Just this month, a coaching client shared she was on track to achieve her annual revenue target. For the first time ever. After many years of studio ownership.
She knew because we have spent the better part of this year organizing her numbers. Tracking revenue, transitioning clients to auto-pay, untangling overhead costs and coming to terms with the gap between what she was earning and what she needed to earn.
None of this came naturally to her. Like the rest of us, she got into studio ownership the old-fashioned way: as a popular teacher with entrepreneurial dreams, it was a natural next step.
Our work together began earlier this year. The studio was clearly busy, but behind the scenes, it was disorganized and confusing. Bookkeeping was successfully outsourced but reports were done manually and didn’t link to a shared software (like Quickbooks or Xero) for easy access. She also had more than a few of those clients who hold more sessions than they actually attend. (See Your Studio Is Full. So Why Isn’t the Money There?) And a recent software migration compounded her financial mystification.
Eight months later, her numbers are clear. She can see her successes with stable, recurring revenue, knows where she stands year-to-date, and is able to see other aspects that need attention, outlined in a way she could act on.
This is what I want for every studio owner.
But before I continue to the math
I want to call attention to the notion that numbers get in the way of the mission.
A teacher I love and respect once told me (with the kind of certainty that can only come from believing you’re entirely right) that my consulting practice was evidence I had stopped taking the teaching seriously. She meant it as a criticism. Her logic, as far as I could follow it, was that a dedicated teacher couldn’t also be this adept in the business side of things.
It’s an unreasonable logic. But I hear whispers like this all the time in our industry.
It goes something like this: focusing too intently on the financial side of the business is somehow at odds with the reason we opened a studio in the first place. The refrain being: The service is what matters most. The numbers are icky, greedy, the wrong approach.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s a hill I’ll die on. Of course, if I die on that hill, it’ll be with a cushy savings account because I am worth it. But I digress.
What I have learned after 24 years of teaching and 17 years of studio ownership is this: being an exceptional teacher is how you take care of clients and how you model your vocation to apprentices. That much is true. But getting comfortable with the numbers is how you protect that service, your ability to take care of those clients and grow the next generation of teachers.
You can have it both ways.
A studio that doesn’t know where it stands financially cannot make good decisions about its future. Full stop. Math isn’t the enemy here. It’s what makes your mission sustainable over the long term. So you can still be here in another ten years, doing the work you love with the clients who need it.
Now back to the numbers
Start with your annual revenue target. If you set one in January, use that. If you didn’t, take last year’s gross revenue and apply a growth rate percentage (see below) that fits your your situation.
About growth rates: this rate is variable to the life of your business.
For an established studio open for 7+ years, stable client base and well-entrenched in the community, a 3-5% growth rate is healthy. It’s enough to keep pace with inflation, annual rent increases and modest pay increases without requiring aggressive client growth.
For a studio in its first 4 years, 15-20% growth is usually realistic. Significant growth at this stage is a strong signal that all the parts of your business are working.
Home studio owners, I see you! Home businesses and those that are deliberately small are a legitimate and under-appreciated model in our industry. Growth percentage matters less than a revenue-stability target. For you, the focus is on covering every cost, including your own compensation, at a scale appropriate for your long-term vision.
Scenarios at mid-year
Here is a working example for a studio with an annual revenue target of $300,000:
Annual target: $300,000
Monthly target: $25,000
First-half target (January–June): $150,000
Scenario A — On track:
First-half actual revenue: $152,000
Revenue needed July–December: $148,000
Monthly average needed: $24,667
If fall is one of your busy seasons, your schedule should handle this comfortably.
Scenario B — Behind (a common pattern in late summer):
First-half actual revenue: $135,000
Gap at mid-year: -$15,000
Revenue needed July–December: $165,000
Monthly average needed: $27,500 (+2,500 above original target)
In Scenario B, the studio needs to earn an additional $2,500 to realize the annual target.
Achieving that monthly premium looks different for every studio. For most of us, it’s some combination of package-to-monthly-membership conversion, a modest rate adjustment and welcoming back 2-3 clients who traveled over the summer. The difference accumulates quickly across a full schedule over four months.
About rate adjustments, memberships and win-backs
Rate increases are easier in September than they are in June: In the early fall, many clients are setting their routines and are least resistant to change. October is harder. November, forget about it. Patterns are usually solidified and there’s more friction with looming holidays and such.
Look at package clients with standing weekly reservations: Introduce a 2-3% increase on packages but calculate a similar or slightly reduced per-session rate for a committed membership. A membership almost always bumps up monthly revenue. If they are booked out through end of year, it’s worth the conversation. Factor in suspensions for the holidays, and most clients are game to switch.
Romance those new intro clients: Greet them warmly, book them with your superstar instructor and follow up. Most of these warm clients know if they’ll continue long-term after the first session. Make it an exceptional experience. Offer a standing time through year-end and present the most compatible pricing option.
Reach out to lapsed clients worth engaging: The ones who summer in Tahoe are likely back home now. Offer their existing schedule with a pricing option to match. Then look further back for clients who haven’t returned since last holiday season. Life gets in the way! Invite them back to a routine.
All this to say, the goal here isn’t to spend September staring blindly at spreadsheets and hustling for business. Give yourself an hour of dedicated attention to this year’s numbers. Doing so will protect you from four months of guessing and stressing.
And my client, the one who is organized and on target for 2026? She didn’t spend hours every month on this. She organized it so she could run a single monthly report and adjust a thing or two based on what she found.
That alone will be enough. And stay tuned for next month where I’ll share some of my tried-and-true approaches to finishing the year strong.
In the meantime, if you need a second set of eyes on your numbers, I’m here to help. I have a complimentary 20-minute call standing by for you with no obligation to meet beyond that. Talking numbers is a form of therapy. Let’s support each other.
Paid subscribers, see below. I have a handy calculator for you to crunch these numbers to your heart’s content.
And thank you for reading.
-Amanda
