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Welcome to Pilates Elephants. I'm here with somebody I'm very excited to talk
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to today, Anna Maria Barrera. Welcome, Anna.
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Thanks, Raph. Thanks for having me here.
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I'm looking forward to this conversation a lot. I always enjoy our conversations
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and I think you've got a lot, there's going to be a lot of value here for studio
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owners and especially studio owners at the relatively either at a small stage studio.
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So maybe they're a solo operator, maybe someone who's an aspiring studio owner
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or someone who's been, you know, running a solo studio for a while and needs
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some inspiration and some guidance.
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So, firstly, you know, one of the reasons I wanted to have you on is you've
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sort of triumphed against so many obstacles here.
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Like, you've started a solo business in a foreign country where you don't –
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it wasn't even your second language. No, that's right.
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And where Pilates, the Pilates industry hadn't really exploded yet at the time
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when you started your business where you are.
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So can you just give us like a brief overview of who you are,
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where you are and what your business is?
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Sure. So my name is Anna, as Raph introduced me, and I am from Colombia and
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I have been living in the Netherlands for five years.
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I own a Boutique Pilatus studio in the South Netherlands in a place named Sevenbergen.
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And it's nearly a year open. It's going to be one year in January.
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And it has been going very well, I have to say.
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Right, and I'm going to massacre the pronunciation. Seven Belgen is about halfway
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between Rotterdam and Antwerp, right? It's not a very big city where you are. No, no, that's right.
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If you have heard about Rotterdam, we are 35 minutes away from Rotterdam,
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and maybe in any other country that's close, but for the Dutch people, that's been far away.
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So yeah it's a
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lovely place but yeah not a big place so
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so tell us about like
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uh just give us a snapshot of your business
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now you know so like what do you do you
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know what's your revenue how many classes do you run how many reformers
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do you have or all of that kind of stuff okay well
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at the moment i'm running around 20 lessons and
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i just added two more lessons last month and i'm
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checking how those two new lessons will
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go will will do uh i i
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i'm having six reformers at the moment i add an extra this year as well and
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revenue wise uh the goal is to get closer to the 10k and I'm going towards that.
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I'm not far away from that.
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Yes. That's awesome. And that's in Euros, right? You're in Euros.
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That's in Euros. Yes, that's in Euros. Yes.
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Okay, and it's just you teaching at the moment? It's just me and me. I am the cleaner.
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I am the one that gives the lessons. I am the one that does social media.
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I am everything in this place.
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If I make a video just introducing the theme of my studio, it's me on all roles. That's it.
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That reminds me of those old kind of comedy westerns where they go into the
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town and it's like The Undertaker and that the same person is the bartender
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and the same person is the sheriff.
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Yeah, yeah, pretty much. I will just change masks during the day and that's about it.
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So...
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So let's go back to when you started your business a year ago,
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because it's changed a lot in the year.
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Yes, very much. So tell me about, you know, what was, firstly,
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you know, what was the business that you started?
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Like describe to us, you know, when you first opened, what was the setup?
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Okay, so to not go so far away, let's say that I first started with having Pilates
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math lessons and as well as few reformer lessons.
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My idea of the business was that I was going to have math lessons running as
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well as reformer lessons running.
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Uh but that changed
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very fast because uh over
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the first six months pilates reformer was uh much more popular than pilates
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mat and even though my pilates mat people love pilates mat they wouldn't show
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at they wouldn't show as much as they will show for the reformer lessons so
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So those things have changed.
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Personally, I have learned a lot through this month. So I also have changed
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and it reflects, I think.
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Is that where you want me to go?
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Yeah, well, all right. Well, let's go there. What have you learned and how have you changed?
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Okay, so I'll just start by saying that I didn't have a background of being
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a studio owner or any close to that.
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My parents own a business in Colombia, and I've been on the sides,
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but never really on the big shoes.
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So I didn't really know how I was going to run a business.
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I was trying to learn all the things possible when I started.
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But I knew that I needed a better guidance.
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So in the first months I would just join
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different apps and different coachings
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and trying to just do it in a more affordable way
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because I didn't think I didn't know
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if I could invest in better coaching and I did
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it and it was not so bad but I knew that I didn't know how
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to really take action on
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the things that I must take action into or didn't
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know even what what did I actually needed to fix so
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i was doing too many things at the same time and
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then i joined the mastermind program
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from breath education with you and that
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gave me better routes you know to to help
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my business grow and since then i think that i'm
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just reflecting every time and just applying what i'm
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learning and just going through the discomfort of doing
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the things i don't want to do or they're difficult to
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think let's say because very
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difficult all right so what are some of the things that
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you were avoiding that you have done
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oh oh my god yeah cutting the
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math lessons it that really just was very
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difficult my belly uh adding a
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new reformer in the studio that was difficult uh
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for me you know to the people having an
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extra reformer that didn't matter it was difficult to me because of the of the.
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Thoughts that I had about it I thought I was going to lose my clients but I.
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Didn't they're just they just saw the reform and I thought and they thought it was all right and I,
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I guess that I would just be learning to set boundaries, you know,
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and just going through that and not overthinking about the sessions.
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That's like when you're in the back, I'm just trying to keep on going.
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Making videos on another language, I gave my lessons in Dutch,
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but it doesn't mean that I feel comfortable about doing videos in Dutch.
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That, that's uncomfortable. So, yeah.
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Yes. So walk us, walk me through, you know, let's go back to before you,
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you know, to, to the decision to drop the mat classes.
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Cause I think that's a really good point to kind of double click on for a lot of our listeners.
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It's, it's, yeah, it's something I think a lot of people kind of get stuck in.
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So why, you know, why did, why did you make the decision to drop the mat classes?
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Like what was the problem? The problem was that I had these lessons in the schedule
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that were not really full or not nearly full.
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They were sometimes quite empty.
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And although my clients would say that they love the Pilates math lessons,
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they will not show to the lessons.
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You know, they will cancel the lesson in the morning.
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And it was a problem to me because I could use those times to have better reformer
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lesson in which the people was much more interested to join than having that, you know,
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math lesson that would take the same energy or more from me because...
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Yes, I would have to do some stuff or just to let them see a little bit of the
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exercise within my body.
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Not too much. I walk around pretty much and I just give the lessons with my words.
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But sometimes it's just needed, you know, to mock.
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And yes, that was about it. And financially, yes, there was a very big difference
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between the math lessons and the reformer lessons.
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So I really tried to grow my math lessons. I
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try to you know bring more people into the
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math lessons but obviously because I just had them
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two days in the week people would always find excuses to
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say that it doesn't really suits their time they
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have other activities they have the running club the
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walking club the whatever club they are into so
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I didn't work it was not working and I was doing it because
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I thought it was a good way to help people and
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make it more affordable to people but people will
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not show up that was the difficult
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part for me that i was there for the people and people say they love it but
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they won't show up every time so and they were not getting those results that
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i knew they could have if they would show up so yeah that's about it it's very
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interesting to me and now this is not true for everybody,
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but I've observed it to be true for a lot of people,
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that when you charge.
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Less money, clients have less commitment to the sessions and they get less results
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because they're less committed.
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Yeah, I thought it was, yeah, I heard that before, but I wouldn't think that it was real.
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I wouldn't think that it was real. It was that way. They wouldn't really care so much.
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And, you know, and I was giving lessons in a boutique studio.
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So already the price of the math lessons was a little bit higher than in the
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gym, but it's still they would just, they won't show up.
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It was not so, so, so, so difficult to meet, let's say.
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So all of that sounds pretty straightforward when you say it now,
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you know, like the classes were...
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You were charging less per class for the clients. The classes were less full.
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So you were making a lot less money per session. You could have been teaching
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reformer for those sessions. Plus the clients weren't getting the results because
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they were kind of flaking out at the last minute.
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So all of that sounds very straightforward, easy decision. So why was it a hard
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decision for you? And I think it's a hard decision for a lot of people.
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It is. And I can imagine because I guess that when you get into Pilates,
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you want to help people, you get to, I don't know, well, there's a pool of people.
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I'm not telling how you should be as an instructor.
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But I know that there are a lot of instructors that want the best for their
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clients, that know of saying that the people cannot afford something else.
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And so I just wanted to keep that lesson so people could join,
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you know, and make it affordable so they could join.
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But at the end of the day, and the funny part is that when I just finished with
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Pilates mat, most of my clients just stay into the reformer lessons.
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And they are getting amazing results because they are actually just showing up every week.
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And I can just load them a little bit more or help them with the reformer just
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to get easy in positions. And that's very nice.
