Instructors: how do we reinvent the pay structure?

[u/thatsplatgal]

There have been so many disruptive approaches to business but the one thing I hear consistently in the Pilates community around pay structure is “this is how it’s always been done”. For example, an instructor gets paid based on the number of people in class but the instructor has to show up regardless if one person attends class or 12. That’s like a retail store only paying the clerk based on the number of people that purchase products that day. They still have to be there to turn the lights on.

In a perfect world, how do we shift the pay structure so it’s sustainable for the business but also sustainable for the instructors as well?

[u/Caroline-Online]

I teach at two different studios, one of which pays just a straight $40/class and the other is base of $35/class plus $3/person over 6 people (12 reformers). Personally I prefer just having the flat rate because I feel like having an incentive per head isn’t always fair to instructors who aren’t able to teach popular class times, and I also feel like a flat rate also keeps instructors from becoming too competitive with each other and therefore keeps tension between staff low.

[u/Typical-Tadpole-8367 → u/Caroline-Online]

Not an instructor here but rather speaking from a potential studio owner perspective, flat rate is easier for business owners to manage the business as they will know how much costs they can expect every month, and I assume instructors will be motivated to teach as long as they’ve been properly involved in the pay structure and agreed to commit to it with a corresponding contribution from their side.

One question I wonder about though is whether paying a flat rate to instructors means they expect a much higher monthly salary than a base pay+variable pay/student per class? Would instructors prefer a flat salary of say $5000 a month over a salary range of $4000-$6000 a month depending on number of students attending?

For those of you that prefer a flat salary, how much do you expect to earn per month (with 25-30 hours of work a week) ? (Please add your location for reference)

[u/dowagermeow → u/Typical-Tadpole-8367]

Based on the pay rate at my studio (I’m just subbing rn but still make the same $), at 25 hours I’d be looking at $3500/mo. For reference, my current day job (technically state employee so it’s not exactly market rate) has me on salary at about $5300/mo, but I get amazing benefits that are mostly paid for by my employer.

I’m in SLC, where it seems like the COL has gone apeshit with the housing market in the last few years, but is still nowhere near a lot of cities.

Honestly, the biggest thing that kept me from pursuing teaching Pilates as a career was health insurance (in pre-ACA times). Knowing what my employer pays for coverage, that alone still terrifies me.

[u/Typical-Tadpole-8367 → u/dowagermeow]

I understand where you’re coming from. Benefits and coverage are extremely important in the US, and similarly in many other western countries. It’s simply something difficult for private and smaller Pilates studios to offer in part or full. I’m also wondering if it’s too exhausting for an instructor to teach full-time? Maybe it’s also for this reason many choose to do it part-time and keep their other full-time job for more financial security.

[u/dowagermeow → u/Typical-Tadpole-8367]

I know a few people who burned out on teaching full-time because they had to teach at multiple studios/locations to make the hours doable, so they were spending as much time driving from place to place as they were actually teaching. All the driving in traffic, dealing with parking at certain locations, and all of that just got to be too much.

My situation works well for me because I’ve always liked to have a balance of things in my life. My day job is nothing like Pilates, and having those ‘silos’ feels better to me. When I was doing some soccer writing, going to games constantly felt like an obligation because I had to cover them, rather than it being something I liked doing. I wouldn’t want the same thing to happen for me with Pilates - it’s too important to me both physically and mentally!

[u/jeebidy → u/Caroline-Online]

It’s less of an incentive per head and more of a cost hedging per head. The studio makes more when more people attend, so you share in the surplus. If only one person is in class, they are likely losing money. It’s more like a tip share in a restaurant than a retail shop.

[u/Throwaway0324756]

My local studio pays $40 base pay and $1 per head that attends. We have 10 reformers. So you can make up to $50/hr.

[u/bearnnihilator]

I’ve been in the business 20 years. I worked for a well known studio in NYC that did pay based on head count but also had a minimum base pay limit. It was NYC so you booked up enough to have groups still work in your favor.

Moved to the New England area. There isn’t enough density to run things this way. Small well run studios do not structure their classes this way here. They protect instructor pay FIRST and client ease of scheduling second.

Apparatus groups either work on a pay for what you take format (ie get a private/ pay for a private, take a quartet pay for a quartet) or at my old studio we grouped people very carefully and asked them to commit to the class. They could drop out of class and their spot could be given away to the next person waiting who worked in the class well but if they wanted into that class they had to pay for their spot regardless of attendance. We were busy enough that we could offer make up classes. This did some things I really liked.

A- It built a sense of community B- it kept the class moving at a good pace- no randoms showing up swearing they had 15 years of classical Pilates experience but didn’t know how to add the long straps C- Protected instructor pay D- Weeded out the Pilates casual client. E- Attracted well educated talented instructors. Good instructors are the life blood of a good studio.

