're none of us are expert at anything until we reach 10,000 hours, right? Which I certainly have done a couple of times over in terms of teaching. But that being said, I feel like reaching that level of, you know, the cement sort of, you know, congealing and getting hardened, those minimums are what's needed in order to, you know, really start perfecting your craft and becoming the teacher that you're meant to be.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

Yeah. Oh, that's so interesting. Yeah, I can imagine that there is quite a difference when you put it like that between, yeah. And I remember, you know, logging those hours and I remember being in the basic seminar. And then I remember doing the intermediate. And I remember being very different. I'm asking different questions, I'm looking for different things. And um, yeah, it's a different is it's that next step.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

It's the next step, and it's also getting people um to buy in and believe me that that next step is going to be there, right? Because people are not accustomed to working so hard at things these days, right? Things we tend to, especially as adults, because we have to be self-motivated. We have to, we can as adults, you can just drop out if you want to. You can just not compete continue. When you're children, you have to, right? You have to go and do the hard things. We do, yes.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

We don't allow, we don't allow dropping out in our household. No. Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

You join the team, you show up for practice. You show up for practice. But as adults, it's very easy to pull the covers over your head if there's nobody who's going and you know, knocking on your door and pulling the covers back and forcing you to get out of bed. So what what's so important is for me to make that connection and for our hosts to make that connection with our students in those first six to eight weeks to encourage them that they're right now climbing that mountain, but they're gonna get to the peak and start to see the other side. Just believe us, stay with us, don't give in to your fight, flight, or freeze and and and work with us. And you're gonna feel so proud of yourself when you get there and you're gonna look back and say, I'm I'm just so proud of how far I've come.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. It's an it's a journey for sure. You know, it is a journey for sure. And I think, you know, when you're when you're standing in front of the class, or, you know, I certainly see it, you know, having taken a lot of classes in a lot of different studios and a lot of different modalities, you know, you have you have it, you have someone who's leading the class who is looking at their watch and really disengaged, right? And then you have someone who is looking and seeing and present and making changes and offering individualized cues and, you know, it's really attentive to the clients and you know which studio is gonna get and full classes and keep full classes. And and and as a teacher, you know, you're gonna look around the room and you're gonna see people rolling their eyes, you're gonna see people who are not engaged, and then you're gonna see people who are you're seeing their bodies change right in front of your eyes,

Teaching Beyond Scripts And Silence

SPEAKER_01 23:05

right? And as a teacher, you want the latter, right? That's how you get that fulfillment, and that's really why you do this.

SPEAKER_00 23:12

Um, I'm a hockey mom. So that means what that means is I travel a lot on the weekends. I'm gone a lot. And when I roll into a town where there's a Pilates studio, I very often will try to schedule either a class or a private session simply because I like to get to be a client where someone may not know me, right? I can't do that around here where I live. So I don't tell anybody that I'm a teacher, not because I'm trying to hide it, but just because I want to be a client. I just I want that experience. And I have taken some classes with studio owners, with teachers who are considered experienced, and they delivered a set of technical instructions and then they were quiet. They counted, you know, three, two, one. Okay, now move to here, grab the handles and do this. Three, two, one, right? That dead air. It was those are opportunities. That's what a teacher is. That's what a teacher is. And that is what we're striving for here is to create teachers, not someone who can just deliver a set of instructions. So it's that it's that hang time. I call it hang time. It's the hang time within a session that you're able to make that connection to people, that you're able to get more out of them, that you're able to get them to peel away a layer within themselves, get more in touch with themselves, make the movement better in some way, and and offer them that opportunity for change. If you are just simply a textbook delivering the instructions bullet by bullet, there's nothing happening. It's a waste of everybody's time and money. And so to that point, you know, it's I I I just and I use that example in all of my teacher trainers uh semesters. Like this, these are people who have 10 years of quote unquote experience, but there was no connection to me. It was a waste, a waste of my time. No breath cues were given, no encouragement, no lift of a voice, no modulation of anything, no rhythm. Where are the teachers?