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But I wouldn't think that way. I could have heard that from a podcast or from
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you or from any other person saying that it could happen, but I wouldn't believe
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myself that that was going to happen. And I thought my clients would just resent me.
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And it was not the case.
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Hugh left because that's reality and it's okay. And I tried to help them find
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another studio or a place where they could follow Pilates Mad License. But yeah, it was not bad.
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It's funny. That's my experience in my business also. So in the business coaching,
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right? So what we're doing together.
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So I have essentially three different levels that I charge for that.
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So I do a lot of free stuff on this podcast and I give away a lot of my best
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content for free on this podcast. Yeah.
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And then I have a...
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Um, like a couple of hundred dollar a month tier, which is kind of group coaching with me plus content.
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And I have a lot of people in that for free because we kind of grandfathered
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the min from other programs they bought and stuff in the past.
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Then I have a paid tier, which is a lot more expensive and it's all the same content, right?
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So there's no like special content in the high paid tier that's different,
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but what you get in the high paid tier is what I find is that now there There are one or two people.
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Like every month I get like a message from somebody on Instagram who's just
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listened to this podcast and they've applied it.
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Like Jennifer Tan, who I had on this podcast a couple of months back,
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she built her own studio and she's now making tens of thousands of dollars a
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month profit just from the free content.
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And that's 100% credit to her for getting off her backside and doing that.
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But by and large, I've got some like 400 people in the free tier of this mastermind
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because I've been grandfathered in from other programs.
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But guess who shows up to the calls, the free calls?
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Not those free people. There's like one or two free people who show up.
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And then the people who show up to the calls are the people who are paying a lot of money.
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Oh, yeah. And guess who gets the results? The people who are paying a lot of
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money. And I think it's just...
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Indicative of their commitment level like people
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who are that committed to spend that much money and then and and then
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it reinforces itself because you think okay well dang it i've
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spent all this money i'm better get the value from it so
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you show up for yourself when you do the work and i think that works the same
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when someone's paying for pilates sessions as well i think the psychology really
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just is when people pay they pay attention yeah yeah and i wouldn't believe
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that you know Like not having this experience with having my own Pilates studio,
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being afraid of being in a little village.
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Well, it's not a little village, but it's not a city, you know.
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And thinking that maybe people wouldn't know what Pilates is,
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I would be very, very scared about having high prices.
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My husband was very scared about me, you know, showing the prices that I was
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going to offer to the people. He thought we were just going to,
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you know, bankruptcy or something like that.
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So walk us through the process. How did you make that change with,
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you know, because you were running two mat classes a week.
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And by and large, you know, those mat people, they weren't reformer people.
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Like there was almost no crossover between the mat people and the reformer people.
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So how did you make that change and what happened?
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How did I make that change? Well, I told the people that I was going to...
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Stop with the pilates math lessons i i
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also i have a two-story place that
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i rent but the second floor or the first floor depending on
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where you are and how you say that anyway the top
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floor um it's not really legally
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available to have like
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a sport activity like the the the
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the man the man i ran the place from
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he just said you can use it but not a lot of people
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for you know just a few days and it
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was okay but yeah there was a situation already
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happening there in the top floor and so yes
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I just shared with my clients that and
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I just told them that I was going to stop with them at lessons that
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we were going towards performer and that if
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they wanted to stay they could try reformer you
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know at the same price for a couple of weeks I think
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it was like a month of having reformer lessons
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instead of mat for the same price of mat and if
00:17:00.235 --> 00:17:03.195
they wanted to you know keep on reformer that they
00:17:03.195 --> 00:17:06.135
could just change their membership to reformer to
00:17:06.135 --> 00:17:09.375
a reformer one and if they wanted to stop i could completely
00:17:09.375 --> 00:17:12.375
understand that i oh that i was going to completely
00:17:12.375 --> 00:17:15.835
stop in mat and yes that happened few
00:17:15.835 --> 00:17:19.055
just took the reformer lessons few
00:17:19.055 --> 00:17:22.095
were very into i don't think i like reformer in.
00:17:22.095 --> 00:17:25.055
The first lesson in the second lesson well it was
00:17:25.055 --> 00:17:27.735
better today than the first one you know and it
00:17:27.735 --> 00:17:31.295
was not the lesson it was just that they were you know all against
00:17:31.295 --> 00:17:36.075
going to reformer and then just like well i don't want to leave the studio so
00:17:36.075 --> 00:17:40.155
i really want to keep on going to reformer and to i really like the reformer
00:17:40.155 --> 00:17:46.375
more more than math you know okay that's amazing thank you and some that just
00:17:46.375 --> 00:17:50.935
really like math you know so just go and find math that's also or write.
00:17:51.135 --> 00:17:54.695
I can help you or not, but if that's what you want to do, that's what you want to do.
00:17:55.395 --> 00:17:57.135
So that was a little bit...
00:17:58.573 --> 00:18:02.833
And so that's a great strategy that, you know,
00:18:03.373 --> 00:18:08.793
we use a lot when we have to make a change, which is it's essentially it's the
00:18:08.793 --> 00:18:16.633
appeal to authority or the faceless third party thing, which is where basically you say,
00:18:16.933 --> 00:18:20.113
oh, look, you know, I'd love to keep running the mat classes,
00:18:20.113 --> 00:18:23.613
but, you know, just legally I'm not allowed to use that room.
00:18:24.113 --> 00:18:27.793
And it's, you know, it's not up to me, it's the landlord and it's,
00:18:27.953 --> 00:18:30.073
you know, so there's nothing much I can do.
00:18:30.153 --> 00:18:34.213
We can also, another great one that I have clients use is playing the family card.
00:18:34.373 --> 00:18:36.993
Like, I'd love to keep seeing you one-on-one on a Thursday, but,
00:18:37.193 --> 00:18:39.153
you know, I need to spend that time with my family.
00:18:40.513 --> 00:18:43.993
And so basically when you say something like that, like, it's not me,
00:18:44.193 --> 00:18:48.393
it's this other person. Yeah, it's not me, it's you, it's not you, it's me.
00:18:49.653 --> 00:18:53.853
It's not you, it's me. So, dear listener, I think that's one you can take to
00:18:53.853 --> 00:18:56.713
the bank is basically if you can find an appeal to authority,
00:18:56.893 --> 00:18:59.433
a business partner, a husband, a wife, family,
00:19:00.073 --> 00:19:04.713
you know, a landlord, then, you know, I would love to give you a discount,
00:19:04.733 --> 00:19:06.773
but my business partner is a real stickler.
00:19:08.993 --> 00:19:12.713
Yeah. Yeah. I wouldn't like to do that.
00:19:12.853 --> 00:19:15.733
But, yes, at the end of the day, it really helped, you know,
00:19:15.813 --> 00:19:20.013
and people, you know, had a lot of work. The people were very kind towards me.
00:19:20.293 --> 00:19:24.053
They were like, no, but I hope that things are going to run good for you.
00:19:24.173 --> 00:19:27.173
And I was like, yeah, thank you. But anyway, it was a difficult decision.
00:19:27.173 --> 00:19:34.973
I also thought, okay, I'm just going to lose around, I don't know, 15 clients.
00:19:35.453 --> 00:19:40.593
And 15 clients at the time just felt like 15 clients, you know, very heavy to lose.
00:19:41.073 --> 00:19:45.033
That was a lot. And thankfully, it was not the case.
00:19:45.813 --> 00:19:51.693
And so how many did you lose at the end? I think I lost around five clients
00:19:51.693 --> 00:19:53.493
maximum or something like that.
00:19:53.613 --> 00:19:58.593
And they were not clients that were just on a membership. They were just buying passes.
00:19:59.699 --> 00:20:04.519
They will also just show up, you know, like three times per month or two times per month.
00:20:04.699 --> 00:20:09.039
So it was not so difficult to lose them. Like I miss them.
00:20:10.379 --> 00:20:13.899
And then the other 10 clients converted to a reformer membership,
00:20:13.919 --> 00:20:17.739
which was more expensive. Yes, I know. This is the crisis story.
00:20:19.239 --> 00:20:23.579
Like a thing that about, yeah, I don't know, five from those people,
00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:27.399
something like that, went to two times reformer after two months of reformer.
00:20:27.499 --> 00:20:31.499
They're just like, I love this. I would just go to two times and I'm like, really?
00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:36.259
I spent nearly three months or two months thinking if I was going to stop with
00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:40.859
math and people's very happy about performing half the seven,
00:20:41.099 --> 00:20:43.819
you know, and they want to invest, I don't know.
00:20:44.659 --> 00:20:50.119
Three more times, four more times that what they were investing in Pilates math, not.
