Pilates Business Podcast

"I'll Be Ready When...": 5 Lies Holding Your Studio Back from Growth

• Seran Glanfield • Season 21 • Episode 204

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The Lies Holding You Back from Studio Growth (And How to Break Free)

On this episode of The Pilates Business Podcast, host Seran Glanfield tackles the sneaky lies boutique fitness studio owners tell themselves—lies that keep them stuck, overwhelmed, and hesitant to take the next steps toward growth. Seran identifies the five most common excuses studio owners make, from waiting for the “perfect time” to doubting their own readiness.

With actionable advice and relatable anecdotes, Seran explains why growth doesn’t come from waiting—it comes from taking action, even when it feels messy or imperfect. Tune in to learn how to prioritize your time, simplify your marketing, build your confidence, and invest in your future so you can finally create the thriving studio you dream of.


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Speaker 1:

I'll be ready when I have more time. I'll be ready when I've got the perfect website. I'll be ready when my classes are full. Does this sound familiar? Today, we're diving into the sneaky lies that we tell ourselves about business growth, ones that often keep us stuck, and you might not even realize how some of these thoughts are actually holding you back, but trust me, they are. So by the end of this episode, you will know exactly how to stop waiting and start building the studio you really really want. Well, hi there, I'm Saren Glanfield. I'm a business and marketing strategist just for boutique fitness studio owners like you. If you're ready to be inspired and make a bigger impact, you're in the right place. All you need are a few key strategies, the right mindset and some support along the way. Join me as I share the real life insights that will help you grow a sustainable and profitable studio.

Speaker 1:

This is the Pilates Business Podcast. Hey there, and welcome back to this episode of the Pilates Business Podcast. I'm Saran Glanfield and, as always, I'm so happy that you are here with me today, and today we're diving into a big one, and this really sort of falls outside of marketing tips, outside of branding tips and outside of even operational tips that I share with you here on the podcast, and we are talking more about things that might be keeping us stuck, that we are not always aware of, and that is often these sneaky little lies that we tell ourselves about where we're at on our business journey and why we might not be ready to take the next step in our business. And I think that, you know, at some level we've all been there, right. We'll say things like you know, I will hire people when I'm making more money, I will start to my own teacher training program when I feel more confident, and you know, these are these sorts of thoughts that might feel true in the moment and I know that they really do because I've been there too but often the truth is that they kind of ultimately end up keeping us stuck in the same place and they kind of are an excuse.

Speaker 1:

And I think that it's really important to talk about some of these little lies that we tell ourselves about business growth, because these often fuel our actions later on. And the reality is that, you know, very rarely are any of us ready for this, and what I've observed from being so fortunate to get to support and coach and consult with some of the biggest and best studios in the world, but also working with the folks who are just starting out is that growth doesn't happen when you're ready. It happens when you decide to start anyway, and I'm sharing this today because this is your year, this is 2025. We are fully in this year now and there is a tremendous amount of opportunity ahead, and I want to make sure that you are positioned to take full advantage of the opportunity that I'm seeing in this industry, and I don't want these moments of hesitation or these excuses to keep you from making the bold moves that your business needs. The reality is that I myself, for sure, have waited for the perfect moment.

Speaker 1:

I have to say this podcast, I think, is one of the best examples. It was something I'd been thinking about not just for weeks or months before I actually bit the bullet and did the thing. It was years, actually, and I now look back and imagine and wonder what this podcast could look like. How many more people could I have interviewed, how many more people could I have reached if I had not sat and thought about it quite so much and wondered and kind of perhaps told myself I'll be ready when, and so I want to break down some of these conversations that we have with ourselves. Sometimes these lies, sometimes the little stories that perhaps are not so much truth that we tell ourselves about growth, and I think the biggest one that I hear is that people tell me I'll be ready, I just need a bit more time. When I have more time to do this, when I have more time available to me, when I have more free time on my schedule, then I will be able to do this.

Speaker 1:

I am obviously you know, I'm a mom of three children, with very busy households, and there are definitely restrictions on time, as there are for all of us, all of you, and I think that one of the things that I have discovered over the many years that I've had my own business and from being so fortunate, like I said, to work with so many studio owners on every level of business, is that I don't think that you sort of find the time. It doesn't sort of show up and appear to you. You have to make the time, because the reality is is that you can accomplish so much if you put your mind to it and if you're organized about it, but oftentimes, when we have time, we perhaps don't spend it in the most fruitful way, and so I don't think it's about finding time or waiting for time. I actually think it's about making time. We all have the same 24 hours in a day, but successful business owners really prioritize the things that drive growth. Like you think of, perhaps, any workout that you do, you can only get stronger when you make the effort and when you're organized about what you're going to do during that session. So I would encourage you to perhaps look at your calendar and I've spoken about this in the podcast Go search in the podcast for time blocking, but this is one, I think, one of the most powerful tools that you have at your fingertips.

