Candace Bertram | Studio88: How to start in stealth mode

In today’s episode, we’re joined by Candace Bertram, founder of Studio88, a fast-growing Pilates community in Birmingham. After opening her first Reformer Pilates studio in November 2024, she expanded just six months later with a second location in Hall Green.

What started as one small space has quickly become more than just a Pilates studio, it’s a welcoming community where inclusivity sits at the heart. 

As a young, Black female founder and single mum, she has faced pushback along the way, yet her resilience and determination have carved out a space that is both empowering and trailblazing. Stay tuned to hear her insights on taking the leap from job security into entrepreneurship, navigating the realities of financial pressures, and how she’s embedding diversity, inclusion, and true community into the very foundations of her business.

Candace’s advice: 

• Community inclusion tip: Candace has always believed in building community and fostering inclusion.
• Customer experience insight: Her customers appreciate the security of a small space, familiar faces, and a feeling of safety.
• Entrepreneurship lesson: She was spurred into taking on a second studio simply by the belief that it was the right time and place.
• Mindset advice for founders: She didn’t let imposter syndrome or external doubts hold her back. Instead, she trusted her timing and her vision.
• Business growth advice: She did not allow the pressure of fixing an opening date to dictate her decisions.
• Inclusivity approach: She believes in creating space for everyone, but if a female-only class is preferred, that’s fine too.
• Hiring advice for fitness businesses: It’s vital to find the best possible instructors who have an open mind, a positive outlook, enthusiasm for learning and improving, and strong communication skills.
• Leadership mindset: Try to adopt a philosophical attitude toward any problems that arise.
• Values-driven business tip: Always stick to your original aims and ethos, no matter how much you grow.

FF&M enables you to own your own PR & produces podcasts.
Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2024 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.  Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason. 

FF&M recommends: 

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod.  Link &  Licence

Transcript

Juliet: Welcome to How To Start Up, the podcast that dives into the stories of startups and scale-ups told directly by the founders. I'm Juliet, founder of Fallow, Field & Mason. 

In today's episode, we are joined by Candace Bertram, founder of Studio 88, a fast-growing Pilates community in Birmingham. After opening her first reformer Pilates studio in November 2024, she has just expanded six months later to the second location in Hall Green in May of this year. Celebrating her first birthday today, the day this podcast goes live, we are thrilled to talk to her about her amazing success that she really tried to shy away from, but is now decided to own. 

So keep listening to hear her insights on how to build a community before launch, why she did it anonymously and how she's embedding diversity, inclusion and true community in the foundations of her business.

Hi Candace, welcome to How To Start Up. It's wonderful to have you on, I'm so pleased we get to have this conversation. Before we get into the nitty gritty of this episode, it'd be great if you could kick [00:01:00] off with an introduction as to who you are and a bit about the business that you have started.

Candace: Hi, Juliet. Nice to be here. Finally. I know we've been talking about this for a few months. I'm Candace Bertram. We originally spoke about a startup that began last year, which my pilates studio, Studio 88, based here in Birmingham. Originally started in one location last November, and this May grew to a second location in Birmingham, where we offer the same thing in two separate spaces. So yes. 

Juliet: I love that, because I know when we chatted, you was like, it's taken me a bit by surprise how successful this has grown so quickly and the fact that you've opened a second location so fast is obviously testament to the first. 

So under Studio 88, this wonderful pilates studio, and when we chatted, you were saying that it's more than just a Pilates studio. It's a community, and you've got this amazing tribe almost of people who have become really loyal clients. But you didn't know that that was going to be a thing [00:02:00] until it is today.

So what motivated you to leave your secure role and take this leap into opening your first studio?

Candace: So, I was really unsure about leaving work completely when the studio became a question and a conversation. I started working as an instructor in, another studio that I didn't own, and my plan when I qualified was to always open my own studio. I just didn't know when I would do that, and I also didn't know how, because who knows where this money is just going to magically appear from. 