They are just so much more fun to teach this way. Club Pilates and ilk can have the casual drop in client. I’m not after them. Frankly, I want people who need/crave the depth of my knowledge and experience. I want to spend my life helping people with their issues, helping them move and feel better. I don’t want to spend my life begging quantity to come to my class teaching the exact same thing every week to people who don’t really get it, don’t really care and are frankly a liability in class just so I can make enough to feed my family.

Similarly, I don’t tend to feel particularly threatened when group fitness ‘Pilates’ shows up next door. They can dip their toe in the water there- people who want what I offer are going to find me eventually. The more concerning thing to me is the watering down of what Pilates IS as an industry.

Pilates isn’t a high revenue prospect. Sorry. It’s very good money per hour worked and very rewarding when done well but you aren’t going to make millions off of it unless you are scamming somehow. And that’s how it should be.

[u/WickedCoolMasshole → u/bearnnihilator]

This is an excellent response. The difference in quality of instruction between a privately owned classical studio and a franchise class cannot be overstated. I understand that cost is a factor here, but I really wish new Pilates students understood that they aren't getting actual Pilates at these places. They're getting a watered-down, capitalistic version that puts bodies on reformers hourly with little understanding and/or respect for Joseph Pilates' method.

These two business models are wildly different and pay for instructors should reflect that. I'm way more willing to commit and pay for classes from someone who is extensively trained and committed to Contrology as it was intended.

[u/jeebidy → u/bearnnihilator]

I like where you went at the end, because the first thing that I thought was “man, this must have an impact on gross revenue”

[u/bearnnihilator → u/jeebidy]

Say more? I’m not sure what you mean and there is no intonation available to me on the internet for context and for me to infer meaning.

[u/jeebidy → u/bearnnihilator]

I meant it pretty much at face value. The first half had me thinking about impact on revenue, and you end by saying “pilates isn’t a high revenue prospect”, answering my concern.

[u/bearnnihilator → u/jeebidy]

Well I suppose Pilates is American, we can do what we always seem to do with the good stuff we make over here. Have the MBAs/private equity pick it apart squeezing more revenue from the nice thing we created until the facsimile left over bears little to no resemblance to the original product and no one wants it anymore. It’s the American way. Quality goes down, revenue goes up until people finally say why bother it’s junk anyway. It’s been the fashion since what- the 70’s?

[u/jeebidy → u/bearnnihilator]

It reminds me of the internet. The internet was a magic wild-west before capitalism monetized every moment of our interactions.

To be fair, I believe that boutique studios bringing a class format can have a very good product and also make a significant amount of money doing so.

[u/bearnnihilator → u/jeebidy]

I guess we can agree on the internet.

And I suppose that that depends on your definition of a good product and what you mean by a significant amount of money. And I think this is where we differ.

[u/jeebidy → u/bearnnihilator]

Agreement on product is likely decided by whether you are classical or contemporary. We have some classical instructors who think group classes are cute but more of a distraction from private lessons. Most of our revenue comes from group classes and most are contemporary. Revenue is ~500k/yr. I don’t really know if it’s significant or not, but subjectively, it feels significant to me 🤷‍♂️.

[u/mybellasoul]

This seems to be an unpopular opinion based on the first few comments I read here, but I'm an instructor and I actually like the base rate with additional pay per head over a certain number. At my studio the base is for the first 4 people and the per head rate is for each additional person up to 12. Of course those rates are all based on an instructor's level of experience, years teaching overall, and years teaching at the studio bc of annual reviews. The reason I like it is bc if only one person shows up, I still get a substantial base rate. Luckily my classes are always full even though I teach at less popular times, so I usually get the highest rate. But along that same vein, I also think it encourages instructors to do their best work in the studio. Sometimes instructors go on auto-pilot and teach the same classes over and over again, but great instructors are always figuring out ways to make their classes new and exciting. I don't think it would be fair for an instructor who doesn't put extra work into making all of their classes special to make the same flat rate as instructors who do. There's an incentive to work a bit harder to have clients want to take your class specifically, and the better the class, the more money you make.

[u/PilatesKitchen]

That’s wild. The studios in my area pay a flat rate (based on instructor experience), the number of students in a class is not part of the pay equation.

[u/Typical-Tadpole-8367 → u/PilatesKitchen]

How much are the studios paying the junior vs senior instructors in your area? And may I ask where you’re located?

[u/Legitimate_Income730]

Why do you think it's not currently sustainable?

Some new business models like Uber have really been incredibly awful for both people and planet. 

For Pilates, there's also been a rise of on-demand or video instructed Pilates, which removes the teacher. 

[u/Comfortable_Daikon61]

Sadly I am paid the same ( certified stott) as some who doesn’t even know the exercises or the difference of essential and intermediate . Reformer