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Welcome to Pilates Elephants. I'm here with Patricia Robinson from Pilates Vita
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in Kensington, only you're not in Kensington at the moment, Patricia.
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Yeah, I'm not. I'm in Florida at this moment.
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I have a partner studio in San Francisco that it's Pilates Vita San Francisco.
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In Florida, I supposed to open, but I
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didn't have a chance in time to do
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that so i'm in florida at this moment next
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week back to london okay and we're
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here to talk about your studio and the business that you've built pilates vita
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now you run a studio in kensington which is in london and i particularly want
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to talk about that but you also have licensed your studio brand to other businesses.
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So can you just give us, please,
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a kind of high-level overview of the business in London and just,
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you know, what you do, who you serve, you know, that kind of thing?
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Well, London, I...
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To start out there, I'm going back a little bit in history just to explain a
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little bit who I am to make sense why I choose the model that I have in London.
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And it's a choice, different models.
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I had licensed my business long ago when I was supposed to do 2012.
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2012, I decided to kind of franchise the business, but I didn't want to turn
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my business into a supermarket.
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And I really respect the model of a small business.
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And I think when Pilates taught us was very individualized.
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And I don't like the business of Pilates to be turning to everybody doing fitness.
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I really love what I learned.
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And I have been very lucky that I had been trained by dual flexor and had a
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chance to go with other ones that Pilates itself trained because I'm an old lady.
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And I started long ago.
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So I come from the second generation
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of Pilates and I respect what Pilates taught and brought to us as individuals
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and understanding that we control the body with the mind instead of the body control our minds.
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And the conscience of Pilates...
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Through the movement, that's what I tried to turn into my business.
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At that time, in 2008, I had the chance to multiply my business.
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I had two studios in Denver, Colorado.
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And I had teachers that really wanted to work and learn with me.
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And I started training teachers in the early 2000s.
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And then they started opening their own business.
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They asked me how to open the business and I
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said I oh I'm sorry I got
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a call in the middle I start saying that
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I couldn't you know just do their business for them so that's when I started
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license I started teaching them how to turn their business into a successful
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business and I create three different models and a small one,
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a medium and a large one.
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It was their choice to create for themselves the ones that they want. My...
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My choice later in life, having all the sizes before, I had started with a small to medium.
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Then I grew up to a big studio. I even brought other options in the studio other than Pilates itself.
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I had yoga. I had spinning. I had other practitioners with a small room that
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they could do a compunction, massage, physiotherapy.
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And that was not my best studio, I would say, because it took me out of my real
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goal and makes up too much.
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I really believe that when you're doing Pilates, you should be concentrated with what is Pilates.
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And so I grew up to a point that I had several studios and I started giving
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to my teachers the chance to take over.
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And I left because I felt that I lost my business itself.
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I started being an administrator. I've been away from my clients and all my
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knowledge was like being away from me and my contact with the client that was
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the best of exchanging part for me,
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at least because Pilates for me is a passion.
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And I believe you only can be totally successful when you are a passion person for what you do.
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And I do for passion. So at that moment, I was making lots of money,
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but I was not making myself happy.
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And I decided to change the whole thing.
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I had an opportunity with Bellman Hotels that offer this space for free and St.
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Martin in the Caribbean. And I loved the idea to move to St. Martin. And I did.
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I opened a small studio there.
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With that, I created a retreat. and that was 2014,
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when I stayed until the 13 to the 14 18 I left San Martin because we had a bad
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hurricane and everything got destroyed,
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and in situations like that it's very complicated for insurance and anyways
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end of that story I had I had,
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People in Europe invited me for getting a retreat there.
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And I had been training teachers, one for Italy, another one for France.
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Anyways, I decided to go to Europe.
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And I had requests in London. I decided to open the best model for me,
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is the small studio, where I could do my passion.
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As I did when I was in Samaritan.
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Clients came to me that never did Pilates before. I could guide them for what is Pilates.
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I could treat them for two weeks, usually the time that they stay in the island for the retreat.
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And they could see the transformation in their own lives.
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And they could see the difference that made in their lives. And I found other
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teachers where they live.
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Most of the people in the island, because the island is half Dutch,
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half French, they come from everywhere. And the fact that I speak several languages helps, of course.
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But I could make them understand and feel what is Pilates.
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And I tried to contact the right teacher in the right studio for them where
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they live. and they keep going there when they go back home.
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So that was a very grateful experience that I had as well with a different model,
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different in Denver, the three models that I had.
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I went to London and I decided to do a small studio where I could give to the
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client my full time as I give it,
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to then in the island but I
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was not too small I could have three clients at
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the same time where I started in 2019
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and COVID hit
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when COVID hit people didn't
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want to share in the room if they come
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because a lot of people couldn't go you know we are closed anyways at that moment
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And I also developed a product that I put in the client's house where I could
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have support like a tower, kind of.
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And it calls Ike Lattice. And we'll be in the market soon.
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I just postponed to be to sell later because I have to find the right production.
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Right now it's coming next year. But anyways, I create the one-to-one after COVID.
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And my clients said to me, I don't want to share my room with anybody else.
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And my clients are usually people that can't afford the time with me.
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When they cannot, I give the chance for them to do with the teachers that I
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trained. Some of them charge a little less and we can accommodate as more as we can.
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When we cannot accommodate, we try to see if they can share the room with somebody
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else, but with true teachers.
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So they still feel in a private.
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So this is a model that I have and I'm open one more by February this next year.
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In the small way and very private.
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Usually, especially I see what's going on right now in the world of Pilates.
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That makes me a bit sad because it became not a real work as Pilates,
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but a mix of people that never have really trained and had no knowledge of the
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body and they put people in the floor or over the machines and they hurt people all the time.
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As a physio, they come to me to fix and I go like, wow,
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You know, why you go there if you know that this is not Pilates,
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but they call reformer Pilates. What?
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I don't realize why they don't call the method.
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They call reformer only.
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What I don't agree because I feel I pass my class with all machines,
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whatever they are and whatever, whenever they come.
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I need all the machines to create
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the session of course if I only have one I will use that one but I try to follow
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the method and also I try to create the consciousness of the movement through
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Pilates that is my certification so I use that with the clients all the time.
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I'm very happy with the small size I believe teachers, you know,
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that has strong knowledge, they should go for small size because they will have
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class who will pay for them.
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I'm fascinated. The reason I'm interested to talk with you about your business
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particularly is because of your business model.
