Pilates Teachers' Manual
Pilates Teachers' Manual
Special Guest - Seran Glanfield Returns
Seran Glanfield, owner of Spring Three and host of The Pilates Business Podcast, joins me on the podcast this week! We discuss the evolution of Seran's work in the past four years, highlighting her experience coaching Pilates studio owners and the growth of her podcast. Seran shares insights into her Thrive coaching program, which helps studio owners build profitable and fulfilling businesses tailored to their individual visions, including balancing work with personal life and family. The conversation also explores the current landscape of the Pilates industry, noting its significant growth, increased competition, and the importance of strong branding and strategic business development for success. Tune in!
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Show Notes:
Check out the Pilates Business Podcast with Seran here!
Interested in the Thrive program for business owners? Check it out here!
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Episode Music:
Workout Dance Day EDM by Diamond_Tunes, in compliance with Pixabay's Content License (https://pixabay.com/service/license-summary/)
Listen/download: https://pixabay.com/music/dance-workout-dance-day-edm-123377/
Seran, I am so excited to have you back on the show. I can't believe that it's been four years. I can't imagine that time goes as fast as it does. But you are on the podcast back in 2021 and I'm so, so excited to have you back. Thanks for joining me.
Seran:Of course. I'm so glad to be here. And again, yes, same. I can't believe that was the last time we spoke. It felt like it was like two months ago.
Olivia:Yeah, that's how it feels. Every time I talk to someone I'm just like, oh my gosh. Like I feel like we just did that and it was three years ago at least. So thanks so much for coming back on. Tell me, just so in case listeners don't have that episode fresh in their mind, tell me a little bit about you and Spring Three and now your Pilates podcast as well.
Seran:That's right. So I'm Seran Glanfield. I'm the founder of Spring Three Studio Business Consulting. I've been coaching and consulting studio owners for over a decade, and the majority of my my studio owners are in the Pilates space because before I became a consultant, I was a Pilates teacher and before that I worked in finance and marketing. So I essentially married those two worlds together to do what I do now. And I think shortly after we spoke or right around we last spoke in 2021, I launched the Pilates Business podcast and yeah, it has had weekly episodes ever since it launched and has brought me to have conversations with so many interesting people who are part of the industry which is one of the, I think, the most fabulous things about having a podcast.
Olivia:Oh, it definitely is.
Seran:And, and, and today I get to work with a wonderful group of studio owners and support them as they build their businesses to the versions of success that they want for themselves. And what I mean by that is that I don't think that there is one way or one type of successful business out there for studios. I think that we all come to this world and come into this entrepreneurial movement world with, you know, an idea for what we want to do. And so I'm simply here to help make sure that follow through on that and build it into something that is fulfilling and also profitable.
Olivia:I love that so much because it's a, it's, we, I say over and over again, like teacher training can't cover everything. And I know that a lot of teachers, they'll teach for a while and then they'll decide they wanna set up their own space, they wanna have their own thing where they get to make all the rules and it's a great desire, but like the making it happen is not always super duper clear, and it's not something that is necessarily intuitive all the time. So I love that you have this really incredible resource for business owners to make their business work because we know that Pilates already works. Like it's not a question of the Pilates, but like sometimes the implementation of the studio is like, it's not an easy thing to do, certainly. And so I really appreciate that you're there offering that guidance.
Seran:I have to say I love what I do because I get to help other people to, know, live out what they really, that that idea that they have and what they want to achieve and what they want to build, you know, it's incredibly creative and sometimes, you know, we're not, like you said, we're not taught how to be entrepreneurs and, and I think in any, in any industry really. And so you know, if we, if I can help you navigate that a little bit simpler and easier, and with a bit more clarity and direction, without wasting energy, time, and money, then that's just better for everyone, right? Because that means that everyone's moving and everyone's, you know, helping other people to move. And that's what we're all here to do.
Olivia:Oh my gosh, yes. And tell me about the Pilates Business podcast. First of all, humongous props to you for having weekly episodes for that long. Like that is an significant accomplishment. It is not easy. I, from one podcaster to another, I can tell you that that is a lot of effort and like consistency on your part. So like huge props on that. But tell me a little bit about how it started and how it's evolved and changed over four years.
