Female emPOWERED: Winning in Business & Life

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 prof...

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 marketin...

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 D...

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🎙️ 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 y...

Welcome to the 300th episode of the Female emPOWERED podcast! I never imagined we’d reach this milestone, and I want to use this special moment to honor the women who made this possible.

In this heartfelt solo episode, I’m reflecting on the incredible journey from launching the podcast in 2021 to now. But more importantly, I’m celebrating the designers, mentors, team members, clients, business besties, and podcast guests who helped ...

Episode Summary:

Thinking about selling your fitness or wellness business one day? This episode is a must-listen. Christa Gurka sits down with Mitch McGinley, founder of Boutique Fitness Broker, to unpack the highs, lows, and lessons learned from her own seven-figure studio sale.

Together, they explore what makes a business truly sellable, how deal structures are formed, what to expect during due diligence, and how SBA financing...

In this episode of the Female Empowered Podcast, Christa Gurka tackles one of the most important mindset shifts a wellness entrepreneur can make: moving from being an operator to becoming a true business owner. If you're feeling stuck in the daily grind, overwhelmed by decision fatigue, or like your business can’t function without you - this episode is for you.

Christa shares insights from her own journey of growing Pilates in ...

From Changing Room to 3 Locations: Jennifer Gelfand’s Journey to Building a Transformational Wellness Brand

In this episode of the Female emPOWERed Podcast, I’m joined by Jennifer Gelfand, pelvic floor physical therapist, yoga teacher, and founder of Root to Rise Physical Therapy in Maine. What started as a one-woman show treating patients in a yoga studio changing room has grown into a thriving, multi-location, multidisciplinary we...

In this episode of the Female Empowered Podcast, host Christa Gurka - physical therapist, studio owner, and business mentor - shares actionable strategies for conducting a mid-year business review. Aimed at Pilates studio owners and wellness entrepreneurs, this episode walks you through how to reset and refocus your business for a strong finish to the year.

Christa dives into the core areas to evaluate during a quarterly check-in, i...

In this inspiring episode of the Female Empowered Podcast, host Christa Gurka welcomes Erin Canada, the founder of Paradise Pilates in North Carolina. Erin shares how her personal experience with chronic back pain and a love for Pilates led her to launch not one, but three successful studio locations in just 13 months.

This conversation dives deep into the transition from instructor to business owner, highlighting the importance of ...

In this episode of the Female Empowered Podcast, host Christa Gurka reflects on a powerful insight from a recent Inner Circle retreat - your greatest strengths can sometimes become your biggest obstacles. Drawing from a CliftonStrengths assessment she completed with her mentees, Christa unpacks how common entrepreneurial traits like “achiever,” “empathy,” and “strategic” thinking can work for or against you, depending on how they&a...

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 b...

In this episode of the Female Empowered Podcast, host Christa Gurka addresses a challenge many wellness entrepreneurs face: a summer marketing slump. July, in particular, can feel slow - with fewer leads, lower engagement, and conversions that seem to stall. But before you scrap your strategy entirely, Christa explains why a full overhaul may not be necessary.

Instead, she encourages business owners to diagnose before they pivot. Us...

In this powerful and validating episode, host Christa Gurka dives into a topic many business owners feel but rarely name: the invisible emotional labor that comes with leadership. From managing team morale to handling client dissatisfaction, making decisions, and being the emotional safety net for everyone - women business owners often carry an unseen weight that leads to burnout, resentment, and stress.

Christa shares her own exper...

In this candid and insightful episode, host Christa Gurka tackles a topic that’s often misunderstood in the fitness and wellness space: accountability. Speaking directly to both business owners and employees, Christa breaks down what accountability really means—and why it’s a necessary ingredient for a thriving, sustainable business.

She shares her perspective as a long-time business owner and leader, explaining how clear expectatio...

In this powerful follow-up episode, Christa Gurka shares part two of her journey to selling her Pilates studio, Pilates in the Grove. After a near miss at the closing table in 2024, Christa regrouped, healed, and ultimately closed a successful deal in March 2025. 

This episode is both a personal story and a practical guide for boutique fitness and wellness business owners considering a future sale.

Christa walks listeners through wha...

In this week’s episode of Female Empowered, host Christa Gurka is sharing a story she's never told publicly before - the story of the time she almost sold her business, Pilates in the Grove.

This is part one of a two-part series where she'll walk you through the emotional, strategic, and operational journey behind trying to sell the business she built from the ground up. From a modest $2,400 investment in 2008 to a multi-l...

In this episode of the Female Empowered podcast, host Christa Gurka breaks down the financial and operational differences between class packages and membership models for fitness and wellness businesses.

While class packages offer flexibility, they often lead to inconsistent cash flow, making it harder to forecast revenue and plan for growth. Christa shares research and real-world examples showing how transitioning to a membership m...

Welcome back to another episode of the Female Empowered podcast! In this week’s solo episode, I’m diving into one of my favorite topics: membership models and how they can be a game-changer for fitness, wellness, and healthcare business owners.

Whether you run a Pilates studio, a physical therapy clinic, or any other service-based business, a well-designed membership model can provide more predictable revenue, improve client retenti...