SPEAKER_01 25:19

Right. Yes. Pilates is obviously, you know, the the the growth in our industry is, I mean, unprecedented. And that, you know, there is no signs of it slowing. And I get asked the question all the time, you know, is this a bubble? Is this a and I no, I think the people who are doing Pilates today, who love Pilates today, will be doing Pilates in 10 and 20 years because they always have done, right? The people are probably who've come to your studio are probably people who didn't, they're not people who showed up last month, right? They are people who are being coming. Yes. And so they're still going to be coming. People are going to be coming. And this is, I think this is a huge opportunity for the industry and for the teachers in the industry to really step into the into their teaching role

Industry Growth And The Bigger Pie

SPEAKER_01 26:02

and for us all to support that transition from teaching on a you know ad hoc basis, in some cases, not all, but in some, to this, you know, as a a very successful career option for anyone who wants to make movement their their their career, you know, and and and without the standards like you have set, it's more challenging.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

That's correct. And I think that I think that with that, like with anything, there's going to be a certain, there's going to be a time, whether it's five years from now, 10 years from now, I don't know, where there will be a certain amount of attrition, right? Yes. Some of the franchises are are just the the overhead that they take on you the calculus from I wonder if it's really there, you know? Um so but that doesn't mean what if they close their doors, even if 20% of their clients want to stick with Pilates, they're gonna go and look for the small boutique studios. And it's I think that the I think that this opportunity, while some boutique studios might feel the stress and the strain right now because they feel like they're being surrounded, right? I look at it as an opportunity. This is you're going to get the cast offs, you're going to get the studio, and they're doing all the marketing. They're doing all the marketing. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

And and and the let's not forget that the pie is not going to stay the same size. The pie is going to get bigger too, right? So the the the the the dollars flowing into this industry is going to almost double in the next five to eight years. That's right. That it's it's already crazy high. So, you know, I'm the the concern I have is is not about the contraction of the industry at all. It's actually about how do you sustain it and how do you keep your piece of the pie, right? And how do you grow with it? And for that, you need great teachers.

SPEAKER_00 27:57

Really need great teachers. You need great teachers. You need great teachers. Those are the people who are going to be the face of your studio, and they're the ones who are going to keep your clients coming back. Your teachers have to not just have the proper education from a Pilates standpoint, but they also have to have those soft skills as owners. You need to have that to like have your hand in that and help train them in that and how you want your studio represented. And, you know, it's it's it's on all of us to make sure that we keep and grow our piece of the pie because it's there. It's there. This isn't a moment to be afraid. This is a moment to say, I'm all in. I'm all in to get my piece.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

Absolutely. You know, conversations that we have all the time inside of my Thrive Group Coaching program, it focuses on how to develop your team and how to ensure that they are, you know, they are representing your brand in the best possible light. And of course, the teaching part of it is really significant and making sure that they, that your teachers are delivering the experience you want for the client, but delivering

Developing Teams And Brand Delivery

SPEAKER_01 29:00

the results that your brand promises, but also representing your business. And there's a, you know, there's a lot of of like, and just going back to what you were saying earlier about mentorship and guidance, you know, from a from a leadership perspective, that comes into play there as well, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. So, Jessica, I this has been a fabulous conversation. I really enjoyed this. I've enjoyed it very much too. There's so many more things I'd love to chat with you about. So you'll have to come back on another time. Absolutely. Let everyone listening know um when where folks can learn a bit more about what you do and how to find you.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

So on uh your website, uh and and I think on this podcast, we'll have a link to where people can get more information and book a call to get information as to how they could work. There's a few different ways that studio owners can work with us. As hosts, they can, as well as um we can train you if you want to use our curriculum to run programs yourself. And then we also can do a white label program, like a licensing white label program. So those are all options. All of that will be included in the notes section of this podcast, I believe, on your website, and then obviously on mine at eytpilates teachertraining.com. Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 30:15

And I will add all of that in the show notes. Um, and thanks again, Jessica, for coming on. This has been a fantastic conversation. And I look forward to doing us again with you all over again sometime soon.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

Nothing I love more than nerding out with other Pilates people. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 30:34

Did you love this episode and want more? Head to spring3.com and check out my free resources that will help you run a profitable and fulfilling studio business. And before you go, one last reminder. There is no one way to do what you

Ways To Work With EYT And Closing

SPEAKER_01 30:50

do, only your way. So, whatever it is that you want to do, create, or offer, you've got this. Thanks again for joining me today and have a wonderful rest of your day.