Juliet: And you are a single mom - 

Candace: Yeah! So it was like, okay I'm going to open this business, no deadline, no timeframe. So it almost feels like it's good to say it because it just sounds like it's going to happen. And I didn't really put any plans in place. And then the end of last summer, I came across a space really close to my secondary school, which is probably sounds a bit weird to people, but I speak to everyone still from my secondary school and even primary school, even the teachers, because I became a teacher myself, were all quite connected and [00:03:00] my dad lives really close to the space as well. And it just felt right. And I went into this sort of lease really blind. The space was like a derelict building and I was like, okay, I'm just going to go for it. And then I just took the key down and then I thought about it like two days later, what have I done? So the plan was to. Open a studio, a very small studio. So I always knew that I wanted to have a very intimate space, and I could only imagine the types of people that may walk through the door, but I never thought anyone would book, because why would they just book me you know what?

What's so good about this? Over the period of time, of refurbing and renovating the space, followers just started to build because I was documenting the journey like a a bit anonymously. So I never showed who I was. I had a separate Instagram profile to, of course, my personal one, nothing overlapped. So this was just an imaginary page almost showing like the highs, the lows, equipment being delivered, renovations happening, and by the [00:04:00] time. were ready to put the bookings out, we were on like 2000 followers. And I was like, where have you people come from? And what if this isn't that good? what are you looking at? 

Juliet: So the imposter thoughts are there, loud and clear.

Candace: All the time. Literally every day walk into the space hiding under the shutters to make sure people didn't know where it was.

Everyone was asking where's his studio going to be. I diverted their attention to the other side of the area saying, just located up the road from, there's like a well-known trampoline park, and then all these messages coming in from real people that I have now gone on to meet and absolutely love, but at the time, they were just strangers.

Like, I'm so glad that this is opening, I cannot believe there's something outside city centre, when is it opening? When is it opening? At this moment in time, like I'm still waiting for savings to, like, am really going to use every penny? I'm still questioning things. I've spent loads of money on the refurb, it's time to make final payments, and I'm like, is really happening because it, it didn't feel real for a long time, even though I could see people doing things. [00:05:00] And then, when the equipment got delivered, it was about a week before I was going to announce schedule, location prices. And I was like, okay, this is it. So, we started with reformers only. So all of the reformers got delivered in. I was like, I own these reformers. Okay, this is a bit insane. No money left at all.

Like I don't even know what, how I'm getting home right now. No electric in my car. Just winging it! Everything just seemed to work out every single day, and and then when the bookings got released, we're now on two and a half thousand followers. We only have five reformers. We might be able to fill some classes.

There's a lot of people looking and we release the schedule, 10 10 days before the studio opened and I put the schedule out for about a month, and within about two days, the whole schedule was full, full, full, full, full, full. fully booked wait list messages. Oh my God. Even more people finding out about it, repost re-shares, and I was just like, okay.

What's going to happen here? [00:06:00] Staff were already in place, so that was a good thing. and that's a whole story in itself. They didn't know that it was me, 'cause I knew a lot of them already and I didn't tell them I was opening a studio. I didn't try to get them to move from anywhere else they teaching. This was a completely anonymous-

So 

Juliet: you built this as a ghost-

Candace: As a ghost. I was a ghost, and someone spotted me. she told me afterwards and I was like, I'm glad you didn't say anything. But it was really organic. Nobody was told about this. My mum, my dad, my daughter, my sister, about five people knew, even my auntie and I know she probably still thinks about it now. I didn't tell anyone until I announced it on Instagram that it was me when we were already full. We already had everyone in place. 

Juliet: Why was that? Why did you want to keep it private to you?

Candace: I think that I didn't believe that it would happen to begin,

Juliet: and I didn't know when it was going to happen. So very differently to the second studio. I was just really open, we're opening in three months, come along on the journey, It's already open now, so there's nothing to hide. but I think with the [00:07:00] first space it was at a time when I, just really wanted it to work and it hmm. Really Good that nobody knew there was no outside influence. Nobody told me the beds that I should buy, the reformers. I, I chose everything that I personally liked. I always ask everyone, how does this look?