00:20:50.539 --> 00:20:56.279
Right. So even so, as the dust has settled on that, that was a few months ago
00:20:56.279 --> 00:21:03.619
now that you did that, that you've got, you ended up with a few fewer total clients,
00:21:03.979 --> 00:21:11.019
but more total attendances and more total money in fewer classes per week.
00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:17.299
Yes, yes, exactly. And more energy for myself because I do love math lessons. They're nice.
00:21:17.539 --> 00:21:24.719
But for some reason for myself, to me, it's just easier to give a reformer lesson,
00:21:24.919 --> 00:21:28.999
you know, and I like it more for myself, you know. So...
00:21:29.784 --> 00:21:38.764
Pretty good decision. And so what are some of the other key decisions that you've
00:21:38.764 --> 00:21:41.984
made over that year that have resulted in, you know,
00:21:42.224 --> 00:21:46.584
the business becoming, because I think what is great about, there are several
00:21:46.584 --> 00:21:50.664
great things about your business and you tell me if you agree with these, but basically,
00:21:50.944 --> 00:21:54.624
I mean, you've created a business for yourself that you're making really good money.
00:21:54.624 --> 00:22:00.224
You know you're making over a hundred thousand euros a year for for yourself which is amazing.
00:22:01.364 --> 00:22:08.424
You are you you have a great lifestyle you know you teach 20 hours a week you
00:22:08.424 --> 00:22:12.904
travel with your boyfriend sorry with your husband and you take time off and
00:22:12.904 --> 00:22:17.364
spend time with family and friends uh and you you work with people you enjoy
00:22:17.364 --> 00:22:21.084
working with and you do what you love so i think you've created a business that,
00:22:21.404 --> 00:22:25.364
you know, you've built a business that is really suited to, to what you want.
00:22:26.044 --> 00:22:30.124
Yeah. Well, pretty much. I'll say that I'm still working to,
00:22:30.444 --> 00:22:35.144
you know, now get a little bit of time off to do those things that I want to do more.
00:22:35.344 --> 00:22:40.324
But yes, I mean, if, if I can go a little bit more back and as I told you one
00:22:40.324 --> 00:22:47.224
time, I'm very happy because I started this journey of Pilates by sitting on a train.
00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:51.580
5 45 a.m in the morning going to Rotterdam
00:22:51.580 --> 00:22:54.760
to give Pilates lessons to be paid I think 17
00:22:54.760 --> 00:22:58.140
euros and a half because it was after COVID that
00:22:58.140 --> 00:23:02.080
was nearly nothing but I needed to begin at
00:23:02.080 --> 00:23:05.120
some point you know I was new in the country I was going I was
00:23:05.120 --> 00:23:08.180
new in the Pilates you know atmosphere here I needed
00:23:08.180 --> 00:23:10.960
to start somewhere and I come
00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:14.340
from that you know and I come from working.
00:23:14.340 --> 00:23:17.320
As many hours as I could to you know make something
00:23:17.320 --> 00:23:20.720
decent in the month to uh yeah
00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:23.520
working less hours and having the people that I
00:23:23.520 --> 00:23:26.660
like to work with which I thought also was going to yeah
00:23:26.660 --> 00:23:29.760
that sound nearly impossible but I really
00:23:29.760 --> 00:23:33.860
like my clients I really love them they're amazing and
00:23:33.860 --> 00:23:36.620
I want to get in a minute to you know where you
00:23:36.620 --> 00:23:39.400
want to go with the business and how you're going to create that more time
00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:42.220
off for yourself because you really want to go back to Colombia a few
00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:45.700
times a year and spend time with your family there right yeah
00:23:45.700 --> 00:23:48.520
um so but what is first what
00:23:48.520 --> 00:23:51.300
are some of the the other key decisions so
00:23:51.300 --> 00:23:54.040
there was the dropping the mat classes that was a big one what are
00:23:54.040 --> 00:23:56.800
some of the other key decisions you've made along the way over
00:23:56.800 --> 00:23:59.660
the last year that have really brought you to to where you
00:23:59.660 --> 00:24:05.880
are right now i very really straightforward i just decided to be in the program
00:24:05.880 --> 00:24:11.140
of the mastermind mastermind program of of breathe i knew i needed a better
00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:18.580
coaching because there were a lot of things that were not clear to me.
00:24:18.740 --> 00:24:25.000
Like which were the steps that I needed to take to really help my business grow.
00:24:25.340 --> 00:24:30.440
And I was playing around with little strategies that I was learning on the way
00:24:30.440 --> 00:24:35.620
and that would help a little bit, but I needed a clear path.
00:24:35.820 --> 00:24:40.380
So that decision really took me to have a better balanced studio.
00:24:40.380 --> 00:24:45.760
That's how I feel by now and I feel myself more self um.
00:24:47.474 --> 00:24:52.734
I feel that that's self-confidence to take my studio a little bit better next
00:24:52.734 --> 00:24:56.294
year, you know, to grow my studio. These are the words I'm trying to find.
00:24:56.874 --> 00:25:01.234
So the best decision was also too. So sorry. But I would just want to say that
00:25:01.234 --> 00:25:04.374
I was thinking about taking this decision next year, you know,
00:25:04.474 --> 00:25:09.134
from 2026. I said, OK, maybe I can join this coaching program in 2026.
00:25:09.454 --> 00:25:14.234
But I really just sat down. I said to myself, OK, this is a program that can
00:25:14.234 --> 00:25:17.334
be a significant investment because it is a significant investment.
00:25:17.474 --> 00:25:22.094
But now it's just bringing so much back that the investment is just the second
00:25:22.094 --> 00:25:24.594
thing you think now or nothing at all.
00:25:24.734 --> 00:25:30.434
And I'm very happy that I took action just, you know, as soon as as soon as
00:25:30.434 --> 00:25:34.354
possible, because it has really helped. And I'm very glad about it.
00:25:35.474 --> 00:25:39.734
Well, I'm very happy that you did that as well, because I really like working
00:25:39.734 --> 00:25:43.454
with you because you, one, you're just always pleasant.
00:25:43.694 --> 00:25:50.974
Like, I don't, I mean, I've seen you stressed, but I've never seen you unpleasant to be around.
00:25:51.174 --> 00:25:53.914
Like, you're always polite and you always have a smile.
00:25:54.734 --> 00:25:57.774
And even more importantly than that, you take action.
00:25:57.994 --> 00:26:04.654
Like, we talk about a plan and we get clear. and then you'd text me back or
00:26:04.654 --> 00:26:08.054
slack me back two days later and you're like, right, I did that. I fired that client.
00:26:08.194 --> 00:26:10.754
I put my prices up. Thank you.
00:26:11.854 --> 00:26:19.434
Yeah. And you've made videos. You've made sales videos in Dutch and you've learned to edit your website.
00:26:20.434 --> 00:26:23.174
I create a landing page out of nowhere.
00:26:24.674 --> 00:26:31.914
Yeah. So I'm really enjoying our relationship and I've enjoyed watching you succeed more and more.
00:26:32.554 --> 00:26:40.134
What do you think some of the tactical things are that you've done that have
00:26:40.134 --> 00:26:50.054
really made the biggest difference in turning the business into a business that you enjoy more?
00:26:54.594 --> 00:27:01.554
I believe that it has been to just got the things that were not working I don't
00:27:01.554 --> 00:27:06.254
know if that responds to the question and if you wanted to give me Yeah, what a community,
00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:12.500
give me an example yeah changing lessons that were not working on the schedule
00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:20.700
even if i wanted to you know i had the wish that they work uh just cutting clients that were not really.
00:27:21.760 --> 00:27:26.480
Bringing back any positive positive
00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:29.400
positive feeling into my studio or into
00:27:29.400 --> 00:27:32.660
my business just cutting things out and
00:27:32.660 --> 00:27:35.820
set up boundaries which i find is difficult but
00:27:35.820 --> 00:27:38.640
that's what i take also from the conversations maybe it's not
00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:41.660
a sometimes a straight conversations about stuff
00:27:41.660 --> 00:27:44.820
but also hearing other people talking about their situations
00:27:44.820 --> 00:27:47.820
just give me a feedback and just make me you know reflect that
00:27:47.820 --> 00:27:51.280
I have to take action so I think that just cutting
00:27:51.280 --> 00:27:54.440
cutting stuff cutting cutting things
00:27:54.440 --> 00:27:57.400
it it it has helping me to
00:27:57.400 --> 00:28:02.560
just be in a more place in place for myself and for my business and i'm still
00:28:02.560 --> 00:28:09.480
working on that to cut things cut things off yeah once you once you start cutting
00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:15.100
you kind of get a taste for it yeah well yes pretty much is this like.
