November 11, 2025 • 26 mins
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 to think (not just do) can completely change the trajectory of your business.
Whether you’re a Pilates studio owner, yoga instructor, or private-pay PT, you’ll walk away with practical clarity about:
- Why your clients pay for energy, clarity, and transformation — not just time or tactics.
- The unseen ROI of investing in mentorship, masterminds, and VIP experiences.
- How to design a business that actually supports your life — not the other way around.
- Why the next level of your success starts with simply stepping into the right room.
Key Takeaways
- 💡 Your quirks are your differentiators. The traits you downplay — compassion, creativity, vision — are often what your clients value most.
- 💬 People don’t pay for information. They pay for confidence, clarity, and a container that helps them see what’s possible.
- 🧠 Growth requires space to think. True transformation happens when you step away from the day-to-day and surround yourself with high-level thinkers.
- 💸 The ROI isn’t just financial. It’s in who you become — more decisive, confident, and aligned.
- ✨ You get to design success your way. Scale or simplify, expand or refine — your version of success is valid and enough.
Timestamps
00:00 — Intro: Christa’s Atlanta VIP Day and the spark for this episode
03:10 — Childhood patterns that shape how we view money and worth
08:20 — What people are really paying for in your business
14:45 — The power of proximity: why stepping into the room changes everything
20:00 — The true ROI of mentorship and investing in yourself
26:00 — Permission to design your business your way
30:00 — Final takeaway: You’re already ready for your next level
Resources & Mentions
- Denise Duffield-Thomas – Chill & Prosper Podcast: “What Are You Really Charging For?”
- Learn more about Christa’s business mentorship programs at www.christagurka.com
- Follow Christa on Instagram: @ChristaGurka
Call to Action
If this episode lit a fire under you, share it on Instagram and tag @ChristaGurka
— and tell us what room you’re ready to step into next.
Ready to get the clarity and community that fuel your next level?
👉 Explore mentorship with Christa at www.christagurka.com
.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Christa Gurka | Fit Biz Str (00:01):
Hey there everyone.
Welcome back to another episodeof the Female Empowered Podcast.
I'm your host, Christa Gurka,and I just wrapped up an
incredible VIP day in Atlantawith Ashley Brock, win with paid
ads as her program.
she's a paid ads coach forGoogle Meta, all things
(00:22):
Pinterest, YouTube, all thestuff.
I think at the time this airs,it will probably be almost a
month or at least a coupleweeks.
This was back in October, but itwas so amazing between Ashley,
her team, the four other amazingwomen business owners that
shared the room with me.
(00:42):
My brain is like buzzing,buzzing, buzzing, buzzing ever
since.
And you know, have you ever hadthose experiences where
something this.
Shakes you loose and you get allinspired again and you re,
you're reminded when you startedand also like who you're
becoming and how exciting it is,where all the paths you have to
(01:03):
go down.
Well this is exactly what thisday for was for me.
It, it was, and I wanna sharewith you some takeaways that I
had.
'cause they're much more than.
Takeaways, like how to optimizemy Instagram bio, which I did,
and how to optimize my YouTubechannel.
But the bigger takeaways arewhat, where the real
(01:23):
transformation happens.
So since I sold Pilates in theGrove, it's given me the space
to really dive into my newcompany, which is fitness
strategies.
it's my business mentorshipcoaching program for women in.
Fitness, wellness, andhealthcare.
And I've really now been able togo all in on this business.
And even though it's a buddingbusiness, it's a baby business,
(01:45):
I am fusing everything that Ilearned while growing and
crawling through the muck,getting Pilates in the grove to
a seven figure business that,you know, was a valuable asset
that I was able to sell.
So I'm learning, I'm reallytrying to, from the beginning.
Systematize the business.
(02:06):
Get clear on my messaging, learnto delegate, create better
processes from the front end andthe back end, and grow with
intention.
So while.
For the end of my Pilates andgrowth career, what I wanted
was, you know, multiple sevenfigures, multiple locations, and
(02:26):
an eventual exit.
I don't want that, at leastright now, for Fitbit
Strategies, I wanna create abusiness that affords me the
lifestyle with a great salary.
And the flexibility to now beable to travel to see my kids
and, you know, travel to see myfamily.
I'm done with the hustle andeven though I'm, I'm such a high
achiever, I will never be ableto just sit and do nothing.
(02:49):
I have two modes.
I'm like, go, go, go or sit andbinge and watch Netflix for 18
hours a day and not get outta mypajamas.
I wish I could find some middleground.
If anyone out there has help,advice for me, share it with me.
I'm all ears, but let me notveer off track.
While I was coming back from theVIP day, I think I got up at
(03:11):
five in the morning and on thewhole plane ride back, I was
going through my notes and I wasreally excited to dive into.
I, I'm so excited to share withyou.
I have two new programs that I'mgonna be launching in 2026.
I'm really, really excited.
I will be, Announcing them atthe summit in a couple weeks.