Candace: How does that look? And I'll get 10 different answers. And I stopped doing that a long time ago and it really played a part in the business building because it was how I wanted it. it was like the first time I could get to put my true identity on something. 'cause I suppose working as a teacher and working under people. we have a job description. You need to be like this. You can't crack those jokes at school. It's in, you can't do that in that particular space. And I was like, this is me. If I'm going to go in there with, eye patches on every morning, which I do, they're going to know that's what I do and no one's going to look at me any differently. So it was. important that I stay true to myself. That's why nobody knew about it. And as I said, I didn't believe it was going to open. I thought the money was definitely going to run out earlier than it did. So I [00:08:00] didn't want people to think, oh, she's just saying she's going to do something then it happen.

Juliet: So obviously, and everyone can relate to that, we all care what other people think of us. And as much as exercise is magic and it can really help bolster your confidence and give you endorphins. We care. We really care. And with the rise of social media, everybody's looking.

Actually no one's looking until you tell 'em to look. So you were building it anonymously, but it just proved the minimal viable product. There was demand there. People wanted a Pilate studio in that area and it almost didn't matter who was behind it. Now you've sort of come out into the world and announced that it's your studio.

Have you seen a difference?

Candace: In people or?

Juliet: Yeah. In the reaction to your community?

Candace: Yeah. I just want to say I have been so blessed with positivity from the most far removed stranger that I would never cross paths with in any lifetime. And I have felt so much love from strangers. Like it's quite [00:09:00] emotional actually, that, I've had a good run. People have been so supportive of a new small business that doesn't have a big backing.

I'm not sitting in the middle of the Caribbean. I wish I was on a yacht telling people what to do. I'm on the ground with them. I'm creating the floor. I'm cleaning the toilets. I'm, meeting the clients. I've probably taught 90% of the people that have walked through the door. I'm on the ground

Juliet: was going to say, you were filling in when your team were sick or couldn't make a class. You were the filler for everything.

Candace: Yeah, and I will be the filler forever because I definitely want to be teaching forever and I want to be involved forever. And that's another reason why when you mentioned, are you going to do another thing? Absolutely not, because I'm stretched now.

I think that the reception has been amazing.

I can't even explain it. When people walk through the door and I'm like, 'this lady's been here 75 times, she's still paying little, I know it's not little old me because before it gets we gotta sort out, but [00:10:00] it's trusting studio that much that you would come again and again, and you are booking classes until the new year and you are telling your friends and family about it.

And I just think- 

Juliet: What do you think it is? This is a million dollar question, quite literally. What do you think it is that you have built that people love so much?

Candace: A safe space. Where everyone is just themselves. So a lot of people a of pilates in some respects, that you need to be stick thin, you have to have a matching, really expensive pink outfit on, your hair has to be perfect. You need to have makeup on, you have to have a Stanley Cup, not just anyone, the most expensive one. And everything about you has to be in line with this imaginary thing.

Juliet: I probably live in West London. Privileged white.

Candace: Yeah, you drive a Range Rover, that's been like gifted to you and you've got so much disposable income that this literally doesn't do anything to your pocket and. probably have 100% the [00:11:00] opposite to that, there is few really hot, super hot ladies that come and guys, but that does not make the studio.

What makes the studio is that people see familiar faces all the time, so blessed that the same team is here from get go till now. We've had a lot of people join, but they are just consistent and loyal people. we often cover for each other, which means everyone gets to see each other and everyone gets to build relationships. And the space, why I say it's a safe space is because without trying, all of us have, worked with people in our previous lives, whether it's in fitness or in another aspect of life care, nursing, that kind of thing. Everyone

has really got a nice and compassionate side. So the things that clients feel comfortable to disclose to us like they probably haven't even told their best friends at this moment in time. Divorces. Horrible scandals, mental health, miscarriages, you name it. things you see on these soaps, they're real life. So from [00:12:00] day one, people have just been telling us the worst things and now 6 months later look at them and I'm like, oh my God, what's going on? You look amazing. I've been coming here. I'm vibrant. I feel good.

Juliet: Moving my body.

Candace: Yeah. Now I'm running and I'm confident enough to go to this thing, and I'm like. They tell us it's a safe space. I dont know what the answer is because I'm just doing what I said I was going to do and teach and give good quality classes, and I know everyone else does that, but I think that they feel really safe there.