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And what i really like uh about what you're doing is that you charge very high prices.
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And the business model that you have, because you have four reformers,
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and I think you have two chairs and a Cadillac.
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So essentially, it's quite a small studio, right?
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Two chairs, three reformers, one Cadillac, the Tonshue reformers.
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So I could use four. I used before in the beginning, and it worked before COVID.
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After COVID, my clientele specific in London, in the high-end area that I am,
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they really see the reason to pay a private, and I understand.
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Right. So that's why I'm separating right now. Half of the machines are going
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to the small other studio nearby. Mm-hmm.
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And so a lot of, I think a lot of instructors feel the same way that you do
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in terms of deriving like their
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greatest satisfaction is working directly with clients and, you know,
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observing that or being part of that
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relationship and being part of that transformation for people directly.
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And so they want to run a small intimate setup like you do, but,
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I think most instructors really struggle to put their prices up and to charge
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enough money per session that actually makes it a profitable business for themselves
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when they're only running small sessions.
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So I see all the time instructors charging, you know, 50 pounds for a one-on-one
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session or, you know, 35 pounds for a duet.
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And so why I smiled from ear to ear when I looked at your website was I saw
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that you charge £176 for a one-on-one and even when someone buys 10 one-on-ones,
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I think you still charge something like £158.
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Yeah, and for a trio, even if someone buys like a 10-pack, Like you're charging
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like 98 pounds per person, you know, for the trio, which is fantastic.
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And I think, um, obviously that's a, uh,
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that's a, I think that's a great business model and it's fantastic for someone
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who has that kind of artisanal, um,
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approach and who, you know, the greatest satisfaction you get is from working,
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you know, intimately with your clients.
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How have you.
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I guess what I'm really, really interested to unpack with you is essentially
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how you go about setting your prices and charging that amount.
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Now, obviously, you have a lot of experience and all of that.
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So I'm more interested in really just psychologically how you approach this.
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Because in my experience, I've talked to a lot of studio owners.
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Most of them struggle with putting their prices up.
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I understand that. And there's a formula as well.
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I think one of the most important points during a period of time that I thought
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to come back to Florida because after COVID, I had a house here.
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I am in a very expensive area.
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In florida i could apply the same situation
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here because that's the first thing
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it's a real state where you're going right location
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is the first point um my
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ex-husband is 35 years
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in the franchise world so i've been all the
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conference he was part of the international fruit stars
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in association direction I'm being with all the franchises you can imagine the
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world conferences and I could turn my business into a franchising instead of
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this I prefer to stay small I make money that I want in the size that I want I could do.
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Uh be very rich right now but
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it was not my choice i like the
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the balance the control the
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century whatever the thought is mind is my mind and that's how i up buying the
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business and for that i give them the first thing is the location high location
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people that has money to pay your session in the price that you want first.
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Second, high level of instructions, instructors and instruction for yourself.
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So I always keep studying as more as I can.
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I am not only a Pilates teacher, I'm also a physiotherapist.
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So if I have somebody with issue, I will apply the
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Pilates sessions through the issue that they have
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to fix So some countries
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or some places They allowed some states
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in America Because laws are different here From state
00:18:09.875 --> 00:18:13.455
to state They allowed you to apply to physiotherapy The
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sessions that the clients use So sometimes they
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can go and ask for the insurance to be repaid So that is one point that can
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be used as an option So in a way to register that, that depends on each studio.
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I would say the second point, very important, other than location instruction,
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the third, I mean, it's the machines.
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I work with balanced body in the high, high level of balanced body.
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My machine has everything that you can imagine in a machine.
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I mean, my reformers have, they all have tower, they all have the connector,
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they all have infinity bar.
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I don't get a guy who is six, two feet and put in the reformer that it's the
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same size for somebody of five feet.
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It's almost like you get a person in a bicycle that it's this short and give
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a bicycle that the paddle is so far away.
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How this person is going to do? It's going to hurt. Right.
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So quality.
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And it's again, it's quantity sometimes. Right.
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So that's a middle line there. And that's how I think, you know,
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my parents get there and they walk and they see the machines.
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They go like wow but this is serious i said
00:19:48.183 --> 00:19:51.303
yeah and this is serious i mean
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uh other thing is some people get a
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you know basement who wants
00:19:57.603 --> 00:20:01.703
to work in a basement without light right light
00:20:01.703 --> 00:20:05.163
is important machines are important the
00:20:05.163 --> 00:20:08.643
way that the place looks it's important
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especially for people that has money you know
00:20:11.843 --> 00:20:15.023
uh knowledge of the teacher of
00:20:15.023 --> 00:20:17.943
course is the basic because you can
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give like a half price your
00:20:20.683 --> 00:20:23.603
first session then the client come and
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it comes with the problem you don't know how to deal with so
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of course you're not gonna pay and if
00:20:31.563 --> 00:20:34.663
you do successful with one two three
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you can start with a little low price
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and start gradually going up but the
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thing is how i maintain up you maintain up
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because you give it to what
00:20:47.343 --> 00:20:54.363
the client was expecting if you don't they're gonna go away they won't pay but
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if you give a high service they want you they you become like a therapist in
00:21:03.163 --> 00:21:04.863
all the ways for that person.
00:21:05.483 --> 00:21:08.203
As Pilates was in his life.
00:21:08.943 --> 00:21:14.263
Uncle Joe, everybody goes and runs to him. Can you fix me? Yeah. What do you...
00:21:16.110 --> 00:21:21.510
What do you, what service do you give somebody or what expectations does somebody
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have at 176 pounds for a one-on-one?
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You know, do you kind of, you know, call them after hours? Do you know,
00:21:31.370 --> 00:21:34.210
do you provide hot towels for them?
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Privacy. I talk to them, first of all, I don't use my body or any other one to booking.
00:21:45.030 --> 00:21:46.990
You book with the person directly.
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The private person wants, a person who pays you high, they want high service.
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You are like a babysitter.
