Treat Your Business

123 Creating a Side Hustle Without Losing Your Mind

• Katie Bell / Anna Maskell • Season 1 • Episode 123

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Hi lovely listeners,

This week, I’m joined by the amazing Anna Maskell from Animated Physio to explore side hustles, smart business growth, and knowing when to say “yes” (or “not yet”).

Anna, a physio and Pilates instructor, has transformed her clinic and built a thriving side hustle designing high-quality Pilates mats. From running her clinic solo to overcoming the challenges of product development, Anna’s journey is truly inspiring, and she’s here to share it all.

If you’ve wondered when to start a side hustle or how to balance big ideas with running a business, this episode is for you.

🎯 IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL DISCOVER:

  • How Anna turned a problem in her clinic into a sellable product that’s now used in studios across the UK.
  • The importance of timing and knowing when to focus on your core business before diversifying.
  • Why first impressions and high-quality equipment can elevate your client experience and reputation
  • How Anna’s journey shows the power of persistence, strategy, and staying true to your vision.
  • Practical tips for clinic owners who want to create an additional revenue stream without burning out.

⭐ KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM ANNA:
1️⃣ First Impressions Matter: Your equipment and environment speak volumes about your brand. Investing in quality shows your clients you care and positions you as a premium service.
2️⃣ Remove Barriers to Movement: Make it easy and enjoyable for clients to engage with your services by creating an exceptional experience.
3️⃣ Timing is Everything: You can’t do it all at once. Focus on building a strong foundation in your core business before diversifying into new ventures.

🎁 RESOURCES & LINKS:

Treat Your Business podcast is proudly sponsored by MBST, the groundbreaking technology revolutionising recovery and rehabilitation. Offering a non-invasive, drug-free solution for musculoskeletal conditions and nerve injuries, MBST works at a cellular level to stimulate regeneration. Expand your services and deliver long-term patient improvements without increasing your workload.

Learn more at mbstmedical.co.uk. 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smart-investments-when-and-how-to-buy-equipment-for-maximum-profit-tickets-1328729809629?aff=oddtdtcreator 

Katie Bell: [00:00:00] Have I got a treat for you this week? So this week is one of our guests that have come onto the podcast to talk about two things really. They are a physio by trade. They worked with us a few years ago and they were in this kind world of, being the sole generator of revenue in their clinic.

They were doing everything. They were wearing every hat. She was in the middle of a house refurb. There was so much stuff going on in her life and she had this [00:00:30] thing, this second thing that we are gonna talk about on the podcast today, on the side, like that she wanted to do. If you are a clinic owner that.

Has loads of ideas and sometimes tries to implement too many things at once and then gets very overwhelmed. Then this episode is definitely for you, but we are not only gonna talk about like having a side hustle, having a second income , we're gonna get really. Strategic about this, and we're gonna talk about when is the [00:01:00] right time to create basically more carnage in your life by having a second thing.

And when is it time to say no more than it is to say yes and how Anna has gone on to. Level up. I cannot even begin to tell you. And we were talking on the podcast. I think she was, she said she now does 27 classes a week. She's a physio, 27 classes a week. She was definitely doing six or seven when she came to work with us.

Leveled up massively in the last year and a half. But not only that, [00:01:30] her client reputation is phenomenal. Her marketing strategy is now nailed. Her systems in her business are fantastic. She's out clinically way more than she's ever been. She gets to walk the dog whenever she wants to. Ah, I'm inspired.

I hope you are pull up a seat grab a cup of tea and listen in to this episode.

Welcome to the Treat Your Business Podcast with Katie Bell. I'm Katie, and this is the place where clinic owners like you learn the strategies, tools, [00:02:00] and mindset shifts needed to transform your clinic into a thriving business. One that gives you more time, more money, and more freedom. Born from a passion to challenge the idea that average is normal.

We empower clinic owners to create extraordinary businesses, incomes, and lives through our world class coaching programs. We help you step out of overwhelm and into confidence, turning your clinic into a business that fuels your lifestyle, not drain it, it. So are you ready? Let's [00:02:30] dive in. I'm delighted to tell you this episode of The Treat Your Business podcast is proudly brought to you by New, the leading practice management software designed to streamline operations and empower every Allied Health clinic.