Seran:Well, yeah, and I will say it is, there are some weeks where I am like scrambling at the last minute to record an episode. Like last week I was, you know, at last couple of weeks I had been really sick and I kept putting it off'cause I kept thinking I cannot do this with how I sound right now is a terrible congestion. So there is certainly some weeks where it is, you know, the last minute situation and then there are other- but I try very hard to have a bit of a plan and, and, and to work ahead of time. And the reason, you know, I think like many of all businesses or ideas or things that we want to get to, you know, I think I had the idea and the thought about it initially in like 2016 or 2017, and I didn't launch it until about four years later. So that tells you, you know, the timeframe. And I was at the point where it was, you know, we had been through the Covid shutdowns and I was you know, I think in a place where I just had truly seen the power of community, because during that time, you know, I was able to sort of pull together all of my contacts, all of the people in my world that I had worked with or gotten to know over the years to talk about how to get through all of those challenges that we faced at that time from a business perspective. And I just was feeling that there was a gap for this type of information and, you know, I saw firsthand how needed it was during that time and I felt like it would be, be doing a disservice to our industry and our community if I didn't share something at least about what we have seen in our learning at that time. And so that's really what kicked me into gear as it were. And like I said, since then it has been, you know, we had, I have had people on the podcast and we, you know, I do, I do weekly episodes. I have interviews with studio owners, I have interviews with software companies. I have interviews with branding experts. I have interviews with meta ads experts with mindset coaches. With, I mean, all, you know anyone who has an association to the industry, and that's my kind of prime, you know, that that's that kind of the filter. And that, that have, that share their insight and on what they're seeing and I think. Within this industry, you know, we, we do only see sort of a small piece of the pie. And so it's always fascinating to meet people who are see are in a kind of different part of the pie, right? And, and have those conversations and the feedback that I get from teachers and studio owners is overwhelmingly positive. Even when I sometimes have people on that, I think to myself, Ooh, this might ruffle some feathers, or not sure whether this is really, you know but yeah, it's always I think, insightful to hear other people's perspective.
Olivia:Because we definitely have the Pilates piece down, like we understand the exercises and like class programming and all the stuff that goes into teaching the classes. But when you kind of go beyond that role of just the teacher, and now you're an owner and you have employees and you have. All these systems to do payroll and like all of this stuff that needs to happen. There are so like I love that you keep it central to Pilates because that's definitely your target audience, but the fact that we all have to use some form of scheduling software and we all have to have a studio website or. You know, if we have funnels to get people into programs, like all of the sales piece that goes into it. So it is, you've identified a massive gap and I'm so glad that your resources out there to, you know, at least start to point people in the right direction about things that you may not even have considered. You know, when you were starting and said like, oh yeah, you know, I want my own space, and it's like all of this stuff comes with it too.
Seran:Right. I think sometimes it's like, okay, I just need a website and my pricing that's it. You know? And, and, and, and that's okay. And maybe a little of ins, Instagram maybe. And, and I think, you know, that we, as you embark on that journey, you discover and learn a lot. And I think the people that make it all the way through are the people that are supposed to be business owners, you know. I'm not sure that it's for everybody, because it does require a different, not even just information or knowledge, but what I think- you know, one of the things that I've learned from coaching studio owners for well over a decade and, and having, and many more conversations than that, you know, well there's all the people who in touch and wanted to talk about it and then never actually went and followed through opening a business is that there is, you know, it does take a certain type of character, right? And there is a certain of skillset that is gonna support being successful in business. And some people you can have it to some degree quite naturally. Some people learn it over time and I think that, you know, we have to also be aware of some of those other things that are needed. So that's things like being actually quite disciplined with our time. Being able to communicate quite well, are all kind of skills that if you don't have them. You know, they, you will need to learn them to really be able to run a successful business. There's many more, but there's that, that, you know, that element of also learning as you go and being open to learning as you go and open to evolving yourself and your skillset I think is also one of those, the, the big sort of factors to determining a successful outcome.
Olivia:And I know Covid we talk about a lot because that was such a massive shift for business owners. But at all times you're gonna have to pivot in your business or adapt or change and that can be something that's scary, I think for a lot of people. Like we crave stability. And so being able to make changes in adaptations when things aren't working. Like maybe you come up with this great plan and then it doesn't go the way that you expect to and you can't just throw everything out and all of that effort. I admire all of the studio owners that I've had the pleasure of working for'cause I recognize that it's not as simple as, you know, asking people to teach classes at set times, although that is part of it. There's so much that goes into and like, I love that you touched on the communication because you've got a team and you've gotta set expectations for them and you've gotta have standards that you hold people to. And it's not always fun because you have to have tough conversations and hold people accountable. But it is still important even though it's not the super fun,"you get to say you're the owner of your studio" kind of thing.
Seran:Yeah, there's, there is, you know, there are gonna be some tough days and there are gonna be some great days, you know? And I think that, you know, as long as you are going into things with their eyes wide open that way, you're gonna do okay. But there are a lot of the skills and you know, having a team is one of them, right? Deciding how to compensate people what's fair, but also what's gonna help your business to be profitable is one of those very sort of challenging things that we have to sort of navigate early on. Pricing your packages, how to and when to raise those prices. And then how to have the conversation with your clients. Well, how to sell, really important factor. And then how to market. And, that doesn't just mean social media. That means actually there's a lot of other things you can market your business that are actually, I think, far more effective on a quicker basis than social media is and then there's, you know, being able to manage your time. And the difference I think going from a teacher to becoming a studio owner is that as a teacher, your top priority is a hundred percent your teaching so that you know that 55 minutes or whatever it is that you, you teach your clients in that class or that one-on-one session, and it's all about being the best teacher you can be. But when you step into the role of a business owner, it's about making the business the best business it can be. And that might mean yes, you absolutely probably need to have fantastic teachers and teaching, but that probably also means that you also need to perhaps think about, you know. Other parts of the business as well. And sometimes those other parts of the business are things that only you as the studio owner can do or put energy into or design or think about or be responsible for. So it's also about where can you delegate? What makes the most sense? How do you delegate? How do you delegate well? How do you set standards? How do you train people? How do you onboard people? How do you manage your clients? How do you build deep relationships with your clients? How do you engage them? How do you sell to them? That's one of the biggest shifts I think, is that you go from having sort of one primary responsibility to then you wear a lot of hats. And I think, you know, that is something that a lot of people are excited about because it sort of takes direction into their own hands. You know, their ultimate ability to generate income becomes more into their own sort of domain, their control. And I think that that, you know, with a little bit of structure and a little bit of support and a little bit of guidance, it is a very easy transition to make. It can be easy. But again, I think you have to go into eyes wide open, right? And you have to lead into it a little bit and know it might probably be quite uncomfortable at times. You're gonna do things you never thought about doing before and gonna have to figure out how to do. But it is, it is an exciting time and it's, there's a lot of opportunity in our industry right now, and I think it's a fabulous time to be running and owning a Pilates studio.