So those of you that are comingto the summit, you'll get to
hear all about them.
(03:32):
But while I was on the plancoming back, I listened to this
podcast, who's another podcast,host that I listened to.
Denise Def.
Phil Thomas, who has Chill andProsper.
I love this podcast.
It's, she's also the author ofthe book Get Rich, lucky Bitch.
I love it.
and her podcast episode wascalled, what are you Really
Charging for?
And I listened to it on theplane and then it like hit me.
I was like, this is exactly whatI witnessed and what I got out
(03:54):
of the VIP room when I wasthere, that I spent five figures
on for eight hours.
It was amazing, and I just wannashare it with you.
So this is what I wanted to cometo the episode with and share
with you because what people areactually paying for when they
work with you is not necessarilywhat they're getting in that one
(04:14):
hour.
Sometimes it's the bigger ROIcomes from simply stepping into
the right room where they feelvalued, where they feel
supported, whether that's intheir health journey, in their
recovery journey, in some sortof wellness or something,
whatever that is.
Or for you as a business owner,why investing in your own growth
(04:38):
is always worth it.
Because how you come out of therooms you put yourself in.
Is truly, truly where thevaluable ROI is.
So part of what happens, and Ithink this was part of what she
was saying in the podcast thatreally resonated with me.
A lot of us get labeled certainthings as kids or we.
Here are things as kids like forexample, I've shared the story a
(05:01):
lot.
I was raised by a single mom.
There was three of us.
My parents got divorced when Iwas seven.
My brother was five and mysister was three, I think.
So seven, six and three,something like that.
Very young.
So my mom was in her earlythirties and one of the things
we heard a lot also, I'm a kidof the eighties, so like we
can't afford that.
That's too expensive.
(05:23):
You don't need that.
And again, if you're a Gen Xkid, you definitely heard money
doesn't grow in trees.
What are you trying to giveelectricity to the whole
neighborhood?
Right?
Do you live in a barn?
All of these crazy things.
So, or maybe you were.
Someone who was very caring andnurturing, or maybe you were
somebody that always had goodideas but changed your mind all
(05:43):
the time and somebody told youthings like you change your mind
too often.
You've gotta stick withsomething or you're being too
much or you are being bossy.
And so we internalize that andthen we take that with us into
adulthood because most of usthink that's how everyone lives.
Right?
Especially when we hear that asa child.
But one of the things I'd loveto invite you to do that I've
(06:03):
learned over the last Eightyears is maybe that's where your
magic lives.
So are there lots of PilateStudios?
Yes.
Especially now they're openingon every corner.
They're like more popular thanStarbucks.
But I don't worry, I neverworried about other people, the
competition coming in becausenobody can replicate me.
Believe me when I tell you I'mone in a million, you do not
(06:26):
want another one of me.
But.
I've leaned into that ratherthan can somebody teach Pilates
better than me?
Yeah.
Maybe.
Can somebody run a business thesame as me?
Yeah.
But they cannot take what I havemy attention to detail, my
customer service, my, you know,going above and beyond and my
(06:48):
perspective that I have onbusiness.
I think one of my strengths is Ican kind of see.
Ahead.
I'm very much probably'cause I'msuch an overthinker, because I
can anticipate other people'sneeds.
Before they even sometimesanticipated.
And so I see this every singleday in the women and the
(07:09):
business owners that I mentor.
the studio owner who is alwaysthe caretaker.
maybe she now runs a businessthat is built deep on connection
and communication and community,and that's really important for
her.
Or the visionary Me.
Maybe raise your hand if that'syou who can't stop
brainstorming.
That's me.
I'm the one that.
leads with team innovation andevolution and how can we make
(07:33):
this better and optimize it,right?
Or the perfectionist who isafraid of wa people watching her
fail, that becomes the peoplepleaser or the one who really
has to make everything perfectbefore they launch those little
quirks.
Those things are the things thatpeople pay for.
Okay.
Compassion, creativity, empathy.
Your vision often are the exactqualities that people are
(07:56):
looking for and that yourclients value most.
I just had a coaching call witha woman, a really successful pt,
who is in my inner circle.
At least a year ago, maybe eventwo, I can't remember now, but I
haven't been working with herfor a year.
She actually leveled up intoanother program that I'm super
excited for and she called andasked me if she could have a
coaching call with me'cause shewanted to brainstorm ideas and
(08:19):
we got through the call and evenwhen I'm doing it and thinking,
thinking through it, I was like,is this even valuable for her?
it's stuff I don't know.
I seem I can telling her stuffthat maybe she already knows and
at the end of the call she said.
You are so good at brainstormingideas and then also giving a
real good execution plan becauseI have this ideas, but I can't
(08:42):
get them on paper and I can'tfigure out how to make them work
for me.
you are really good at thisbrainstorming thing, and I was
like, huh, maybe she is valuingthat, right?
And so I invite you, I encourageyou to think about.