Speaker 1:

You can carve out even just one hour a week to work on your business instead of in your business, and during that time, you know exactly what it is that you're going to do for yourself and, I think, and for your business. And this is one thing that we do really really well with our studio owners inside of Thrive, with all of the structure and support that we give to our studio owners in that program, we help them to prioritize what they need to focus on during that one hour, and so, if you've got one hour. It's amazing If you know what you need to do, how much you can accomplish and how productive you can be when you just have 60 minutes to focus on your business. And I want you to treat that 60 minutes like a non-negotiable client session. So we can't wait for more time to come. Instead, we have to go, and we have to go and put that on our calendar and carve out that time Now.

Speaker 1:

The next sort of little lie, a sneaky little lie that I hear people tell me, is that you know I'll be ready when my marketing is good. I'll be ready when I've got my marketing going. Then I'll be ready for the next phase. Okay, and I think that the reality is is that when we are talking about marketing, you know it's something that is has to be so consistent in your business that, um, it's not something that we really ever complete, right, it's not a, it's not a task that is checked off, and then you never come back to it again.

Speaker 1:

Marketing is something that you're doing on an ongoing basis, and if you're waiting for your marketing to be perfect before you say, perhaps, add a location or add another piece of equipment, then it will sort of keep you stuck in this sort of analysis, paralysis, right, where maybe you're waiting until your website is complete or your website is improved, or your clicks are higher or you have more followers on social media or your emails look perfect. And the reality is that, when it comes to marketing specifically, I want you to do it even when it's not perfect. In fact, I don't want you to wait for it to be perfect. I want you to do it anyway, because marketing for your studio is about building relationships with your potential clients and your current clients, in which case they're not looking for perfection from you. They're looking for connection, and so if you are not putting yourself out there at all, they will never find you, and they will. You will never impact their lives and their what they see about you enough for them to take that next step. So your marketing doesn't need to be perfect, but it does need to A exist right, but also be consistent with it, and so I want you to think about how you can be consistent with your marketing instead of being perfect with your marketing.

Speaker 1:

And when it comes to your marketing, one of the things that just makes it so much easier for anyone to be a better marketer is to have a clear marketing message, a message that speaks to your ideal clients and that is aligned with your brand and your values. And then, once you have your marketing message, what you'll do is you will consistently share this across the different platforms that you are active on, and then marketing doesn't just get better, it also gets easier. And then, when marketing is easier, it's just becomes much more consistent for you because it doesn't take as much time, you know exactly what you want to say and it just becomes a lot smoother overall. So don't wait until you've perfected your marketing. I want you to go out there and develop a marketing message that works for your business and that you are happy and comfortable and excited about sharing with the world. Once you have that, marketing just gets simpler.

Speaker 1:

So the third lie that I hear is people tell me I'll be ready when my classes are full. When my classes are full, I'll be ready to take time off. My classes are full, I'll be ready to add another teacher, and the problem is waiting for classes to be full and waitlisted before focusing on the next phase is like saying you'll start working out once you're already fit Right, and I know many of you have heard your clients say yes, I will start doing Pilates when I'm already flexible, when I get flexible enough, I will do yoga after that. And the reality you know, and I know that that's not how you get like you get. You get flexible by doing the thing first. Right, and so the same is true for your business.

Speaker 1:

You can't wait for growth to happen unless you're willing to step outside of that comfort zone. If you wait for classes to be full, you'll miss out on opportunities to expand. Now you do want your classes to be active. You do want people in your classes. You do want there to be data showing you that, if you want to add more classes or expand and add capacity, that you have the data there to show you that you do have enough of a client flow to be able to support that growth and that expansion. But if you are waiting for your classes to be waitlisted by five people before you do that, you might find that actually your business grinds to a bit of a halt and unfortunately, sometimes when we allow our business to get to that point, it can be quite tricky even after that to be able to see continued growth because we see the momentum sort of disappear out of the business. So don't wait for your classes to be full before you expand and grow. Okay. Instead, you want to focus on the systems inside of your business, the systems that get clients in the door consistently, the systems that make sure that your clients are staying and active, and the systems that are encouraging them to continue to stay active over a long period of time, even if your classes are not at capacity yet. Okay. So I encourage you to not wait until your classes are wait-listed or full before you focus on those systems, before you focus on your growth, okay.

Speaker 1:

The next one is that people tell me that I will be ready when I feel more confident and I'll be ready when I'll be ready to hire someone. I need to build my confidence first. I'll be ready to open a second location, I'll be ready to market myself, I'll be ready to show my face on camera when I'm more confident. And the problem is that it's sort of the other way around, because confidence doesn't actually come first. It actually comes after you take action. No one ever feels 100% ready to step into something new, but the more often you put yourself out there and do new things, the more comfortable and more confident you will be, that you can do new things, and the easier it gets.

