Running a studio you love but still feeling stressed about money? You’re not alone. In this episode of Your Studio Podcast, Chantelle Bruinsma and Michelle Hunter share how to rebuild your relationship with money, release guilt and shame, and create simple financial systems that bring calm, clarity, and real profit. Tune in and learn how to make money feel good again — in both your studio and your life.
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Chantelle Bruinsma (00:04):
Welcome to Your Studio Podcast, sharing strategies for studio owners. I’m Chantelle Bruinsma here with Michelle Hunter. And together we’re the CEOs of Studio Evolution, where for over a decade we’ve helped thousands of studio owners around the world of dance, music, acting art, yoga, and pilates studios transform their passion into thriving profitable businesses. So if you’re a studio owner, grab a cup of tea and settle in. You’re in exactly the right place.
Michelle Hunter (00:34):
Hello friends. Welcome to Your Studio Podcast. This is Michelle Hunter and Chantelle Bruinsma.
Chantelle Bruinsma (00:40):
We’re so happy to have you here. What a treat, my friends. Thanks for listening, Michelle. You’ve got some news, you’ve got some big things happening in your life.
Michelle Hunter (00:49):
Yes, and a lot of big things. We are entering a homestead era. You know Chantelle, all days.
Chantelle Bruinsma (00:56):
I didn’t see this coming, friends.
Michelle Hunter (00:58):
You did all those years of following Instagram reels of people baking their own bread, getting eggs from their chicken coop. It’s happening. It’s happening. We’re moving to the country. Well, 20 minutes away and it feels like the country.
Chantelle Bruinsma (01:11):
But a big pot of land.
Michelle Hunter (01:14):
Yeah, well, for us, it’s a big step up. We currently live in an estate and we’re going to move out to an acre and a half, and that’s a big, it has a paddock. It has a buck paddock. And I was saying to you as I was watching my husband in his work clothes, standing in the back paddock when we went and looked at the property and he said, I think I’m going to need cowboy boots. And I was like, oh, Mitchell. Seriously?
Chantelle Bruinsma (01:38):
Seriously. No, I’m here for it. He needs get the man some cowboy boots, Michelle. And he wants, I’ll get him some.
Michelle Hunter (01:44):
Yeah, he wants to chop his own wood already. We’re going to get chicken coop. We’re going to get a veggie garden. Oh, the kids are so excited.
Chantelle Bruinsma (01:52):
Oh my gosh.
Michelle Hunter (01:53):
There’s nothing like just doing it all in the next 50 days. You know how I have to batch really big decisions in my life. Chantelle, I tend to do this a lot, that it’s like I’m heavily pregnant, I’m moving and just settle our kids in new school. We’re moving. So yeah, it’s all happening. It’s all very exciting.
Chantelle Bruinsma (02:13):
It’s so exciting. I’m very excited for this new iteration of Michelle.
Michelle Hunter (02:17):
Yeah.
Chantelle Bruinsma (02:17):
This kind of trad wife kind of vibes.
Michelle Hunter (02:21):
It’s even more hilarious. Our, we’ve got some members, our Grads in Studio Evolution, we call them the Ryans, and we’ve spoken about ’em a few times. And one of the Ryans, they have a chicken coop. And secretly, I didn’t know that me and Ryan are in the same chicken coop Facebook group, and it wasn’t until he posted something about his chicken coop in the private group the other day. I was like, oh my goodness, we’re in the same Facebook group. That’s how dedicated we are on this journey.
Chantelle Bruinsma (02:51):
I’m here. So here for it. I’m so here for it. I would really like to have my own chickens, but I’m not particularly good with birds. Yeah.
Michelle Hunter (02:58):
You’re very good with spiders and insects. That’s new to me.
Chantelle Bruinsma (03:02):
My connection with animals is actually improving over the years. So yeah, who knows. Who knows? But who knows? Yeah. I dunno how I would go taking care of a sick chicken would be my, I can take care of sick other animals, but I dunno if I’d be..
Michelle Hunter (03:14):
I won’t lie. I’m not excited for that situation. They get sick a lot. Chickens.
Chantelle Bruinsma (03:19):
They’re horrible.
Michelle Hunter (03:20):
You can peck them, peck each other, they attack each other. Yeah, there’s a whole range. I’m skilling up. I’m going to spend some time just becoming an expert on chickens before I get the coop.
Chantelle Bruinsma (03:30):
Okay,
Michelle Hunter (03:32):
True. Classic, Michelle. It’s like, I’ve got to do all the research.
