You have the business plan, the clientele, and the love for fitness. Now, all your business needs is that final piece of the puzzle: a terrific photoshoot. 

Yep, you read that right: a photoshoot. We live in a visual world and that means brand photography is an indispensable asset to your fitness or health company. Brand photography shows off your personality, helps potential clients or patients “see” themselves in your studio, and gets you noticed.

Stock photographs are a great resource when you are first starting out, but to really take your business to the next level, a well-planned photoshoot can refresh your business’s online presence.

Whether you’re strengthening your existing brand with more up-to-date photos or starting completely from scratch, here are just a few tips to make every second (and pixel) of your fitness photo shoot count. 

Find your photographer

For a great photoshoot, you need a great photographer at the helm. This can be...

Your baby’s all grown up; it just happens so fast, doesn’t it? One moment, you’re starting a business from your basement or a shared studio. The next, you have a roster of clients, a studio or space of your own, and not enough time in the day to do it all. 

You’re living the dream. Now, it’s time for the next chapter. You’re tired of doing it all yourself and you want to bring in some help. But not just any help. After all, it doesn’t take a village to raise a business, but it does take a team. 

From tired to hired

Growing your team can be super exciting — after all, it means that your business is expanding in new directions. However, now you need to find people that want to work with you, not just for you. As any veteran HR rep can tell you, that distinction makes all the difference. 

Before jumping onto the job boards or hiring an old high school friend, there are three things you want to consider before drafting that...

Does technology overwhelm you? Would you love to have more efficient systems in your studio or with clients, but the thought of learning a new system makes you cringe?

Thankfully, you don’t need a degree in computer science to find the right tools for your business. All you need is a little drive, a little patience, and a little bit of direction. 

Tools to help your health & wellness business thrive

Welcome to the virtual age! Here, the cookies are a little less delicious (but still super important). It’s important to note that tech and systems aren’t just for “big studios” or chain businesses. Small health and wellness business owners need them, too. What’s more important is that we really can’t afford to pass up tools that can help us become more efficient and less overwhelmed. 

Today, I am going to break down the tools that we use in my business (both at Pilates in the Grove and on the coaching side of things) that we cannot...

You have put a lot of time and energy (and maybe even money) into your website. It’s full of thoughtful content and easy booking options that people should love, but there’s one thing missing: nobody’s finding your site. Does this sound like you? 

We already know that your business is solid, but you need your new customers to know that, too. In order to do that, they have to find you first. To do that, you need a strategy to cut through the crowds and get those internet eyes on you first. You need to boost SEO, but how?

Those three letters are the most exciting — and most frustrating — part of marketing your business. (If you’re totally new to this, SEO means “search engine optimization.”) If you’re new on the scene, or you’ve hit a plateau lately, the thought of trying to hoodwink Google to show your website higher in search can sound intimidating. 

The good news? SEO isn’t just for...

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that we do quarterly reviews for both my coaching business and my Pilates studio. The end of June is the end of Q2 — it’s also halfway through the year. So let’s check in with those goals and metrics with a mid-year review.

Why mid-year reviews matter

I personally check in with my business on a weekly basis. However, I have a team of people to help support that. If you’re new to your business or haven’t grown a team yet, that’s OK. You can complete a monthly or even quarterly review. However, I recommend that you check in every quarter at the very least — especially at the end of June.

Why? Because when you check in with yourself, your business, your team, etc., you can see how your goals have progress. You can also see if something isn’t moving forward, and uncover problems to get back on track.

Of course, the best way to do this is to review your numbers. I know,...

How you think about money affects sales, salary, spending, and everything in between. It’s super important to understand your relationship with money — and to dig a bit deeper. 

You may have heard scarcity or abundance mindsets, and not been sure which one you have. Or you may assume you have an abundant mindset when that’s not necessarily true. That can keep you stuck.

So I’m going to ask you to dig a bit deeper into what money means to you in this blog, so you can shift yourself to more success in life and business.

If you’d like to watch me talk about money mindset, click here. If you’d like to listen to this episode of Female emPOWERED, click here.

Money mindset mistakes I’ve seen entrepreneurs make

I get a lot of questions about what to charge, how to raise rates, and so on. It’s a normal thing to ask when you’re trying to grow or start your healthcare or wellness business. While that’s...

This week, I did something I don’t know if many other business owners would do. I went on my podcast and talked about mental health and my personal journey for Mental Health Awareness Month. 

Why mental health matters to me so much

I want to raise awareness for those of us who are high-functioning people living with mental health conditions. This is a very real and raw episode with my personal story. At the end of this episode you will hear a few stories from my colleagues and their own personal experiences as well.

Within my family, I grew up with parents who were psychiatric social workers. I also had a number of people in my family who had mental health challenges, and who were unfortunately able to function.

I had small bouts of depression when I was a teen and young adult, but I didn’t know what a “depressive episode” really was until after my first son. I had postpartum depression and felt totally unable to function. I was...

Insurance...What You Need, What You Don't Need To Protect Your Business, Your Employees and Your Customers with Luis Gazitua.

When you start your business, you’re probably flying by the seat of your pants. I know I was. But I also knew that, as a Pilates studio owner who had various employees and clients coming in and out all the time, I needed to have insurance. My business, my team, and my clients needed to be protected. So I started talking to an insurance broker about the least sexy business topic: insurance.

That was about a decade ago, and Luis Gazitua is still my insurance broker. He also chatted with me recently to talk about insurance for studios, gyms, and cash-based practices. Keep reading to see what types of insurance you need and what insurance can do (and not do) for your business.

Who and what insurance can protect

The most important part about insurance, according to Luis, is to know what you want to protect. You can...

Did you know over 75% of customers read reviews, testimonials, and case studies? Did you ALSO know that 88% of people trust reviews as much as personal recommendations?? Those are just a few reasons why you need to really start sharing how you’ve helped current or past clients! That’s really what social proof is, but let’s dig in a bit deeper.

What’s social proof, really?

Social proof is literally “proof” that others have benefited from your services or business products. It’s not just anyone, though. People like to know that their specific needs or challenges will be met, and that you have what they need.

That’s where specific social proof comes in — people who had similar issues (“I had horrible back pain before visiting Pilates in the Grove!”) or identify on a particular pain point (“After having kids, I was struggling to exercise my abs”). They also want to know what...

Does it feel like you’re doing everything you can to let people know what you can do for them… and you’re not getting enough calls, people in the door, or online bookings? I get it. Been there, had a panic attack about it. I have a solution.

Paid advertising.

Before you have a panic attack about how much that might cost you or what all is involved in making that happen, let’s start with the basics.

What is paid advertising?

Paid advertising is when you are paying to get your ad in front of other people, usually with the goal of getting them to click on your website or other resource. You pay Facebook, Google, and other platforms to get your ad in front of people, and I’m sure you’ve seen the Sponsored posts on whatever platform you use.

Paid advertising isn’t the only type of advertising you should be using, either. You can use print advertising (flyers and mailers) and organic advertising (blogs, social media,...