W you may not feel you may oh, Idon't know.
Is this really valuable forpeople?
And that's exactly what they'repaying for.
(09:04):
So the next time you findyourself thinking, oh, I don't
know.
What am I bringing to the tableis enough, be like, what is the
actual differentiator that I'mbringing to the table?
Right?
Maybe I'm giving this personspace to move in a comfortable
way or heal in a timeline thatis comfortable for them.
(09:24):
Alright, so I want you, they'renot buying hours or worksheets
or strategy or a specificoutcome.
They're buying the wholetransformation.
And one of the, the firstbusiness coaches I ever had used
to say, the transformationstarts with a transaction.
So that starts with peopleopting in to pay you for your
(09:46):
services.
Right.
Clients don't come to yourstudio because you are the only
one teaching Pilates or doingphysical therapy in your town.
No, there's lots of them.
They come because of how youmake them feel, how you make
them feel, seen, how you makethem feel safe, how you make
them feel supported, how youmake them feel strong.
They don't necessarily pay youfor a workout.
(10:07):
They're paying for the beliefand for the feeling and the
gratitude in themselves.
That they can move in a certainway.
So when I run a VIP day or astrategy or retreat, more of
them are coming in 2026 becauseI really love them.
Yes, we do talk about numbers.
We do talk about systems.
We do talk about operations.
(10:28):
But more often than not, whatpeople walk away from is
permission to lean into thething that they already wanna
do, permission to raise theirprices, permission to simplify
their operations, permission tolet someone go, permission to
build the business that theyactually want, not the ones that
(10:49):
they think they should have.
I want that for you too, myfriends.
I want you to gain thisinformation, to gain this
feeling'cause it really istransformational.
And how do you do that?
You put yourself in the room.
Where the conversations aredifferent, you put yourself in
(11:12):
the room to think and grow.
And when you're paying to be inthat room, you belong there
regardless of who else is in theroom.
When I first joined the boutiquefitness, coaching group, the
Masterminds, it was for seven 80figure business owners, and
while I was a seven figurebusiness owner, some of the
businesses in that room weremassive.
(11:34):
Businesses that I admired for solong, and I was like, no, I paid
to be in this room the same asthey all did.
And I provided insight to someof them.
I asked the questions that Iwanted answers to, and it was in
that room.
And I've said this a lot oftimes, it was in that room that
I learned what was available tome in growth.
(11:57):
In scalability, in salary, inexit.
And it was where I learned Ibelong here.
I deserve a place at the table.
So when, especially in ourindustry, in wellness, fitness,
healthcare, we are in constantmotion.
We are treating clients,teaching classes, managing
(12:18):
schedules.
answering emails may be puttingon fire, solving everyone's
problems.
We're always in the doing mode,but growth, I can tell you,
doesn't come from doing more.
It comes from giving yourselfthe space to recognize what you
should be working on instead, soit's not doing more.
I tell this to people all thetime.
(12:39):
You're focused on the wrongshit.
All right.
If you have people that are notaccountable on your team and
you're like, well, I just needto hire more people.
No, I would say you're focusedon, what you should focus on is
you're hiring an onboardingprocess.
Your onboarding process.
Maybe you're not training themproperly.
Okay.
I have attended conferencesbefore, summits before where.
(13:04):
I didn't necessarily learn alot.
I maybe had that informationalready, but it was where I
could just sit and listen andabsorb.
And even times where they werelike, okay, we're just gonna
rest now.
And was that hard for me?
And I was like, wait, I can'tjust rest.
I'm supposed to be productive.
Yeah.
But it was also a hundredpercent.
(13:25):
What's the word I'm looking for?
transformational.
it was a win because what Ilearned was I can rest and be
productive.
I can rest and be successful.
I can put myself in the room tohave the space to think clearly
with clarity and ask questionsbecause we all, we all have
(13:46):
access to unlimited information.
We do.
We can Google our way to a newmarketing plan.
We can watch a webinar onleadership or growth or pricing.
What you cannot Google.
Is your perspective.
What you cannot Google is how totransform your nervous system to
respond instead of relax.
(14:07):
react.
What you can't replicate is whathappens when you sit in a room
full of other women who areplaying at the level that you
aspire to be at.
So that's what happened when Iput myself in the room, in the
VIP room with Ashley, or in myboutique fitness room, those
were the women I aspire to beone day, and I achieved it.
(14:30):
I got there.
It was amazing and it's a greatfeeling.
So when you hear their stories,when you hear their issues, by
the way, they're all the same.
When you hear their challenges,you realize, oh, it's not just
me.
Right?
That's what you get from avaluable VIP day, from a
business retreat, from a liveevent, from a mastermind, from
coming to things like theBusiness summit, from joining
(14:52):
the Inner Circle or my communitygroup.
It's not more information.
It is the ability to take theimportant information and
implement when you're inproximity to women who you wanna
be, like, you will become thenext one.
They say like, look at yourcircle of friends.