00:21:58.556 --> 00:22:01.516
Of that person in the full ways when
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it started you know they give me
00:22:04.276 --> 00:22:07.536
a client form i analyze the person upside
00:22:07.536 --> 00:22:10.556
down i try to see
00:22:10.556 --> 00:22:14.136
the emotional issues too because every client
00:22:14.136 --> 00:22:17.056
when they walk in i teach this to my my
00:22:17.056 --> 00:22:20.456
trainees the first thing that you ask is did you
00:22:20.456 --> 00:22:23.216
sleep well how's your day how you know
00:22:23.216 --> 00:22:26.196
some people they come to me and they
00:22:26.196 --> 00:22:29.456
fill it up the form they don't disclose what
00:22:29.456 --> 00:22:35.376
they do but just the way that they move i know exactly what they're doing uh
00:22:35.376 --> 00:22:43.496
and i've checked the spine i see i first thing i look at you see all the needs
00:22:43.496 --> 00:22:46.976
in their body and then i put them to,
00:22:47.916 --> 00:22:50.896
create a series whatever they need
00:22:50.896 --> 00:22:54.276
but i give them the first experience with the
00:22:54.276 --> 00:23:00.896
full experience and then i already sold my product right there because they
00:23:00.896 --> 00:23:06.496
feel attracted to the point that somebody care about their bodies like they
00:23:06.496 --> 00:23:12.176
are an individual and lately uh we are not individuals anymore.
00:23:12.476 --> 00:23:16.136
We are just one more number in the internet. Nobody exists.
00:23:16.576 --> 00:23:19.196
So now I'm there. I exist. They text
00:23:19.196 --> 00:23:23.596
me. I respond. Some people text me at midnight. I respond at midnight.
00:23:25.916 --> 00:23:31.556
Everybody book with me in the WhatsApp. And if a teacher is teaching,
00:23:31.736 --> 00:23:35.976
it's not me, we are in a group and we respond.
00:23:36.276 --> 00:23:41.656
If the client wants to talk directly with me, to go out of the group and talk directly with me.
00:23:42.296 --> 00:23:49.236
I take care of them as a full individual. And I think that attention is what,
00:23:50.364 --> 00:23:55.264
They pay me in the end of the story, you know. Some clients and teachers,
00:23:55.264 --> 00:23:57.444
they will be watching this.
00:23:57.784 --> 00:24:01.224
They know some clients comes for attention only.
00:24:02.284 --> 00:24:06.084
But I don't do only attention. When they come for attention only,
00:24:06.264 --> 00:24:10.804
I go like, you know, I'm going to make you cost-benefit today.
00:24:10.804 --> 00:24:12.744
You're not going to do just attention.
00:24:12.984 --> 00:24:16.044
We need to, you keep telling me your story, but you keep moving.
00:24:17.004 --> 00:24:21.364
And I move then with my hand sometimes. I go like, okay, I keep hearing you,
00:24:21.484 --> 00:24:22.424
but you're going to move.
00:24:22.984 --> 00:24:27.724
And they go like, wow, I got much better. I feel wonderful.
00:24:28.344 --> 00:24:34.164
Yes. The talking is very important sometimes, but the movement is crucial.
00:24:35.324 --> 00:24:37.844
Yeah, and some people don't want to move. They're going like,
00:24:37.884 --> 00:24:39.904
you come here to move, you know, cost benefit.
00:24:40.224 --> 00:24:43.344
You're not going to pay me this money if you're not moving. I take you out.
00:24:43.344 --> 00:24:48.144
And I tell my clients every day one important thing, if I get rich,
00:24:48.264 --> 00:24:49.784
I will pay them to come to me.
00:24:50.364 --> 00:24:59.644
Did you have a point perhaps early in your career where you struggled with the
00:24:59.644 --> 00:25:01.964
confidence to charge high prices?
00:25:04.038 --> 00:25:14.698
Well, I would say probably in the beginning, the first studio, when I start.
00:25:15.778 --> 00:25:24.998
Especially, yeah, I think when I got out of my home studio to the street studio,
00:25:25.238 --> 00:25:31.358
I think is the first fear, not only my fear, but a lot of the teachers that
00:25:31.358 --> 00:25:33.758
I push to have their own studios.
00:25:34.038 --> 00:25:41.398
They always get afraid in the beginning, not only about the price,
00:25:41.418 --> 00:25:45.278
but I still see this in many teachers.
00:25:45.558 --> 00:25:48.518
They go like, can you ask the client if they like me?
00:25:49.078 --> 00:25:53.478
I mean, no, I don't want to ask the client if they like you.
00:25:53.758 --> 00:25:59.198
The client will show that when they come back and you're going to see this.
00:25:59.198 --> 00:26:04.558
They will tell you, because if I do this for you, I'm not helping your confidence.
00:26:04.958 --> 00:26:12.558
I will be turning to, you know, just give you a lot, one more chocolate for the kid.
00:26:13.058 --> 00:26:20.738
You have to create that confidence, just, you know, creating for the client
00:26:20.738 --> 00:26:24.898
a chance for the client to give it back to the feedback.
00:26:25.498 --> 00:26:32.658
I asked directly the client the whole entire session, how do you feel this? Where do you feel this?
00:26:33.538 --> 00:26:37.718
Because my work, it's a conscious of the movement through Pilates.
00:26:37.898 --> 00:26:41.678
And it's how I teach my teachers, how I train my teachers.
00:26:41.978 --> 00:26:47.758
You know, the client has to connect with that part, the muscle that they don't
00:26:47.758 --> 00:26:48.898
even know that they have.
00:26:50.310 --> 00:26:53.450
And how you create that is making
00:26:53.450 --> 00:26:56.630
the person think about what they are doing. They have to be present.
00:26:57.350 --> 00:27:02.090
And when they finally find it, go like, wow, this is great. I found this.
00:27:02.390 --> 00:27:05.910
So this is already your answer right there. That's your confidence.
00:27:06.310 --> 00:27:11.570
At that moment, you made somebody change something that you wanted to give it.
00:27:11.570 --> 00:27:16.730
And what really strikes, or one of the things that really strikes me about you
00:27:16.730 --> 00:27:26.030
is that you have this very deep conviction in what you provide and the value of what you provide.
00:27:26.370 --> 00:27:31.050
And, you know, you've told me, I mean, I agree with a lot of what you're saying
00:27:31.050 --> 00:27:34.750
about absolutely location is very, very important.
00:27:35.570 --> 00:27:39.110
And obviously expertise. You know, I agree with a lot of what you've said there.
00:27:39.110 --> 00:27:44.230
But I think what really strikes me as something that you missed out is the conviction
00:27:44.230 --> 00:27:51.010
that you have is so important that I think all of those things, the location,
00:27:51.510 --> 00:27:58.390
the equipment, your training, your experience, all of that really combines to
00:27:58.390 --> 00:28:03.310
give you the confidence that you can help these people in a very profound way
00:28:03.310 --> 00:28:07.830
and that you should charge accordingly.
