Season 5, Episode 6: How do I turn clarity into a plan?

Tania Huddart: We can do all of this planning until the cows come home. But at some point, we need to take action. When we take action, things become clear. We make better decisions. And if that step doesn't work out, we pivot. We take another one.

Host: Welcome to Build Confidence and Purpose with Pilates. I'm here with Tania Huddart: Pilates teacher, teacher trainer and author of Teach Pilates with Confidence and Pilates & Purpose. Both voices you'll hear are made with AI. Every word Tania says is her own, and she's approved each one.

Last episode was about the picture you're painting, and who it's for. Now we need to do something with it. How do I turn clarity into a plan?

Tania Huddart: You'd think I'd start with the plan. I don't. I start with the step.

By this point in the academy, you've done a lot of thinking. Your values. Your why. Your energy. Your goals. Who you serve. That's real work, and it matters. But it's all still on paper. Things only become clear once you start moving.

Host: That sounds a bit backwards. Isn't the whole point of a plan that you think before you act?

Tania Huddart: You do think first. But a plan you never act on is a very tidy drawer. That's all.

When you take a step, you learn something. Maybe it works. Maybe it doesn't quite work the way you wanted. Either way, now you know. You can make a better decision about the next step. If you never take action, you never get that information. You're never going to move towards the goals you've set.

We learn as we go along. That's how it works in the studio, too. You don't really know a client until they're on the mat in front of you. A business is the same.

Host: And if the step is wrong?

Tania Huddart: Then it was a learning opportunity. That's all. Don't get hung up on what didn't work. You can always change. You can always go in a different direction. It's within your power.

So don't overthink it. Progress over perfection. Take the step. It doesn't have to be the most perfect step ever taken. You have your idea. You draw up a plan. You take that first step. And then you look at where you are. You either keep going in the same direction, or you say, "That's not working. New idea, new plan, new step forward."

Host: You make it sound almost exciting.

Tania Huddart: It is exciting. You don't plan once. You plan, you step, you look. And you keep doing that for as long as you're in business.

Host: OK, the plan itself. I'll be honest. Can't I keep it all in my head? It's just me.

Tania Huddart: You can. Until something changes. Say tomorrow you need to borrow money from the bank. They'll want a business plan. Or your accountant wants to see where you're heading. If it's all in your head, you're starting from nothing on the worst possible day.

But that's not the main reason I'd do it. A business plan gives you a snapshot of your business. And it's a living document. You keep coming back to it. You change it. You check you're on the right track. We talked about that in the first season, and it's still true.

Host: Where do I start? Business plans always sound enormous.

Tania Huddart: They don't need to be. There are three questions underneath every plan. Where do you want the business to go? How will it get there? And what will it cost?

Start with the first. How big do you want this to be? Maybe you want a small home studio, working only one-on-one or two-on-one. Maybe you want a bigger space, with group classes, and a community outreach programme. The sky's the limit. But you have to decide.

Then the how. If you're a small, established business and you want to grow, you need a plan of action. What area would you like to rent in? Would you buy a floor in a building, or renovate a house and turn part of it into a studio? If you're working from home, check you have the right permissions to run a business from that space.

And then the cost. What's it going to take? You need to be able to work that out.

Host: That still sounds like a lot.

Tania Huddart: It takes time. You can't do it quickly, and you shouldn't try. So work on it chunk by chunk. Pencil is fine. And you'll find you need some of the other pieces first. You'll need your ideal client. Some idea of how you want to run your classes. Some idea of your pricing. That's why it sits where it does in the academy. By the time you get here, you've done a lot of the thinking.

There's a business plan template in the course, and it walks you through every section. There's no one set way to write a plan. If a section doesn't suit your business, change it.

Host: What's actually in the template?

Tania Huddart: It starts small. Your business in a few sentences: its history, its core values, what you're broadly hoping to achieve. Being able to describe your business clearly to someone else is the first step.

Then your goals for this year, and for the next three, with who's responsible for each one. It asks what stage your business is at. Is it new, growing, settled, or slowing down? Then your services, your pricing and your policies. And further in, the harder things, like risk and succession. We'll come to those later in the season.

You won't fill it in at one sitting. Nobody does. But every box you fill in is one less surprise later.

Host: How long should it be?

Tania Huddart: Keep it short and simple. Nobody wants to read screeds and screeds. You want to give a good, solid overview of what you plan to do.

It's not as hard as you think. And it helps you think through every step, so you don't get halfway in and go, "Ooh, I never thought about that." The money and the legal side will be different wherever you are, so talk to an accountant, or a lawyer, where you live.

Host: And the SWOT. I've heard of it. I've never done one.

Tania Huddart: It's simpler than it sounds. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The worksheet in the course is one page with four boxes. You sit down and think each one through.

Your strengths are the advantages you have. Maybe a previous career that's given you a lot of insight into human nature. Maybe you finished your teacher training with flying colours. Maybe you have a specialty nobody else near you has, and you're building your business around it.

Host: And weaknesses. I can think of a few.

Tania Huddart: Most of us can. Say you've only been teaching for two years, and the other teachers in your area have been teaching much longer. You might see that as a weakness. I don't, to be honest. You're still hungry. Someone who's been teaching for years might be a bit more laid back. That's an opportunity for you.

Or you're new to the area. You don't know many people yet. It'll be harder to get the word out. Harder, but not impossible. It just takes time, and dedication, and wanting to reach out and connect with people.

Host: Opportunities?

Tania Huddart: That specialty might be just what people in your area need. Or you could build a strong referral relationship with a local osteopath or physio. You might organise information evenings, and invite them in to talk about something they're passionate about. That helps your clients too.

Host: And threats. That's the one I'd rather not write down.

Tania Huddart: It's the bit people skip, because it's uncomfortable. But it's important to think through the worst case.

COVID was the threat none of us expected. And it's a good example of why you need to be able to pivot. It also brought something new. Clients and teachers became willing to work online. Suddenly there was a whole other part of your business. Online one-on-ones. A membership of recorded classes. Another way to earn.

Other threats are closer to home. The building could burn down. You could go through a divorce, and not be able to afford to stay where you are. These things happen to people.

Host: That's a sobering list.

Tania Huddart: It is. But write it in a box and it gets smaller. Once you've named a threat, you can think about a way around it. Or you can simply know it's there. That's a very different place to stand from being caught by surprise.

Then your SWOT goes into your plan. You use it to choose your direction. How will you make the most of your strengths and opportunities? How will you shrink the weaknesses and threats? With real action points. And that's where we'll pick up next time.

Host: Three things to take away?

Tania Huddart: One. Take the step. Progress over perfection. If it doesn't work, it's a lesson, not a failure.

Two. Write your plan short and simple, chunk by chunk. And keep it living. Go back to it and change it.

Three. Fill in all four boxes, including the threats. Then have a few ideas for each one.

Host: And the question to sit with?

Tania Huddart: What's one step you've been planning for months? What would it take to make it this week?

Host: Everything we talked about today is Chapters 13, 14 and 15 of Tania's Pilatespreneur Academy: Take Action, Writing a Business Plan and SWOT Analysis. You'll find it at taniahuddart.com slash academy.

Next episode, the one a lot of us put off. How do I get comfortable with the money?

Tania, last word?

Tania Huddart: You have your idea. You have your plan. All you need to do is start. And if it doesn't go the way you thought, you can always start again.