(15:13):
If you're around five smokers,you're gonna become the six.
If you're five around five highachievers, you're gonna become
the six.
So choose your rooms widely whenyou.
When you step into those rooms,something different happens.
You become a different person.
if I'm being totally, totallyhonest, I've gotten some of my
(15:37):
biggest breakthroughs, notbehind my laptop, but sitting.
In a room with 2, 3, 4 otherentrepreneurs or having coffee,
just talking, reflecting anddreaming what could be possible,
and that kind of space changeseverything.
Every single time I've investedin myself and in my own
(16:01):
mentorship, whether it wasjoining, EOS Entrepreneurial
Operating System, paid probably$75,000 for that.
Joining BFS joining AshleyBrock's mastermind, joining
James Wedmore's Mastermind,joining Get Paid Marketing
Mastermind with Claire Powells.
I was in Geisha HawksMastermind.
Every single one of them, I tooksomething.
(16:23):
It allowed me to transform notonly who I am, but what my
business looked like, what mybusiness did for me.
It paid off tenfold, notnecessarily financially, which
for a lot of it it has, but ingaining clarity, confidence, and
alignment, and the more I growand step into a new version of
(16:44):
myself as a business owner, it'sallowed me who.
The kind of person I want to be,the kind of business owner I
want to be.
When we put ourselves in acontainer that has
accountability, communityinspiration, motivation, we
(17:05):
think, act and behavedifferently, we start making
decisions faster.
We start responding versusreacting.
We limit the second guessing.
Action creates clarity.
It does.
That's what I mean when I said Ipaid five figures to be in this
(17:26):
VIP day.
Not because I needed moreinformation, but because I
needed accountability structureand time to open my mind to
listen to other opinions andthen move in a direction faster.
One of the biggest takeaways Itook away from the VIP day was I
(17:46):
get to build the business that Iwant.
Okay.
As I said before, I don't wanta.
Three, four,$5 million businessright now, because maybe in a
year it may, it'll be different.
I don't know.
But I don't, I wanna keep myteam lean.
One of the hardest challengingthings for me when I was running
Pilates and Grove was managingpeople.
It was a lot for me, and it's alot for a lot of you.
(18:08):
I recognize that.
And right now I don't want tolean into that, but I can still
build the business the way Istructure my offers, the way I
structure my time, to create thelife that I.
I can design a business thatsupports my life, not the other
way around.
And it's one of the biggestthings I teach to everyone,
(18:30):
whether you're in my communitymembership or the Inner Circle,
or the these new programs thatI'm gonna be launching.
It's Design a Business with youin mind.
It's literally the first modulein my training.
What do you want?
Outta your business, You don'tneed to say yes to every single
opportunity.
You don't have to scale or growat all costs just because you
(18:51):
think that's what you should bedoing, right?
You might want multiplelocations and leader and to be a
leader of a big team, or youmight not, and you might want to
be a solopreneur in a studiostudio that's profitable and you
don't have to work on Fridays.
The point is you get to decide.
(19:12):
You get to make that decision.
And if you're feeling stuck, ifyou're feeling like you're
wondering whether investmentsare worth it, I encourage you to
think not just about thelegitimate ROI, if I spend
$20,000, am I gonna get$20,000out, but I want.
You to think of it, who is theperson that I'm gonna become
(19:33):
being in the room with thesetype of people being in the room
with those types of peopleforces us to pause, to reflect,
and to realign with our vision.
Whether that's through amastermind, a mentorship
program, a VIP day, a retreat, alive event, or simply one day a
(19:54):
week, or one day a month, whereyou have these clarity breaks
where you're letting yourselfthink instead of react.
That kind of space is the mostvaluable investment we can make.
The most valuable because whatwe're really charging for.
With our services and whatpeople are really paying for
(20:16):
when they choose to work with usisn't necessarily our time or
our skill.
Sometimes it's the energy, theclarity, the confidence, the
leadership we bring to thesituation, to the client, and
those things grow seriouslyexponentially when we give
(20:36):
ourselves the space to grow.
I can tell you for sure that.
If you're in reaction mode inyour business, if you are unable
to sit clearly and think andfocus and be aligned with what
you are, you'll have a businessthat always is dependent on you.
(20:57):
You need to become a differentperson to have the business that
you're dreaming of.
That's the hard work and that'swhat pays off the most, and
that's what when people areready to be done with my inner
circle group is with my highticket mentorship, they learn
those skills and then they payoff in perpetuity in the future
(21:20):
forever and ever.
They literally become adifferent person and then in
which case, their business is awhole new transformation for
that.
So what do you think?
That was a lot.
If anything, I want you to openyour mind to thinking, if this
is gonna cost me$10,000, am Igonna get$10,000 off?
(21:41):
No.
Be like, this is gonna cost me$10,000 and I am committed to
becoming the person I need tobecome.
And using the information, therelationships, the structure of
putting yourself in that type ofa container to win on the
backend.