00:28:08.730 --> 00:28:16.810
So where do you think that, I mean, have you always had that level of conviction that.
00:28:18.307 --> 00:28:20.907
And I guess I did.
00:28:23.007 --> 00:28:27.367
I think it's something that born with me. I don't know.
00:28:29.147 --> 00:28:36.587
I'm very spiritual, I have to say. And I study quantum physics since I am very
00:28:36.587 --> 00:28:39.387
young, since 20 years old, like 40 years.
00:28:39.387 --> 00:28:52.527
Anyways, I'm being in the world of of certainty that if I give, I will receive.
00:28:53.087 --> 00:29:00.207
So I have certainty that even a very bad moments of my life,
00:29:00.347 --> 00:29:02.687
there was my life is very colorful.
00:29:02.687 --> 00:29:09.327
I would say I had very difficult moments even you know when I got it to my studio
00:29:09.327 --> 00:29:13.747
everything disappeared there's no machine anymore there's no walls the whole
00:29:13.747 --> 00:29:22.547
entire studio was gone and I look at the air and I said well let's do it again and.
00:29:23.583 --> 00:29:30.263
What you can do when you have no other chance, you know, it's like start from the beginning.
00:29:30.903 --> 00:29:35.623
And I always had my my brother, you should call me Phoenix.
00:29:35.843 --> 00:29:40.543
I said, no, I'm not Phoenix. I just when you have nothing to do,
00:29:40.563 --> 00:29:44.143
you have to trust. You have to do.
00:29:45.023 --> 00:29:52.203
My daughter born with a very rare disease. and they said one of the kids with
00:29:52.203 --> 00:29:56.883
her problem doesn't survive. I said, well, she will survive.
00:29:57.203 --> 00:30:01.223
Yeah, she's 35 years old and she has a normal life.
00:30:01.523 --> 00:30:05.863
I decided to spend 10 years of my life trying to study and find out the solution.
00:30:06.123 --> 00:30:10.723
I think since the beginning of my life, I was very young and I was young 20.
00:30:11.003 --> 00:30:17.043
So when that happened, I had a kid in my arm. It's my own baby.
00:30:17.043 --> 00:30:20.423
I had to figure out I don't want to lose my baby.
00:30:20.763 --> 00:30:25.943
So I worked and I found a solution and life continues.
00:30:26.423 --> 00:30:32.543
So I think at that moment, when I realized I could save my daughter,
00:30:32.943 --> 00:30:36.863
I said, you know, I think it's always a solution.
00:30:37.403 --> 00:30:41.143
We always can do our best to make it happen.
00:30:41.403 --> 00:30:45.963
It depends on your own interests. You know, people want magic.
00:30:46.323 --> 00:30:51.083
And I tell teachers when they come to me to interview, to learn Pilates,
00:30:51.443 --> 00:30:57.423
to certification course, I said to many of them, don't spend your money with me.
00:30:57.543 --> 00:31:02.563
I don't want to train you because I think you can do a better job in something
00:31:02.563 --> 00:31:09.483
else because you're looking for money. And if you're looking for money, this is not your career.
00:31:10.563 --> 00:31:15.503
Money is a consequence of what you do right.
00:31:17.038 --> 00:31:24.398
You know, if I look at you, make money, I go to study finance and go to Wall
00:31:24.398 --> 00:31:26.598
Street and try to play with the money.
00:31:27.338 --> 00:31:31.518
If you come to teach Pilates, you have to learn about the body,
00:31:31.678 --> 00:31:35.298
you have to learn about the human being, you have to learn about even the mind.
00:31:35.518 --> 00:31:39.198
Because people come to you, they will be in your lap.
00:31:39.578 --> 00:31:46.018
I had people with, you know, having panic attack when they come to the studio
00:31:46.018 --> 00:31:49.818
and they come to me and I go like, oh God, you came to Pilates?
00:31:50.118 --> 00:31:52.938
No, I can't because I have a panic attack and you want to help?
00:31:53.258 --> 00:32:03.138
I go like, okay. Okay, so you're going to have many people like crying when
00:32:03.138 --> 00:32:05.798
they are doing Pilatus, many.
00:32:06.698 --> 00:32:13.778
Most of my clients in Denver, I counted one day, they were doctors, high level surgeons,
00:32:14.698 --> 00:32:22.318
lawyers, I mean, CEOs of companies.
00:32:22.318 --> 00:32:27.178
And they always wanted time private with me at the end of their days.
00:32:27.758 --> 00:32:34.158
And especially psychiatrists, I had several ones crying with me. They lost a client.
00:32:35.592 --> 00:32:43.152
And they come to me because they felt through the body, they release.
00:32:43.592 --> 00:32:50.832
And that is where the system created by Pilates, the beauty of it.
00:32:51.392 --> 00:32:58.692
It's make the person in contact with their own body and they release,
00:32:58.952 --> 00:33:02.392
especially strong women I see a lot right now.
00:33:02.392 --> 00:33:09.992
They are so used to be in charge of everything when they you start doing the breathing and,
00:33:10.592 --> 00:33:17.052
they start letting go and they start learning they start because they come the
00:33:17.052 --> 00:33:21.152
especially when they come from the gym and they do boxing and go like oh god
00:33:21.152 --> 00:33:25.752
it's much more difficult this kind of people to teach than the one that never
00:33:25.752 --> 00:33:28.732
did Pilates and come and I want to learn.
00:33:31.154 --> 00:33:35.774
You, um, I think what really resonates with me about what you said there or
00:33:35.774 --> 00:33:43.314
what really stands out for me is something I've learned in, in business is that it is something,
00:33:43.534 --> 00:33:46.174
there's something, uh, the salespeople call commission breath.
00:33:46.494 --> 00:33:51.694
And what that means is like when, when you're desperate to make a sale to somebody,
00:33:51.934 --> 00:33:55.474
they can sense it, you know, they can sense that you don't have their best interests
00:33:55.474 --> 00:33:58.934
at heart and that you, you know, you want to sell to them because you want the money.
00:33:58.934 --> 00:34:01.854
Now that i've got no problem with making money
00:34:01.854 --> 00:34:05.034
i think it's fantastic to make money and i think people should be compensated well
00:34:05.034 --> 00:34:08.494
for what they do but you
00:34:08.494 --> 00:34:12.014
know what a great mentor of mine said to me at one point it really stuck with
00:34:12.014 --> 00:34:16.534
me in sales indifference makes the difference and what he meant by that was
00:34:16.534 --> 00:34:21.494
when you truly don't care if you make the sale or not and you just want what's
00:34:21.494 --> 00:34:26.694
best for the person then sometimes you will tell people like hey i don't think
00:34:26.694 --> 00:34:28.094
i'm the right person to help you here.
