Elaine Ewing, now a Pilates studio owner, recalls the steps she took to establish herself as a freelance Pilates instructor in a new town.

When my husband and I moved from New York City to a small town about two hours north, I didn’t have a plan for the next phase of my career as a Pilates instructor.  I had been working around the city in a few busy Pilates studios, and all I had ever experienced was a very full teaching schedule.  Since I decided to became a Pilates instructor in part because it was a career I could take with me anywhere in the world, I figured everything would somehow just work out fine.

Everything did end up working out fine, eventually. It took two years of hard work, careful scheduling and networking to get to the point where I am now—happy and financially secure. I’m proud to say that my time as a freelance Pilates instructor really paid off. In August 2007 I was asked to buy a busy and popular Pilates studio, Rhinebeck Pilates, near my home. I credit the years I spent freelancing—juggling clients and locations, problem solving, implementing grassroots marketing campaigns—with bringing me to a place in life where I am able to run a full-blown Pilates studio on my own with confidence and success. But first things first: Here are 10 ways I created business for myself as a freelance Pilates instructor.

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By Kevin Bowen

I find that the New Year is a great time for reflection, introspection and inspiration, especially for those of us involved in the health and wellness profession. As we coach, motivate, encourage, listen, praise, correct, advise, inform and educate our clients, we too should nurture ourselves. We can do something good for our bodies, such as a weekly massage; we can do something good for our minds, such as reading a book or learning a new language; or we can take the advice of that old saying: “It is better to give than to receive.”

In North America, and throughout the world, there are plenty of people in need of the services and knowledge that we in the Pilates community have to offer. It probably comes as no surprise that the state of health and wellness is hovering somewhere above horrible and unacceptable—the obesity epidemic and physical inactivity crisis has grabbed a stranglehold on the citizens of not just the U.S., but the world. In the U.S., two-thirds of adults are classified as overweight, and about half of them fall into the obese category, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The percentage of children who are overweight and obese has almost doubled in the last 40 years.

The problem is real, and according to the most recent statistics, there seems to be no end in sight. How we address the problem as professionals, and more importantly concerned citizens, can help to create solutions.

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With every new year, we see new fitness industry forecasts circulating in the media. So how does ‘08 look for Pilates? Here are a few snapshots:

The American Council on Exercise’s new industry survey finds that “Hybrid Programming”—i.e. “Pilates Fusion” and “Spin-Yoga”—will continue to be popular. Sports-specific programming, “Boomer” fitness, express classes, total wellness programming, and functional strength training also made their top 10 list. While Pilates is mentioned only once, most of the trends apply to Pilates.

The New York Times blogged about new survey from Consumer Reports that found that respondents who go to private fitness studios, local gyms and community centers were more satisfied than those who go to national gym chains. This bias against big health clubs was echoed in an AP story, which predicts people will gravitate toward “small, boutique fitness centers, including Pilates and yoga studios” because the classes are better.

In the American College of Sports Medicine’s 2008 fitness trend survey, Pilates makes the list for the first time, coming in at No. 7. Last year, it had been lumped together with yoga under “mind/body exercise.” Topping the list is the trend toward “educated and experienced fitness professionals” as more fitness educational programs become accredited. (The PMA is moving toward this goal for Pilates programs as well). Programs targeting childhood obesity comes in at No. 2, and core training, programs for older adults and functional fitness also made the list.  

What trends are you seeing in your area? Are classes for seniors taking off? Are parents interested in children’s programs? Post your comments below.  

Studio owners, have you ever felt like your current business plan is just a little bit off? Jennifer DeLuca, who owns a Pilates center in Brooklyn, recently confronted this reality when the demands of her growing client list and expanding family weren’t jiving. Here she shares her journey through different business models and reprioritizing her time.

Five years into its life, my studio, BodyTonic Pilates Gymnasium, was busting at the seams. In 2004, I had a bustling apprentice program, 10 instructors, classes, private training and semi-private training. With a one-room, 900-square-foot studio in Park Slope, Brooklyn, I tried everything possible to contain the overflowing energy and noise, including sound absorbent banners on the walls, room dividers and even strategically asking teachers to face a certain way to have their voices carrying in opposite directions. Clients and teachers all made the best of it, but finally people started to complain. Clients couldn’t hear their instructors and instructors couldn’t hear themselves! I had to take on another lease or I was going to lose clients. At least, that was what I thought.