Chantelle Bruinsma (03:35):
I’m here for it. I’m here for it. Well, lovely ones today we wanted to kind of go into an area that we think right now is being felt deeply in studio owners across the world. And that’s the kind of the financial stretch, the feeling of the pinch, the cost of living crisis, all the kind of uncertainty that is in the world is having a direct influence on the ease and the profitability of studio businesses right now. And it’s true. It’s really, really true. It’s very real. The aftermath of COVID is still being felt in relation to how many people are taking up lessons. There’s a lot more, we’re finding people are kind of not doing as many classes as they used to. So maybe they used to be doing four classes a week, now they’re doing two classes a week. These things are very, very real trends in the industry and it’s having a real impact on you. Right. The studio owner. And we want to talk about that today.
Michelle Hunter (04:33):
Yeah, Chantelle. And I think it’s really important we address it because it’s real life. It’s not only affecting their studios but their livelihood. And sometimes we have a very personal connection as well to money. So it is a big one.
Chantelle Bruinsma (04:49):
It’s a really, really big one. And if we are going to transform the profitability of your business, we have to first and foremost start with just kind of accepting where we are and understanding the decisions we’ve made. And there’s often a lot of icky shame associated with maybe we are not making a huge amount of profit, or maybe not even, maybe we’re not paying ourselves a wage. Maybe there’s kind of that feeling of I’m not quite successful as studio owner because I’m not making enough money. And so on the flip side, we also know that there are studio owners out there. A lot of our clients doing extraordinarily well,
(05:35):
Seeing huge growth in profitability in this climate, in this economy. Now we can talk a little bit more about how they’re doing it in a little bit. But first of all, the first thing we did with those clients was to really, really reset their relationship with money. Because often the student owners, there’s a whole lot of inherited kind of garbage. So I wanted to read you a letter that I’ve read to them, which kind of sets the tone for moving forward. So this is a letter from Money that I wrote on behalf of Money to You. Hey, it’s me, Money. I know, I know. We haven’t always had the smoothest relationship. Sometimes it feels like I’m the source of all of your stress, confusion, even guilt. But I promise you that was never my intention. You see, I’ve always just wanted to be part of your life in a calm, supportive, steady way to flow in and out with ease to show up when you need me. Not in a panic, but with peace. Not to prove anything, not to chase survival, but to help you create the life and the studio that lights you up from the inside out. I know I felt inconsistent, hot and cold, but the truth is, I only move with the beliefs you hold about me Every time you feared that there wouldn’t be enough, I pulled away every time you welcomed me with confidence and trust, I drew closer. I’ve never judged you. I’ve never held a grudge. Even when you
(07:22):
Undercharged,
(07:24):
Even when you overgave, when you ignored me completely hoping I’d somehow work myself out, I saw the pressure you were under. I watched you stay up late, squeeze your worth into discount offers. Say yes when you meant no. And tell yourself you weren’t good at money,
(07:47):
But you are always were. You’ve got such a big heart. You just didn’t know how to hold me yet. So here’s
(08:00):
What I want you to know. Now. I’m not here to test you. I’m not a reward for working yourself to exhaustion. I am here to partner with you in grace, in structure, in flow. When you honor your value. I grow when you set boundaries. I feel safe when you see me as a tool but not a trophy. We both feel free. You are allowed to thrive not to survive. You’re allowed to build wealth and keep it. You are allowed to raise your prices to pay yourself well and feel
(08:50):
Deeply generous all at once. Let’s do this differently now. Let’s create beauty together, not burnout. Let’s
(09:03):
Make your numbers feel like a celebration, not a secret. And let’s build a studio that feeds your soul and your savings. I’m not going
(09:14):
Anywhere. I’m ready when you are. With love, Money.
Michelle Hunter (09:27):
There’s so much to unpack there. That is huge.
Chantelle Bruinsma (09:32):
So for those of you listening along at home, what was the line that kind of went like
(09:38):
I felt that.
Michelle Hunter (09:41):
I know when we did this, Chantelle recently read this letter out in person at our elevate event and there’s one line I remember looking at one studio and Sheridan and she said that generosity, that generosity piece, which I see so many in studio owners, they just give, give, give, give, give, give, give. And that relationship with money just keeps them in this cycle. I feel that so deeply.
Chantelle Bruinsma (10:08):
Yeah, the line, you’re allowed to raise your prices, pay yourself well, and feel deeply generous at once. It’s that kind of thing of we’re doing this because it’s a hobby or because we love to do it, but we don’t. Our relationship with money is still tied to doing what we love and our students who we care for personally. And that ickiness in the relationship of taking money from that still doesn’t feel quite resolved.
