Category: Podcast

If you’re a regular listener of Ready. Aim. Empire. you know that a lot of what my guests and I discuss involves marketing, business development, and operations, just to name a few topics, but today me and my guest, Lisa Howell, are getting really nerdy on all things physiology.

I loved every second of it, and I think you will, too because even if you don’t quite work with the population of clients that Lisa does, this information is vital for any fitness instructor or health/movement practitioner.

But first, let me give you a little background on who Lisa is…

As the founder of Perfect Form Physiotherapy and creator of The Ballet Blog, Lisa Howell is a leader in the physiotherapy space with her cutting-edge approach to treating and training young dancers.

Over the years, as she has seen the demands on young athletes’ time and abilities deepen, she knew that to truly impact the lives of her clients, she didn’t just need to instruct them on their own bodies, but she needed to help educate her fellow practitioners as well.

To put it succinctly, her philosophy is proactive rather than reactive, and her ultimate goal is to create a grassroots-style movement so that children can receive proper instruction, experience fewer injuries and thus, have a decreased chance of needing physiotherapy.

And after 13+ years of seeing incredible results, I’d say she’s been pretty successful in her mission, and, yet she’s only just getting started (you’ll see what I mean when you listen in).

Whether you too work with a younger clientele, or you serve geriatrics, or if you’re an instructor or a physical therapist, Lisa’s insight is for everyone, because at the end of the day, what are we in this for if it’s not to create better lives and experience for those under our instruction or care?

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Lisa’s journey to becoming a physiotherapist and how her personal experience as a dancer has helped to shape her philosophy

• Why it’s so vital to teach young athletes through slower conditioning and layered instruction to fuel kinesthetic awareness

• Why we need to understand the magnitude of fascia and how it impacts our roles as practitioner instructors and practitioners

• The big shifts we need to be looking at in the evolution of fascial training in the last ten years

• How Lisa is moving through a transition in her business model and practices to impact more students and practitioners across the globe

Referenced Links in This Episode:

Perfect Form Physiotherapy

The Ballet Blog

“Alice in Wonderland: Getting Curiouser and Curiouser” – Dr. Robert Schleip’s Lecture at the Third International Fascia Research Congress

Strolling Under the Skin by Dr. Claude Guimberteau

Gil Hedley, Ph.D. – Fascia and Stretching: The Fuzz Speech

With Grit & Gratitude,

Lisé

I’m not going to lie, being a business owner is pretty dreamy.

You can directly give your gifts to the world and impact your community, limitlessly grow your income, and you have the freedom to blend your work and your life in the way that you desire for yourself and your family.

Now I know some of you reading this will be nodding your head as you’re beginning to experience these possibilities that business ownership affords, but I know there are a group of others thinking…

“Yes, this is what I thought it would be, but man does it seem like a pipe dream compared to where I’m at now.”

No matter which camp you’re currently in, this message is for everyone: Your vision of business and studio ownership is not a pipe dream. If you can envision it and believe it, you can achieve it. Our thoughts are our beliefs; our beliefs inform our actions.

As I prepare to welcome the newest member of our family (a baby boy!), I can’t help but reflect on how our life’s journeys mirror that of business…

Except, unlike pregnancy where you move through the various stages of growth and development and reach that 40-week mark where you’re absolutely going to give birth at some point or another, “arriving” in business isn’t quite as simple.

There’s no deadline or timely marker to look for, and it’s easy to find yourself stuck in a stage, feeling like you don’t know how to bust through, move, or find your way around the brick wall in your way.

Over the next several weeks, I’ll be walking you through what I’ve identified as the “Four Stages of Studio Growth.”

Everyone passes through these stages at different rates, but every stage requires a deep dive from us as studio owners.

Today we’ll be discussing what I call the Wonder Phase which is when the foundation of your business success is built, and many business mistakes can be avoided.

I hope you’ll join me on the journey…

In this episode you’ll learn:

• What is the “Wonder Phase” and how to know if you’re in it
• How to get your baseline operation costs right from the beginning
• What is a Pro Forma and how to use it effectively
• The power of an average client monthly value and how you can use that to calculate a profitable business
• What to look out for when negotiating real estate
• Why you should have your sales and marketing systems ready before opening your doors

Recommended Links:

Ask For It by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever

With Grit & Gratitude,

Lisé

I first met Jennifer Zumann on the shore of a little lake in Alexandria, Minnesota. 