00:34:28.234 --> 00:34:32.294
Like you said, if you have somebody that you don't think it's the best thing,
00:34:32.434 --> 00:34:34.214
you will tell them, hey, look, I don't think we should work together.
00:34:34.794 --> 00:34:39.154
But then when you do think that it's in this person's best interest to work
00:34:39.154 --> 00:34:40.234
with you, you tell them that.
00:34:40.394 --> 00:34:43.114
And you say, hey, look, you need to come on board and work with me.
00:34:43.234 --> 00:34:45.774
And here's how we're going to work together. And here's how much it costs.
00:34:45.834 --> 00:34:47.154
And here's what you're going to get from that.
00:34:48.494 --> 00:34:51.414
And I think that indifference makes the difference.
00:34:51.914 --> 00:34:57.974
Another way of saying that is just being really clear on who you can help and who you can't help.
00:34:58.554 --> 00:35:01.174
And for the people that you can't help, just saying to them,
00:35:01.234 --> 00:35:03.254
hey, look, I don't think I'm the right fit for you.
00:35:03.554 --> 00:35:10.514
But then the people that you can help, I mean, it's almost a sacred duty to
00:35:10.514 --> 00:35:15.054
help them, to not let them go away without,
00:35:16.139 --> 00:35:20.379
you know, being like, they've come to you for help. Yeah, exactly.
00:35:20.959 --> 00:35:25.659
So many times I go on Sundays and that's my only free day and I go like,
00:35:25.719 --> 00:35:29.559
oh my God, but this person really needs me there and I will go.
00:35:30.479 --> 00:35:40.459
That day, not even the 170 something that I, I forget what was in my charge, but anyway, whatever.
00:35:41.879 --> 00:35:45.359
It's no number that day. it
00:35:45.359 --> 00:35:48.699
is a service yeah it's
00:35:48.699 --> 00:35:51.579
like that's what
00:35:51.579 --> 00:35:56.879
I think the doctors should act sometimes and
00:35:56.879 --> 00:36:00.439
it's you know it's giving
00:36:00.439 --> 00:36:03.559
and the university is going to give you back some
00:36:03.559 --> 00:36:06.479
in the other ways it's if
00:36:06.479 --> 00:36:09.359
you love what you do you're going to do it because the the
00:36:09.359 --> 00:36:12.559
really payment for me for a
00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:15.359
teacher in the end of the story it's a
00:36:15.359 --> 00:36:18.659
review when they send me some reviews on
00:36:18.659 --> 00:36:21.479
google i mean you can read the reviews that
00:36:21.479 --> 00:36:24.219
i have i have i have a
00:36:24.219 --> 00:36:27.339
younger girl there today she sent a picture even
00:36:27.339 --> 00:36:30.579
put in instagram she's so happy with
00:36:30.579 --> 00:36:34.159
the transformation of her back she came
00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:38.119
to me after using years of the corset
00:36:38.119 --> 00:36:41.659
and suffering she was going to a surgery and
00:36:41.659 --> 00:36:47.459
that she's not in the surgery she's one year with us she said she's feeling
00:36:47.459 --> 00:36:54.839
the best of her life and she's beautiful and i and she felt bad before now she's
00:36:54.839 --> 00:37:00.759
like a flower opening you know and she's super happy and she wrote a beautiful review.
00:37:01.799 --> 00:37:07.439
There's no money to pay that, you know. Not even a thousand sessions she will
00:37:07.439 --> 00:37:12.779
pay that feeling of, it really helps someone. Yeah.
00:37:13.779 --> 00:37:17.779
How do you, a two-part question.
00:37:18.678 --> 00:37:24.458
How long does your average client stay with you? And how do you get new clients?
00:37:27.058 --> 00:37:31.158
Well, since I opened in London, I have many clients that never left.
00:37:34.638 --> 00:37:42.018
I have very key clients. I have a lot of very important people,
00:37:42.318 --> 00:37:46.138
clients that, you know, doesn't need to disclosure.
00:37:46.138 --> 00:37:53.438
But they bring friends um they sometimes they push the entire film which comes to me.
00:37:55.158 --> 00:38:02.378
What i'm doing here and they go like oh mom or dad i have one she tells the
00:38:02.378 --> 00:38:05.618
father i want to go to pilates more times a day go like,
00:38:06.740 --> 00:38:10.960
And I know she comes in the emotional side. I call the father and said,
00:38:11.120 --> 00:38:14.120
your daughter needs a psychologist, not me.
00:38:15.220 --> 00:38:23.480
Anyways, going back to your question, I have probably a lot of clients that came from clients.
00:38:23.780 --> 00:38:29.260
The worst of month in my case is the biggest one ever.
00:38:30.940 --> 00:38:36.600
Google, people Google. And if they have problems, they prefer to come to me.
00:38:36.740 --> 00:38:42.340
People that are more, my plants are very high-end, I'm not saying high-end for
00:38:42.340 --> 00:38:46.880
rich people, but high-end in the needing, okay?
00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:51.920
People that have issues in their bodies, they don't go and just work out with
00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:55.320
someone who doesn't know what they're doing. They want a solution.
00:38:55.820 --> 00:39:03.460
They want, or if they don't expect solution, at least they want you for being
00:39:03.460 --> 00:39:05.720
taken care correctly, okay?
00:39:06.740 --> 00:39:13.980
So this is the line of clients that comes to me.
00:39:14.280 --> 00:39:21.660
And they become very loyal because I present solution back and it changes.
00:39:22.460 --> 00:39:29.180
The changes change their lives so they feel comfortable with.
00:39:29.340 --> 00:39:33.800
They bring family, they bring friends, and that keep going and going.
00:39:35.200 --> 00:39:41.500
Of course the reviews are important and people when they come now they always
00:39:41.500 --> 00:39:47.680
look for reviews they analyze you especially because it is expensive so they
00:39:47.680 --> 00:39:50.700
want to be sure what they are putting their money for.
00:39:52.200 --> 00:39:54.820
And what else was the other question?
00:39:55.520 --> 00:40:00.720
How they come? You know that's the answer both of those questions my next question is.