Their platform seamlessly handles every aspect of your clinic. From scheduling and clinical note taking to invoicing and reporting, their innovative solution will help streamline your clinic and free up your valuable time, allowing you to focus on delivering better patient care and [00:03:00] growing your business.

So if you are tired of juggling multiple systems and wasting precious hours on administrative tasks, then experience the innovation of CLE and discover how it can improve the efficiency and profitability of your practice. Visit cle.com today to learn more about how their automated features and user friendly interface can revolutionize the way you manage your practice.

Unlock the full potential of your clinic with new the practice management [00:03:30] software that puts you in control of your time. Now, let's get back to business.

Hi Anna. Welcome to the podcast. 

Anna Maskell: Hi. Thanks for having me. 

Katie Bell: You are welcome, Anna. I'm really excited to talk to you for a few reasons. Reason number one is 'cause we used to coach you and support you, and so I've seen your business go from you just being you in it, doing everything, wearing every hat, teaching every class, doing [00:04:00] everything to having this team of people around you and you being able to extract yourself from the business.

That little bit more to focus on what we are gonna talk about today. So I'm really excited to get an update on where you are at and how things are for you. But I'm also really excited and inspired that you have. Come up with an idea, you've invented something basically. And then you have managed to get that idea into production and now into a sellable product that's existing in other people's studios.

I'm excited. 

Anna Maskell: [00:04:30] Me too. 

Katie Bell: Okay, let's dive in. Anna, for, I know who you are, but for all of our lovely listeners, tell them who you are. Tell them what it is that you do. 'cause you now do two things. 

Anna Maskell: Sure. So I guess by trade I'm a physio and Pilates instructor with my physio and Pilates business. And I guess from the, for the purposes of today I'm coming on to talk about what is now my, I guess my side hustle.

Which is my movement mat and my Pilates mats that I have developed. And I [00:05:00] guess it came from me wanting to design like high quality exercise and rehab products to serve our clients better. So it's born from that and now it's something that I've developed into a product that not only my clients use, but it's gone out inside other studios as well.

Katie Bell: Yeah. Amazing. And what listeners are gonna get from today is we're gonna learn about this product and how amazing it is and how they could use it in their studios and their clinics, but we're also gonna really dig into the business side of stuff and how, where you were in your [00:05:30] business life that allowed you to go into this and some advice that I gave you a year or so ago.

Really understanding when is the right time in your business to do a side hustle, to create a different form of income, to diversify to dilute yourself, actually. So we're gonna talk about that as well, aren't we, Anna? 

Anna Maskell: Yes. 

Katie Bell: Okay. So let's go back to where did this idea come from?

 You were a physio about trade, you ran Pilates classes, that's when we met. And you were, you had your own [00:06:00] studio. 

And you were on your own. What was going on for you then that was like this kind of little noise that wanted you to create something else or do something different.

Anna Maskell: Yeah, with our mats in our classes, we were finding that they weren't, first of all, they weren't lasting very well. So I think from like a sustainability point of view, we finding, we were taking our, we're replacing our mats every three months or so because they were being used like five or six times a day and they just got worn out.

But we were also finding from [00:06:30] a client experience, it's not nice they're coming in the mats worn out, but. They were, they would slide around on the floor. They were actually a bit, probably a bit too soft and a bit too spongy which meant that it affected the grip. Balance exercises were difficult for our clients.

And from there I was like, I want to replace these mats and I. Then made it a bit of a mission to go and buy loads of different mats, try them all out and try and find something that was still a good thickness that was going to support our clients that had sore wrists, [00:07:00] backs, knees hips give them lots of support, but still not so soft that they were gonna wobble around doing their balance exercise.

And they felt safe and secure during those. And also that lasted a lot longer, so we weren't having to keep replacing them. So I felt like I was doing the right thing, for the environment as well by trying to find something that was much more durable. And I tried, yeah, I tried like a lot of different ones somewhere.