Olivia:Oh my gosh, yes. I am not, and by any means as far along as studio ownership, but I've stepped into more of a management role at Club Pilates in Chicago being one of the lead instructors for the studios. It's just resonating so much with me that like the things that made you a great Pilates teacher don't make you great in the next position because, sure, like your ability to do it yourself and figure it out is great when it's just for you and you're solving a problem in your class. But when you're suddenly responsible for teachers, you going in and doing everything for them is not a great thing to do. Like, you want them to be able to solve things for themselves and understand, you know, why you would do something this way over that way because you can't be every place at the same time and every studio and every class that's happening simultaneously every day of the week. When I'm talking with teachers who are maybe just finishing their teacher training and they're looking at places to teach that all of the stuff that you're sharing about is what I tell them to look for when they're looking for studios to teach at. Like, Hey, is the communication really clear? Are the teachers excited to teach at that studio? Like when you look at the pricing, because you can kind of guess how much you're gonna make based on what is being charged for classes. You know, if it's$10 mat classes, you may not be making the same as if you're at a place that has$150 sessions or things like that. So as a business owner being so clear and so organized on that front is gonna attract teachers to wanna work with you. Because when a teacher takes a class at your studio and talks to the teacher there, they're gonna be like so thrilled about, you know, their working experience at your studio. Versus, you know, I've had experiences where, you know, you don't have a lot of support from the owner and it really is, you go in and you do the whole thing by yourself and you leave and there isn't that community and there isn't that communication. I know that when I'm telling people like, what they should look for, what do you want out of the place that you're teaching? Like, do you want that support? Do you want that kind of hands free ness of it? Pilates is fantastic and like you said, bottom line, more people doing it is a victory and we like, I want every studio that opens to be super successful and to meet the most people that it can and to help everyone's lives improve. The teachers that work there, the owner of the studio, and also the people who are taking the classes, taking advantage of it.
Seran:Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. You are right and you know, everyone is looking for different things, I think. So it's about finding the right spot for you and what your expectations are. Most folks would rather be at a studio that perhaps is well run and well managed. If you're at a studio where there is an owner who has invested in their skillset as a leader and as a marketer and as a business person, then your job is probably safe and you probably will be welcomed and treated very, very well. And because that person has invested in at least the knowledge of what makes a good business. And we know as a business owner that our biggest asset is our teachers. And so we wanna make sure that our teachers are happy and we wanna make sure that our teachers are doing the best that they can do in that role. So, you know, great studio owners will make sure that their teachers are, you know, not just financially happy, but because there's more that goes into this industry than just that, but that they feel like they are, you know, perhaps have a career path, that there is progression for them perhaps in the studio that they are you know, given the appropriate amount of, you know freedom to, to teach the way that they want to teach and that they are, you know, communicated with in a very respectful way and all of those good things that help make it really easy to work there. Right.
Olivia:Oh my gosh, yes. So many, so many good things. Tell me about Spring Three.'cause does your podcast fall under Spring Three? What is hip hop happening in the Spring Three section of your adventure?'cause you've got this awesome podcast and then you've got your business where you're doing the coaching as well.
Seran:So Spring Three is the coaching and consulting arm of what I do and, oh my gosh, we have so many exciting things happening in that world. The majority of the way that I engage and support studio owners falls within my coaching program and my primary coaching program is called Thrive. And we've built that program to support studio owners no matter what stage of business they're at by giving the framework and the structure to support success. And so what is often missing is yes, the information, yes, the tactics, but also the consistent focus that is needed to be able to show up as your best self in your business and not get pulled into the wrong direction, not start questioning things that perhaps don't really matter. Like, oh, there's a studio open down the street. Oh my gosh, I'm just gonna sit here and put all my energy into worrying about that, right? And so instead of that, we create the structure and the environment that supports. Growth and progress and no matter whether you are looking to expand your studio or just to fill your studio or whether you want to take time out of your studio. And so the studio owners that I get to work with are all so incredibly, they are such, they have such great energy. They are so dedicated to helping their clients and showing up for their businesses and help them support them. And I have done, since the inception of Thrive, which was March of 2020, was when we first kind of pulled this group together. And we still have 10%, no, more than 10% of our members. Have been in the program since day one.
