3 Critical Foundations for Your Online Pilates Business

When we talk about "foundations" of our business or I sometimes refer to them as "basic principles" like we have in Pilates... so many teachers feel overwhelmed, confused and have shiny object syndrome.

2020 really threw us all for a loop, and we had to dive headfirst into the online space as quickly as possible to survive.

In this process, many of us lost our way. We were comfortable with how we did business inside a brick and mortar, but the online space felt incredibly complicated, overwhelming and exhausting.

I hope I am no alone in this sentiment. I had already been online for some number of years, but it still felt overwhelming for me too!

That was, until I went back to the basics on running a business. And let me tell you, having an online business is really not much different than running a studio in person, except that you don't have as much overhead and your profit margins go through the roof! What's better than that??? I'm talking 60-80% profit margins with an online business.

Ok, now let's talk about the basics. Because so many of us skip out on this step, or we let it overwhelm us so much that we can't think straight. And we just try to replicate what we see other teachers doing online. And our branding is pretty... but it's not bringing in the revenue we need to THRIVE in our lives.

So, the first foundation is to get crystal clear on your PURPOSE on this earth.

I'm not talking about "my purpose is to teach Pilates" - NO. Pilates is the vehicle you've chosen to live out your deeper purpose!

Ask yourself a few things.

• what gets you out of bed in the morning and keeps you showing up for your clients?

• what are some compliments you continue to get from your clients (besides "oh that was such a hard class I'm sweating)... do you continue to hear that they feel more powerful, or confident?

• think about you're entire life... whats the common thread in all the work you've done, or how you show up in your daily life?

For myself, my purpose is helping others bust limiting beliefs so they can achieve things in their life they might otherwise only dream of.

I've lived this as a marketing consultant, as a girl scout, as a dance teacher, as a Pilates teacher...

Without knowing your purpose, you WILL NOT ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS. your purpose is what drives you! It's the reason you get out of bed, it's the reason you continue doing hard, uncomfortable things. Because when you're clear on your purpose, you can't afford NOT to follow through with it.

This is the key differentiator between teachers who have a lot of success online, and the teachers who keep choosing the easier routes and never having the income or freedom they deserve.

Purpose also affects how you charge for your services, how you market your business, and how you interact with your clients. So, don't skip this!

The second foundation you need in place for an online business, is a clearly defined and PROFITABLE niche!

In a brick and mortar, a niche isn't as important because your clients will come to you based on geographic location.

Online... those restrictions are removed, so the only way to actually stand out to people is to serve a specific audience.

The riches really are in the niches where the online space is concerned.

This is why I don't believe video libraries and memberships are effective at getting you to $5k months because if you're just creating classes for the sake of classes, and not addressing a specific audience and their pain points, I hate to say it but clients will not see any more value in your offer than in free YouTube workouts.

This is a huge reason why creating these memberships has you feeling like you can only charge $30/mo for it because otherwise your audience will think that it's a waste of money.

Potential clients also see memberships as a monthly expense rather than an investment into their health/well being.

So, knowing who your soulmate client niche is, is super important so you can lay the groundwork of what they are currently struggling with, and how your offer helps them!

Even if you're going to keep your membership, having a niche is important in selling it effectively.

AND the great news is that because you're online, your niche doesn't have to be the clients you typically saw in studio unless you want it to be! You can be so creative!

• moms with toddlers who want outdoor workouts in 15 mins or less

• gymnasts who want help improving their performance for their next competition

• Egamers who need strength and mobility in their hands

It's literally endless!

For example, my niche is Pilates teachers. I could teach marketing to literally any industry (and I've done this from real estate to tech startups). But, I know the Pilates industry well because I relate as a teacher myself.

So, when thinking about your niche, typically YOU ARE YOUR NICHE so start thinking about the challenges you had in life before you became a teacher. How can you help people in that same place along the journey you've already been on?

The third foundation is that you need to become visible

We are all so terrified of putting ourselves out there.

I blame to some extent, social media. The collective traumas we've experienced the past 18+ months. The uglyness that's shown itself in the Pilates industry...

But, the thing about building a business, is if you don't become more visible, you will not be seen. It's as plain and simple as that.

Being visible doesn't mean you have to open yourself up others criticisms. You CAN establish boundaries.

The clients I work with, we establish clear boundaries on what they will and won't tolerate on social media.

But the thing with social media and social search (Pinterest and YouTube), is that you have to put out there what you do, who you help, what you offer, your prices, the transformation you provide... over and over again without apologizing or allowing a nasty heckler to stop you.

This ties back to your purpose. When you're crystal clear on WHY you're even doing this in the first place, it makes it easier to show up consistently.

So, this weeks action step: take the time to sit and really think through your purpose. Turn off distractions. Create the space that's needed for you to get clear on your purpose, your niche and plan your visibility roadmap (how you can begin to show up more, where your audience is, what platforms you enjoy, how to get consistent). This work takes time, but if you want to stop spinning your wheels, you owe it to yourself to think this through. I'd LOVE for you to create a LIVE video in our Facebook community (link in the show notes or search Organic Online Marketing for Pilates Teachers on Facebook) to practice showing up on social media in a safe judgement free zone!

I hope you'll join me next week again!

Want a free training to help you take the first 7 steps to setting up your online Pilates business (so you can scale to $5k months without exhausting membership sites?). Click here.

To join our community: ORGANIC ONLINE MARKETING FOR PILATES TEACHERS FB GROUP click here.