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A reader just sent us a head’s up about an email scam Pilates instructors should watch out for. Here’s her story… 

I am sharing this with you because Pilates instructors are now becoming the target of a new email scam.  This similar kind of scam has made it’s way across the massage therapy community as well.  What happens is someone from a foreign country approaches you and says they are coming into town and want Pilates sessions.  They want to pay with a US cashier’s check.  They then say they will send you a check for a larger amount for you to deposit in your bank account.  You then take out the money for Pilates sessions then send the rest to the client.  It takes several weeks for these checks to clear.  By the time they do, your client is long go and you are out the dough.

The first email I got was innocent enough, just looking for Pilates sessions while this person was in town on business.  Below is the second one.

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Alycea Ungaro, owner of Real Pilates in New York, recently redid her studio’s design and practices to make it more environmentally friendly. Here she explains how why it makes sense for the Earth, and for your bottom line.

As Pilates studios, we can be fairly organic about our craft. Our “machinery” is all man-powered and our work is holistic, addressing the mind and the body.  But what about our studios? With all of this focus on “going green,” I began to wonder if environmentally friendly spaces have a place in the Pilates industry.

It turns out, going green makes sense, both financially and environmentally. With a flurry of small changes we can set an example for our clients and other fitness professionals.

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Nicole Rogers, a Pilates instructor in Brooklyn, recently decided to promote her teaching skills online. Below, she shares her tips for reserving your own spot on the web and getting picture-perfect photos for online and print advertising.

In 2006 I quit my job as a television producer to teach Pilates. Post-certification, I was making less than half my previous salary. I was also working two jobs—one started at 6am and the other ended at 9pm. After a year of this, I felt I needed a different strategy. After all, I left my well-paying, high-stress job not just because I love teaching Pilates, but to have a better lifestyle.  

My new strategy started by getting a job at a great studio a few blocks from my apartment in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.  Then a friend of mine got me a job teaching mat classes at her office twice a week. Teaching in offices was lucrative and fun, so I started handing out business cards and getting friends to spread the word at their place of work, but it seemed like no one was taking me seriously. Maybe it seemed like this was a hobby or a phase. I had no desire to open my own studio, but I needed a way to market myself. A website seemed like a good first step. For some reason a website seems to connote that I’ve thought long and hard about this and that I take being a Pilates instructor very seriously. I’d noticed photographer friends hand out cards with their websites and get real feedback.

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A newcomer’s first reaction to seeing the Pilates equipment is almost universal: Wide-eyed, they want to know what it does, how it works, and where to sign up for classes. The high-tech contraptions almost sell the discipline through intrigue alone. Drawing in crowds of these first-times isn’t easy, but it can be done with a little ingenuity. 

Some innovative studio owners have found one way to attract additional traffic, garner interest in Pilates from a new set of clients and gain additional exposure within their communities. By partnering with artists, these workout centers are turning their walls into gallery space, hanging the paintings of area artists. The benefits are two-fold: The open house for each new show provides the perfect backdrop for drawing in a new audience—for both the studio and the artist—and gives the studio a stylized look. And, the cost for hosting the event—which is often shared by the studio and the artist—is often less costly than placing an advertisement or mailing a batch of postcards.

We sat down with Margi Douglas, owner of Pilates Garage in Brooklyn, New York, to see what has made her studio’s gallery showings so successful. Keep reading to see how she runs the program, and to get ideas for your own open-house, too.

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Short and Sweet Retreats Vs. Long Smooth Adventures
By Tannis Kobrinsky of Health Habitravels

If you’ve read Part One of this series, you’ve got the basics in place, and maybe you’re ready for your first venture. A good way to ease into retreat planning is to try a week-long program at a venue that will host you and handle the logistics. If you decide to organize a trip yourself, I recommend starting with a short program near home before tackling longer adventures. Short retreats de-stress and offer participants opportunities to learn life-enhancing skills, make new friends, deepen existing relationships, explore unfamiliar destinations and hopefully trigger deeper self-awareness.

If you opt to organize a trip yourself, you’ll need to select the location, set tone or theme for the trip, lay out a tentative schedule, conduct classes and moderate group gatherings. Because participants bring expectations, personalities and issues to the mix, both short and long group programs take on their own life.

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We stumbled across this Pilates video clip on YouTube recently and had to find out the story behind it. It’s clean, crisp and professional—and an exciting example of what’s possible with Pilates. The fast-motion Wunda Chair sequence is especially amazing. It was produced by Louise Taube, a Polestar- and STOTT Pilates-trained studio owner in Melbourne, Australia. Click the link below to read our interview with her.

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