Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

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Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Christa Gurka, MSPT, NCPT- Health and Fitness Business Strategist

322 episodes

3 days ago

How to Use Google + Meta Ads to Grow Your Local Studio with Paid Ads Expert Ashley Brock Welcome back to another episode of Female emPOWERED — and Happy New Year, friends! We’re kicking off 2026 with an episode that every Pilates, PT, yoga, or boutique wellness studio owner needs to hear. Today, I’m joined by the brilliant Ashley Brock, founder of the Paid Ads Academy, bestselling author of How to Win with Paid Ads, and a strategist who has managed over $200 million in ad spend. She built a n...

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Entrepreneurship

Health & Fitness

All content for Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life is the property of Christa Gurka, MSPT, NCPT- Health and Fitness Business Strategist and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

How to Use Google + Meta Ads to Grow Your Local Studio with Paid Ads Expert Ashley Brock Welcome back to another episode of Female emPOWERED — and Happy New Year, friends! We’re kicking off 2026 with an episode that every Pilates, PT, yoga, or boutique wellness studio owner needs to hear. Today, I’m joined by the brilliant Ashley Brock, founder of the Paid Ads Academy, bestselling author of How to Win with Paid Ads, and a strategist who has managed over $200 million in ad spend. She built a n...

Show more...

Entrepreneurship

Health & Fitness

Episodes (20/322)

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 320: How to Use Google + Meta Ads to Grow Your Local Studio with Paid Ads Expert Ashley Brock

How to Use Google + Meta Ads to Grow Your Local Studio with Paid Ads Expert Ashley Brock Welcome back to another episode of Female emPOWERED — and Happy New Year, friends! We’re kicking off 2026 with an episode that every Pilates, PT, yoga, or boutique wellness studio owner needs to hear. Today, I’m joined by the brilliant Ashley Brock, founder of the Paid Ads Academy, bestselling author of How to Win with Paid Ads, and a strategist who has managed over $200 million in ad spend. She built a n...

3 days ago

46 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 319: Best of 2025- How to leverage the power of AI for your boutique wellness business

In this episode, Christa takes you behind the scenes of a live training she hosted for her Inner Circle clients, all about how to get better results from AI tools like ChatGPT. If you’ve ever felt stuck staring at a blinking cursor when trying to write content - or ended up with a robotic, boring blog post - this episode is for you. You’ll learn exactly how to write better prompts that get you high-quality content tailored to your brand voice, audience, and goals. What You’ll Learn in This Ep...

1 week ago

46 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 318: Best of 2025- How to determine prices, pay rates and more to keep your business profitable

Welcome back to another episode of the Female EmPOWERed Podcast! I’m your host, Christa Gurka, and today we’re tackling one of the most critical aspects of running a profitable boutique fitness or wellness business—pricing, pay rates, and expenses. If you've ever wondered how to structure your pricing for long-term financial health, this episode is for you. We’ll break down industry statistics on average revenue and profit margins, and I’ll walk you through how to calculate your break-even po...

2 weeks ago

34 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 317: What the Last 8 Months After Selling My Studio Have Really Looked Like

What really happens after you sell your studio? In this candid episode of Female emPOWERed, I share the truth about the first 8 months post-exit from Pilates in the Grove—everything from the unexpected identity shift and grief, to the freedom, pride, and the systems that made a sellable, scalable business possible. If you’re a Pilates, PT, yoga, or boutique fitness owner who wants to stop being the overworked operator and start leading from the front, this one’s for you. I break down the mind...

3 weeks ago

32 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 316: How to Protect Your Studio From Client Poaching and Still Support Your Team

Why Client Poaching Isn’t the Real Problem in Your Studio (and What To Fix Instead) Hosted by: Christa Gurka, PT, OCS | Fit Biz Strategies If you've ever panicked because a client followed an instructor out the door… or you’ve worried that an instructor is “stealing” clients… this episode is going to flip that narrative on its head. Inside our boutique fitness and wellness studios, client poaching feels personal — but it’s actually a symptom of deeper operational issues. And the good news? Yo...