Although I was on a lovely getaway, kids were scampering (and screaming) with every discovery, and bathroom time in a crowded, shared space was hard to come by…

I simply needed a little space to breathe and time to stretch. So, I opened up my Pilates Anytime app and up popped Jen onto my screen. Although our initial time together was brief, it was just what I needed to reinvigorate and recharge my batteries.

These days, Jen has unknowingly traveled all across the country with me, providing me with her skillful guidance, abundant energy, and radiant joy straight to my mobile studio aka my iPhone.

Of course, as I’ve fallen in love with her teaching style, I had to go digging to learn more about her and her Pilates endeavors and, to no surprise, she has a thriving studio in the heart of the Windy City.

And as we began talking, I learned that her successful studio was started in her dining room and is now a 3,000 square foot space that employs ten instructors and a physical therapist, and is filled with joyful clients.

But, as Jen says in our discussion, “the culture of the studio isn’t about me, I’m just a part of it.”

Although she’s modest and says this is all been a community effort, she’s clearly the catapult and the spark that has transformed into the hearth of the Pilates Chicago space, programming, and community.

During our chat, we dive into her unique educational background with Pilates and how it has shaped the way she teaches not just students but teaching future instructors who have a personal voice they can bring to the essence of Pilates.

We also dive into studio growth through building versus hosting a teacher training, plus balancing entrepreneurship with family and serious personal health matters to everything in between.

So nestle in with a good cup of something warm, and give this episode a listen.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How Jen started out learning Pilates informally as an apprentice in the 90’s after being introduced to it through a college program but used her experience to inform her entire approach to teaching

• Why there is so much more to teaching than just learning the curriculum and how she built a culture of learning and sharing to create a community of instructors that have, in turn, helped grow her studio

• The logistical and emotional pros and cons of creating your custom teacher training program

• Why growing your teachers and helping them find their “amazing” is what allows you to build an empire and feel good and intentional about what you’re growing every step of the way

Referenced Links:

Pilates Chicago

Pilates Anytime

Pilates Fusion

With Grit & Gratitude,

Lisé

P.S. – We’re about to open the doors to The Client Cure, our signature program to help you grow your studio’s profits, scale, and create abundant freedom in your life. Click here to be added to the waitlist!

Welcome to Part 2 of our Profitable Facebook Ads series!

In case you missed it, in Part 1 my marketing director, Nikki, and copywriter, Danielle discussed the importance of setting expectations for your Facebook ads, how to craft a winning strategy, and tips to for your everyday page activity to help give your ads a leg up.

These are all critical pieces of a compelling and profitable Facebook ads campaign, so if you’ve yet to listen to Part 1, click here to give that a listen first!

Now in Part 2, we’re getting into the nitty-gritty…

Copy, headlines, images, placement, oh my!

I know it can feel like there are a million factors at play, and even though it’s not nearly a million, it is several, and they’re all facets of your ad campaign that will affect how your audience engages with, and ultimately converts, with your ads.

This is the meat and potatoes of making sure you’re actually making money with your ads and not throwing your marketing budget out the window, so plug in those earbuds and fire up your Notes app, because you’re going to want to remember these takeaways next time you’re in Ads Manager.

Things you will learn in this episode:

• How to determine what type of ad copy will work best for your offer and audience, plus tips for making sure you don’t get the dreaded ad rejection from Facebook due to copy.
• How to decide on which style of visually compelling images to pair with your ad copy for greater impact
• What ad creative elements your market is most responsive to, and how to test and measure it so you can optimize your ads and get the best bang for your ad budget
• Factors to look at when attributing revenue so you can see how much of a return you’re gaining on your investment, and more!

With grit & gratitude,
Lisé

P.S. – We’re about to open the doors to The Client Cure, our signature program to help you grow your studio’s profits, scale, and create abundant freedom in your life. Click here to be added to the waitlist!