Olivia:Wow.
Seran:Over the course of that time, they just lean into the structure and the support and the resources that we do, and the program's adapted and evolved as time has gone on and based on what we are seeing they need. And so we give them playbooks for everything on how to build a referral program, host an open house, build out automations. We get give guidance on which software is best for them. We have weekly coaching calls in the program, mastermind breakout sessions, trainings, and it's really sort of like the train that you step on that just leads you forward to, you know, that destination of wherever it is that you want to go. There's not one formula. There's not, you have to have a membership. It is, okay, let's talk about your business. We do a full business assessment. Where are you at in your business? And then here's our recommendations for where to focus next. And then let's build out just a 90 day timeline for how you wanna take the time that you may have to focus on your business. And if you're teaching full-time, that might just be two or three hours a week, right? So let's make sure that whatever you're doing in those two to three hours a week are having the biggest impact on growing your business. So that might be focusing on perhaps the marketing, maybe it's focusing on, let's make sure you understand what's happening with your profit margin, your numbers. Maybe it's focused on, okay, we need to hire on trained teachers, so we help you figure out where do you take that very precious time that you have to focus on your business and make sure that it is optimized and you're not wasting that time or spending it doing worrying about something that is not actually helping you to grow.
Olivia:I think it's a huge testament to your program that you've had people who've stuck with you through ups and downs and twists and turns in their business. Like that is really incredible to have built that community of people who are, you know, not just there to get answers, but willing to grow and really invest and live that process, like that's really remarkable.
Seran:Well, and we've had women come in who are, you know, they, they built a business and then they wanna have a baby. And so we build the business around them wanting to take time out, not just to have the baby. Right. Which is how corporate America would look at it,
Olivia:Mm-hmm.
Seran:But take time out so that they can then spend time with their child, right. As they up.
Olivia:Which would be ideal. Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
Seran:it. And so, we've had, you know, ladies have come in and had one, two plus babies, or they've been able to take weeks out of their business to go and spend time with them, with, with be with their kids perhaps during the summer when they're off school. We've got ladies who are in there who have got aging parents and they need to take care of them. And being able to build a business that supports them. And, you know, all of us women at every stage of our life, because we're mostly women in this industry, who, and, and you know, and men too. And I believe we should all build this business for whatever stage of life that we are at. And I think it's entirely possible, but I do think you have to have a little bit of structure in place to be able to facilitate that. And so it's been beautiful to see, really lovely to see that. And I'll say for me, on a very personal level, I think that is one of the most fulfilling things that I have been able to be a part of is helping women to be able to have kids and take care of other people in their life and live their life and enjoy their life and it not be a choice of either or. I think as a business owner, I think you should have that choice. Like I want to be with my kids next week, I want to build a business that allows me to do that. So I think that is truly, I think, one of the best parts of the whole thing. But we do have a fantastic community, and I will say that when you bring people together who are like-minded, have great energy, so generous and so supportive with each other. Their friendships are so deep. In fact, last year we hosted our first, actually it's not the first time I've done it, but it is officially the first retreat we did for Thrive, my group coaching program. And it was just like, best friends were made, or, you know, and we all knew each other. We didn't ever actually met, right. So I'd seen each other, we'd seen, we'd see each other every single week, every single week on Zoom for five years. And here we are now in a room together. There's no, oh, let's settle in, let's get to know each other. We all know each other already, and we had a blast. So we're now, we asked, we're doing it again this year.
Olivia:Oh my gosh, I love it. And like what an inspiration. That almost feels like something that's like too, I thought it was like too big to hope for, but you're telling me that it's completely not, that you can design a business in a way that you can have a life that is outside of your business because it, it has been, in the past a very zero sum game. It's an either or. You're either gonna put all of your time over here and like have a family, which of course you want. And then, or you could have a business which is your child, and you have to spend a million percent of your life on it. So to be able to have a business that supports you, supports the people who work in it, supports the people who take advantage of your services, but also be able to have other priorities in your life is the dream like that is ideal. So the fact that that's possible-
Seran:It is.
Olivia:is just an absolute inspiration.
Seran:Yes. Yes.
Olivia:You could do it, exactly.
Seran:You can. It's allowed.
Olivia:Exactly as you said, it takes planning and intentionality.
Seran:I will add because I am a realist is that it does mean that there is, like, you have to accept perhaps like a b plus situation. Right? And that means that like, not every week is gonna be great, right? And you may not see like double digit growth when you are not working in your business because you're taking time off, right? But that might be okay because what it means is that you still have a business and that you are able to go back to it and you can grow it and you know how to grow it. It's just that for that month where you decided to take some time off- Business is a numbers game. If you are an earner in your business or revenue generator and you're taking time off, then that is gonna impact your numbers. But if you built your business well, your business can still generate revenue. Right. And ideally, and that happens typically honestly, when you have other people who work for you as well. Right? That's the only
Olivia:because you can, you can share the,
Seran:You can
Olivia:load of that.