So what do you think?
(22:02):
I'd love to hear what you think.
I'd love to hear if thisresonated with you, if you
agree.
If you don't agree, I'd love tohear what you think your next
level of growth looks like.
If you think another businessowner could benefit from
listening to this, I would love,love, love, love if you shared
this on Instagram and tag me atChrista Gurka and then maybe DM
(22:24):
me.
I know this is a lot of thingsand I say you shouldn't do too
many CTAs, but I would love ifyou shared it, tag me and then
maybe DM me and tell me whatroom are you gonna step into.
Whether it be at the end of 2025or looking into 2026, what room
are you gonna put yourself in sothat you can grow into the woman
(22:46):
you wanna become and ultimatelyhave the business that you dream
of?
Alright, that's all I got foryou today.
That was a lot.
That was a lot of do, do, do,do, do.
I know.
I was like quick.
I was very animated about this,but thanks for tuning in.
I look forward to seeing you onnext week's episode.
Until next time.
Bye for now.
Hey there everyone.
Welcome back to another episodeof the Female Empowered Podcast.
I'm your host, Christa Gurka,and I just wrapped up an
incredible VIP day in Atlantawith Ashley Brock, win with paid
ads as her program.
she's a paid ads coach forGoogle Meta, all things
(00:22):
Pinterest, YouTube, all thestuff.
I think at the time this airs,it will probably be almost a
month or at least a coupleweeks.
This was back in October, but itwas so amazing between Ashley,
her team, the four other amazingwomen business owners that
shared the room with me.
(00:42):
My brain is like buzzing,buzzing, buzzing, buzzing ever
since.
And you know, have you ever hadthose experiences where
something this.
Shakes you loose and you get allinspired again and you re,
you're reminded when you startedand also like who you're
becoming and how exciting it is,where all the paths you have to
(01:03):
go down.
Well this is exactly what thisday for was for me.
It, it was, and I wanna sharewith you some takeaways that I
had.
'cause they're much more than.
Takeaways, like how to optimizemy Instagram bio, which I did,
and how to optimize my YouTubechannel.
But the bigger takeaways arewhat, where the real
(01:23):
transformation happens.
So since I sold Pilates in theGrove, it's given me the space
to really dive into my newcompany, which is fitness
strategies.
it's my business mentorshipcoaching program for women in.
Fitness, wellness, andhealthcare.
And I've really now been able togo all in on this business.
And even though it's a buddingbusiness, it's a baby business,
(01:45):
I am fusing everything that Ilearned while growing and
crawling through the muck,getting Pilates in the grove to
a seven figure business that,you know, was a valuable asset
that I was able to sell.
So I'm learning, I'm reallytrying to, from the beginning.
Systematize the business.
(02:06):
Get clear on my messaging, learnto delegate, create better
processes from the front end andthe back end, and grow with
intention.
So while.
For the end of my Pilates andgrowth career, what I wanted
was, you know, multiple sevenfigures, multiple locations, and
(02:26):
an eventual exit.
I don't want that, at leastright now, for Fitbit
Strategies, I wanna create abusiness that affords me the
lifestyle with a great salary.
And the flexibility to now beable to travel to see my kids
and, you know, travel to see myfamily.
I'm done with the hustle andeven though I'm, I'm such a high
achiever, I will never be ableto just sit and do nothing.
(02:49):
I have two modes.
I'm like, go, go, go or sit andbinge and watch Netflix for 18
hours a day and not get outta mypajamas.
I wish I could find some middleground.
If anyone out there has help,advice for me, share it with me.
I'm all ears, but let me notveer off track.
While I was coming back from theVIP day, I think I got up at
(03:11):
five in the morning and on thewhole plane ride back, I was
going through my notes and I wasreally excited to dive into.
I, I'm so excited to share withyou.
I have two new programs that I'mgonna be launching in 2026.
I'm really, really excited.
I will be, Announcing them atthe summit in a couple weeks.
So those of you that are comingto the summit, you'll get to
hear all about them.
(03:32):
But while I was on the plancoming back, I listened to this
podcast, who's another podcast,host that I listened to.
Denise Def.
Phil Thomas, who has Chill andProsper.
I love this podcast.
It's, she's also the author ofthe book Get Rich, lucky Bitch.
I love it.
and her podcast episode wascalled, what are you Really
Charging for?
And I listened to it on theplane and then it like hit me.
I was like, this is exactly whatI witnessed and what I got out
(03:54):
of the VIP room when I wasthere, that I spent five figures
on for eight hours.
It was amazing, and I just wannashare it with you.
So this is what I wanted to cometo the episode with and share
with you because what people areactually paying for when they
work with you is not necessarilywhat they're getting in that one
(04:14):
hour.
Sometimes it's the bigger ROIcomes from simply stepping into
the right room where they feelvalued, where they feel
supported, whether that's intheir health journey, in their
recovery journey, in some sortof wellness or something,
whatever that is.