00:40:02.672 --> 00:40:08.672
Well, you know, people who have, you know, high income, they often tend to travel
00:40:08.672 --> 00:40:16.472
a lot or they have, you know, work things, et cetera, so they can be sporadic in their attendance.
00:40:16.692 --> 00:40:20.892
So how do you manage that? I notice you've got a 48-hour cancellation policy,
00:40:21.052 --> 00:40:24.232
but like, how do you manage, like, you know, I imagine a lot of your clients
00:40:24.232 --> 00:40:28.632
sort of go to the south of Portugal for the summer or the winter or whatever,
00:40:28.792 --> 00:40:30.092
you know, how do you manage that?
00:40:30.092 --> 00:40:33.332
Much more than that my clients
00:40:33.332 --> 00:40:36.492
are jet set they travel whenever
00:40:36.492 --> 00:40:41.372
they want you know they don't need the summer to travel uh and when you're in
00:40:41.372 --> 00:40:49.832
london um they are like living in london they say they live in london they have
00:40:49.832 --> 00:40:54.272
a housing in france they have housing this and how i mean.
00:40:55.740 --> 00:41:01.260
It is a puzzle. And that's a big part of the work.
00:41:01.600 --> 00:41:06.860
And maintain teachers as well in the puzzle with me because teachers have to
00:41:06.860 --> 00:41:09.260
be okay with the situation.
00:41:10.060 --> 00:41:13.940
That's why I asked 48 hours because I respect teachers' hours.
00:41:14.380 --> 00:41:20.220
I mean, if my client canceled a day before, I had one that canceled today for tomorrow.
00:41:20.580 --> 00:41:27.500
I just, you know, early morning in London and I made sure that the teacher knows
00:41:27.500 --> 00:41:32.380
early because I don't want to create for her a problem in her life.
00:41:32.640 --> 00:41:40.840
So I try to be nice at 48, sometimes I go for 24, but my best clients,
00:41:40.980 --> 00:41:43.720
believe it or not, are the most important people.
00:41:44.160 --> 00:41:48.120
They are very serious CEOs of big companies.
00:41:48.120 --> 00:41:51.040
They know their schedule and they send me for the month.
00:41:51.040 --> 00:41:58.580
And I know they want to keep their hours when they're in town so what I create is like I tell.
00:41:59.480 --> 00:42:05.960
People like if you were okay I have one she comes three times a week Monday
00:42:05.960 --> 00:42:13.260
Wednesday and Saturday and she's the best she sent me a month before what she
00:42:13.260 --> 00:42:17.100
wants but she knows is gonna come changes,
00:42:17.780 --> 00:42:24.320
So when she tells me, because she's super nice, I try to be nice too.
00:42:24.320 --> 00:42:29.580
And I give her 24 hours and I tell the teachers and the teachers agree.
00:42:29.840 --> 00:42:36.280
So we give her extra care because she does give us an extra care.
00:42:36.440 --> 00:42:42.920
But people that just cancel less than 24 hours and don't give the schedule before.
00:42:44.424 --> 00:42:51.844
I charge them like anybody else. So we have a flexibility, I would say.
00:42:52.184 --> 00:42:57.404
But what happened is this, when you are in towns like London,
00:42:57.684 --> 00:42:59.444
it's different town to town, okay?
00:42:59.744 --> 00:43:10.584
When you're in towns like London, that is very, the changes of travels are variety.
00:43:10.584 --> 00:43:13.904
Cheap it's not like
00:43:13.904 --> 00:43:16.924
when you Paris people travel during the summer when
00:43:16.924 --> 00:43:21.204
you London people travel period and high-end
00:43:21.204 --> 00:43:28.424
people travel period so I try to accommodate one one goes the other one comes
00:43:28.424 --> 00:43:37.024
back in the summertime we have a low low season yes so you don't count your year like months.
00:43:37.324 --> 00:43:39.064
You count as a year.
00:43:40.304 --> 00:43:47.524
So, take the months of freedom, August, everybody doesn't want to go,
00:43:47.684 --> 00:43:49.784
but there are people that control on them.
00:43:51.437 --> 00:43:59.137
Especially, I would say, especially the Arabics come to London a lot in that time of the year.
00:44:00.757 --> 00:44:04.957
So they feel some schedule of the ones that left.
00:44:05.997 --> 00:44:10.637
But for the fixed ones, they are with me for seven years, they hold that time.
00:44:10.837 --> 00:44:14.097
I advise the new ones that said, well, I'm giving this time to you,
00:44:14.257 --> 00:44:17.877
but that belongs to that person when they're coming back that month.
00:44:18.137 --> 00:44:21.137
But people buy packs, right?
00:44:21.437 --> 00:44:28.737
So, when the person buys the package, if they travel one week, I don't care.
00:44:28.997 --> 00:44:33.217
I give it to somebody else that space. But the other week, because they bought
00:44:33.217 --> 00:44:38.297
a pack, I already put the money in that session to pay that and that and that.
00:44:38.637 --> 00:44:43.817
So, they have to have a credit to book a session.
00:44:44.357 --> 00:44:48.197
And essentially, you just manage your schedule.
00:44:49.337 --> 00:44:52.277
You give preference to your long-term clients but
00:44:52.277 --> 00:44:56.257
when they're out of town you sell those times to other people exactly
00:44:56.257 --> 00:45:03.237
and the process is i create a system that on the schedule and my system advise
00:45:03.237 --> 00:45:09.237
me when it's finishing so there's a red flag and comes the lies and they say
00:45:09.237 --> 00:45:15.917
to me okay this person needs so i text the person your sessions are finishing when i.
00:45:17.237 --> 00:45:21.437
Maintain your schedule please send the payment great
00:45:21.437 --> 00:45:30.417
what uh you know what what would you say is your biggest challenge in business
00:45:30.417 --> 00:45:35.377
or the or the what's the thing that is really not operating at the level that
00:45:35.377 --> 00:45:37.337
it could or that you would like it to,
00:45:39.879 --> 00:45:42.539
I think my bigger challenge is humans.
00:45:45.839 --> 00:45:52.059
My best one is not, I mean, the best part of my life is my dog.
00:45:52.799 --> 00:46:00.339
But humans are the most complicated ones. And I would say, especially humans
00:46:00.339 --> 00:46:03.659
that can buy anything because they think money can buy.
00:46:03.879 --> 00:46:11.539
So it's a challenge. And I call there's a lot of princes and princes that come
00:46:11.539 --> 00:46:16.959
to us and we have to make them understand there are the princes and princes there too.