00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:18.600
It's just it's a very you know like very easy
00:28:18.600 --> 00:28:21.320
example of like people who knows me who's close to me
00:28:21.320 --> 00:28:24.040
or that well actually not very close but people who
00:28:24.040 --> 00:28:27.120
i knew from a dance lesson just asking me they want to join but
00:28:27.120 --> 00:28:29.920
just one lesson if and they would just ask me
00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:32.760
if that is possible and sometimes if they were very close
00:28:32.760 --> 00:28:36.380
to me I would say yes sure come to one lesson and by
00:28:36.380 --> 00:28:40.360
now it is people that I know is like no really you cannot just come for one
00:28:40.360 --> 00:28:44.140
lesson I have a package of three lessons that's awesome that you want to join
00:28:44.140 --> 00:28:48.120
you know like I have three three a package of three lessons you're very welcome
00:28:48.120 --> 00:28:53.080
to follow this package and we can meet you know it's nice we I know that I had
00:28:53.080 --> 00:28:55.220
a relationship with you that was not very close.
00:28:55.380 --> 00:28:59.600
You know me, I know you, but I respect my work, so you're very welcome.
00:29:02.500 --> 00:29:03.740
Yeah, that's fantastic.
00:29:06.226 --> 00:29:09.406
That is something a lot of studio owners struggle with.
00:29:10.446 --> 00:29:14.226
And so tell me about, you know, because some of these, another thing that you
00:29:14.226 --> 00:29:16.726
mentioned there was like cutting classes that were not performing.
00:29:16.926 --> 00:29:21.966
And so one of the things we've done is look at your schedule from a very numbers-based
00:29:21.966 --> 00:29:26.486
perspective and we looked at the capacity utilization of each class over time.
00:29:26.886 --> 00:29:31.606
And we've made decisions about which class, you know, which classes to add,
00:29:31.766 --> 00:29:34.986
which classes to take off the schedule, which classes to change into a different
00:29:34.986 --> 00:29:37.626
class type or move to a different time of the week or whatever.
00:29:38.006 --> 00:29:45.186
Yes. And so, you know, what are some of the sort of takeaways for you from that process?
00:29:46.886 --> 00:29:55.486
Yeah, you said one thing that really just stuck into my head and that was like, just do what it works.
00:29:55.806 --> 00:30:00.406
And that's pretty much, you know, just add what it works and that's about it.
00:30:00.626 --> 00:30:04.786
I have, and on my studio, I don't have like many different lessons.
00:30:04.786 --> 00:30:09.806
I just also understood that less was more because I'm a creative person.
00:30:10.006 --> 00:30:13.326
I like to create stuff. I have tried different stuff.
00:30:13.646 --> 00:30:16.906
And there is nothing crazy. I like to create. It's like, I love it.
00:30:17.246 --> 00:30:23.406
But yeah, that creates problems. So I just have at this moment in my studio,
00:30:23.566 --> 00:30:28.326
Reformer Beginners, Reformer Open Level, and a lesson that I call Spicy,
00:30:28.746 --> 00:30:30.526
which is an athletic reformer.
00:30:30.526 --> 00:30:33.566
And i just pretty much
00:30:33.566 --> 00:30:37.586
have reformer beginners lessons because when i have tried to change the name
00:30:37.586 --> 00:30:42.526
to open level the people just get scared about it don't want to show up so i
00:30:42.526 --> 00:30:46.386
just decided that if they like the name beginners it just stays beginners and
00:30:46.386 --> 00:30:51.866
so let's roll with the name beginners and it works so that's about it i have
00:30:51.866 --> 00:30:53.126
lots of beginners lessons.
00:30:54.056 --> 00:30:57.396
Yeah so it's so it's so apt um
00:30:57.396 --> 00:31:00.816
a lot of the people that i work with i would say almost everybody
00:31:00.816 --> 00:31:04.396
i coach they they you
00:31:04.396 --> 00:31:07.176
know we we have that conversation about do more of
00:31:07.176 --> 00:31:12.976
what works and do you know stop doing what's not working and so a typical conversation
00:31:12.976 --> 00:31:16.536
this is not the conversation that you and i had but a typical conversation i
00:31:16.536 --> 00:31:20.616
would have with the studio and it would be like oh you know what i've got these
00:31:20.616 --> 00:31:24.176
you know classes that are really working the open level classes are really working,
00:31:24.336 --> 00:31:26.196
but I've got this like, you know,
00:31:26.576 --> 00:31:29.856
stretch reformer that's not really working and I teach yin yoga on the reformer
00:31:29.856 --> 00:31:30.676
and that's not really working.
00:31:30.796 --> 00:31:33.136
I've got an over 55s class and that's not really working.
00:31:33.276 --> 00:31:35.696
And I've got a men's only class and that's not really working.
00:31:35.796 --> 00:31:37.456
How do I get more men in my class?
00:31:38.456 --> 00:31:41.836
And so, yeah, the answer I always give them is like, well, just kill all of
00:31:41.836 --> 00:31:45.116
those classes and do more open reformer if that's what people are telling you
00:31:45.116 --> 00:31:48.256
that they want and they're voting with their wallet and their time.
00:31:48.256 --> 00:31:51.336
Time i i i think that's you know
00:31:51.336 --> 00:31:54.296
because you want to please more people and
00:31:54.296 --> 00:31:57.876
people just mention how much they love the stretching
00:31:57.876 --> 00:32:00.616
lessons or that i don't know you call
00:32:00.616 --> 00:32:03.876
it it can be whatever name you want to use you want to please that people and
00:32:03.876 --> 00:32:07.416
create that lesson and when you reach out to the people and you say hey would
00:32:07.416 --> 00:32:11.336
you like to join in this day and time that you said it was going to be perfect
00:32:11.336 --> 00:32:15.996
they were going to say to you yes let's do this and then like one week later
00:32:15.996 --> 00:32:18.256
two weeks later, they would just say that now they have,
00:32:18.396 --> 00:32:22.396
I don't know, a new activity or that they can adjourn for any other reason and
00:32:22.396 --> 00:32:23.656
you just have an empty license.
00:32:23.916 --> 00:32:26.016
So yeah, you would just.
00:32:26.788 --> 00:32:29.888
That's about it that's what i have just get just
00:32:29.888 --> 00:32:32.708
the score for myself this year and when i do something
00:32:32.708 --> 00:32:35.368
different i just do it like one time per month you know
00:32:35.368 --> 00:32:38.628
so one time per month this special lesson
00:32:38.628 --> 00:32:41.788
and that's about it you know so it is something special people can
00:32:41.788 --> 00:32:45.108
just look for to eat or not you
00:32:45.108 --> 00:32:48.008
know but it's not in my schedule because when it is in my schedule it
00:32:48.008 --> 00:32:50.828
just create a nightmare so pretty much right now
00:32:50.828 --> 00:32:54.428
i just have reformer beginners
00:32:54.428 --> 00:32:57.968
a spicy lesson for the people who liked the
00:32:57.968 --> 00:33:01.028
athletic reformer and few other levels for the
00:33:01.028 --> 00:33:03.988
people who really wanted to you know go a little bit more quick
00:33:03.988 --> 00:33:11.588
and on the explanations and yeah that's about it and i'm very happy and let's
00:33:11.588 --> 00:33:14.968
talk about your pricing for a minute because you said at the start that your
00:33:14.968 --> 00:33:21.628
husband was really worried about the the pricing big too yes yes well i.
00:33:22.188 --> 00:33:32.028
My husband didn't have a big experience with this work.
00:33:32.288 --> 00:33:37.448
So to him, he wouldn't even know how much you can pay for a reformer lesson.
00:33:37.908 --> 00:33:41.668
I remember the first time we sat down together, I asked him,
00:33:41.828 --> 00:33:44.308
do you know how much a reformer lesson cost?
00:33:44.688 --> 00:33:52.728
He would say to me, I don't know, 10, 12, 15 euros. And I would say to him, no, really, not here.
00:33:52.908 --> 00:33:55.268
You will pay here around 25 normally.
00:33:55.568 --> 00:34:00.268
You know, if you get something less than that, it's because it is a place with
00:34:00.268 --> 00:34:05.048
10, well, 15 reformers or something like that, which is, yeah,
00:34:05.248 --> 00:34:07.248
not wrong, but not my model, you know.