Or for you as a business owner,why investing in your own growth
(04:38):
is always worth it.
Because how you come out of therooms you put yourself in.
Is truly, truly where thevaluable ROI is.
So part of what happens, and Ithink this was part of what she
was saying in the podcast thatreally resonated with me.
A lot of us get labeled certainthings as kids or we.
Here are things as kids like forexample, I've shared the story a
(05:01):
lot.
I was raised by a single mom.
There was three of us.
My parents got divorced when Iwas seven.
My brother was five and mysister was three, I think.
So seven, six and three,something like that.
Very young.
So my mom was in her earlythirties and one of the things
we heard a lot also, I'm a kidof the eighties, so like we
can't afford that.
That's too expensive.
(05:23):
You don't need that.
And again, if you're a Gen Xkid, you definitely heard money
doesn't grow in trees.
What are you trying to giveelectricity to the whole
neighborhood?
Right?
Do you live in a barn?
All of these crazy things.
So, or maybe you were.
Someone who was very caring andnurturing, or maybe you were
somebody that always had goodideas but changed your mind all
(05:43):
the time and somebody told youthings like you change your mind
too often.
You've gotta stick withsomething or you're being too
much or you are being bossy.
And so we internalize that andthen we take that with us into
adulthood because most of usthink that's how everyone lives.
Right?
Especially when we hear that asa child.
But one of the things I'd loveto invite you to do that I've
(06:03):
learned over the last Eightyears is maybe that's where your
magic lives.
So are there lots of PilateStudios?
Yes.
Especially now they're openingon every corner.
They're like more popular thanStarbucks.
But I don't worry, I neverworried about other people, the
competition coming in becausenobody can replicate me.
Believe me when I tell you I'mone in a million, you do not
(06:26):
want another one of me.
But.
I've leaned into that ratherthan can somebody teach Pilates
better than me?
Yeah.
Maybe.
Can somebody run a business thesame as me?
Yeah.
But they cannot take what I havemy attention to detail, my
customer service, my, you know,going above and beyond and my
(06:48):
perspective that I have onbusiness.
I think one of my strengths is Ican kind of see.
Ahead.
I'm very much probably'cause I'msuch an overthinker, because I
can anticipate other people'sneeds.
Before they even sometimesanticipated.
And so I see this every singleday in the women and the
(07:09):
business owners that I mentor.
the studio owner who is alwaysthe caretaker.
maybe she now runs a businessthat is built deep on connection
and communication and community,and that's really important for
her.
Or the visionary Me.
Maybe raise your hand if that'syou who can't stop
brainstorming.
That's me.
I'm the one that.
leads with team innovation andevolution and how can we make
(07:33):
this better and optimize it,right?
Or the perfectionist who isafraid of wa people watching her
fail, that becomes the peoplepleaser or the one who really
has to make everything perfectbefore they launch those little
quirks.
Those things are the things thatpeople pay for.
Okay.
Compassion, creativity, empathy.
Your vision often are the exactqualities that people are
(07:56):
looking for and that yourclients value most.
I just had a coaching call witha woman, a really successful pt,
who is in my inner circle.
At least a year ago, maybe eventwo, I can't remember now, but I
haven't been working with herfor a year.
She actually leveled up intoanother program that I'm super
excited for and she called andasked me if she could have a
coaching call with me'cause shewanted to brainstorm ideas and
(08:19):
we got through the call and evenwhen I'm doing it and thinking,
thinking through it, I was like,is this even valuable for her?
it's stuff I don't know.
I seem I can telling her stuffthat maybe she already knows and
at the end of the call she said.
You are so good at brainstormingideas and then also giving a
real good execution plan becauseI have this ideas, but I can't
(08:42):
get them on paper and I can'tfigure out how to make them work
for me.
you are really good at thisbrainstorming thing, and I was
like, huh, maybe she is valuingthat, right?
And so I invite you, I encourageyou to think about.
W you may not feel you may oh, Idon't know.
Is this really valuable forpeople?
And that's exactly what they'repaying for.
(09:04):
So the next time you findyourself thinking, oh, I don't
know.
What am I bringing to the tableis enough, be like, what is the
actual differentiator that I'mbringing to the table?
Right?
Maybe I'm giving this personspace to move in a comfortable
way or heal in a timeline thatis comfortable for them.
(09:24):
Alright, so I want you, they'renot buying hours or worksheets
or strategy or a specificoutcome.
They're buying the wholetransformation.
And one of the, the firstbusiness coaches I ever had used
to say, the transformationstarts with a transaction.
So that starts with peopleopting in to pay you for your
(09:46):
services.
Right.
Clients don't come to yourstudio because you are the only
one teaching Pilates or doingphysical therapy in your town.
No, there's lots of them.
They come because of how youmake them feel, how you make
them feel, seen, how you makethem feel safe, how you make
them feel supported, how youmake them feel strong.
They don't necessarily pay youfor a workout.