Which there's no price that you can put on that I don't think.

Juliet: Yeah. And that loyalty, we were talking in a previous episode about this, that client acquisition is quite a cost, but once you have a client and they maintain to be loyal, they're with you for as long as you maintain to be offering the same thing. But that community element, how important do you think that is in a business?

Because I think it's hard 'cause there's so many different types of business out there. But for you, how important is that to you and how important is that to your business?

Candace: To me. So if this was just like a [00:13:00] restaurant, there doesn't really need to be a push on a community element because will have different people coming in, you're going to have your regulars, but I don't think they're coming there because it's a community. They just really like the food. With somewhere this, the space is really intimate.

So we have one studio with five reformers and one with six. So most people see the same people all the time because they go at the same time, it fits in with their life. And even without telling them that we're building a community, it has been built just through them walking through the door.

So nobody has told them we need to build a community. This has happened again very organically, and I think it's really important in this space because people that have joined, with anxiety, not diagnosed or anything, but who have told me that they felt anxious about doing fitness have said it's because of the size of the studio. So if they feel number one, that the studio makes sense to them and how they feel about working out, whether it's body issues or anything, then [00:14:00] number one, being in a small space helps them, but also seeing people who, number one, they look like them. They live very similar lives. They got real life things going on, and. It's so consistent where, oh, I've seen that lady and I walk up to the coffee shop and she's in there. This community was built through those clients. It wasn't even us, we are like removed. Once they leave the studio, we are still there and they go ahead and decide to meet up. I think it is crucial in this field. Pilates is a bit more than just working out, it's a whole wellness side. It's a whole, how we mentioned, how good it makes you feel doing most forms of exercise, but I think there's just something magical about Pilates and you do need other people to be doing it to get why you're so invested. so everyone's on the same page and the community there it is.

It's right there. so it's everything. It's everything. I think.

Juliet: Given that you have grown to two studios in six months, which is quick, especially when it's a physical place, how did you manage that pace of growth without compromising your [00:15:00] quality?

Candace: Well I got concealer on now, but I'm still recovering with the baggy eyes. I will be honest, I did not make a strategic plan when I took on the second space. There was no normal thoughts going through my head. I'm very, I'm not erratic, but I'm impulsive and I believed in it and I was like, you guys are going to believe in it as well.

Somehow going to believe in it. And I didn't make. As much of a plan as I did with the first one. So the first one, business plan, got everything looked at, checked it through, made all these big decisions, just me and myself by the way. But second one was like I wanted this location already before, the Stirchley Studio I want in a place called Stirchley

second studio is in Hall Green and shops and commercial spaces like that never come up, never ever, ever come up. So this shop was like a really prominent carpet shop in the eighties, nineties, and it's been shut down for a while. So we already made sense that I've been going past this shop for so [00:16:00] long, dealing with this pace.

I do take my time. With the second one, because I had amazing rent free period, which I pushed to be as long as it could be. There was a lot of work to do and I just said, when it's open, it's open. I didn't put any pressure on myself. and things kept going wrong. So even more than Hall Green, like the builders, I dunno if we want to call them cowboys. 

dunno how we got there, but we did. there was no pressure on an opening date, which meant I'm going to open it when I'm ready. I'm making it sound really calm. It was crazy. It was crazy looking back, but I was just like, I've been here before. I'm just going to take my time. 

 I think I'm paying for it now because I'm really tired now. Yeah.

Juliet: Yeah. Someone else said this. It's like you've got a plan for success, not for failure because what does success look like? Is it 10 day weeks, whatever.

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Juliet: how important is diversity and inclusion in your business?

Candace: again up there with community. We live in Birmingham. So you walk out the door, you will see 10 people that look very differently to each other, and being able to open the door to 10 people that look very differently to each other, five people is I think what has kept the studio going as well because there is a place for everyone and. know it's lots of buzzwords, diversity, inclusion, and all these things that we talk about. It should really not be a major topic of discussion all the time because we should all know, especially living in the uk, that there are lots of different people here. [00:18:00] For, and they will be born every single day. So I do like to mention it, but I don't like for it to be everything because I'm so used to this where I live,

Juliet: school, where I've been at work, everyone looks like everyone. we're in a multicultural space. If this was in a whole nother city where we might not see much diversity, then. the answer would be really different, but I think to me, this is my norm, to the clients. This is their norm. They go in there, they see their friends, they see people that they've not met before, and it just works.