Speaker 1:

So, again, don't wait for your confidence to show up and appear. I want you to start taking action first of all. Right, I remember way back when I first started teaching, I certainly wasn't confident at all, but we didn't have a choice. We had to stand up in front of those 15 people and teach a mat class, when I'd only just learned how to teach the mat class. And it wasn't about making it perfect, it wasn't about it being, it wasn't even about how confident I was. It was about taking the action and then repeating the action and doing it again.

Speaker 1:

And so, instead of I'll try, or maybe I will you change the phrase, change the language that you use to say I'm doing this. I'm standing up in front of these people and I am teaching. I am going to click record on that video and film myself walking into my studio. I'm going to stand in front of that camera and I am teaching. I am going to click record on that video and film myself walking into my studio. I'm going to stand in front of that camera and I'm going to invite clients in.

Speaker 1:

I am doing this because confidence really is a by-product of a few different things. But the first thing is you need to commit to yourself that you are actually really going to do it, and that actually takes courage. So there's a few things that have to happen before you can get confident, and confidence is a result. It's an outcome. It doesn't come first, it comes later and it comes after, typically, taking an action. So please, start small, by all means. You don't have to go crazy, but pick one thing that you feel a little bit uncomfortable about and commit to doing it, even if it's not perfect. I promise you it's not as bad as you might think it's going to be.

Speaker 1:

The next little lie I hear when people are talking about their studios and talking about growth especially, and that is I'll be ready when I'm making more money, I'll be ready to hire. When I'm making more money, I'll be ready to invest in myself. When I'm making more money, I'll be ready to hire when I'm making more money. And you know, I think, unfortunately, you know, many folks have have, perhaps through whatever world you have, you know, evolved in um and whatever that looked like for you. We carry a lot of things with us that we were from from prior lives.

Speaker 1:

Right, and you know, I think sometimes we often struggle to invest in ourselves, and whether that struggle is financial or energetic or time, waiting to invest in yourself is most likely not serving you very well. And you know, I think the most important thing that you can do as a business owner is to invest in yourself, in your ability to show up in your business with the best skills and the most energy that you can, because when you, as the leader of your business, shows up with a business skillset, with energy and with leadership skills, your business will only do better. So waiting until you have more money to invest in marketing or to improve your studio space or to even invest in your own business skill and development, will only trap you in a cycle of keeping you stuck, of stagnation, and instead I encourage you to think about investments like this as a way to unlock the growth inside of you and your business, not something you wait to do, and so sometimes that can mean hiring the right person and that can often free up your time to focus on bigger things, on higher value tasks. So I encourage you to think about where you can invest in yourself and in your business to facilitate growth and avoid being the bottleneck in your business. So there you have it.

Speaker 1:

I hope I gave you a few things to think about. These are the five of the, I think, the biggest lies that we tell ourselves about business growth. So quick recap Number one is you don't need more time. You just need to prioritize how to use the time that you already have. And, like I said, this is something that I show the studio owners inside of Thrive how to do and we work on it together and we hold each other accountable on an ongoing basis, so that you're never alone trying to wonder where to focus first, you have a lot of clarity around that direction.

Speaker 1:

Second, your marketing does not need to be perfect Big believer in being a B plus student, maybe even a B minus student sometimes, but what I do care about is that you are consistent and authentic in your marketing. Third, don't wait for classes to be waitlisted. Focus on creating systems that bring in new clients steadily and that help you to retain your clients. Fourth, confidence doesn't just show up. Action is what creates confidence, and it's okay to start messy and refine and build as you go. In fact, that's often how you have to do it. And finally, growth does usually require some investment. So don't wait until you have more to make moves that will perhaps help you to unlock that next phase of growth. The truth is, there will never be a perfect moment to do anything. If you wait until you're 100% ready, you may well be waiting forever. Growth happens when you take imperfect action. You learn as you go and you trust that every step forward will move you towards the success that you want. So I'm kind of curious for you to think about perhaps one thing you might be ready to stop telling yourself today about your business and maybe commit to one small action you could take this week to move your business forward. So I hope this is helpful to you as you go about building your boutique fitness business.

Speaker 1:

I really appreciate you tuning in today to the Pilates Business Podcast and if you found this episode helpful, please take a quick minute to share it with a fellow studio owner or leave a review. It means the world to me. So until next time, keep showing up for yourself, your studio and your clients, who truly are doing incredible work. Did you love this episode and want more? Head to spring3.com and check out my free resources that will help you run a profitable and fulfilling studio business. And before you go, one last reminder there is no one way to do what you do, only your way. So whatever it is that you want to do, create or offer, you've got this. Thanks again for joining me today and have a wonderful rest of your day.