Seran:Yeah. I really don't wanna paint the picture that it's like this perfect, charming, like, beautiful world. It's full of rainbows and everyone is like, you know, happy and like glowing every day. But you know, let me tell you, when you've got three kids at home and you're, is, I don't think you're glowing that much, but but it does, you do still, it's, it's not the same level of stress. And you get to decide what your deadlines are and what your goals are. You can take in consideration what is happening in your personal world and build your business and your goals around that. And so you get to decide like, what does success look like for you? That is one of the most powerful things we do in the program is we say, okay, talk me through what success looks like. And everyone is different, but when we start to really think about what success looks like for ourselves, we can start to really tune out a lot of noise. Because some people will come to me and they'll say, well, you know, I don't wanna build a franchise. I don't wanna build five studios. I don't wanna do that. And I, and I'm like, okay, tell me what you-
Olivia:Then don't.
Seran:right. I don't, that's great. Cool. Like, what do you want? Let's do what you want. There's no rules around what equals success. Right. So you decide what success looks like and then let's, let's build it.
Olivia:I love that because again, I'm saying the same thing to Pilates teachers where they're like, well, I wanna be a Pilates teacher. And I'm like, okay, well when do you wanna teach? How many classes do you wanna teach? Where do you wanna teach? How do you wanna teach? What kinds of people do you wanna teach? And sometimes just sitting down and taking that first step and being like, what? Because like you said, you get all this motivation and you, you have this idea and, but it's like kind of amorphous and it's not really pinned down and you just sort like, I want this thing but without defining that thing, it's very difficult to make a path to that thing. So being able to be specific about what you want so that you can create your business or develop your business in a way that supports that dream. Like you said, you don't have to focus on the things that you don't want because you're very specific about what you do want and you're putting your energy there.
Seran:Yeah. And you know what they say, where you put your energy, that's what grows, right? And they see that all the time. You know, we, we shift mindsets quite a lot inside of Thrive. It has just such profound impact on, the happiness of the studio owner, of the teacher, but also on the outcomes, their results, their growth is there.
Olivia:I love it. So let's talk about where we see Pilates right now because 2025 is a huge year and the landscape has shifted and changed, I think a lot in the past five years. So tell me a little bit about maybe from your Thrive community or just in general, what are you seeing happening in the industry right now?
Seran:Yeah, a lot. Right? It has evolved enormously. Pilates, I mean, the boutique fitness industry in and of itself has, you know, grown massively in the last five years. Pilates is a part of that, has just, you know, wow. Crazy. Beyond what we ever thought we would see, I think, for many of us who you, like you guys have been in this industry for a long time. We are seeing a lot of dollars flow in to building larger brands and franchises and as we are seeing them pop up across every corner, in every town, every city in the country, and around the world. And what that means is that there's demand for this, right? What that means is that there are people who have done actually a lot of research and they are seeing that there is demand. We are seeing still that there is continuing to be demand for Pilates and for movement. And that's only a good thing. And I think that a lot of people get scared about the growth. A lot of people have all, it actually brings up all sorts of feelings for lots of different people of different ways. But I think that any teacher in this industry, This is a, a great time to be a Pilates teacher. You're in demand, you're needed and in demand. And so the best that you can be at that will only help you grow and be able to have a really fruitful career. We are seeing, the big franchise, the big corporations building out large number of studios. But on a sort of the grassroots level, you know, I'm helping studio owners open new studios every single week. Just last week I had three conversations with a teacher who was wanting to move out of their home studio, or were teaching somewhere in another space and we're looking to move into a larger space or have their first brick and mortar studio. And so there is a lot of activity in the industry right now. And I think one of the things that, you know, I think everyone is, is talking about competition. It exists as a business owner specifically. It is a lot of competition and I think one of the things that is really critical if you are finding yourself in that situation where you feel like there is a lot of competition, that doesn't necessarily mean that your business is not going to work at all. And it also doesn't mean that you have to charge bottom dollar for what you want to do, but what it does mean is that you do have to be able to build a brand around your studio, and that brand has to showcase the value that your studio adds to your client's lives. And that means that you have to be exceptionally good at marketing and own the value of what you do and knowing how to communicate that with an audience that is going to be interested in being your client. And so if you are not investing in your marketing skills and learning a little bit about how to communicate and how to build a brand as a teacher, and if you're looking to open a studio, then that's what I would do in the 12 months preceding opening your studio is get savvy with that. Because there is competition and I'm not gonna sugarcoat it like that makes it a tougher environment, but it also means that there's opportunity, there's more people out there who want Pilates. It's not just about showing up and opening a door. It's also about, you know, overcoming all the noise and being able to find the right people for your business. It's not okay just to, you know, put a sign up and open the door. We do have to be proactive about marketing in this world, which is something that we probably always should be doing anyway, but I think especially so, especially if you're in an area where there's a lot of competition. I'm not seeing this slow down, you know, I'm not seeing the demand slow at all. I'm seeing, you know, many studio owners and their biggest problem is that they have fully waitlisted classes. And so, I don't see this slowing down soon.