I went for lots of different price ranges as well. 'cause I was like, maybe if they're more expensive, they're going to be more durable or they're going to be better. And I found that wasn't necessarily the case at [00:07:30] all. I just couldn't find anything that was quite. And it was actually, I had a friend who had recently read a book, I can't remember the name of it actually.

And they talk about, it's a business book and they talk about yoga mats a lot in it. And she's I should read this book, because they talk about how to create a yoga mat and take it to market. And so I listened to this book and was like. Okay. Yeah, I'm gonna do that. Yes. 

And I did, 

wow. 

Katie Bell: I love the entrepreneurial spirit there, Anna.

[00:08:00] Like all of our listeners are gonna be visionaries. They're gonna be people who've got loads and loads of ideas and a lot of us don't act on half of the ideas that we get. 'cause we couldn't possibly. But you had this I guess your, it was born out of a cause really the purpose of there isn't anything on the market that.

Can elevate my practice, it can improve our reputation. It can improve our client experience. So you went out and created one. 

Anna Maskell: Yeah, that was a plan. And I think [00:08:30] when I first did it, I thought of it as this has just got something that's going to be in my studio. My client's gonna be able to use it.

That's great. And I, I sold them onto a few of our clients and then I think it got to that point where I was like, it could be something bigger because if I'm having this problem, and I tried all these other mats as well. Surely there are lots of other people in a similar situation to me that are having the same issue.

Katie Bell: Yeah. So you created this product, you went through all of the stages [00:09:00] of testing and design and packaging and shipment costs and fulfillment costs and like all of that. Yeah. What was the hardest part for you? 

Anna Maskell: I think managing the quality of the product, that was. The result because, so my manufacturer's in China and I tried to look for one that was nearer and couldn't find anything in the UK or in Europe.

So it's being sent over and to have things sent backwards and forwards was a [00:09:30] really lengthy process. 

Yeah. 

Quite an expensive process because it was quite a lot of trial and error. I knew. So from the mat that I've developed, I knew what material I was going for because I'd found a map that I liked, but it was too thin.

And then I'd looked around to try and find one that was that same material, but thicker. But I didn't realise within that material, there can be different variations in the amount of certain materials that go into it. So trying to make sure that quality was right. Being put all my way from [00:10:00] China,

Katie Bell: and this kind strikes me as what lesson do we take from this in business for what can our listeners take from this?

Because I think. When you come up with a new idea or when we implement something new in our business, there were always so many hurdles that we need to face and we have this, I call it the, like the entrepreneurial cycle. So you had this idea, Anna, and at that stage you were in what I call uninformed optimism.

So you were like, I know I'm gonna do a side hustle. I'm gonna invent a pilates [00:10:30] mat. I'm gonna make some more money. But you didn't actually know what it would take at that stage. So you were in this wonderful kind of phase of, oh my God, this could be so great. 

Then you moved into, 'cause I was there on the journey with you, you went into informed pessimism, which was holy shit balls.

There is so much stuff that I've got to work through here and most entrepreneurs will drop into what we call the value of despair, where they exist in this. Lots of problems. Not necessarily lots of solutions, [00:11:00] lots of challenges. I've gotta face shipping stuff back in and out from China.

And you could have easily given up Anna, but what you didn't do was give up. Now we are gonna talk about when I told you to do things and when I told you not to do things. But. We had to get certain things working for you in your business to allow you the time to work on this. Yeah. But then you came up the other side and we came into this now informed optimism where you're like, I can see the challenges.

I know what's happening. I know how to overcome them. [00:11:30] I'm on that path. And you can see that success and fulfillment is right there in the future for you. 

Anna Maskell: Yeah. And I think from, yeah, from working with you, I had, I think I was at the point where I had the mats in my studio and I was like, oh, I wanna do something else with them.

And you were like, you can do something else with them. Maybe now it's not the best time when you're also trying to fill your physio, physios slots, grow your team, increase your class timetable. And I think you you can do a lot of [00:12:00] things, but you can't do them all at once. It's probably what I've learned.

Katie Bell: I cannot believe I'm hearing this from your mouth. This is amazing. Can I also just say you've forgotten the fact you were renovating your house and you were also getting married. 

Anna Maskell: Yeah. 