Candace: but it is definitely important across the board because this is a human race.

We are all going to want to do similar things to each other, and we shouldn't be. In sections or, the only thing I would say about inclusion at our studio in Hall Green, we have a very different dynamic in Hall Green in terms of race and culture and we've had to put on a lot more female only classes based on the demand. the only real. It's not even a separation. This is what was requested. So other than [00:19:00] race and culture and background, some ladies just prefer to work out with ladies. And we've always said like we're never going to be a female only studio, we have doubled. The amount of female only classes over in Hall Green because that is what is keeping the studio open.

So we just go in with what works at moment as things change, if they do change, then we're always there to follow. What the demand is.

Juliet: Yeah. Fair enough. and in terms of your business development, what have been the hardest challenges for you to overcome other than imposter syndrome?

Candace: Finding really good instructors is probably the hardest thing. Luckily for me, because I worked in the field and I've been doing Pilates for a long time, I knew a lot of people. Who again, organically started to apply for roles at the studio. They didn't know it was me. They saw the studio was opening, they followed the page.

They must have liked what they saw and applied. And I'd put on, I dunno if I was telling you this before, these Teams [00:20:00] meetings to have interviews because I wanted to do a proper recruitment process. And it wasn't until two weeks before the studio opened that we did an interview like this and they knew it was me. So they applied to work at the studio. I didn't go and find them and say, come over. Because there was no expectation that just because you know me, you must work here. I think as we grow now, so we're heading now to be more of a fully equipped Pilate studio. So at the moment, Stirchley branch only has reformers in there, which is great.

Amazing. I love reformer. but as my knowledge deepens and the instructor's knowledge deepens. We are going to add more equipment. We already have started to in Hall Green. so finding instructors that, number one, want to follow a growth plan and are not just happy to stay in the same place is difficult.

But luckily it has been really easy because they are the best. and finding people that are reliable and consistent. Luckily, again, has been absolutely amazing. but there's been a lot more [00:21:00] applications than recruitment 

actually happening because some people are just, they're not really fit for the studio, so I, it would be easy to just take on everyone, but there is a clear mission here that I'm on, and we have to have the best people on site, So that's been the hardest thing.

Juliet: Define the best person. 'cause obviously they need to be technically capable, but what else do they need to have?

Candace: The best person is someone who has a positive outlook on life. So when they see someone walking in the studio, like I said, that isn't perfectly put together, that does not scare them. Because in places where if you don't look a certain way or carry a certain handbag, they don't even say hello to you.

And that is crazy to me. So for me, you need to be an open-minded person because we have had every type of person walk through that door. We've got blind people, people with no arms, people with partial hearing, et cetera. This is a real space that we're working in. Someone that is open to learn. So I'm on a learning mission at the [00:22:00] moment, even as a studio owner.

I do not know everything about Pilates, but I will be learning every single year of my life now to get deeper into my knowledge. And I don't want anyone to work there that doesn't want to learn more because you just get stuck and you can get left behind, you know, over time. and also is a good communicator. Because energies do not lie. And if you cannot communicate in that room with five or six different people, they probably not want to come back. And I've seen it before and it's not a, one thing, it's just a trait or a skillset I guess. But you have to be a good communicator because you're working with people all day, giving them your energy. And if you cannot translate to that person, and I'm not on about language barriers here, I just mean, normal.

Juliet: You put someone at ease. 

Candace: Yeah. If you can't be approached and stuff, it's a problem. Again, I have not faced these issues. I have seen them happen. People have told me about things they're going through. and I guess it'll happen [00:23:00] one day. So I'm just trying to always be open to those kind of things happening. but yeah, the first thing is just not being afraid to learn more

Juliet: So important. 'cause every day is something you're like, what? Learn that now. And you've gotta be at peace with that. It's that rollercoaster again. But talking about energy, you are in the health and wellness space, which is obviously massively talked about as an industry at the moment. It's booming, it's growing.

