Q & A Wednesday: tips for starting a career in Pilates
Happy Wednesday Beauties!
I appreciate you all submitting your questions for Q & A Wednesdays. You asked so many good things – I’m excited to answer them all in the coming weeks.
Today I’m tackling a topic that I get asked about more than any other thing: how to get started with a career in the fitness/Pilates/wellness industry.
Today’s questions come from Kirsten C. I hope you find the answers helpful!
Kirsten started out by asking what certifications and trainings I went through to become a Pilates and barre instructor. If you’re curious, you can read the answers in “How To Become A Pilates Instructor.”
She went on to ask the following questions…
I noticed in your post that you were working full-time when you did your certification. I would also be working and was wondering what that schedule looked like in terms of weeknights/weekend classes?
Most comprehensive Pilates training programs are hosted on the weekends. So about 1 weekend per month I would attend class from Friday afternoon – Sunday afternoon. The weekend trainings lasted for approximately 6 months, the next 6 months was dedicated to completing my practice hours and student-teaching hours.
I also spent a few evenings per week taking Pilates classes (to get my practice hours) and spending time alone studying at home or in the studio. It was a lot of work, but it was something that I was very interested in so I enjoyed it.
At what point after you completed your training did you leave your previous day job and shift into teaching pilates full-time? How difficult was it to develop this new career?
It took awhile to turn Pilates into a full-time career. I continued working in commercial real estate development for about 6 months while I taught classes for friends (student teaching hours) and came up with a plan to make the transition.
I eventually took a big leap of faith (and a big pay cut) and started nannying part-time so that I could build up my teaching as well.
I recommend allowing at least a year to get your clientele and teaching schedule up to “full-time.” Full-time for a Pilates instructor is about 20-30 hours per week I would say. Although others may see that differently. I only recommend this career path to someone who is willing to work hard, stay committed even when the schedule is challenging and the pay is embarrassing. Because it will be at first.
When I started my career, I took all the early morning shifts that nobody wanted. I got creative and taught at a local studio, at a local college (a bi-weekly Pilates class as part of their physical education curriculum) and also started up classes in the park with friends.
It’s also important to keep in mind that every time you move, you essentially start over. It gets easier each time because you have more experience under your belt, but it is still a challenge of the job. Shortly after getting my clientele up and going in Santa Barbara we moved to Palo Alto. So I started all over again. In the bay area it took about a year to get back to place where I felt comfortable with my hours and income. I taught at Equinox, trained in-home private clients and ran classes at Stanford University.
And finally, any other advice for a currently full-time, non-fitness professional (me!) looking to transition to the fitness and wellness industry?
My first piece of advice is to make sure you love TEACHING as much as you love Pilates. It truly is a teaching profession. I spend most of time learning how to teach different clients, communicate in new ways and help people discover new ways of moving/being.
It’s also important to remember that just because you are a Pilates instructor, that doesn’t mean you’ll be doing Pilates all day. I have a much harder time fitting in my workouts these days than I did when I was working a more traditional job. There are perks (like sneaking in short workouts in between clients) but there are also challenges (sometimes after a long day the last thing you want to do is stay in the studio for another hour to do your own workout).
Ask yourself if you are willing to work weekends/early mornings/evenings. These are the times most people exercise and want to take class or schedule sessions. I have managed to protect my weekends for the past 5 years but it hasn’t been easy! Most instructors work on Saturdays at minimum. But that doesn’t mean you have to. 🙂
I’d also consider health insurance/retirement plans/etc. Most Pilates instructors have to pay for those things independently rather than being covered by an employer. Something to keep in mind.
I recommend spending some time discovering what it is that truly lights you up. Is it helping people lose weight? Motivating people to work out? Encouraging people to change their lifestyle? Helping people live pain-free? Dig into what it is you truly LOVE (what you would do for free) and build upon that.
And lastly, allow yourself time. It takes time to build a business and time to figure out how this career will work for you and your individual lifestyle. If you don’t have time, then wait until you do. You will not be where you want to be in 3 months. And that’s okay. Think big picture and stay the course, even when it’s hard. It does pay off. I can attest to that! 🙂
I hope you find these answers helpful. If it spurs more questions please don’t hesitate to ask! Post them in the comments and I will answer ASAP.
xo,
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