Katie Bell: Honeymoon or whatever it was like, 

Anna Maskell: there was a lot going on. 

Katie Bell: Didn't you have a lot going on? Okay, so let's roll back. So the biggest challenge was the, like the two in and frowing from China, but you stuck with it.

You've come out the other side of it, we now have a product that you've taken to market and you are selling and [00:12:30] you are using in your clinic. So it's reduced your overheads and your costs of delivery. 'cause you've got a better product in place that lasts and now other clinics can benefit from this amazing map that you have because you stuck with the process and you worked the path until it worked.

Anna Maskell: Yes. It's a lot of, it was a lot of work and a lot of sticking things out. But I do think it was important to wait for the right time with that as well. I think it's, yeah, [00:13:00] 2023 that we are working together and I, it's only really this year, so the last couple of months I've really had the time to put into.

Trying to expand what is happening with the mats and actually going, you know what, I'm gonna try and take this forwards. Because I'm at the point that my my studio is full now, so we have 27 classes a week that are fully booked, and we have massage therapists that are fully booked. And after my physio diary, I don't do a lot of, maybe a bit like, Katie, I don't do a lot of physio anymore, but I do two or [00:13:30] three days a week.

And I'm booked up. Four weeks in advance. So I basically, I have no more capacity. And I was like, how can I grow if I don't have another premises at the moment? 

Katie Bell: And, oh, I'm so inspired by you, Anna, and I absolutely love hearing this because I knew where you were at. And I want listeners to ni really be able to know that everything and anything is possible.

And if they feel, if they're listening to this and they feel like they're in a world of It's all [00:14:00] on me. You were the sole revenue generator in your clinic and it was just you had you, thank God you didn't have 27 classes. Did you have 10? Something like that. Maybe not even that many. Yeah, I don't think you had that many.

That's a wild amount of growth. But to then throw in a second business. To the mix at that stage, I kept saying to you, you absolutely can, but just 'cause you can doesn't mean you should. And a big [00:14:30] powerful thing, I think in business is being able to say No more than you say. Yes. And it was hard, 

wasn't it? You fought with it for a while. 

Anna Maskell: Yeah, and I think I didn't want to be seen to be giving up on something, I suppose, but. Looking back now, I can see that it was totally right to put my energy into growing the face-to-face business because now that is at a point where I know that like I can step back from it.

I can go on holiday for a week. I can, all the things that you [00:15:00] talk about in your podcast all the time, I can do all those things. I can get up and walk the dog in the morning and not have, not know I have to be there to take a class at nine o'clock in the morning. It doesn't matter if I start work half an hour.

The sun's out and I wanna walk the dog a bit further. Like those things are okay for me to do Now. I still work a lot. I'm not gonna deny that. And it's a different problem having to manage people. But my time is much more flexible in. How I work now I suppose, which has opened up that space for [00:15:30] me to do something a little bit different with some of my time.

Katie Bell: I'm so inspired and you know what? I love the fact that you still work a lot. I fucking still work a lot 'cause I love it. I love work. I love making a difference. I love doing what we do and some of us are wired to do that and some of us are not wired to do that. But running one business is mental.

Running two businesses. You are absolutely crazy. 

Anna Maskell: But I do think there is what type of person are you? I could've gone, oh, my clinic is at a point where it runs nicely and it's great and I can walk the dog and [00:16:00] it's whenever I want. Lovely. But I decided to do something else with that extra time 

Katie Bell: And who are we to say that you can't do that?

But it was like, okay, you have bigger goals, bigger wants, bigger aspirations for your life and that is fantastic. But my job as your coach was to say. Let's do that, but let's do it in the right time and in the right order and do it strategically. 

So you've created systems, you've created processes, you've got team in place, you've got your, you've extracted yourself from many [00:16:30] parts of the business.

You've got fabulous VAs that work for you and have helped you be able to go on holiday and, not be completely hooked to your laptop all the time. So that's allowed you to step in now. To start to really drive this side hustle forwards. So what's your next steps then, Anna? Like where do you see, what is it that you need to do next to get this business to the goal that you've got for it in 12 months time?