1 month ago

22 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 315: Not All Revenue Is Created Equal: How to Build More Predictable Income in Your Studio

Are you tired of feeling like every month you’re starting from zero in your business? In this episode of Female emPOWERED, host Christa Gurka breaks down one of the most important lessons she learned while preparing to sell her multi-seven-figure studio: not all revenue is created equal. Christa walks you through her Revenue Ladder — a framework that helps you understand where your income is really coming from and how stable it is. You’ll learn the five types of revenue that exist inside bout...

1 month ago

26 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 314: Women in Wellness Summit 2025 Recap: Planning Your 2026 Profit, Freedom & Exit Options

In this episode of the Female emPOWERed podcast, I’m recapping the 2025 Women in Wellness Business Summit we just wrapped in Miami — two days of honest conversations, strategy, and big vision planning for women who own boutique fitness and wellness businesses. If you’re a Pilates studio owner, pelvic health physical therapist, yoga or barre studio owner, gym owner, or hybrid wellness practice, this recap will help you audit 2025 and create a real, numbers-backed plan for 2026. Inside, I break...

1 month ago

31 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 313: What to know if you are hiring a digital marketing agency

Thinking about hiring a marketing agency for your boutique fitness or wellness business? In this episode, Christa Gurka shares exactly what you need to know before you spend a single dollar on paid ads. Christa breaks down the essential marketing metrics and strategies every studio owner should understand — from CPC, CPA, and CAC to lifetime value (LTV) and conversion rates — so you can make informed decisions and avoid wasting money. Whether you run a Pilates studio, yoga studio, or private-...

1 month ago

24 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 312: What You’re Really Paying For — and the ROI of Giving Yourself Space to Grow

Have you ever wondered what people are really paying for when they work with you? In this week’s episode of Female emPOWERED, host Christa Gurka shares insights sparked by a recent VIP Day in Atlanta with Ashley Brock and a powerful group of women entrepreneurs — plus a timely reminder from Denise Duffield-Thomas’s Chill & Prosper podcast. This episode dives deep into the real value behind your services, the transformative power of investing in mentorship, and how giving yourself space t...

1 month ago

26 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 311: How to Spot the Difference Between a Marketing Problem and an Operations Problem

Not sure why your business isn’t growing — or where the problem actually is? In this episode of Female emPOWERED, host Christa Gurka breaks down how to diagnose problems inside your boutique fitness or wellness business so you can fix the right thing — not just the most obvious thing. Too often, studio owners say “my marketing isn’t working” when the real issue is a gap in their sales system or operations process. Just like identifying the root cause of a client’s pain, you need to know wheth...

2 months ago

23 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 310: Avoiding HR Headaches: Scheduling Do’s and Don’ts for Boutique Fitness Studios with HR Expert Katie Santos

Confused about whether your team should be classified as employees or independent contractors? You’re not alone — and getting it wrong can cost you big time. In this episode of Female emPOWERED, host Christa Gurka sits down with returning guest Katie Santos, founder of FitnessHR, to unpack everything studio and wellness business owners need to know about HR compliance, classification, and protecting your business. Together, Christa and Katie break down real-world examples from Pilates, yoga, ...

2 months ago

58 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 309: How to Build a Website That Attracts Clients: SEO & Design Tips with Jessica Freeman

In this episode of Female emPOWERED, Christa sits down with website designer and SEO expert Jess Freeman, the creative behind both the Pilates in the Grove and Christa Gurka websites. Together, they unpack exactly what makes a boutique fitness or wellness website stand out in 2025—and what you need to prioritize to attract more clients and rank higher on Google. Jess shares her proven process for stress-free website builds, her favorite platforms for service-based businesses, and her expert i...