(10:07):
They're paying for the beliefand for the feeling and the
gratitude in themselves.
That they can move in a certainway.
So when I run a VIP day or astrategy or retreat, more of
them are coming in 2026 becauseI really love them.
Yes, we do talk about numbers.
We do talk about systems.
We do talk about operations.
(10:28):
But more often than not, whatpeople walk away from is
permission to lean into thething that they already wanna
do, permission to raise theirprices, permission to simplify
their operations, permission tolet someone go, permission to
build the business that theyactually want, not the ones that
(10:49):
they think they should have.
I want that for you too, myfriends.
I want you to gain thisinformation, to gain this
feeling'cause it really istransformational.
And how do you do that?
You put yourself in the room.
Where the conversations aredifferent, you put yourself in
(11:12):
the room to think and grow.
And when you're paying to be inthat room, you belong there
regardless of who else is in theroom.
When I first joined the boutiquefitness, coaching group, the
Masterminds, it was for seven 80figure business owners, and
while I was a seven figurebusiness owner, some of the
businesses in that room weremassive.
(11:34):
Businesses that I admired for solong, and I was like, no, I paid
to be in this room the same asthey all did.
And I provided insight to someof them.
I asked the questions that Iwanted answers to, and it was in
that room.
And I've said this a lot oftimes, it was in that room that
I learned what was available tome in growth.
(11:57):
In scalability, in salary, inexit.
And it was where I learned Ibelong here.
I deserve a place at the table.
So when, especially in ourindustry, in wellness, fitness,
healthcare, we are in constantmotion.
We are treating clients,teaching classes, managing
(12:18):
schedules.
answering emails may be puttingon fire, solving everyone's
problems.
We're always in the doing mode,but growth, I can tell you,
doesn't come from doing more.
It comes from giving yourselfthe space to recognize what you
should be working on instead, soit's not doing more.
I tell this to people all thetime.
(12:39):
You're focused on the wrongshit.
All right.
If you have people that are notaccountable on your team and
you're like, well, I just needto hire more people.
No, I would say you're focusedon, what you should focus on is
you're hiring an onboardingprocess.
Your onboarding process.
Maybe you're not training themproperly.
Okay.
I have attended conferencesbefore, summits before where.
(13:04):
I didn't necessarily learn alot.
I maybe had that informationalready, but it was where I
could just sit and listen andabsorb.
And even times where they werelike, okay, we're just gonna
rest now.
And was that hard for me?
And I was like, wait, I can'tjust rest.
I'm supposed to be productive.
Yeah.
But it was also a hundredpercent.
(13:25):
What's the word I'm looking for?
transformational.
it was a win because what Ilearned was I can rest and be
productive.
I can rest and be successful.
I can put myself in the room tohave the space to think clearly
with clarity and ask questionsbecause we all, we all have
(13:46):
access to unlimited information.
We do.
We can Google our way to a newmarketing plan.
We can watch a webinar onleadership or growth or pricing.
What you cannot Google.
Is your perspective.
What you cannot Google is how totransform your nervous system to
respond instead of relax.
(14:07):
react.
What you can't replicate is whathappens when you sit in a room
full of other women who areplaying at the level that you
aspire to be at.
So that's what happened when Iput myself in the room, in the
VIP room with Ashley, or in myboutique fitness room, those
were the women I aspire to beone day, and I achieved it.
(14:30):
I got there.
It was amazing and it's a greatfeeling.
So when you hear their stories,when you hear their issues, by
the way, they're all the same.
When you hear their challenges,you realize, oh, it's not just
me.
Right?
That's what you get from avaluable VIP day, from a
business retreat, from a liveevent, from a mastermind, from
coming to things like theBusiness summit, from joining
(14:52):
the Inner Circle or my communitygroup.
It's not more information.
It is the ability to take theimportant information and
implement when you're inproximity to women who you wanna
be, like, you will become thenext one.
They say like, look at yourcircle of friends.
(15:13):
If you're around five smokers,you're gonna become the six.
If you're five around five highachievers, you're gonna become
the six.
So choose your rooms widely whenyou.
When you step into those rooms,something different happens.
You become a different person.
if I'm being totally, totallyhonest, I've gotten some of my
(15:37):
biggest breakthroughs, notbehind my laptop, but sitting.
In a room with 2, 3, 4 otherentrepreneurs or having coffee,
just talking, reflecting anddreaming what could be possible,
and that kind of space changeseverything.
Every single time I've investedin myself and in my own
(16:01):
mentorship, whether it wasjoining, EOS Entrepreneurial
Operating System, paid probably$75,000 for that.
Joining BFS joining AshleyBrock's mastermind, joining
James Wedmore's Mastermind,joining Get Paid Marketing
Mastermind with Claire Powells.
I was in Geisha HawksMastermind.
Every single one of them, I tooksomething.
(16:23):
It allowed me to transform notonly who I am, but what my
business looked like, what mybusiness did for me.