Anna Maskell: Yeah, so I'd like it [00:17:00] to the mats to be out in lots of studios over the uk. Yeah, so I guess so that we know that we can enhance our client's experience more, I guess as a physio I just want people to break down those barriers that stop 'em from exercising or them to be able to exercise in a comfortable way.

And I think anything that's a barrier can stop people. Like we know that with our clients, right? And any excuse. So I think if they've got good workout equipment, that's gonna really help. those mats [00:17:30] to be available across the.

Yeah, and obviously we sell them like through a website. I've got an affiliate program going on where I've got quite a few instructors that take classes outta Village Hall, so they don't necessarily take the maps with them, but they've got them like one as a sample show their clients, and now they're starting to buy them to again, improve their.

Their experience in those classes. I've actually expanded the product as well. So we've got, actually we've got Pilate as, 

Katie Bell: oh goodness, this is exciting. 

Anna Maskell: So yeah, we got some grippy socks and im just [00:18:00] working on. This is our this is our, these were our first ones, so we've got and ballet style ones. And these are in navy blue if you understand this.

But we I'm just in the process of getting a new order for, I I'd like to have a, like a spring summer collection of a different color as well. So again, it's something that can help expand the products that I can offer. And I think it's a really nice I guess combination to go with the mats.

Katie Bell: I love this. So let's pretend that you've got loads of studio owners. Not pretend 'cause they actually are listening to this, who [00:18:30] are thinking okay, I have I have access to a whole load of clients who could potentially buy a mat and a pair of socks, and could I now make money as a studio owner selling them if I bought them from Anna?

Is this a way for me to create additional revenue into my business? What would you say about that? 

Anna Maskell: Yeah, absolutely. So let's say I've got this I've got an affiliate scheme set up. If you don't want to hold stock of the product, you have a, again, I'll show you this. I've got a little leaflet that I send out to you.

And you put your affiliate [00:19:00] code there. It's got a QR code on it. You give it to your clients, they scan it, it takes you to our online shop. They put in your discount code. They get a 10% discount, but you also earn commission on every sale that someone makes using your code. If you have the space to stock.

The products yourself, then you would earn a greater commission. So we do wholesale options too. So if you were to buy a batch of 12 or more mats or 20 or more socks, then you can stock those and you would get a greater commission from selling those onto your clients too. 

Katie Bell: So I'm thinking here okay, we've got, we [00:19:30] talk about don't we like client experience and creating increasing.

The profit that you make per visit, per patient, per thing that goes on in your clinic. So it's if I've got members, how could I add this in as a, as an option for them to purchase? How could I maybe create a program of treatment or one-to-ones or whatever that they get a mat and a pair of socks and everything is in it.

But I've already put that margin in of the [00:20:00] profit, so I'm. That's they could do all of this, couldn't they? 

Anna Maskell: Yeah. And that's pretty much what we do with our membership. So when someone signs up to a membership, they get a little welcome card from us, and in there's a voucher to say, oh, you signed up.

Why didn't you get get yourself started with our Matt and Socks when you start and they, there's again a little like discount coupon in there. And they get that welcome card and that's a really nice. For them to get and they're like, oh, I've got started with this journey. It's like anything, is it if you, you take up running, you wanna buy a new pair of trainers because you feel [00:20:30] great to go running when you've got those new trainers.

Katie Bell: Absolutely. I love this. And for anybody listening to this who's not watching us on YouTube, if you wanna see Anna's socks, then you just need to go to our YouTube video too. Be able to see Anna showcasing her Pilates socks live on there. Okay, so if people were like, I. Buzzing about this idea of bringing better equipment into their clinic, and this has been a real pro.

I remember when we set up our Pilates classes, I could not believe how expensive the mats [00:21:00] were that I had to purchase, and they were average at best. It was like probably the biggest expense other than a treatment couch that I had to get in my in. In fact, probably even more than that, like it was ludicrous.

We've got listeners here that might think, actually, I need to elevate my equipment. So they could contact you, they could use you. We've got listeners that might be thinking I could now elevate the service that I offer and the offerings that I've got in my clinic. So they could be on an affiliate scheme.