2 months ago

40 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 308: Afraid to Niche Down? How to Make the Transition With Confidence

In this week’s Female emPOWERED episode, Christa breaks down one of the most powerful—and misunderstood—decisions you’ll ever make as a boutique fitness or wellness business owner: finding your niche. If you’ve ever worried that niching down means turning clients away, leaving money on the table, or boxing yourself in, this episode will change your perspective. Christa shares why narrowing your focus actually expands your impact and profitability, how to identify your ideal client, and what i...

2 months ago

33 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 307: Utilization Rates for New Team Members: What's Good?

Female emPOWERED Podcast | Episode 307 🎙️ How to Ramp Up New Hires Without Killing Your Profit Margin Are you staring at your new team member’s half-empty schedule and wondering, “Did I make a mistake?” You’re not alone — and you’re not losing money (even if it feels like it). In this episode, Christa Gurka walks you through how to set realistic utilization expectations for new instructors or clinicians, how to design smart compensation structures, and what you can do if your new hire isn’t ...

3 months ago

24 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Podcast Episode 306: Introduction to Google Ads for Your Brick & Mortar

Are Google Ads worth it for your studio or practice? If you’ve ever wondered why ads don’t seem to work for you—or why you’re spending thousands each month without seeing results—this episode is for you. I’m walking you through the anatomy of a Google Ad and breaking down how to set up campaigns the right way so you can start generating consistent, high-quality leads. Inside the episode, you’ll learn: The three types of Google Ad campaigns every brick-and-mortar business should run: non-brand...

3 months ago

27 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 305: How to Transition a Client To Another Team Member

Welcome back to another episode of Female emPOWERED, the podcast for female boutique fitness and wellness business owners. I’m your host, Christa Gurka, and today we’re diving into one of the toughest leadership challenges for studio and clinic owners: how to transition clients from your personal schedule to a new team member’s schedule—without losing trust, clients, or revenue. If you’ve ever felt nervous about handing off your long-time Pilates clients, physical therapy patients, or yoga st...

3 months ago

26 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 304: Compensation Models for PT, Pilates, and Wellness Businesses

How you pay your team can make or break your business. In today’s episode of Female emPOWERED, I’m breaking down the most common compensation models for Pilates instructors, yoga teachers, and physical therapists—and why getting this wrong can destroy your margins, retention, and culture. Too many studio and practice owners overpay staff, set up complicated systems nobody understands, or tie pay directly to percentages that cut profits in half. It doesn’t have to be this way. Inside this epis...

3 months ago

23 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 303: How Strong Branding Builds Stronger Businesses — Insights from Fhitting Room Founder Kari Saitowitz

How do you build a boutique fitness brand that stands out in a crowded market? And how do you balance staying true to your values while also marketing for growth? In this episode of Female emPOWERED, I’m joined by my dear friend and returning guest Kari Saitowitz — founder of Fhitting Room in NYC and current CMO of New York Sports Club. With a background at American Express, Pepsi, and a Harvard MBA, Kari blends world-class marketing expertise with the real-life lessons of building and scalin...

4 months ago

54 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 302: Get Out of the Day-to-Day With a DIY Business Retreat with Latasha Doyle

Do you ever feel like you’re running in circles in your business — putting out fires, answering team questions, juggling clients — and never getting ahead? In this episode of Female emPOWERED, I’m joined again by my go-to content strategist and business bestie Latasha Doyle, founder of Uncanny Content . Together, we dive into the real-life benefits of stepping away from the day-to-day and giving yourself a CEO Day, VIP Day, or DIY business retreat. This isn’t about working harder — it’s about...

4 months ago

50 minutes

Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

Episode 301: Revenue Streams: Workshops for Technicians

: 🎙️ Female emPOWERED Podcast Episode: How Hosting Workshops Can Grow Your Revenue, Community & Credibility Episode Summary: In this episode, Christa Gurka shares everything studio owners need to know about hosting in-house workshops — not just attending them. If you’ve been searching for new ways to increase revenue, train your team, and build your brand’s authority in your local wellness community, workshops may be your next power move. Christa breaks down exactly how and why hosting ...

4 months ago

27 minutes