Michelle Hunter (10:39):
No, it doesn’t. And I think also we’ve also, there’s world events that are happening to the cost of living crisis, but still coming off COVID as well. That’s a huge kind of, there was such an exchange there when studio owners were give, give, give, giving, and then to find to swing back into the middle. It’s a really hard thing to resolve internally
Chantelle Bruinsma (11:02):
When you know that to pay yourself more requires you’ve got to actually make change in the studio with the people you love and knowing that families have pressure on them. So these families and these students are living in a world where there is a cost of living crisis and yet also in order for you to thrive, we have to receive more. Yep. The other line that really I am, I can really remember making a big impact at retreat, I can remember Renee in this moment and she said it was like, you’ve got such a big heart, you just don’t know how to hold me yet. You give so much, but knowing how to hold the money giving to everyone else, you’re just so connected with the needs of everyone that they didn’t know how to hold profit, how to hold the salary for yourself. You just hadn’t learned that skill yet because you were still in this overgenerous mode. Right? It’s a beautiful testament to the loving heart of studio owners and tricky, really tricky.
Michelle Hunter (12:09):
So it, it’s kind of a learnt skill, isn’t it? When you get better at knowing how to hold money, you just continually improve. And it’s funny, something you said at the beginning before you read the letter is when you don’t know where you’re at, when studio owners dunno where you’re at, there’s so much power when you kind of uncover everything and you get really deep into the eco of where you are financially.
Chantelle Bruinsma (12:35):
One of the metaphors we do in this pillar is around the idea that you pour the water. If I got a jug right here, right now, I’ve got a big drink bottle. If I just poured this on the table, it would go everywhere, right? Money, I don’t even have a cup. I’ve got a half empty cup of tea, tea, I can do this. Anyway, money needs structure. So if we’re going to make profit, you’ve got to pour water into a container. Doesn’t that look lovely? Kind of milky tea. It needs to be held. It needs to know when it comes in, when it comes out, it needs to know how much that space is meant for. We need to know where it is going to sit. Money, love, structure. So if the money hasn’t got structure, it’s not surprising there’s no profit left at the end of the month because you’ve paid everyone and we are just hoping that what’s left over, we’ll take enough, we’ll be enough for you to live on. Right? That’s right. And many studio owners live that way for decades. It’s not unnatural. It is not. And also it’s not a representation of your worth
Michelle Hunter (13:40):
And there’s no shame in it. There’s always time to change that.
Chantelle Bruinsma (13:45):
Well, the tricky thing is there’s so much shame in it, right? There’s so much held shame that needs to be released. One thing I know is that the acupressure point for shame, fun fact, fun fact is the acupressure point is between your kind of thumb and point a finger that kind of fleshy bit on the hand. And so if ever you’re feeling shame, just rub those points on your hand kind of show. It’s like that little bit on the first watching on the video version. It’s just in that kind of little fleshy bit above your thumb bone.
(14:15):
And as you do this, just acknowledging it, I have made decisions that haven’t been great. I have undercharged. I haven’t paid myself a salary. This is where I’m at. It’s not going to be this way forever, but this is it. And the more we can actually just sit in, okay, this is the facts, I’m going to make different decisions. So one of the things that we do in positive prosperity, which is our financial pillar, it’s the blue binder in the pick of the binders, is we actually teach profit plan and plan is based on a profit and loss statement. Education. Many studio owners don’t know the magic and the joy and the beauty and the delight and the deep satisfaction of a profit and loss statement. And they’d be like, yeah, nah, you lost me. So my dad is an accountant and I remember as a kid him saying to me that he still got a real little kick of joy every time a balance sheet would balance. And it’s that kind of cute little accounting thing. But the idea that a profit and loss statement and really becoming intimately connected with yours and your studio, it is the ultimate tool for decision-making.
Michelle Hunter (15:31):
Yeah
Chantelle Bruinsma (15:31):
Because again, money needs structure. If you haven’t got an understanding, a profit, a loss of how we’re making it, then of course we’re not going to be making a lot of money. It’s just like this hoping that Tinker Bell is going to come bringing this magical pot of gold at the end of the month. It doesn’t work that way. And there’s such power and deep calm in actually learning how this shit works in actually learning how to master money in a studio business. It is one of the most, I even think kind of like for your family, when you learn this, it’s revolutionary. If you go to studio evolution.com/results, you’ll see pages and pages and pages of results from our clients and you’ll see how many have doubled their revenue tripled. In fact, we’ve discussed two of our lovely clients, Carla and Sandy have been in the program nearly 12 months
Michelle Hunter (16:24):
Yup
Chantelle Bruinsma (16:25):
And they’ve nearly tripled their revenue since joining and they haven’t even done the finance pillar yet, which I think is even more exciting. Right, exactly. It’s very cool. But the crux of this is that when you know how to make money in your business, it just flows. And a lot of this starts with our studio industry specific model for profit, using profit and loss statements, and it’s kind of our secret sauce and it’s game changing, right, Michelle?