[00:21:30] Or we might be inspiring listeners who've got a great idea about a product or a thing that they wanna create, and they've just never got themselves over the line. So for that person, Anna, what would be your first like tip? What would you advise them to go and do 

Anna Maskell: if they want to make their own product?

Katie Bell: Yeah. 

Anna Maskell: I'm more than happy to talk to anyone about it because I get, probably tell, I get very excited about anything. I guess it's knowing, I think with having a [00:22:00] product, it's knowing what problem are you solving is probably the big thing. So it wasn't just a case that I went, oh, I wanna make some mats because I've decided to use mats.

And it's because I found there was a problem with the mats and I'd done some research and I couldn't find something that solved that problem. So I think it's having a real, strong. Valid, Point they're trying to make with your product, rather than just going, I'm just gonna make this because it's nice, a nice thing to do.

I think it's gonna be so much more impactful if you can think about what problem it's solving. 

Katie Bell: A hundred percent it. 

Yours was born out of a [00:22:30] passion to fix a problem, and that's what a great product is. It has to solve a problem, otherwise you're never gonna be able to market it. Okay. My tip would be the tip that I gave you, which is now the right time.

Running one business is mental. Running two businesses is crazy and you. can't do everything all at once like you found Anna. It is like as soon as I start doing this then drops. And as soon as [00:23:00] I start then focusing on that, I can't do my maths. And it was like, this is just never gonna change unless I get really clear on what I need the clinic to be doing for me.

So I guess my tip is be really strategic about when is the right time for you to do this side hustle. Second thing, dilution, diversification, whatever you wanna call it. 

Anna Maskell: Yeah, I would a hundred percent agree with you there. I would say any, if anyone's got an idea, try when you have it, try and keep in mind so that you don't feel negative about it, [00:23:30] is that everything takes a lot longer than you think to.

It's not, it hasn't been easy. I've enjoyed the process definitely of learning how to develop a product and all of the logistical things that came along with it and then getting it to market and then learning more about sales. I found that really interesting and another, like a great extra thing to learn, but it has been a would to stress that as well.

I think I thought it was gonna be, oh, it's really easy. I read this book and I was like, oh my gosh, it's [00:24:00] really easy. Everyone's gonna buy this mat without me doing anything. It doesn't quite happen like that. 

Katie Bell: You were in the uninformed, optimistic stage that every entrepreneur goes into and starts off in that phase.

'cause otherwise none of us would ever start a business. We actually knew what it took. We'd be like not gonna do that. So we all start in that phase that you were in, Anna, and what you've done so wonderfully is you have navigated all of those phases of the entrepreneurial cycle and you've come up the other side and then now seeing that the return on your [00:24:30] investment of time and energy and money and all of that effort that you've had to put in to get this product to market.

Okay. So I love giving our listeners like there's so much, so many things that they can take from this already, but what I always ask you, what three tips could we share that would be useful, that would be engaging to our listeners and. You've come up with three really great ones. The first thing that you said was that when you were designing your maps, the things that [00:25:00] you considered, and I think we can translate this into.

Actually how we run our clinics as well is that first impressions really matter. Do you wanna expand on that, Anna? 

Anna Maskell: Yeah. I think it's, no. And from listening to your podcast as well, working with you, I know you know, there's, you have a big emphasis on making sure that what we are offering is a really high quality.

I think that clients will, judge you from the moment they walk through the door. And if you've got, equipment that shows that you're a premium [00:25:30] service, you, you having the skills is really obviously really important. But I think having other ways that show that you are a premium service really like votes in your favour.

And it shows that you care about your clients and their comfort and their safety and that you are really committed to giving them that high quality service. 

Katie Bell: Yeah. And what impact does that have in your pricing?

Anna Maskell: I guess your pricing's higher, but people are okay to pay that. 

Katie Bell: Yeah, absolutely. Because we had a great conversation on our q and a this [00:26:00] morning actually, Anna, and it was all about the minute that we start making price comparisons and we go, let's just compare this for that is where we lose out when we say.

We have this, but we have all of these added value reasons, problem solving initiatives behind it. You then, it's then really difficult to compare A for B. 