00:34:07.248 --> 00:34:09.888
So when I came to my husband and I
00:34:09.888 --> 00:34:13.168
had the first idea of the pricing I wanted to have oh
00:34:13.168 --> 00:34:16.228
by the way I actually first presented
00:34:16.228 --> 00:34:19.628
my prices to the person I was working to before
00:34:19.628 --> 00:34:24.128
just stepping completely into my studio and she really helped me and I'm very
00:34:24.128 --> 00:34:27.908
grateful that she was there also to support me and when she saw my numbers she
00:34:27.908 --> 00:34:32.548
said you cannot you cannot really work with this it was very good she said how
00:34:32.548 --> 00:34:36.528
are you going to pay your rent how are you going to keep your education How
00:34:36.528 --> 00:34:38.828
are you going to get your social media?
00:34:38.988 --> 00:34:41.568
How are you going to? I don't know. She just made a list for me.
00:34:41.688 --> 00:34:44.988
And it was also very difficult because I thought, oh, but this is for me already.
00:34:45.148 --> 00:34:50.188
Like, hi, you know, like I'm suffering. It feels like too much for the place I'm living.
00:34:51.048 --> 00:34:55.968
So when I just got a little bit higher with a number that I felt a little bit
00:34:55.968 --> 00:34:59.508
more comfortable with, I just said like, I'm just going to go for it.
00:34:59.648 --> 00:35:04.128
If it doesn't work, well, it doesn't work. My husband thought that people was
00:35:04.128 --> 00:35:08.888
not going to buy memberships and it was pretty much the opposite.
00:35:09.248 --> 00:35:13.508
People really started to convert since the first month, I would say.
00:35:13.828 --> 00:35:17.468
A few will just take first, you know, like a package of lessons and they will
00:35:17.468 --> 00:35:19.688
just close into a membership.
00:35:20.811 --> 00:35:25.951
And what are you charging now? What does your average member pay per session?
00:35:26.431 --> 00:35:30.931
My average member pays 29 euros per session.
00:35:31.531 --> 00:35:35.751
And that's pretty much what it can cost. I think that people can pay up to 35
00:35:35.751 --> 00:35:43.411
euros to join a basic membership for a gym in which they can get maybe a lot of smart lessons.
00:35:43.611 --> 00:35:47.531
So that's the big thing to think about.
00:35:47.871 --> 00:35:50.831
That was the reason I was afraid. Thank you.
00:35:52.030 --> 00:35:56.030
And where do you, tell me about your, what's your sort of intro off it?
00:35:56.170 --> 00:35:57.490
You said you have a three-class pack.
00:35:57.730 --> 00:36:04.110
Yes. So I have a three-class pack for 75 euros and it works very well.
00:36:04.390 --> 00:36:09.030
I feel that people really get the value for the lessons and three lessons seems
00:36:09.030 --> 00:36:10.890
to be a very good number for me.
00:36:11.190 --> 00:36:15.790
That has worked, it's been working very good to me so that people have a better
00:36:15.790 --> 00:36:17.130
experience with the reformer.
00:36:17.450 --> 00:36:22.210
That's my intro. And so you have pretty high conversion. Like once someone buys
00:36:22.210 --> 00:36:26.050
that three-class pack, you know, a lot of them become long-term clients, right?
00:36:26.410 --> 00:36:31.190
Yeah, well, I have a little bit of an offer in between because I know that for
00:36:31.190 --> 00:36:35.730
some people just joining into a membership is like too much on ones.
00:36:35.850 --> 00:36:39.790
And I can imagine it would be maybe the same for myself unless I really love
00:36:39.790 --> 00:36:42.470
something from the first, yeah, whatever.
00:36:42.470 --> 00:36:45.550
So after they finish their intro
00:36:45.550 --> 00:36:48.390
offer they can get a you know like
00:36:48.390 --> 00:36:51.250
like a package of lessons five lessons but
00:36:51.250 --> 00:36:54.210
I would add two extra lessons if they close you
00:36:54.210 --> 00:36:58.070
know that package before they trial time finishes and
00:36:58.070 --> 00:37:00.990
if they close into a membership a
00:37:00.990 --> 00:37:05.850
six-month membership they will get three extra lessons so believe it or not
00:37:05.850 --> 00:37:10.250
those extra lessons really help and I really like it because it's a way to not
00:37:10.250 --> 00:37:19.330
like devalue my work with a discount because that discount is always used and it's also interesting.
00:37:19.330 --> 00:37:24.290
But I really like to add lessons rather than just take out value for my product.
00:37:25.470 --> 00:37:30.570
Yeah, I like that. And where do you get new clients?
00:37:31.090 --> 00:37:36.450
Where do I get new clients? Well, there are many clients that walk by the door.
00:37:37.410 --> 00:37:47.150
There's people that follows me on social media I walk with flyers around the town and Meta adds,
00:37:48.900 --> 00:37:54.840
I love him because I had to work with flyers when I didn't want to work with flyers.
00:37:57.540 --> 00:38:00.940
But I mean, you're at a really good situation now where we just put on those
00:38:00.940 --> 00:38:05.000
two extra classes, like you said, at the start of the call, because you were
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:07.460
pretty much full at that point.
00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:12.720
And we had a conversation about, did you want to add more classes?
00:38:12.720 --> 00:38:17.120
And you were, you're at this interesting stage now where you're kind of teaching
00:38:17.120 --> 00:38:18.900
as much as you want to teach.
00:38:19.260 --> 00:38:23.420
Yes. And so you're, you're in the process of bringing on somebody else.
00:38:23.660 --> 00:38:29.480
Yes. So that you can, you know, go away to Columbia for a few weeks here and
00:38:29.480 --> 00:38:31.300
there and the business can keep going.
00:38:31.580 --> 00:38:36.600
Yeah. And so tell me about the, so sorry, just to finish that thought.
00:38:37.160 --> 00:38:41.760
And so, you know, you need to, you've got this person that you're training up
00:38:41.760 --> 00:38:44.300
to come on board and teach with you.
00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:48.840
And so when she comes on board, you need to have enough classes to give her
00:38:48.840 --> 00:38:50.480
so that she can actually make a living.
00:38:51.060 --> 00:38:54.500
That's right. And you can't necessarily take away too many of your own classes
00:38:54.500 --> 00:38:58.000
because, you know, you make more profit from those because you're not paying away.
00:38:58.160 --> 00:39:04.300
So we needed to grow the business a little bit in anticipation of her coming on board.
00:39:04.300 --> 00:39:07.320
So just before we go there tell me about like
00:39:07.320 --> 00:39:10.320
because you've you've had some of the same struggles that
00:39:10.320 --> 00:39:13.060
i had when i started employing people you know
00:39:13.060 --> 00:39:16.340
just getting wrong fit people and whatever yeah um
00:39:16.340 --> 00:39:19.720
so yeah walk me through some of the the sort of trial and error that you've
00:39:19.720 --> 00:39:25.300
had with hiring uh well this is the first person that i'm going to hire but
00:39:25.300 --> 00:39:30.080
just having the thought about bringing someone in was already difficult because
00:39:30.080 --> 00:39:34.800
although pilates is growing a lot worldwide, and also in the Netherlands,
00:39:35.060 --> 00:39:38.420
not everyone who is teaching Pilates has a degree.
00:39:38.740 --> 00:39:41.480
And I don't mean that they need to have.
00:39:42.380 --> 00:39:45.380
Like a very complicated degree that I
00:39:45.380 --> 00:39:48.280
would be looking for that person but they have no
00:39:48.280 --> 00:39:51.440
education in the background or even physical education
00:39:51.440 --> 00:39:55.820
if I can be a little bit more clear about it and what
00:39:55.820 --> 00:39:58.660
it make it a little bit more difficult here is
00:39:58.660 --> 00:40:01.660
that as I mentioned at the beginning of
00:40:01.660 --> 00:40:04.580
this call in my head
00:40:04.580 --> 00:40:07.680
coming from Colombia one hour
00:40:07.680 --> 00:40:10.560
away from the city is not so far away
00:40:10.560 --> 00:40:13.920
but here in the netherlands 35 minutes is
00:40:13.920 --> 00:40:19.680
come is far away people wants to really work nearby 20 minutes it's good enough
00:40:19.680 --> 00:40:26.060
you know take your bicycle and go to work that's perfect so finding someone
00:40:26.060 --> 00:40:33.880
within the radio who had the who has the education and you know.
00:40:34.531 --> 00:40:39.131
It was a very difficult thing to do. I reached out to some people,
00:40:39.291 --> 00:40:41.431
but they didn't have education in the background.
00:40:41.791 --> 00:40:48.591
And when the opportunity just came in and I could take one of my beloved clients
00:40:48.591 --> 00:40:54.431
who I saw a future in Pilates for, that was an amazing decision.
00:40:54.431 --> 00:40:58.311
So I have one girl that was my client.
00:40:58.931 --> 00:41:03.651
She's still my client, but not really my client. Well, I just got a girl who
00:41:03.651 --> 00:41:06.431
knew me since the beginning here in this town.