Olivia:I mean, I definitely agree that the demand increase has been huge. Like I jokingly say all the time, because I am lucky to teach in a studio that is very good at articulating the value of what they're offering, so I do have nice and full classes, and so I'll say all the time, you know, the word is out, Pilates is in. Because it's in, like in the mainstream consciousness. It's not just this fringe, oh, it's really good for dance conditioning or something like that. It really is. I have clients who are coming to me who are recovering from a knee replacement, and also clients who are coming to me because their favorite pop star's doing Pilates, you know, and so the interest is there, and it's not all rehab, and it's not all, you know, get fit and it's not all super intense athletic people looking for Pilates. It really is this wide range. I love that you said, you know, even though there's competition and that does make it more difficult, we're not all talking to the same person when we're asking people to come to our studio. That people have needs and we fit niches some better than others. And there's definitely interest.
Seran:The audience has grown and the number of studios has grown, and so, you know, it's still a lot of demand and still a good time to own a studio. Really good time.
Olivia:Yeah, and I love also that you said because. I get excited every time I talk to someone on the podcast, I'm like, Ooh, I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna do this, and I'm gonna do this. That I love that you said that in the 12 months leading up to opening your studio, because this isn't, like you said, that you, it just goes from, I mean, the paperwork alone takes time, but like, it's not something where you're just like, all right, I'm gonna open a business and then it's there. Like it takes a lot of prep work. And I appreciate that you're putting that in kind of the scheme of things that it's not just even the running the business. It's like how do we even get to the business opening its doors and then inviting people in?
Seran:I mean, you know, I think there is definitely a lag when it comes to marketing efforts. And that lag is long. Not like a day or a week, it's like many months. I always say, if you're thinking about opening a studio, the best time to start your marketing was yesterday because you can't start early enough to build an audience, especially with, you know, the access we have to social, to digital media. There's no bad time to start to build a following. And it all helps. It all really helps. So if you're sitting on your hands waiting for the sign to go up before you, you know, start posting on Instagram then? I would say like, oh, that was, that's a shame. Let's start now. The more proactive you can be in the environment that we're in, especially if, you know, you don't have a tremendous amount of funding behind you in terms of marketing. If you're not gonna run a massive pre-opening digital media campaign that is professionally run by ad specialists, then you know, we have to get savvy with all of our organic efforts.
Olivia:Yeah, and I love also because I do think that Pilates and obviously biased working in Pilates, but I do think that there is like a long term demand that we're gonna see. I don't think that this is like a flash in the pan fad with like a very silly piece of workout equipment that everyone's doing for one summer and then it kind of like fizzles out. Like I think that Pilates itself has endured to like near extinction to stick around. I just love that it's broadening its appeal to people because there are, as with all things, like, I feel like every mom in every show on Netflix does Pilates, and there's always like a line where like the mom's in Pilates, but they'll see her when she gets home or something.
Seran:Yeah.
Olivia:It's in people's consciousness in a way that I think because Pilates teachers have really, like, it's not a one size fits all thing that we're, that we're giving people. It is so client centered. It's so focused on, you know, the people that we're working with and the people whose lives are being absolutely changed. I see a little bit more like enduring legacy of Pilates sticking around, especially with when we have digital media and we can connect with people in an instant, anywhere in the world.
Seran:Yeah. Well we know we can do Pilates any age. We've seen it. Right. I know I had clients who were well into their nineties when I taught, and the clients who were, you know, just in high school even. And so we know it covers all ages. And I think, we look at the wellness industry as a whole as well.'Cause that has an impact on our industry too. We know people are more savvy and conscious than ever about. Let's throw it out there. The word of the day: longevity. Right? And how many more people are really focused on that. And with the growth in the number of wearables of data tracking that happens, we know just people are just more keen and interested in being healthy than they've ever been before. We look at the data around sort of millennials and Gen Z and how those folks view Pilates and fitness in general and wellness, you know, there's, it's where a tremendous amount of the industry growth is coming from. And so, and you know, anyone, I would imagine anyone who really enjoys Pilates in their twenties and thirties is only gonna enjoy it more in their forties and fifties and sixties because it's so accessible. Right? Especially if you know a little bit about what it can do and how to do it. It is such a lifelong movement practice, and so I completely agree. I think it's for sure gonna be is is here to stay. I have no doubt. And you know, I've been doing Pilates. I took my first Pilates class in New York City when I was 23, and you know, it's, I'm, I'm still here, right? Many, many, many years later. I've got everyone I know doing it, and they're not doing it because I've like coerced them into coming to a class with me. It's because they are like, oh, I wanna try this place, this new Pilates studio that's open. And everyone is doing it. And so, you know, the cat's out the bag. Everybody knows.
Olivia:It's like positive peer pressure, like it's peer pressure that improves your life instead of helps you make bad choices. So I love that.
Seran:Yeah.
Olivia:I love that for us.