So it stops becoming always a price dependent decision and it becomes more of a value based decision. 

Anna Maskell: Yeah, and I would say [00:26:30] again, from, I guess like your help as well, I used to be really worried.

I used to see I on Facebook, people would put up, oh, I've got this class starting in a village hall and it's three 50, and I'd be like, oh my gosh, this class is starting down the road for me. All my clients are gonna go there, but they don't because. What we offer is just so much more, like we really work hard on providing a community.

We have say you come to our studio and we provide everything for you there. And it's a great environment for people to be in and people will realise the value in that 

Katie Bell: [00:27:00] People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it. And that like Anna, that really sings for me. When I look at animated physio and I look at I follow you on socials and stuff.

I see what you are doing and you are creating, and that's something we've worked so hard to do in Thrive and in my clinic is a community. Because it's the power of the community that will attract more of those people to you and actually level, so you don't have to be compared to the church Hall three pound fifty class.

They might be great, but let them [00:27:30] do them and let you, do you? 

Anna Maskell: Yeah, I was gonna say something else. It'll come to you. It'll 

Run everything on a membership.

Some people won't sign up because they don't want to join a membership, but I think again, it's showing that importance of being part of that community and being consistent to get results. And you can go and do a three pound fifty pay as you go class and turn up once every six weeks, but you're not gonna get a benefit from it. It's showing your clients that you do get them those results. 

Katie Bell: [00:28:00] That. Oh my I remember Anna when we sat down like probably early 2020, like 2022, early 20, 23, and we were looking at your pricing, weren't we? Your membership model. And we were like stripping it back and changing it and doing things.

And we were just getting really clear of what does your clinic stand for? And you, Anna are like, client results, people have gotta get results. And I was like, okay, facilitate that then. Get rid of all the other shit that doesn't facilitate client results because then your business will explode.

And that's [00:28:30] exactly what you've done, isn't it? 

Anna Maskell: Yeah. And we've really focused down on, we almost offer less now, but we really work on the things that we do offer, putting a lot of energy into those things rather than trying to offer loads of stuff we offer less, but. Less options, but a focus on that quality.

And I think, I dunno if it's a, is it like the 80 20 rule of like you get, is it 80% of your income from 20% of what you do? So we were like, what, 20%. That's we focused on. 

Katie Bell: Anybody would've thought you'd listen to this podcast [00:29:00] from

I'm loving hearing this. 'cause it's oh my God, somebody listens to me. This is amazing. Okay, so the second tip was that you felt like you wanted to remove barriers to. To movement and to get results. So one of the things I talk about all the time is make things accessible, make things easy for people.

And this is what you've done. Do you wanna expand on that? 

Anna Maskell: Yeah. I suppose that we're, we are in that space where we're working with people that maybe you don't want to exercise. Exercise can be [00:29:30] scary for them. Their comfort zone, they've got aches and pain, again, there's that worry around exercising and if you've already got all those barriers, if you've, again, if you've got equipment that maybe isn't comfortable for someone to use they're not getting the best experience.

When you do manage to encourage 'em to do that thing, that is, a step outside of their comfort zone, you want to enhance that experience and make them realize actually it's okay, and anything you can do to improve that. I guess you want to be doing a bit like when I was saying about, if you decide you're gonna take up running, you [00:30:00] wanna get a new pair of trainers, that's gonna make you more motivated.

I think having that nice equipment when you do any sort of exercise is really gonna again, help break down those barriers and make people feel more excited about doing it. 

Katie Bell: Yeah, I absolutely love that. And it's about. Why, when did it become okay for physio clinics? I'm saying physio because you, me are physios, osteos, chiropractors, podiatrists, all those to just run like a. Bog standard, average kind of service to people like I am here for people to [00:30:30] like Uplevel, make us exceptional, put us on the map, uplevel our whole industry self-worth and confidence. And to do that we need to treat our businesses like they are five star hotels and that people are coming to them and want an experience rather than just a transaction.

Yeah, definitely. It's the whole package, isn't it? We wanna, it's the whole package. It's the whole package. Now, with that whole package, your third thing was like, by doing this, it actually improves your reputation as a clinic, and that is like a [00:31:00] self-fulfilling business model then, because you just naturally refer, retain clients because of that.