Everyone's much more aware that they need more health in their life. How do you protect your energy and your health as a founder?

Candace: just cry I'm only joking. Not really. I haven't cried for a long time. how do I protect my energy? I. Really do believe in Pilates. I've been doing Pilates for about five years now. A lot less in the last year. I've done hardly any, even though I'm teaching all the time, so I've gotta get back on it. But my outlook on life has changed so much since I started.

Juliet: Would you call it a practice?

Candace: 100 percent.

Juliet: Yeah. So it's a practice that you keep evolving, you keep learning, and you chip away at it [00:24:00] regularly.

Candace: Yeah. And because Complex and extensive, and it can be done in multiple ways on multiple different things. You will never get to the end of it. It's not like a game where it's I've learned it all now, because once you've done that kind of move we can make it a bit different, So for me, the way I protect my energy comes down to the outlook I have on life at this moment in time.

So I don't know what it is sometimes I think this bubble's going to burst soon. I I cannot feel any other way, but happy every single day. I feel happy. The moment I wake up, I feel happy Right now, I feel happy when bad things are going on, good things are going on, and my outlook has become so positive over a number of years through different life experiences. I'm putting most of it down to Pilates. I know it's going to sound really cliche, honestly. I say it to people all the time when they tell me how happy they're feeling. I'm like, this is what I was trying to tell you. Didn't want you to think I was selling you something. And the way that I protect my energy is it feels like it's always protected. [00:25:00] I don't think I'm actually trying to do anything to protect my energy.

Juliet: Because you're doing that practice, you're building up that strength. 

Candace: I mean, so many bad things have happened and I'm like okay, let's find a way to fix it. Like I cannot be down in the dumps for long. I might have a little moment where I'm like, damn, this client really went to the bank and said I didn't deliver the goods, and you want to claim money back off me.

That keeps happening lately as well, just to say it's not all, it's not all flowers and roses. And then I'm like. Okay, how do I deal with this now strategically? and that's not the worst thing that can happen. Of course, we've been through loss and all the rest of it, but my outlook is now just like, It's going to be fine. And every step of the way when things got hard, something just turned for me. Like it could be the littlest thing, I need to do this by today. And there's, absolutely no way it's going to happen. It just happens for me. I don't even know how to explain it other than Someone's protecting me. I don't know who it is. and I can't put it down to anything other than, I don't really know how [00:26:00] it's been protected for this long. I don't feel like I'm physically doing anything. I'm not sleeping enough. I'm definitely not eating the best. I'm not working out as much as I should be, so I can't put it down to that, but I just feel great.

Juliet: Yeah.

Candace: the black soap

Juliet: Yeah,

Candace: Must.

Juliet: that black soap is amazing. My skin, my goodness. I actually look forward to washing my face now. follow Candace for more beauty tips and tricks. One pound black soap has transformed my life. But that's really interesting. 'cause I think energy is everything. I'm learning this the whole way that if you have a positive mental outlook, you can do anything.

You can take on anything. Nothing's a problem. If you're having a day where you're down in dumps, oh, this, oh that, and it spirals and it gets worse. It's like vicious and virtuous circles. You're in this vicious circle of that's bad and that's going to knock on that and da. What's the point of it all?

And we were talking earlier, going to the gym, you boost yourself back up again. It's almost like the endorphins make you a little bit deluded that everything's going to be great, but then everything is great, so who cares?

Candace: I think I might be delusional. That's what it is. 

Juliet: Well, something's working, but this is it. I think [00:27:00] if you've built that baseline of confidence and courage and you keep going, you now witness the business give back to you, you are seeing the success of what you've put in and you are seeing your clients really enjoy the classes and your team keep learning, like that's going to be boring you up as well.

So I feel like you've done a lot of the hard work and now you are reaping the rewards. And if that reward is just feeling cheerful and voided up, then that's bloody brilliant. Who wouldn't want that at work? That's rare at work.

