Pilates teachers across the world have been taking their Pilates businesses online to continue helping clients achieve their wellness goals. Using platforms such as Zoom, Teams, or Skype allows you to live-stream classes and make Pilates widely accessible to everyone, no matter where you are in the world. This has opened up windows of opportunity for Pilates teachers; many now see it as a business maneuverer that they will continue with post-pandemic.
Having worked as a Pilates teacher for many years out in the community, Juliet Nicholas from Juliet’s Pilates has moved her business completely online. Juliet offers a schedule of online classes and runs these on a membership basis, meaning regular income for her business. She also offers ‘on demand’ videos of Pilates classes to meet different needs and abilities for people to enjoy in their own time; clients can practice Pilates regularly in between classes! This not only enhances the membership package but also provides an opportunity for a passive income too. Watch her helpful video to find out her tips for taking your business online:
So, what does teaching Pilates online actually involve? Read our 5 top things you’ll need to make your online business a success, and keep growing now, and into the coming years!
There is a range of platforms available for you to be able to teach online classes, such as:
Most platforms offer a free basic package, however, there would normally be a time or capacity limit, whereas a monthly subscription would allow for more freedom.
A-Zoom pro subscription costs £11.99 per month plus VAT. This allows you to be able to host up to 100 participants and give unlimited group meetings. It allows you to stream via social media and offers 1GB of cloud recording space, where you can share the recording links with your clients.
Hall hire costs:
Between £12-£25 per hour approx. Let’s say you are teaching 4 x classes per week/16 classes per month, that £192-£300 per month in business expense. As you can see, there are more than one perks of taking your Pilates business online!
Make sure that your insurance covers you for online and on-demand teaching. A simple call to your insurer will ensure that you have sufficient cover.
Juliet suggests a ‘common sense waiver’ in her video: ‘always make sure the area you’re working in is clear and clutter-free, that you’re well ventilated….in a well ventilated and well-lit area…just to offer best practice to take the best possible care of your clients’.
There are several options available when setting up your online classes. If you choose to start off gradually, then you can advertise your class across social media or your website. Take payments via BACS transfer or PayPal and manually send out the class links to your participants. Simple! However, once businesses start to pick up, you may want to have an online booking system that you can integrate into your websites, such as Wix bookings or Gymcatch. Gymcatch offers a free trial for 3 months and CIMSPA also gives a 20% discount with the code CIMSPA2020, details can be found HERE.
Having a booking system takes away some of the admin with automated emails and most sites allow you to integrate zoom and YouTube so that links are sent out automatically too! You can also integrate stripe or PayPal on most systems for online payments. Some platforms integrate online waivers and health questionnaires. Having an online booking system keeps all your client details in one place and allows you to have a schedule of classes
available for participants to book.
The beauty here is that you do not need a fancy Pilates studio, all you need is space to be able to demonstrate the Pilates movement! So, push out the sofa and roll out your mat and you are good to go!
When you are first starting out you do not need fancy equipment. You can start your online business with your laptop or phone, an internet connection, and the space to be able to teach.
However, if you want to enhance the participant experience then you could invest in a microphone and perhaps some lighting to ensure a high standard of delivery, especially if you
will be offering on-demand.
Some of the key benefits of bringing your Pilates business online are:
The beauty of online teaching is that, with the technologies previously listed, you can teach to a wider audience than ever before. You have the ability to teach anyone who is able to follow you online at the press of a button, reaching a wider demographic across the world! With Pilates being such a hands-on technique with teachers well respected for their quality of instructions and ability to meet individual needs, it is imperative that the teachers now develop the ability to enhance verbal cues and teaching techniques. Future Fit training has tailored this into their training programmes to ensure quality remains across training and teaching of Pilates, whether it be online or in person.
We would like to thank Juliet for all her help and for her video, check out her website here: https://www.julietspilates.com/