00:41:06.451 --> 00:41:10.491
And she's starting with brief education to become a Pilates instructor.
00:41:11.071 --> 00:41:14.551
And she will join my team, my first team.
00:41:16.011 --> 00:41:19.211
Someone else done Anna next year.
00:41:19.471 --> 00:41:23.051
And you haven't employed somebody. And I know in the Netherlands,
00:41:23.251 --> 00:41:25.611
because I've got a couple of client people I coach in the Netherlands,
00:41:25.871 --> 00:41:31.771
there are very challenging employment laws about, you know, hiring somebody. Yeah.
00:41:32.331 --> 00:41:37.851
It's difficult to be an employer. Yeah. So one example I've learned is that
00:41:37.851 --> 00:41:44.111
if you have an employee, as opposed to a contractor, that you are liable if they are unwell.
00:41:44.111 --> 00:41:48.051
So if they have any kind of illness, like mental illness or even pregnancy,
00:41:48.171 --> 00:41:53.211
like whatever, that you have to pay 70% of their regular wage for two years
00:41:53.211 --> 00:41:55.271
if they're unwell and they can't work.
00:41:55.291 --> 00:41:59.531
Which is just very hard as an employer.
00:42:00.051 --> 00:42:06.051
Yeah, that's right. Like loss, yeah, they're not very easy. for getting someone
00:42:06.051 --> 00:42:08.751
as a freelancer and I can get it because...
00:42:09.541 --> 00:42:14.041
A little bit before, there were also a lot of places. I would just talk from
00:42:14.041 --> 00:42:17.421
Pilates because Pilates is the industry I work for.
00:42:17.621 --> 00:42:21.541
But I would just give you an example. It's me when I was a Pilates instructor.
00:42:22.101 --> 00:42:26.861
I would work with a place that made me sign a contract. And they would say that
00:42:26.861 --> 00:42:29.401
I couldn't work for any other place in the city.
00:42:29.961 --> 00:42:38.621
That I couldn't work also in, I don't know, a radio of 20 kilometers away from
00:42:38.621 --> 00:42:42.401
the place. And we're talking about the Netherlands, where everything is close by, you know, again.
00:42:43.181 --> 00:42:48.381
So, yeah. 20 kilometers, you're in Germany. Yeah, pretty much.
00:42:49.621 --> 00:42:53.581
Nearly, Belgium. Yeah. So, yeah.
00:42:53.861 --> 00:42:58.861
So, I understand that those rules are a little bit more tight, but they are not easy.
00:42:59.361 --> 00:43:03.101
So, yes, finding people and finding what kind of contract you're going to offer
00:43:03.101 --> 00:43:04.881
is difficult, but it's not impossible.
00:43:06.841 --> 00:43:12.261
And I think that having Dakota, I mentioned here, having Dakota just studying
00:43:12.261 --> 00:43:17.541
to become a Pilates instructor is amazing. Can't wait for that.
00:43:18.761 --> 00:43:26.281
Yeah, and so the plan is to have her start at, what, five or six classes a week, is that right?
00:43:26.661 --> 00:43:30.361
I think we're going to go for nine, nine classes per week.
00:43:30.621 --> 00:43:35.621
Yes, really, really, just go for it. I trust my coach.
00:43:37.321 --> 00:43:44.461
She'll improve very quickly. The more practice she gets, the faster she'll master it.
00:43:44.661 --> 00:43:49.201
But it is very simple. I think that I understand that I am not anymore just
00:43:49.201 --> 00:43:50.781
an instructor of my studio.
00:43:50.821 --> 00:43:56.081
I am the owner and there are things that have to be taken care of and I cannot
00:43:56.081 --> 00:43:58.581
be everything. Sorry. I...
00:43:59.485 --> 00:44:03.405
I can do everything at the same time and the studio is growing.
00:44:04.045 --> 00:44:09.565
Fortunately, I have a waiting list for next year and I need people.
00:44:09.565 --> 00:44:12.485
I can do everything myself, even if I wanted to.
00:44:13.305 --> 00:44:18.085
So, yes, having hair is going to be a very big plus for the studio.
00:44:18.225 --> 00:44:19.625
That's what I think. That's what I believe.
00:44:19.825 --> 00:44:22.125
And that's what I am going to work for.
00:44:22.945 --> 00:44:26.245
So it sounds like your identity has changed
00:44:26.245 --> 00:44:30.265
a little bit from Pilates instructor to business
00:44:30.265 --> 00:44:33.165
owner there tell me about that yeah pretty much
00:44:33.165 --> 00:44:36.625
yeah i would say that i have completely maybe
00:44:36.625 --> 00:44:40.145
well not completely but i have changed a lot because
00:44:40.145 --> 00:44:43.025
i started as a person who wanted to
00:44:43.025 --> 00:44:45.925
be more independent and not having to find
00:44:45.925 --> 00:44:49.365
hours everywhere to make a living and
00:44:49.365 --> 00:44:53.085
then i thought i was going to have a little
00:44:53.085 --> 00:44:56.085
pilates boutique studio or maybe just
00:44:56.085 --> 00:44:59.385
a little pilates matter studio to then
00:44:59.385 --> 00:45:02.625
having the opportunity to have reformers to then just
00:45:02.625 --> 00:45:05.585
go against what i believed at the beginning and
00:45:05.585 --> 00:45:09.185
just go for a reformer studio itself to keep
00:45:09.185 --> 00:45:12.545
to teach more lessons to yes to
00:45:12.545 --> 00:45:15.545
to think about bringing someone else so
00:45:15.545 --> 00:45:20.265
i've been growing and i like that and and
00:45:20.265 --> 00:45:23.245
i'm very curious about like how the studio will
00:45:23.245 --> 00:45:26.645
keep on you know growing and myself but.
00:45:26.645 --> 00:45:29.425
I'm very happy about it and i am happy that i
00:45:29.425 --> 00:45:34.025
allowed that because i think that sometimes you can really stay
00:45:34.025 --> 00:45:36.965
in the same place just because you are afraid of
00:45:36.965 --> 00:45:39.785
not taking decisions and not not not
00:45:39.785 --> 00:45:42.525
not out of fear you know and i'm
00:45:42.525 --> 00:45:47.325
not going to say it's easy but it is very difficult to stay at the same place
00:45:47.325 --> 00:45:52.085
and just resent your clients understand what you're doing so yes that's why
00:45:52.085 --> 00:45:56.165
I just try have tried to take action as much as I can even though it is not
00:45:56.165 --> 00:46:01.945
comfortable yeah well you've done amazing job of taking action.
00:46:03.609 --> 00:46:07.609
And so what is, you said you're curious about, you know, what the future looks
00:46:07.609 --> 00:46:10.469
like and how the studio is going to grow and how you're going to grow.
00:46:10.689 --> 00:46:14.289
So, you know, and you mentioned earlier in the call that,
00:46:14.769 --> 00:46:20.529
you know, you want to, you know, one of the things that you want to do is really,
00:46:20.749 --> 00:46:24.349
I mean, you've got a pretty good lifestyle day-to-day now in terms of how much
00:46:24.349 --> 00:46:30.089
you work, but you really want to take more extended periods of time off so that you can travel.
00:46:30.089 --> 00:46:35.829
So tell me about your goals there and how, you know, Dakota and maybe other
00:46:35.829 --> 00:46:38.409
people that you're going to hire, you know, fit into that.
00:46:40.429 --> 00:46:48.389
Well, bringing new people to my studio will help me to have that extra time that I want for myself.
00:46:48.389 --> 00:46:53.849
I want to travel more. As you mentioned, I want to see my family during the
00:46:53.849 --> 00:47:01.669
holidays. And by having a bigger team, I believe that I would be able to manage that.
00:47:02.069 --> 00:47:06.389
And also, I believe that I could spend more time learning how to take care of
00:47:06.389 --> 00:47:12.329
my business every time more and learning how to, you know, do basics of marketing
00:47:12.329 --> 00:47:15.469
or having time to do the things that work or not.
00:47:15.669 --> 00:47:18.229
But, you know, to have more time for that.
00:47:19.732 --> 00:47:23.712
That's what I'm working towards, yeah.
00:47:25.332 --> 00:47:33.892
And so do you see that, you know, when do you see yourself achieving that situation?
00:47:34.872 --> 00:47:37.832
I don't know. It's a good question.
00:47:39.392 --> 00:47:42.732
When do I see myself achieving that situation? Well, actually,
00:47:42.952 --> 00:47:47.572
I believe that having, my plan is to have Dakota already in January.