It paid off tenfold, notnecessarily financially, which
for a lot of it it has, but ingaining clarity, confidence, and
alignment, and the more I growand step into a new version of
(16:44):
myself as a business owner, it'sallowed me who.
The kind of person I want to be,the kind of business owner I
want to be.
When we put ourselves in acontainer that has
accountability, communityinspiration, motivation, we
(17:05):
think, act and behavedifferently, we start making
decisions faster.
We start responding versusreacting.
We limit the second guessing.
Action creates clarity.
It does.
That's what I mean when I said Ipaid five figures to be in this
(17:26):
VIP day.
Not because I needed moreinformation, but because I
needed accountability structureand time to open my mind to
listen to other opinions andthen move in a direction faster.
One of the biggest takeaways Itook away from the VIP day was I
(17:46):
get to build the business that Iwant.
Okay.
As I said before, I don't wanta.
Three, four,$5 million businessright now, because maybe in a
year it may, it'll be different.
I don't know.
But I don't, I wanna keep myteam lean.
One of the hardest challengingthings for me when I was running
Pilates and Grove was managingpeople.
It was a lot for me, and it's alot for a lot of you.
(18:08):
I recognize that.
And right now I don't want tolean into that, but I can still
build the business the way Istructure my offers, the way I
structure my time, to create thelife that I.
I can design a business thatsupports my life, not the other
way around.
And it's one of the biggestthings I teach to everyone,
(18:30):
whether you're in my communitymembership or the Inner Circle,
or the these new programs thatI'm gonna be launching.
It's Design a Business with youin mind.
It's literally the first modulein my training.
What do you want?
Outta your business, You don'tneed to say yes to every single
opportunity.
You don't have to scale or growat all costs just because you
(18:51):
think that's what you should bedoing, right?
You might want multiplelocations and leader and to be a
leader of a big team, or youmight not, and you might want to
be a solopreneur in a studiostudio that's profitable and you
don't have to work on Fridays.
The point is you get to decide.
(19:12):
You get to make that decision.
And if you're feeling stuck, ifyou're feeling like you're
wondering whether investmentsare worth it, I encourage you to
think not just about thelegitimate ROI, if I spend
$20,000, am I gonna get$20,000out, but I want.
You to think of it, who is theperson that I'm gonna become
(19:33):
being in the room with thesetype of people being in the room
with those types of peopleforces us to pause, to reflect,
and to realign with our vision.
Whether that's through amastermind, a mentorship
program, a VIP day, a retreat, alive event, or simply one day a
(19:54):
week, or one day a month, whereyou have these clarity breaks
where you're letting yourselfthink instead of react.
That kind of space is the mostvaluable investment we can make.
The most valuable because whatwe're really charging for.
With our services and whatpeople are really paying for
(20:16):
when they choose to work with usisn't necessarily our time or
our skill.
Sometimes it's the energy, theclarity, the confidence, the
leadership we bring to thesituation, to the client, and
those things grow seriouslyexponentially when we give
(20:36):
ourselves the space to grow.
I can tell you for sure that.
If you're in reaction mode inyour business, if you are unable
to sit clearly and think andfocus and be aligned with what
you are, you'll have a businessthat always is dependent on you.
(20:57):
You need to become a differentperson to have the business that
you're dreaming of.
That's the hard work and that'swhat pays off the most, and
that's what when people areready to be done with my inner
circle group is with my highticket mentorship, they learn
those skills and then they payoff in perpetuity in the future
(21:20):
forever and ever.
They literally become adifferent person and then in
which case, their business is awhole new transformation for
that.
So what do you think?
That was a lot.
If anything, I want you to openyour mind to thinking, if this
is gonna cost me$10,000, am Igonna get$10,000 off?
(21:41):
No.
Be like, this is gonna cost me$10,000 and I am committed to
becoming the person I need tobecome.
And using the information, therelationships, the structure of
putting yourself in that type ofa container to win on the
backend.
So what do you think?
(22:02):
I'd love to hear what you think.
I'd love to hear if thisresonated with you, if you
agree.
If you don't agree, I'd love tohear what you think your next
level of growth looks like.
If you think another businessowner could benefit from
listening to this, I would love,love, love, love if you shared
this on Instagram and tag me atChrista Gurka and then maybe DM
(22:24):
me.
I know this is a lot of thingsand I say you shouldn't do too
many CTAs, but I would love ifyou shared it, tag me and then
maybe DM me and tell me whatroom are you gonna step into.
Whether it be at the end of 2025or looking into 2026, what room
are you gonna put yourself in sothat you can grow into the woman
(22:46):
you wanna become and ultimatelyhave the business that you dream
of?
Alright, that's all I got foryou today.
That was a lot.
That was a lot of do, do, do,do, do.
I know.
I was like quick.
I was very animated about this,but thanks for tuning in.
I look forward to seeing you onnext week's episode.
Until next time.
Bye for now.
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