140 | Adding products to a service based business with Robin Long, The Balanced Life

Today we’re so happy to have Robin Long on for Episode 141 of Proof to Product. Robin is the founder of The Balanced Life,  a website that provides quick and effective Pilates workouts for busy women. Robin made the transition from the traditional teaching model of working in studios, gyms and training private clients to serve her clients online.  On today’s episode, Robin shares how she shifted from the more traditional service offering into a successful membership model for her service based business. She tells us why she has decided to grow her business slowly and organically - ensuring that she’s building a business that fits her lifestyle and brings her joy.  Robin and I dive into how she’s used drop shipping to add additional income streams to her business and why she decided to create physical products for her service based business. She opens up about her experience with building her team including why going on maternity leave has helped her to put more strategic systems in place. We talk about setting boundaries, hesitations she had before moving to a membership model and her advice for someone who is just getting started in business.    ON TODAY’S EPISODE:  Why Robin shifted from the traditional teaching model of pilates to serving clients online How she came to have a membership model, community-based program Hesitations that Robin faced when moving to a membership model Setting boundaries for yourself as an entrepreneur How Robin uses the drop shipping method in her business Robin’s thought process behind adding products to her service-based business Using products as a membership perk  Challenges she’s had since adding products to her business Why Robin believes in slow, intentional growth for her company Robin’s experience of growing from a solo entrepreneur to building a team How being forced to give up control has been a blessing for her Taking a sabbatical and putting systems in place for a seamless workflow Robin’s advice for the business owner who is just getting started Gaining inspiration from other industries and taking that into the fitness world to do her own thing What’s next for The Balanced Life   RESOURCES:  Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself   MEET ROBIN: Robin Long lives and works in sunny Santa Barbara, CA as the founder and CEO of The Balanced Life – a website that provides quick & effective Pilates workouts for busy women. She is a certified Pilates instructor and passionate about creating programs that empower, strengthen, restore, and rejuvenate her clients from the inside out. She believes in a guilt-free, balanced approach to health & fitness and is passionate about helping women love and care for their bodies in the midst of busy lives. Outside of The Balanced Life, she can be found chasing her 6- year-old daughter, 3-year-old son, and 1-year-old twins, sneaking in 10-minute workouts during the kids' bath time, and spending time at the beach. CONNECT WITH ROBIN:   Website: https://thebalancedlifeonline.com/ Facebook: @thebalancedlife Instagram: @thebalancedlife Pinterest: @robinlong   SUBSCRIBE To subscribe on iOS, go to the iTunes page and subscribe to Proof to Product. On Android, you can listen using your favorite podcast app.  WRITE A REVIEW Writing a review on iTunes will help other product based business owners find Proof to Product as they are working to up level, scale, and build profitable and sustainable companies. FOLLOW PROOF TO PRODUCT Follow Proof to Product on Instagram for the latest updates. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST If you'd like to receive more information about our upcoming episodes of Proof to Product including show notes and information about our guests, head over to www.prooftoproduct.com and sign up for our email list.   SHARE Be sure to share Proof to Product with all of the product based business owners that you know!    ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, Proof to Product has worked with thousands of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!

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Ranked in the top 1% of ALL podcasts, the Proof to Product podcast is your trusted resource for sustainable business growth - especially if you make and sell physical products! Join Katie Hunt, each week as she shares strategies & solutions to enhance your sales & marketing so that you’re building a business that supports your best life. If you’ve ever asked yourself can I make money selling physical products? Am I ready to sell my products wholesale to stores like Target, Anthropologie, Nordstrom or Barnes & Noble? When should I consider hiring a sales team or sales reps? Can I really turn my passion into profits? Whether you’re a just starting out on your business journey or you’ve been at it a while growing an empire, this show is for you. Proof to Product is like on-demand business school for product sellers spanning a wide range of industries. Whether you’re in home decor, apparel, beauty, food & beverage, hand-made items, jewelry, consumer gifts or the stationery world, you’ll gather new ideas each week to help you grow your profit, build your team and lead with integrity. Host Katie Hunt and her guests bring you actionable ways to expand your product line, manufacturing overseas, optimize your e-commrce websites on Shopify, Faire, Etsy, Abound, Tundra, Squarespace or in brick & mortar locations. How to start or scale wholesale sales including pitching stores, wholesale outreach, trade show exhibition, working with sales reps, managing inventory, warehousing product, sales systems, wholesale follow-up strategies and working with key accounts. Marketing strategies for small businesses including content creation, leveraging tik tok and instagram tactics without feeling burned out, why you can’t rely solely on social media for sales and why email marketing systems on platforms like Klaviyo, Flodesk and Active Campaign are so powerful. Listen in as Katie and our guest experts help you strategize and tackle your biggest business goals. Host Katie Hunt brings a unique perspective to entrepreneurship. Since 2011, she’s helped thousands of product brands get their products on the shelves of their favorite retail stores through her Paper Camp program (www.prooftoproduct.com/papercamp). Prior to that she worked in the corporate world for over a decade leading business development and marketing teams. She has two MBAs - one in finance and one in marketing. And, she owned & operated her own product based business for over 8 years, selling her products to stores throughout the world from her garage. Katie knows the struggles you face as a product based business and she’s here to pull back the curtain and share her best kept secrets so that you don’t have to learn things the hard way. Find our free trainings & resources for product based business owners at www.prooftoproduct.com/resources