00:47:47.572 --> 00:47:51.352
And I believe that already when she joins, I would be able to have a little
00:47:51.352 --> 00:47:57.852
bit more time for myself and for my own development, let's call it that way.
00:47:57.972 --> 00:48:03.472
So it's not very far away now where I want to be in the future. I don't know.
00:48:05.472 --> 00:48:09.292
Because we said, I think from memory, what we said last time we talked was that
00:48:09.292 --> 00:48:13.032
you're going to build up an extra five classes a week between now and January.
00:48:13.032 --> 00:48:18.332
So that when she takes over nine classes, you'll still be teaching like 15 or 16 yourself.
00:48:18.572 --> 00:48:20.652
Yeah. And she'll be teaching like nine.
00:48:20.952 --> 00:48:26.152
And that means that you can still make great money, even better money than you're
00:48:26.152 --> 00:48:27.832
making now, and teach less.
00:48:28.512 --> 00:48:35.732
Yes. And that when you do go away, like 25 is a manageable number for her,
00:48:35.872 --> 00:48:39.812
like for a short period. She can do that for three or four weeks,
00:48:39.812 --> 00:48:42.892
no problem, so that you do have somebody that can take over.
00:48:43.672 --> 00:48:54.012
Yes yes something like that yeah yeah so what do you feel is the the next level
00:48:54.012 --> 00:49:01.152
of growth for you professionally oh wow that's a good question well,
00:49:02.691 --> 00:49:07.951
I wouldn't say I'm very sure, but I do picture the studio growing a little bit more.
00:49:08.331 --> 00:49:14.971
I don't have this dream of having a studio with 15 reformers. That's not my dream.
00:49:15.271 --> 00:49:19.331
Never say never, because that's how I started this journey.
00:49:21.611 --> 00:49:29.431
I'm talking from, you know, today's Anna, you know, in this year.
00:49:29.431 --> 00:49:32.911
But I do want to have a bigger studio
00:49:32.911 --> 00:49:35.891
in the future when it's possible and being
00:49:35.891 --> 00:49:39.851
able to offer more lessons and and
00:49:39.851 --> 00:49:44.851
just I just really like Pilates I want to keep studying Pilates and just joining
00:49:44.851 --> 00:49:50.191
more courses and just joining the anatomy calls that I miss through the weeks
00:49:50.191 --> 00:49:55.131
and all these things but I really really really like to study so yeah that's
00:49:55.131 --> 00:49:58.091
how I see myself And I really want to learn more about, you know,
00:49:58.231 --> 00:50:04.251
like business and managing because I got to like it. I thought I was not made for that.
00:50:04.571 --> 00:50:09.631
I thought I suck at, you know, selling things. I thought I was not going to be good enough.
00:50:09.831 --> 00:50:14.811
But I actually like it. And I have, you know, enjoy just learning more about it.
00:50:15.771 --> 00:50:17.331
So I'm looking towards it.
00:50:18.651 --> 00:50:23.191
Yeah or you've you mean it's been amazing watching you really just,
00:50:24.511 --> 00:50:29.951
i guess let go of some of those fears or sort of negative beliefs that you had
00:50:29.951 --> 00:50:36.511
and yeah and seeing you really flourish and come into more power as a business owner yeah.
00:50:38.448 --> 00:50:42.108
What, you know, I guess,
00:50:42.468 --> 00:50:49.688
you know, what would you want to say to someone listening to this who's maybe
00:50:49.688 --> 00:50:52.908
where you were, I don't know,
00:50:53.108 --> 00:50:56.528
six or 12 months ago, maybe they have a small Pilates studio,
00:50:56.528 --> 00:51:00.988
they're teaching from home or they're dreaming of opening a Pilates studio.
00:51:00.988 --> 00:51:05.268
So, and they're kind of just, I don't know, they're stuck doing some of those
00:51:05.268 --> 00:51:08.628
same things that you were doing, you know, like teaching classes that didn't
00:51:08.628 --> 00:51:12.888
bring them joy for clients that didn't show up and, you know,
00:51:12.928 --> 00:51:15.908
not making the money they want and stuff. Yeah. What would you say to those people?
00:51:16.908 --> 00:51:24.648
Well, I would tell them to don't trust the motion, just trust the numbers,
00:51:24.648 --> 00:51:27.788
what they see and just take the decision.
00:51:27.788 --> 00:51:30.768
Like the decision the the the
00:51:30.768 --> 00:51:33.708
more time you you you
00:51:33.708 --> 00:51:38.608
you let for taking a decision the more pain you will feel just take a decision
00:51:38.608 --> 00:51:44.388
it will feel awful for maybe a few days maybe a week but then it's going to
00:51:44.388 --> 00:51:49.528
feel amazing so don't stay stuck because as long as you stay stuck you cannot
00:51:49.528 --> 00:51:53.608
do something new so that's about it and just just do it.
00:51:55.345 --> 00:52:00.045
I wish we could put that on a t-shirt. I think we should put that on a t-shirt. Just do it.
00:52:01.265 --> 00:52:06.565
Pretty nice. Yeah, just do it. But I think there's a lot of wisdom in what you
00:52:06.565 --> 00:52:13.105
said there that, you know, the things that we dread, like they're almost always
00:52:13.105 --> 00:52:15.165
more painful in the anticipation.
00:52:15.645 --> 00:52:21.005
And once you do it, you actually, the pain goes away and you feel so much better almost straight away.
00:52:21.405 --> 00:52:26.565
Yeah, that's pretty much it. It is always uncomfortable to do things that you don't know.
00:52:26.705 --> 00:52:29.885
It is always uncomfortable to take decisions you're afraid of.
00:52:30.345 --> 00:52:34.845
But at the end of the day, if you don't take them, you stay still and you cannot
00:52:34.845 --> 00:52:36.785
keep on moving. You cannot keep on growing.
00:52:37.065 --> 00:52:40.265
So you have to go against you and just do it.
00:52:40.545 --> 00:52:44.885
Just send that message to your clients telling them that you're going to stop
00:52:44.885 --> 00:52:48.645
by doing the lessons that aren't working. See what happens.
00:52:48.865 --> 00:52:54.305
You're not going to be hated forever. Just doing it a good way and just be, you know, open.
00:52:54.465 --> 00:52:58.605
It's going to be all right, but just do it. Because as much as you wait,
00:52:58.845 --> 00:53:01.205
as much painful it will just become.
00:53:01.505 --> 00:53:07.205
And that's something that's also useful for me, you know, because I still sometimes
00:53:07.205 --> 00:53:09.265
take my time, but I just go.
00:53:10.785 --> 00:53:14.345
What is your biggest challenge right now?
00:53:14.345 --> 00:53:17.445
Who my biggest
00:53:17.445 --> 00:53:21.865
challenge right now is to still finding
00:53:21.865 --> 00:53:25.165
out what kind of decision is
00:53:25.165 --> 00:53:33.105
emotional what kind of decision makes sense or doesn't make sense yet you know
00:53:33.105 --> 00:53:39.905
because i still feel that i'm new to my to my position as a business owner or
00:53:39.905 --> 00:53:43.965
as a business person because as i said previously I didn't have.
00:53:45.092 --> 00:53:50.752
Really this is something like this experience before I haven't experienced this before so,
00:53:51.532 --> 00:53:57.752
that's my challenge but I feel that I have you know like the support to be able to,
00:53:58.452 --> 00:54:05.132
to overcome that challenge do you know do you understand what I mean I know
00:54:05.132 --> 00:54:10.032
exactly what you mean and I'm thinking of the conversation we had maybe six
00:54:10.032 --> 00:54:14.052
weeks ago where you were feeling quite anxious about, uh,
00:54:14.632 --> 00:54:17.812
you said to me, oh, look, I've got Dakota starting in, you know,
00:54:17.932 --> 00:54:19.192
three months or whatever it was.
00:54:19.432 --> 00:54:22.452
And I won't have, I'm worried I won't have enough clients for her.
00:54:22.772 --> 00:54:27.272
And, and I, and so we said, okay, or how many classes do you want to give her?
00:54:27.372 --> 00:54:28.912
And okay, how many classes do you have now?
00:54:29.052 --> 00:54:33.632
And we worked out how many extra clients you needed in order to give her a full schedule.
00:54:34.052 --> 00:54:39.352
And it worked out to five clients, you had to get five clients a month between now and January.
00:54:39.952 --> 00:54:42.812
And then we looked at like, or how many clients did you get last month?
00:54:42.852 --> 00:54:44.912
And it was like four, you know?
00:54:45.012 --> 00:54:48.152
And so I was like, okay, we have to get you an extra one client a month.