Candace: I know, and I've never, I've not called in sick yet, and I'm like, I technically can call in sick, but I'm like, there's not been a day, you know, like when you get into the end of a really bad job and you're like, is this a day that I just say that not coming in? You know, I've done it before and I'm like, that's when you know you're not meant to be doing something or for much longer. And I'm like. I haven't

felt like that. Don't get me wrong, I'm tired. I have to wake up at 4:30 AM for a 6:00 AM start. But once I get there and I open the door, I'm like, I'm back on it. okay, I'm now the tiredness is real, but you just-

Juliet: I [00:28:00] would caveat that though, because I remember having my first sort of. Bad day at work and it's been five and a bit years, and I was like, Ugh. And I was tired and I was overwhelmed. There was so much going on and I was just like, actually, even if you make up a job for yourself, you can still have a bad day at work.

And that's normal. That's okay. it isn't realistic to say that every day's going to be a rainbow, but as long as your baseline is consistently good, you're in the right place. And 'cause it's a job you've made up for yourself, you can change it, you can tweak it and go, you know what?

I don't want to do that bit anymore.

You have that autonomy to be like, fine, someone else can do that now. And I often oscillate, it's like, can I remember what it's like when I worked for somebody else? And what are the pros and the cons? And you forget the cons because you're not there anymore. It's quite easy to think rose tinted glasses and they think, God, I had someone I didn't respect, telling me where to be, what to do, how to do it, dah, dahs like.

No. Now I get to ask people I respect for advice via a podcast and then my team as [00:29:00] well. But you're the master of your own destiny in the sense of you can choose who you listen to, which I think is a huge freedom. And you've earned that freedom. But it comes at the cost of hard work, long hours, stresses and strains.

Candace: Yeah, it's not all that simple.

Juliet: No, it's not. For you in the business, what's next? What are you looking at in the next six months of the year given the successes you've already experienced?

Candace: So the next, step for the studio. So we are going to continue to work towards being equipped and

a sort of summarized, note at the moment we offer reformer Pilates, mat pilates and we have a piece of equipment called a wonder chair or a combo chair. There's about three or four other pieces of equipment that we need to be fully equipped, and this will make our classes a little bit more, to the truist form of the practice or movement.

So, growing growing in terms of having more knowledge, more training as a team to be able to deliver [00:30:00] classes on more equipment. and then I would say everyone keeps asking me for clothing, and this is a field that I probably won't be stepping into on a deep scale because

Juliet: is a whole other thing. It's a whole other specialism.

Candace: I just love too many brands and I'm like, I'm not on this level or this path, but maybe some merch that they want to be feeling part of the studio.

So like things they like, hoodies

and stuff we are going to be selling and I know we spoke about the socks before the grip sucks, so were group sucks have to be worn in each class. So it was a no brainer to create our own. And this was just supposed to be like, get a few pairs made, couple hundred pairs made. Wow. We've gone like six rounds since the first pairs of socks in, I want to say like February time. So all I'm doing now is talking to my manufacturer every week about new colors. And we are looking at a box of six different pairs of socks. They sell out so quickly. I'm like, I'm sure you have enough [00:31:00] socks now.

No, they want every color, so we're just going to keep selling socks. Because I just said to them, what should we do next? And they're like, can you do black with hearts? Right? Coming up and then they're sold. So, that's been going really, really well. It was not meant to be anything other than just a few socks to sell, as I sit in my khaki green socks at the moment.

Juliet: I love it! 

Candace: Yeah, and just hopefully being able I'm currently taking a fully comprehensive course. means I'm learning at a deeper level, etcetera. I would like to be able to train instructors in the future. So whatever I need to do to get there, then I'm going to do that as well. I don't really have a timeframe on that because, when I get some sleep, I'll start plotting that one. But yeah, I'd love to train instructors because the instructors that have joined that are newly qualified. I dunno if the word is flattering. They chose to observe a lot of my classes and I see some of the things in their teaching and I'm like, they got it. I'm not the best instructor. I think everyone should be way [00:32:00] better than me in the studio because I probably spend sometimes the most amount of time, but then sometimes when everyone's back in post 

Juliet: Well, they're just doing one job. They're doing their instructor role. You are doing 10 jobs, so it's hard to do all at once. Yeah,

Candace: But if what I teach is recognized by them and they take things that they've seen me do, that's like, okay. I would love to be able to train people from a base level to be fully trained as well. So yeah, back to my teaching life, maybe doing it in this field.