00:46:17.339 --> 00:46:26.619
So that is a little bit of challenge because we have too many high profile people
00:46:26.619 --> 00:46:29.479
thinking, oh, but I am that person.
00:46:29.659 --> 00:46:33.539
And I go like, yeah, so in God is God, right?
00:46:33.539 --> 00:46:37.419
So that's it
00:46:37.419 --> 00:46:40.339
that is a little bit of challenge when you deal
00:46:40.339 --> 00:46:43.899
with this level of clientele they have
00:46:43.899 --> 00:46:46.999
to get to the ground feet and say yeah everybody
00:46:46.999 --> 00:46:50.039
is important you ask me that time
00:46:50.039 --> 00:46:52.879
you have that time you want this you have that
00:46:52.879 --> 00:46:56.979
but there are rules give rules
00:46:56.979 --> 00:46:59.859
for vips it's not a very
00:46:59.859 --> 00:47:03.039
easy thing to do so one challenge
00:47:03.039 --> 00:47:06.239
another one i would say
00:47:06.239 --> 00:47:09.239
it's find the right
00:47:09.239 --> 00:47:13.799
teachers to work together because especially
00:47:13.799 --> 00:47:20.799
pilates i mean old old pilates teachers all the time i'm not saying old people
00:47:20.799 --> 00:47:27.779
but people that comes from my generation they have a lot of ego and they go
00:47:27.779 --> 00:47:29.979
like Oh, but I am the best.
00:47:30.139 --> 00:47:32.459
I go like, no, we all together working here.
00:47:32.759 --> 00:47:35.319
We humans working with other humans.
00:47:36.278 --> 00:47:43.238
And we are doing the best to work together. You know, another feeling of ego.
00:47:43.518 --> 00:47:51.998
I think the most difficult part of it in the business is the ego of the clients, ego of the teachers.
00:47:52.538 --> 00:47:58.278
And the fact that some teachers think, oh, this is my client.
00:47:58.558 --> 00:48:01.118
No, the client came to the studio.
00:48:01.558 --> 00:48:03.618
You taught the client.
00:48:04.398 --> 00:48:08.638
The client is still from the studio. It's a client from the studio.
00:48:08.718 --> 00:48:11.938
I brought the client here and we're working with the client together.
00:48:12.318 --> 00:48:17.278
That can be a problem, have been before for me.
00:48:17.598 --> 00:48:22.038
Right now, I don't have this problem because I think I address this very well
00:48:22.038 --> 00:48:28.878
in my mature stage of Pilates Studios for so many years.
00:48:30.258 --> 00:48:32.898
It's it's uh it's it's a
00:48:32.898 --> 00:48:35.938
i'm continually reminded that uh there are
00:48:35.938 --> 00:48:38.798
no solutions only trade-offs and in business all
00:48:38.798 --> 00:48:41.458
you get to do you know when you solve one problem all you do
00:48:41.458 --> 00:48:44.498
is you create a different problem and we just
00:48:44.498 --> 00:48:48.518
get a choice of which problem would we prefer and so
00:48:48.518 --> 00:48:51.878
problem when you work with uh with vips
00:48:51.878 --> 00:48:54.658
is is they have a ego and
00:48:54.658 --> 00:48:58.418
they have very very high expectations they're very demanding and
00:48:58.418 --> 00:49:01.558
the same when you work with highly expert instructors because they're kind of
00:49:01.558 --> 00:49:09.658
the same in that way yeah teach those instructors is the harder part of it because
00:49:09.658 --> 00:49:14.778
they will they know everything and they go like okay but just looking for this angle,
00:49:15.738 --> 00:49:20.478
what is your goal with the business i mean do you want to grow the business
00:49:20.478 --> 00:49:24.198
you said you're opening another studio like ultimately what is your goal.
00:49:25.583 --> 00:49:34.783
I love to train teachers. I really would love to diminish seeing clients and
00:49:34.783 --> 00:49:41.183
training teachers and create small studios like mine and support them in this,
00:49:41.703 --> 00:49:47.343
you know, creating like a partnership with the new one that they open.
00:49:47.783 --> 00:49:52.123
That is my ultimate goal because I want to diminish my time.
00:49:52.363 --> 00:49:56.103
I've been doing this the last two years. And also
00:49:56.103 --> 00:50:00.703
I want to launch the iPilates where I
00:50:00.703 --> 00:50:10.043
will have a platform where teachers will have an online studio inside of my
00:50:10.043 --> 00:50:17.583
platform with the product that will give people have a chance to work from home.
00:50:21.190 --> 00:50:25.790
And, all right, so... I have another one. Sorry.
00:50:27.010 --> 00:50:34.430
I have a goal that I can talk more about the real Pilates.
00:50:34.630 --> 00:50:37.890
I'm really pissed off what you're doing with Pilates lately.
00:50:39.310 --> 00:50:45.230
So all of that seems to me on the surface to be in contradiction with what you
00:50:45.230 --> 00:50:48.690
said right at the start, where you said you didn't want to spend time on the
00:50:48.690 --> 00:50:53.470
admin and running the business. You wanted to spend time face-to-face with your clients.
00:50:54.190 --> 00:50:58.010
No, but I want to spend time face-to-face with the teachers.
00:50:58.350 --> 00:51:03.670
The teachers now are more my clients. I don't want to do the online teaching.
00:51:04.070 --> 00:51:08.790
I'm doing a lot of form and I let it go just for to have more teachers learning the method.
00:51:09.270 --> 00:51:15.810
I really wanted to spend time with more teachers because I don't have much of
00:51:15.810 --> 00:51:21.290
my time now that I want to spend full time in a studio.
00:51:22.190 --> 00:51:27.410
So if I create these teachers, I can fly, come back, and I see my clients.
00:51:27.610 --> 00:51:29.970
Every time they get to London, I see my clients.
00:51:30.350 --> 00:51:35.630
But I have somebody there to take care. It's almost like my dog stays with somebody
00:51:35.630 --> 00:51:38.110
when I travel. When I come back, my dog is there.
00:51:38.590 --> 00:51:44.410
I don't call my dog, but the people that I love, You know, I miss them.
00:51:44.670 --> 00:51:47.990
I can miss my dog when I come back. I want to see them.
00:51:48.210 --> 00:51:52.690
I want to have. And that's what I want to do with all the teachers, create their studios.