00:54:50.312 --> 00:54:55.752
But it was already, yeah, it was scary. It was scary because it is a lot of
00:54:55.752 --> 00:54:58.172
pricing, you know, but yeah.
00:54:59.392 --> 00:55:03.372
But that's, that comes back to what you said about making decisions based on
00:55:03.372 --> 00:55:05.712
the numbers, It's not based on emotion.
00:55:06.372 --> 00:55:11.352
And like sometimes the numbers do tell you that there's something wrong and you need to fix it.
00:55:11.472 --> 00:55:14.372
But usually a lot of times.
00:55:15.772 --> 00:55:20.312
The thing that feels very scary or like it's, you know, everything's,
00:55:20.452 --> 00:55:24.292
you know, going wrong, then when you look at the numbers, actually, it's fine.
00:55:24.872 --> 00:55:29.152
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's the thing. So that's what I have been learning.
00:55:29.392 --> 00:55:34.392
And also just to be patient, you know, because I want to do everything at once.
00:55:34.512 --> 00:55:38.152
I want to fix everything at once. I want to be good all at once,
00:55:38.232 --> 00:55:40.612
but I cannot be everything at once.
00:55:40.912 --> 00:55:44.312
So it's just being, you know, trying to slow down and
00:55:44.312 --> 00:55:47.472
understand that that things take their time and
00:55:47.472 --> 00:55:50.492
that i don't have to rush because that rush
00:55:50.492 --> 00:55:53.832
was also just making me crazy so yes that's
00:55:53.832 --> 00:55:58.532
been my experience as well as i grow my business because like where you're at
00:55:58.532 --> 00:56:05.412
now like if you go back like a year like you would have been like excited to
00:56:05.412 --> 00:56:09.952
imagine like having a business yeah that exactly like you have now right you
00:56:09.952 --> 00:56:11.172
would think that would be amazing,
00:56:11.732 --> 00:56:14.152
But now when you're here, you're like, oh, yeah, this is okay.
00:56:14.152 --> 00:56:18.292
But what I really want, you know, is the next incident.
00:56:18.752 --> 00:56:22.452
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's not just you. It's me too. That's been every stage
00:56:22.452 --> 00:56:26.052
of my journey where I think, oh, if I just make it to this much revenue or this
00:56:26.052 --> 00:56:29.012
many staff or this many students trained or whatever,
00:56:29.232 --> 00:56:32.312
like, and then you get there and you're like, you enjoy it for about five seconds.
00:56:32.312 --> 00:56:34.452
And then you're like, okay, what's next? You know, like.
00:56:35.672 --> 00:56:39.892
Oh, it's so bad. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's, I think it's just,
00:56:40.012 --> 00:56:43.072
you know, it's a well-documented phenomenon in psychology. It's called the hedonic,
00:56:43.132 --> 00:56:45.212
it's called hedonic adaption, adaptation.
00:56:45.532 --> 00:56:50.452
So basically it's the same reason why the first mouthful of ice cream tastes
00:56:50.452 --> 00:56:54.172
better than the 10th mouthful of ice cream, you know.
00:56:54.632 --> 00:57:01.092
Yes. And why, you know, the first year of marriage is more passionate than the 50th year of marriage.
00:57:02.532 --> 00:57:06.192
And, you know, it's just, it's, it's a well-documented thing.
00:57:06.192 --> 00:57:09.652
You know, it's like when you watch the same movie for the third time,
00:57:09.832 --> 00:57:11.872
it's often you don't enjoy it as much.
00:57:12.252 --> 00:57:14.392
Yes. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah.
00:57:15.160 --> 00:57:19.160
But so it's, you know, I think it's a very elusive,
00:57:19.160 --> 00:57:23.580
that kind of sense of satisfaction and accomplishment is very elusive because
00:57:23.580 --> 00:57:34.000
I think what is truly most satisfying is actually the journey towards the goal
00:57:34.000 --> 00:57:36.920
and who you become in the process of,
00:57:36.920 --> 00:57:40.120
you know, of achieving those things.
00:57:40.120 --> 00:57:43.700
Because as soon as you achieve something, and I say this in myself,
00:57:43.860 --> 00:57:48.060
I say it with every business owner I coach, I also see it with all of the people
00:57:48.060 --> 00:57:51.140
who coach me who are further ahead in their business journey than I am,
00:57:51.740 --> 00:57:55.920
is that they're doing 500,000 a month, a million a month, two million a month.
00:57:56.040 --> 00:57:58.380
They're still not satisfied.
00:57:59.980 --> 00:58:03.200
And it's not that they're unhappy. It's not that they're unhappy.
00:58:03.440 --> 00:58:08.480
And for me as well, I've got happier as I've progressed through my business journey.
00:58:08.480 --> 00:58:14.200
I've got happier and I've got more – like I'm way, way happier now than I was
00:58:14.200 --> 00:58:18.380
when I was living in a shitty rented, cockroach-infested apartment with my wife,
00:58:18.420 --> 00:58:22.100
you know, like 20 years ago. Yeah. But –.
00:58:23.577 --> 00:58:32.217
And somehow you kind of envision that once I can do X, then I'll be happy. It's going to be enough.
00:58:33.177 --> 00:58:36.917
Yeah, but it's somehow when you get there, there's always just one more thing you want.
00:58:37.557 --> 00:58:44.557
Yeah, yeah. Well, I hope I can get into a place where I can be happy with what it is that I have.
00:58:44.857 --> 00:58:48.257
I'm very happy with what I have. I'm very grateful with what I have.
00:58:48.357 --> 00:58:54.217
But I am a driven person, so I like to achieve stuff. So what I'm curious about
00:58:54.217 --> 00:58:59.757
is not really what I will get around my studio, but what else can I achieve?
00:58:59.897 --> 00:59:03.917
Because as you say, it feels really good and it feels really exciting.
00:59:04.137 --> 00:59:09.277
And it's just very nice to feel that transformation and that,
00:59:09.277 --> 00:59:11.257
you know, that challenge. I don't know.
00:59:11.577 --> 00:59:16.777
I guess that when you like to be challenged, you also expose yourself towards
00:59:16.777 --> 00:59:20.957
another growing ways, I would say. I don't know.
00:59:21.977 --> 00:59:29.057
I 100% agree Anna I think it's for me it's who I become in the process that
00:59:29.057 --> 00:59:35.297
is that's the most exciting part like you said I think that journey is the same
00:59:35.297 --> 00:59:40.597
for all entrepreneurs that you have to overcome your fears,
00:59:40.777 --> 00:59:46.937
your insecurities your limiting beliefs your procrastination your blind spots.
00:59:49.097 --> 00:59:59.417
And And the process of doing that is scary as hell, but when you have a victory
00:59:59.417 --> 01:00:03.377
over your own fear, it just feels so empowering.
01:00:03.517 --> 01:00:09.457
You feel like you've really taken a step forward in some meaningful way.
01:00:09.797 --> 01:00:14.417
Yeah, that's right. It feels really amazing to do it, and I think it's worth doing.
01:00:14.897 --> 01:00:16.577
So, yeah. Yeah.
01:00:17.375 --> 01:00:20.355
Pretty much. Anna, thanks so much for coming on the podcast.
01:00:21.095 --> 01:00:24.155
I think people are going to, this is going to be one of those episodes I get
01:00:24.155 --> 01:00:29.315
a lot of social media DMs about saying it inspires people.
01:00:30.075 --> 01:00:35.015
I hope that people can get inspired to do things they are very worried or very
01:00:35.015 --> 01:00:37.435
fearful to do because it's possible.
01:00:38.755 --> 01:00:45.995
And that's, I mean, and ultimately that's where the greatest pleasure and satisfaction derives, right?
01:00:45.995 --> 01:00:51.375
I mean, nothing meaning, you think about anything in life, whether it's having
01:00:51.375 --> 01:00:57.615
kids or getting a degree or becoming a Pilates teacher or starting a business or getting married,
01:00:58.035 --> 01:01:03.335
like they're all very hard, you know, like all of the things that are worthwhile
01:01:03.335 --> 01:01:08.575
in life are hard and the things that are easy, like sitting on the couch and
01:01:08.575 --> 01:01:10.115
eating ice cream and watching Netflix,
01:01:10.435 --> 01:01:15.195
they're not satisfying, you know, and they don't make us better people. Yeah.
01:01:16.075 --> 01:01:20.575
So I think doing those hard things is what it's, I think that's what it's all
01:01:20.575 --> 01:01:22.095
about at the end of the day.
01:01:22.595 --> 01:01:25.355
Just keep on moving. Don't stay stuck.
01:01:27.675 --> 01:01:30.255
Yes. Thanks, Anna. Thank you so much, Raph.