Season 5, Episode 5: What picture am I painting, and who is it for?

Tania Huddart: When I ask teachers what makes them different, I know what comes into their head first. "I don't have anything." I promise you do. You are you. You're the only person who can be like you. So you already have a unique position. The work is finding the words for it.

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 setting goals you'll actually keep. This one is about the people those goals are for. What picture am I painting, and who is it for?

Tania Huddart: By "the picture", I mean two things. Your unique position, and how you actually help people. When those are clear, people can see you. When they're fuzzy, people walk straight past.

It's another way of untangling your why. Your why is what you're passionate about. The picture puts it to work. It says who you serve, how you help them, and why you love doing it.

Host: Let me push back a bit. I teach the same exercises as every studio in my town. The hundred is the hundred. What's unique about that?

Tania Huddart: Nothing, if you only look at the exercises. The hundred is the same everywhere. You aren't. So don't start with the exercises. Start with you.

Most of us come to teaching Pilates as adults. You've already lived a life. Maybe you were a nurse, or a bookkeeper, or someone who raised three children. What from that life do you bring into the way you teach? There will be many, many crossovers.

And remember what our work really is. It's communication. We're communicating about movement. Believe me, that's a very sophisticated skill. Whatever you learnt about people before you ever lay on a mat, you bring it into the room.

Host: What if I'm still a student teacher? I haven't got much to go on yet.

Tania Huddart: You can start now. Ask the people you practise on. "What was important for you today? What did I help you understand that you didn't get before?" A few honest questions will tell you a lot.

And think about the teachers you've loved. What did you value in their classes? What were the benefits for you? Those are often the benefits you'll give other people. And think about your own path into teaching. What happened along the way that you now understand from the inside?

Host: So it's not only about the body.

Tania Huddart: No. The physical benefits matter, of course. But look at the emotional ones too. You might be creating a safe space. You might be giving someone an hour of time out. Some people come to calm down, and to turn inwards, for their own mental health.

The easiest way to find these is to notice what people thank you for. Make a note of it, every time. Those thank-yous tell you which needs you're meeting.

Host: OK. Say I've got a page full of that. What do I do with it?

Tania Huddart: Look at your services and ask, what can't others imitate? Put a little star next to those. They're the things you talk about. In your emails, on your website, in person, on the phone.

And different doesn't mean better. You don't have to stand up and say you're better than everyone else. That's not what I'm saying. It's simply, what do you do differently?

Host: Give me an example.

Tania Huddart: Say you work with pregnant women. Maybe you have a nanny on site to look after the older children while mum does her exercises. Or you have a lovely relationship with the local coffee shop, and every month your clients go into a draw for a coffee.

It can be as simple as how you welcome people. Maybe you offer a free thirty-minute meet and greet. They meet you. You give them a few guidelines on how Pilates works. Then they come in for a full session. You build that time into your pricing. But it creates a strong personal relationship from the very first day.

Host: And if I'm not really a meet-and-greet person?

Tania Huddart: Then it might be something else. Maybe you have a strong community focus. Every few months you take a free class to people who are having a hard time. People who are looking for work, and aren't feeling so good about themselves. Then you talk about it, on your website and when you meet people.

Whatever your thing is, make a thing of it. Every one of them shows a bit of your personality. And a bit of what you're trying to do in the world.

Host: Then what? I've got a page of little stars.

Tania Huddart: Turn them into short phrases that describe what you do. Simple, clear, concise. Think of that old advertisement, "Have a break, have a Kit Kat." It's stuck in all our heads. You want that kind of clarity about what you offer.

The more clarity you have, the easier it is to reach the people you really want to reach.

Host: Which brings us to the second half of the question. Who is it for? My honest instinct is to say, anyone who walks through the door.

Tania Huddart: I understand that. But look at who already walks through the door. Twenty per cent of your clients bring in eighty per cent of your income. They're your most loyal people. They turn up to everything. They'll be with you through thick and thin.

Those clients are your niche. They're with you because they love what you do, and how you do it. More of those people is what you want.

Host: How do I work out who they are, rather than guessing?

Tania Huddart: Start building a picture. Who are they? What do they say? What do they read, and what do they do in their spare time? Where do they hang out? Put it down on paper. You only need a general picture for now. It'll help you a great deal when you come to your ideal client.

And what problem do you most often solve for them?

Is it backache? Is it the energy you create, so they leave feeling uplifted? Is it breathing, and bringing some mindfulness into the class? Get specific about the problem, and about the people you solve it for.

Then think about the group. Is it women over fifty? Young mums? Builders and plumbers? And ask one practical question. Can they afford your rates? There's no point aiming at people who can't. If you really want to serve them, that might become an outreach programme instead.

That isn't hard-nosed. It's kind to them, and it's kind to you. A studio that can't pay its way can't help anybody.

Host: Is there room in all this for what I want?

Tania Huddart: There has to be. Next to "what do my clients get from me", keep a little column that says "what do I want". You want people in your studio who spark you up. People who make you excited to go to work every single day.

Say you love working with horse riders. Then you've got a goal. How are you going to bring more horse riders in? Now you've got something to work towards.

Host: And the ideal client worksheet in the course. Where does that fit?

Tania Huddart: That's where the picture gets a face. Before you start marketing anything, you need to understand who you're talking to. So the worksheet asks you to give that person a name. Their age. Where they live. What they do for work, and whether they have children.

Then the deeper things. Their goals and values. Their interests. Their challenges, and what hurts. Where they spend their time, online and off. Because you can't paint a picture for a crowd. You paint it for one person.

And you might have more than one. A mat class on a Tuesday night and private sessions for people with sore knees could be two different people. Do a page for each.

Host: How do I find their words, and not just mine?

Tania Huddart: Ask them. Three or four targeted questions. You could offer them something small in return. Then sum up what they tell you, and pick out the keywords. Can you find five you can use on your website, in your newsletters and your posts?

Say you're very good at helping new mums feel comfortable in their bodies. Ask them how you do it. Get their words. Then say it back to them the way they said it.

Host: So if I had to say the whole picture in one breath?

Tania Huddart: Who your ideal client is. How you help them. And, most of all, why you're passionate about helping them. That last one is your leader. It's what lets you say, "I'm here because I love doing this." And then, "I've helped people just like you."

Host: Three things to take away?

Tania Huddart: One. You already have a unique position, because nobody else is you. Look for it in your life before Pilates, and in what people thank you for.

Two. Different doesn't mean better. Star the things others can't copy, and say them simply.

Three. Look at the loyal few who bring in most of your income. Learn their words, and paint the picture for them.

Host: And the question to sit with?

Tania Huddart: Think of the clients who would follow you anywhere. If you asked them what you do for them, what would they say?

Host: Everything we talked about today is Chapters 11 and 12 of Tania's Pilatespreneur Academy: What Is the Picture You Are Painting? and Identify Your Ideal Client. You'll find it at taniahuddart.com slash academy.

Next episode, we take all this clarity and do something with it. How do I turn clarity into a plan?

Tania, last word?

Tania Huddart: You don't need to be better than anyone. You need to be clear. When you're clear about who you are, and who you're for, the right people can find you.