Seran:For sure. Yeah, it's great, and, and I think, you know, on top of that, it does have a lovely sense of community. Most of the studios that offer Pilates are smaller groups, and I think that also helps a lot with navigating, just like the craziness of the world that we live in and how online it all is. And then, you know, you get to go to a class of 10 people, or 12 people, or eight people or whatever it is, or even just one-on-one. And you, get to chat with people face to face. It's like, whoa, what's this about? It creates the anchor point I think for so many people in the world that are in today, especially for folks that remote work. I do think boutique fitness and Pilates is, is gonna be strong for a long time.
Olivia:Yeah, no, it is a good moment to be in. And I think also, you know, as more studios open and more studio owners are in the space. Like as a teacher, you're also in a really great position to like work with some of the best people in the industry as well. I'm very spoiled in Chicago that I have lots of options and lots of super cool studios and super cool people, but even in more rural areas, as you know, people recognize that a studio is one way of having a studio, or maybe it's a community space where you're hosting classes kind of by yourself and you are your own business, but it's not maybe a full studio just yet, or even you have an online space. Like there's so many ways to be a Pilates teacher and to have a Pilate studio, and so I'm kind of excited to see this. Like I've worked for a studio that only had a virtual component and I only did virtual classes and I had people all over the country, which is like wild that we can do that. But I've also, you know, worked for brick and mortar and then, you know, all of the excitement that comes when a, when a new studio opens. And I know that that's like the big fun thing. And then you have to like do the day to day forever and ever and ever. But like, it's so fun. We've got a studio opening in Lakeview and like, it's just, it's so exciting to be able to introduce a new neighborhood of people to something that you know is just gonna make their lives better.
Seran:absolutely. It's fantastic. What a great feeling, right? Yeah.
Olivia:It is, and like I feel so lucky that, you know, we, the work that we do in any capacity from teacher to owner to even yourself as a coach in this space as well, that like. It's just wins for everyone. Like that's, that's what, like every person who comes to a class, every teacher who's hired, every studio that opens is just making the world better and brighter. And I'm so appreciative as a teacher to the business owners that have put their time and their intention and their efforts into making these things happen. Because I don't know if I have that personality. So I'm so glad that there are people who have it,
Seran:Yeah.
Olivia:are doing that so that I can shine in the role that I'm in.
Seran:Yeah. There's a place for everybody for sure. Maybe one day. Maybe one
Olivia:I dunno. Sometimes I'm just really tired.
Seran:I,
Olivia:I'm just tired. Oh my goodness. But I know, I think about it and then I talk to someone awesome like you, and I'm like, but you could though. And I'm like, oh man. Just one thing at a time. One thing at a time.
Seran:It could be all yours. You have to want it, you know, you do have to want it. But yeah, it could be very fulfilling. It can be very fulfilling.
Olivia:So what is next for you? You're doing all these amazing things for all of these other amazing people. How do you see Spring Three evolving? How do you see your podcast evolving? Like what is next for you?
Seran:Well, we are gonna keep on doing what we do best, which is supporting our amazing group of studio owners and helping them to continue to evolve and grow and navigate, you know, whatever life throws our way. and you know, we have got a, we have, we have evolved the program a lot thrive to to. be as much support as we can possibly figure out how to give our studio owners. And so we will, we are gonna continue to do that, but we've got our retreat coming up at the end at the beginning of November this year in sunny Florida. Which will be a lovely
Olivia:Oh wow.
Seran:spot. Every part of the word retreat is exactly what it is. So I'm so excited. We are continuing to, you know, look for all the different ways that we can help support our studio owners and, you know, as much as I can see and work with those people who are passionate about their movement practice, you know, that's what keeps us going at Spring Three is, you know, when we meet with a studio owner who wants to just get what they do into more people's bodies, right? Move more people, then they're the in the perfect place when they work with us. It is what drives us all, and we don't overlook that fact when we work together, it's not just about the numbers. It's not just about any of that stuff. It's about, hey, like. Look what happened in your business this week, right? Look how many people you helped. Look how many people move their bodies because you opened your studio and because you showed up and because you taught, and then because you trained that teacher or bought that
Olivia:Mm-hmm.
Seran:teach, and because you hosted that amazing workshop and had a little community gathering afterwards, how many people left feeling fantastic about themselves and their life and community and all these things and all of the ripple effects that happen. And so, yeah, I wanna just keep doing more of that.
Olivia:I mean, that is a lot, to be fair. That is already quite a bit. What does your, if I can ask, what does your business look like in terms of like who helps you do all of the things that you do? Because I am pretty sure that you're Wonder Woman, but at the same time, like I imagine that there's
Seran:Fabulous
Olivia:some help.
Seran:I have a
Olivia:Yeah.