Michelle Hunter (16:57):
It is. And we do it in Chantelle is a teacher and she brings some fun and real tactile ways to do it because if we’re going to say, today we’re going to learn about your profit and love statement, if you can see all the studios bonus faces, but we do it in such a way, which it really makes the information digestible for you because we understand learning and teaching and there is a process to falling in love with your numbers and it’s done in such a way that it’s a gentle introduction, but also by the end of it, you’re really going to know your stuff. You’re really going to know your stuff. Your accountant’s going to be like, what course have you been doing?
Chantelle Bruinsma (17:33):
Yeah. It’s a pretty cool moment, huh? It’s a very cool moment because it doesn’t have to be so difficult.
(17:41):
It’s just education.
(17:43):
It’s
(17:43):
just education. And when you have the recipe, you can make the cake is the truth. When you have the recipe, you can make the cake, but a lot of you guys haven’t got a recipe to make profit in your business and that’s why we stay struggling. Like this letter, right?
Michelle Hunter (17:56):
Yep.
Chantelle Bruinsma (17:56):
It’s this piece from the letter that goes, like you tell yourself you weren’t good at money, but you are always were. You just didn’t know how to hold me yet. Right? That’s the essence. And that’s what’s such an important part of Studio Evolution, is giving you the tools to be held not only in practical profit and loss strategy, that’s one part, but to actually support you through releasing all of these money baggage shit that really does hold us back when we are not charging appropriately, when we get nervous about putting ourselves on a salary, when we pay our teachers more than we pay ourselves. All of these things when we actually allow you to be held in like this is how it is and maybe let’s shift things, right? And to support you in that. And that’s what Studio Evolution does so very successfully. It’s teaching strategy with a whole lot of soul and seeing you the human as a studio owner and how to give you the support you need to make the big changes that are going to transform your life.
Michelle Hunter (19:01):
And if you don’t want to continue doing it on your own, and if you want to be in a community that not only has the knowledge but are going to hold you, we would encourage you to apply for Studio Evolution, wouldn’t we? Chantelle? If you head to studio evolution.com/apply, you can fill out an application form and tell us where you’re at and see if Studio Evolution is a fit for you. And if you want to start doing things differently.
Chantelle Bruinsma (19:30):
One of the biggest bits of feedback we hear from this pillar is, I wish I had this information years ago. Because when you have the knowledge, it’s just radically different like this before when you did Studio Evolution and then life after, it is a catalyst in your life for knowledge and growth and empowerment. And that’s what this looks like. When we stay in shame about our money patterns, our money history, we kind continue that kind of shrinking feeling. And once we are held in a way that you can take all that off, like, yes, I’ve undercharged, help me not, I need to know how to not, I want to be able to take my family on a holiday. I need a new car. I want to be able to fly first class. These are all things you can have as a studio owner. It comes from that place of being willing to shine the light on. This is where I’m right now.
Michelle Hunter (20:30):
I say that every kind of pillar we go through, but just how it impacts people. So personally and on a deeper level, it really is my most favorite pillar to watch people go through.
Chantelle Bruinsma (20:43):
This is mine too. It’s mine too.
Michelle Hunter (20:45):
Because you don’t think that’s what’s going to happen. You think you’re just going to go in and you’re going to learn a few numbers, but the impact is profound.
Chantelle Bruinsma (20:52):
Or even, I remember loving Natasha, one of our Studio Grads, and we were teaching this and she was terrified. Oh, terrified about looking at her numbers. She’d never really looked at them, right? She’d run a studio for a very, very long time and she was sitting there absolutely shooting herself. And once she learned this, you could just see she was going into the breaks and still had a calculator out and was calculating pretax profit and was calculating percentages per her category. She was working out her core capital target. She had kind of mapped out her LER, she had all of her accounting ratios and she was like this. And yes, and there was actually joy in it. It was fun. And I was just like, my gosh, this is what it’s all about. Can you fall in love with your numbers? Because you’ve learned how.
Michelle Hunter (21:35):
Yeah. And you got the tools.
Chantelle Bruinsma (21:37):
So bloody good. So bloody good. Well, lovely ones. Thanks for listening. Hope this little letter from Money spoke a little thing in your heart and let you know that it’s okay to release how it has been to make way for the new. And come and join us and let us support you in doing that. Thanks, beautiful ones. We’ll see you next time.
(22:00):
See ya. Love what you’re hearing and want more. Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss an episode. And the good news is that we’ve put together a bundle of our most popular resources from marketing and retention to pricing and systems all in one place you to binge inside. You’ll find videos, tools, and templates waiting for you. Everything you could need to start creating growth in your studio right now. All you got to do is visit studioevolution.com/start and dive on in.