Anna Maskell: Yeah, a bit like what I was saying with the membership, if you get people there consistently, they see those results then they're gonna keep coming. I think we, we do really well with our, we've got a really low turnover of people coming to our classes because I think they see it. And again, I think this is important.

When you're running something from a physio and a healthcare point of view, we are running it for health to improve people's. [00:31:30] And so people realize if they stop doing that, they see. How it isn't benefiting their health anymore to stop. So if you are getting people through the door and they're doing those things that help them, then they're going to keep doing them. 'cause they see, again, they see those results. So it will help with your retention. And again, like we've done a few different, we've tried lots of different things in our clinic around. Getting people to turn up more. And the most successful thing we've done is bring a friend week and just getting, just trying to encourage [00:32:00] people to tell their friends about what they're doing and bring them along to try a class.

Like it's the most successful thing we've done. We do it twice a year now, and we get like a huge increase in our members every time we do it. Relatively known cost to you. Exactly. It doesn't, yeah, so we don't, I don't do any, you might not agree with this. I don't do any paid advertising, but we work really hard with say, trying to get our clients to refer friends in.

We do refer a friend for our appointments and for our classes. And [00:32:30] with where we are at the moment. I say we're at capacity. That's enough for us at the moment. 

Katie Bell: It's incredible. Absolutely love it. You've put, but what you've done, Anna, is you've done you've tried, you've tested you've analysed what worked, you've maximised what works, and then you roll with it and you are consistent with it.

You don't just do it once and then suck it off again and do it another time and, forget it. It's like this is what we do now and this is how we drive people into our business. You've got a marketing strategy. Yeah. Which for where you are right now is serving you. If we were to say, let's 10 x your business owner, [00:33:00] we'd need to do different marketing.

Hey, that's fine, but for what you need right now that's serving you. 

Anna Maskell: And I definitely think from, again, from working with you and like actually understanding that you have, you can do some trial and error and then it's like you try something and it's actually analysing what happens when you do those things.

And that's what we've done with, anything like. We've got like a a process of how someone would come into our membership of we've tried different numbers of trial classes, different packages, different, we've tried lots of different options. We've run 'em [00:33:30] for a few months at a time, really recorded those results, and then we've managed to go back and say, actually this is the most successful thing that we did.

Let's keep running that. So it, it is not just like stabbing in the dark all the time. You can stab in the dark and try it for a few months and then you analyze it and then decide whether to continue with it. I thought to do that before. I just keep trying all sorts of different things, whereas now we've refined everything.

We're like, this thing works. Let's stick with that, and we just have to keep repeating it now. 

Katie Bell: I love this you can come on the [00:34:00] podcast again. 

Anna Maskell: Oh, thanks. I love it. 

Katie Bell: Anna if our listeners, I am like super inspired and I'm a visionary, so I'm now thinking what product could I now make? No, I need to stay in my lane.

Stay in my lane. So if our people are that are listening are really excited by trying your mats, getting them into their clinics and their studios, how can they contact you? 

Anna Maskell: Yeah, so you can contact me. I've got an email address I set up for the mats, which is hello@apwellness.co. Uk. You can contact me on [00:34:30] Instagram.

That's probably, that's the only social media platform I use. And it's a p Wellness on Instagram. And if you want to go onto our site and have a look on our little online shop that's AP wellness.co uk. 

Katie Bell: So we'll make sure all of those links and handles are all in the right places that they need to be.

Anna, just one final tip from you then. So what would be the one thing that you want a listener to take from our conversation today? 

Anna Maskell: I think [00:35:00] probably. Is it taken from your tip of prioritizing? What is the best thing for you to do at the time? I don't think that you can do everything. You can't do everything all at once, so you need to do one thing at a time.

Do that well, and that will create that space for you to do that next thing. 

Katie Bell: I love that. I love that. I could not have said it any better myself. Anna, thank you so much for giving up your very valuable time to come on here and inspire our listeners. 

Anna Maskell: Thank you so much for having me. 

Katie Bell: You are [00:35:30] welcome.

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