Seran:Yeah. I mean, you know, I learned early on I found that I was the bottleneck in my business. I'm the bottleneck in my business, and I still am actually. And I realized that I couldn't- I have three kids. I can't keep adding more hours to this, I need to have someone else add more hours because this business needs more hours to continue to deliver what I wanted to deliver. I learned early on that needed other people to help me. And then it's about figuring out the right mix of people. You learn as you go a little bit about what, what you are good at delegating and what needs to fall under your responsibility. Everything that I do and have done, I would say for, since over the last three years, I look to grow in a way that is independent of me because I'm at my limit for how much time I can give the business. And so it's sort of like, okay, so how can I do more of this without doing more hours. Right. And that's called scale. And we like scale a lot. And now I am adding other folks into my business and so I have got behind the scenes. So for my podcast, I have a fabulous virtual assistant who, oh my gosh, she just, she's incredible. She's been with me for three years. She takes care of a lot of the operational stuff. She does a lot of, all of my social media, my graphic design, and she's an angel. I couldn't, the business couldn't function without her. And I also have a podcast editor who takes care of to all that.'Cause I couldn't get my head around doing. So I have got podcast editor and a VA that helps me with all of my social media and three folks who work with me and work with my members inside of my Thrive program. And I've got like two, well one is a full-time customer success,
Olivia:Mm-hmm.
Seran:person who helps me to help them or helps them to navigate their business journey. And she helps point them in the right direction, gives them support with different tools. You know, all of that stuff. And then I've got another coach who joins our calls and is an extra kind of sounding board for business advice, but also is she is focused on hiring and hr. And so she has a lot of the knowledge around the legalities around all of that, which
Olivia:Mm-hmm.
Seran:helpful as anyone who's hired, anyone will know or managing anyone will know. And then I also have an, an executive assistant who works very closely with me and she's sort of like my second set of hands. So
Olivia:Mm-hmm.
Seran:do, she also knows how to do, which is really helpful because that means that I can hand off to her and all of those sorts of things. So we've got a, a really wonderful team. You know, you get lucky and unlucky sometimes, and I'm very lucky with having a great team and they are the magic behind the scenes for sure.
Olivia:But it also like, I love that you have the team and I also, the reason I asked about it as like a thing, because I think a lot of people think they have to do everything by themselves and they don't always realize that there are things that they can really add value in when they're doing and some things like editing podcasts doesn't really help people the same way as recording the podcast or brainstorming the topic for the podcast or doing the research and getting the super cool person to talk on something in the podcast. I ask that just to show and demonstrate and also continue to remind myself that it's good to have people who are really great at things that you're not really great at or can do things faster and free you up to do other amazing things. Because when you talk about scaling, that's also part of scaling is that eventually there are 24 hours in a day and you've got two hands and three kids, and that's a long math equation.
Seran:Exactly. That's a very, very long math equation for sure. Yeah, and I think, you know, you've gotta know, it it, I think, I think hiring the second biggest challenge after opening a studio, honestly, because there's a lot that goes with that as, even as just, even the getting your head around the idea that now you're the boss when perhaps you've never been a boss before. How to be a boss. I see a lot of train wreck situations where people have this idea of what they should be as a boss, and
Olivia:Hmm.
Seran:to be, do they have to be someone who is bossy or not, right? Or how do you not be? And then they spend a lot of time trying not to be the boss when they are the boss. And people are hoping
Olivia:Mm.
Seran:that they're gonna be the boss and tell'em what to do, but then they don't wanna tell people what to do because they don't wanna be the boss. And that whole thing is another thing. And so you navigate that and you learn along the way a little bit. And maybe if you've been very lucky, you've had a great role model and you've seen what's possible when you've had really great leadership and, you know, that means that you can lead people and you can train people and you can delegate and communicate well. And I think one of the most important things that you can do whenever you are delegating or hiring creating a role or sharing the load is to really be clear about what it is that you're delegating, what task, what done looks like, what not finished looks like. And then, you know, getting clear on what the sort of the communication circle is. You know, when does the feedback loop start and end? And I find that those are the sorts of things that often trip people up when it comes to hiring. And so the more transparent that you can be and and clear about all of that, the better. But yes, team, team is key.
Olivia:Because like when it works, it's fantastic, but when it doesn't work like it is pulling teeth and that's really tough. So I'm glad that you've got strategies to
Seran:Yeah.
Olivia:in in a more positive direction or
Seran:Yeah. I mean,
Olivia:productive direction.
Seran:you wanna hire people for their not just their skillset. You wanna also hire people for, you know, who they are and what they care about, which is, you know, if you're gonna be working closely with someone, like you have to get along with them and you have to kind of be on the same wavelength, you know what I mean? Sometimes I see studios will, will hire teachers just because they need a teacher and
Olivia:Hmm.
Seran:for
Olivia:Mm-hmm.
Seran:And then, you know, things go south pretty quick and everyone feels rubbish at the end of it. And so, you know, it's important, like you said earlier, you know, you've gotta find the right fit for you, for the business.
Olivia:Well, definitely. Seran, is there anything else you wanna chime in and share? Last parting thoughts?
Seran:Now I would like to say that I think that, you know, as a Pilates teacher you are doing the most important work there is to do. And no matter how you feel at the end of the day when you've been teaching all day, the ripple effects of your work go far and deep, and you don't see that every day, but it does and it is important work that you're doing. Kudos to all of you who are listening, who are teachers and teach. Keep doing it. It is needed. More needed now than ever before and I'm so grateful to all the teachers because we are continuing to see just how amazing this method really is. It's fantastic.
Olivia:Thanks so much, Seran.