Juliet: Back to the original passion.

Candace: Yes! Back to the passion.

Juliet: So something that we do is a question from the previous guest, which was Ian from D, which is a wellness brand. she launched with one product called Rested, and it's to help with sleep and anxiety. And it's, completely amazingly high performing, but very natural. She spent three years in R&D, launched the product, and it's utterly amazing.

So her question for you was, what was the most difficult decision you've had to make as a founder, and what lesson can you share from that experience?

Candace: Ooh, the most difficult [00:33:00] decision.

Juliet: Basically every day is a difficult decision. But what's like for you, a standout one that you're like, oh God, that's hard.

Candace: I'm trying to

think 

what is like shooting out to me at the moment? I haven't had to let anyone go, so I think that would be quite difficult. I

Juliet: physically haven't had to say to anyone, you have to leave, and the only way that would happen is if they do something to breach

Candace: GDPR or. Policies or anything like that. So that's great and as I said, everyone is amazing. difficult decision is remaining true to myself, has been the most difficult decision, remaining true to who I am because it is so easy in this field to be led by what is popular trending Instagrammable What everyone else wants to do

or not do. And I have always been quite, like I mentioned to you before, I wanted this to be the truest form of who I am. I could be led by so many different things. People contact me all the time, do you want to collaborate? Do you want to offer [00:34:00] this? Can we do this with you?

Can we do that with you? And the hardest thing is to be like. Yeah, I might make some quick cash, but what is that going to do in six months time? Probably nothing. So, it's been easy and hard, sometimes hard, no most of the time, hard to stay true to myself. When you see people just like. Scaling or looks like they're scaling or opening and just like We are giving you everything for free.

Why don't you come to us? Or having very similar staffing as other places where we probably are not very far from each other, but staying true to myself in knowing that number one, this is Studio 88. This will always be Studio 88. We're not positioning ourselves as better or worse, but we are we are and understanding that actually no one's going to have the same view of this business as much as me. That's why it's even harder to stay true 'cause everyone else will tell me to do other things. I think there's

been quite

that I've mentioned in the answer, but the general thing [00:35:00] is like remaining. Just a hundred percent true to who I am and not being led by the negative things that I've seen. The positive things also that I've seen. And just knowing that in 20 years’ time I still want to be doing this. So this is not a short-term get-rich-quick scheme where if I sell as many classes as I can at really cheap rate for the six months, go on a expenses trip.

Actually in 20 years time I want to see my client's grandchildren in the studio or children. So. Keeping it as it is when you walk in, you are going to see what you saw yesterday. You will 

Juliet: Yeah. 

Candace: affirmation card on the box and the teabag. You will see that we are using the same things that you saw last year, because if it's not broken, why try and fix it? and, yeah, yeah just

doing

what I was sent here to do, which is to deliver high quality, Pilates classes and smile. With a smile, I should say.

Juliet: And what would your question be for our next guest

Candace: Oh,

Juliet: and [00:36:00] ironically, given that you are in the health and wellness place, she's a founder of a chocolate brand called Fatso, which I love. 

And it's beautiful, rich, gorgeous chocolate 

Candace: Okay. Let me wonder what I would ask her.

Juliet: And it can be anything on entrepreneurship starting up.

Candace: Okay. My question to her will be, 

With what you know now about creating a product, what would you have done differently if you started again?

Now? Or maybe if she created another chocolate bar, like a secondary product. What would you do differently?

Juliet: Yeah. 

Thank you so much, Candice. It's wonderful chatting to you. Congratulations on all things Studio 88 and all the socks I can, I'm testament to that. Socks are amazing. So very, very happy to have chatted and thank you for everything you shared.

Candace: Thank you so much. 

Speaker: If you'd like to contact Canice, you can find all of her details in the show notes along with the recap of the advice that she has so kindly shared.

And tune into our next episode to hear Ella from Faso's answer to her [00:37:00] question about what she would do differently.