00:51:52.970 --> 00:51:58.830
When I come, I can teach them and the teachers can take a little freedom when I'm in town.
00:51:59.750 --> 00:52:04.910
And I would love to do this in many places because that's, you know,
00:52:05.090 --> 00:52:10.930
the way to keep seeing and helping and create the community.
00:52:10.930 --> 00:52:17.870
They help each other and I put them together I love that is there anything else
00:52:17.870 --> 00:52:21.330
that you would like to share you know we have an audience of probably 3,000
00:52:21.330 --> 00:52:24.350
to 5,000 people that are going to listen to this episode.
00:52:26.466 --> 00:52:31.946
I would love that people realize that, especially teachers, as I said,
00:52:32.246 --> 00:52:36.126
my goal now is more than the client self is being with the teachers.
00:52:36.366 --> 00:52:40.846
I would say the teachers will be more my clients now.
00:52:41.646 --> 00:52:49.906
I wish they're doing a deep work in their bodies, not their own bodies,
00:52:49.946 --> 00:52:51.186
but in the client's bodies.
00:52:51.386 --> 00:53:00.146
They study more. They really look at the method as a method itself instead of fitness.
00:53:02.706 --> 00:53:08.826
Pilates gave us an incredible tool and information.
00:53:09.166 --> 00:53:14.886
And the method is unbelievable, capable to give a lot more.
00:53:14.886 --> 00:53:30.806
And I think people took this as a very superficial ways to do it lately in turning to stupid,
00:53:30.966 --> 00:53:33.706
I would say, what I see lately.
00:53:33.706 --> 00:53:42.526
And I wish people take it out of the surface level of Pilates to take more deep.
00:53:42.786 --> 00:53:52.006
I wish the teachers could be more like the teachers that were in my time. We had to study.
00:53:52.266 --> 00:53:57.486
We really had to go through the process of the Pilates method.
00:53:57.846 --> 00:54:02.966
You don't do courses of a week and you call yourself Pilates teacher.
00:54:04.870 --> 00:54:09.890
What do you see as the biggest, I guess,
00:54:10.210 --> 00:54:15.970
your biggest constraint or the biggest challenge for you in making that transition
00:54:15.970 --> 00:54:21.370
from running your own studio to, you know,
00:54:21.470 --> 00:54:25.930
teaching teachers and having that model where you help people set up their small
00:54:25.930 --> 00:54:28.230
businesses and, you know, help them flourish?
00:54:28.290 --> 00:54:30.150
What is the biggest obstacle to you doing that?
00:54:32.150 --> 00:54:40.850
I think it's just time and money. back to everybody uh well i can invest a little
00:54:40.850 --> 00:54:50.290
bit more money and time to do it and uh i'm that's what i'm doing in the next couple months so,
00:54:52.250 --> 00:54:59.410
investing more time and i don't do any marketing i should you know put a more,
00:55:00.250 --> 00:55:02.070
might go into the marketing.
00:55:03.290 --> 00:55:11.050
I never did. I would say I hide myself a lot in my own little walls.
00:55:11.270 --> 00:55:12.830
I should be more exposed.
00:55:15.030 --> 00:55:20.130
And yeah, I think that's it. I'm going to give a different perspective on that,
00:55:20.230 --> 00:55:25.850
which is I think that my experience with very high-end clients is they often
00:55:25.850 --> 00:55:31.850
prefer when you are not widely known and accessible and you're a well-kept secret
00:55:31.850 --> 00:55:35.850
and they only get your name through word of mouth through somebody that they already trust.
00:55:36.870 --> 00:55:41.550
Yeah. So I think that your lack of marketing might actually be one of the things
00:55:41.550 --> 00:55:44.730
that helps you get more clients in your particular market.
00:55:47.890 --> 00:55:57.470
Yes, you said so. I believe totally. You said the stone of the story.
00:55:57.650 --> 00:55:58.850
Yeah, you're totally right.
00:55:59.070 --> 00:56:02.890
Probably that's exactly what it is. Love it. Yeah.
00:56:04.969 --> 00:56:08.949
Patricia, it's been really great talking with you. I appreciate your perspective.
00:56:09.389 --> 00:56:13.809
You've got an unusual business model, not in that.
00:56:13.989 --> 00:56:22.409
Many, many people run small private duet trio businesses, but I've not met anybody,
00:56:22.769 --> 00:56:29.509
maybe one other person, who charges very premium prices and has a very clear
00:56:29.509 --> 00:56:35.969
target avatar and is doing so well with that model. So I congratulate you.
00:56:36.149 --> 00:56:40.409
I think it's been really helpful. A lot of people, I think, will get a lot from
00:56:40.409 --> 00:56:41.649
listening to this episode.
00:56:42.009 --> 00:56:47.729
I would be super happy to talk to anybody that needs my mentoring.
00:56:48.409 --> 00:57:01.389
And I want to put it here that I am happy to create a training program to each individual that needs.
00:57:01.389 --> 00:57:08.129
I believe every teacher, every one attorney to be a teacher,
00:57:08.329 --> 00:57:11.829
a good teacher, they need time, at least one year of study.
00:57:12.109 --> 00:57:14.349
And that's what I give to my trainees.
00:57:15.269 --> 00:57:19.449
Last year, I said, oh, I'm done with the story to train teachers.
00:57:19.909 --> 00:57:25.229
And one girl came and asked me so much because she tried everything before.
00:57:25.949 --> 00:57:33.349
She made me change my mind. And through the point that now I wanted to do exactly that only.
00:57:33.829 --> 00:57:39.149
And I realized that she taught me how much this is good.
00:57:39.329 --> 00:57:42.689
And so I'm very happy to be the grandmother.
00:57:44.282 --> 00:57:50.642
Well, we'll share your details in the show notes and people can connect with
00:57:50.642 --> 00:57:52.962
you if they want. So, yeah, thank you very much. That would be great.
00:57:53.222 --> 00:57:58.382
Thank you very much for being part of the podcast and all the best with your
00:57:58.382 --> 00:57:59.882
business. Sounds amazing.
00:58:00.842 --> 00:58:06.802
Thank you. And it was a pleasure and I'm honored to have that time together
00:58:06.802 --> 00:58:08.462
here. I learned with you too.
00:58:08.722 --> 00:58:15.102
You gave me the storm. maybe that's the fact that I'm hiding that's what my clients told me,
00:58:17.302 --> 00:58:20.162
thank you so much it was a pleasure likewise.