Maternity leave can give mothers time and space to reflect on where they are with their careers and whether this path will still work for them in this new chapter of their lives. Often, we find that our current employment doesn’t provide the flexibility and time to build a new life with our children so maternity leave is the best opportunity to start looking at designing a lifestyle that will work around your family and light you up inside. 

My guest today is Emma Powell, a physiotherapist and pilates instructor who also owns a small business while raising four children. After 13 years of working for others, Emma saw the need for a female-led health space in Ballarat so she courageously left her job and created bodyBEgood. 

bodyBEgood’s physio team treats sports injuries, spinal pain, work-related injuries, women’s and men’s health, chronic pain, and many other problems. They also run 3 different types of classes: Reformer Pilates Classes, Clinical Pilates Classes, and Pre and Postnatal Pilates Classes so there is the perfect class for everyone! 

In this episode, we’re exploring how Emma has built her pilates business while raising four children. Emma shares how the experience of having caesareans for all four of her children’s births led her to feel lost without enough information out there for recovery. She’s launching a new online program, releasing in September, to educate mothers on rehabilitation and join an amazing like-minded community. 

In our conversation, we cover the reasons why Emma decided to leave her employment, the challenges of starting a business during maternity leave, how she attracted those first clients, the most effective marketing methods, attracting her ideal clients, growing her family, finding the right fit for her team and what she has in store next. 

You’re going to love this episode. Emma Powell is an inspiration to all women and mothers out there who are dreaming of their next steps.

Enjoy!

Topics we discussed:

[2:40]: Emma Powell introduces herself and explores the different facets of her life. 

[3:08]: bodyBEgood has 3 different types of classes: Reformer Pilates Classes, Clinical Pilates Classes, and Pre and Postnatal Pilates Classes. They also run a physio clinic where injuries and pre and postnatal issues are treated. 

[3:55]: Emma had caesareans for all four of her children’s births. She felt lost and that there wasn’t enough information out there for women who have had a caesar to recover well. She’s working on providing a caesarean recovery program online to educate mothers and join a community. 

[6:34]: Emma shares her background before opening bodyBEgood. She found, after her first son was born, that working in a physio and pilates clinic wasn’t working well for her family. 

[8:41]: When Emma’s second son was born in 2015, she really started to think about what she wanted to do going forwards and looking for a space to start her own business in 2016. 

[9:28]: They took over the building next door 3 years ago and created a beautiful space. They’re even expanding into another building in the street that will be opening later this year! 

[10:38]: bodyBEgood started with just Emma providing classes. Emma shares how she found her first clients through Instagram, social media and word of mouth. 

[11:49]: Emma had her 3rd child in 2017 and fourth child in 2019. She has built an amazing team who supports her and she enjoys spending time together. 

[13:40]: Emma shares the challenges of owning your own business. You never really switch off but she loves having something that she can focus on that she enjoys outside of being a mum. 

[17:02]: It’s very important to Emma that she can restructure what she’s doing to make sure she’s present when her children are speaking on assembly or at a sports event and the flexibility of owning her own business has allowed that. She also tells all of her team that they will work together to make sure they won’t miss anything for their children too. 

[20:08]: Emma discusses how she planned her maternity leave in her business. She increased her social media presence during maternity leave to stay connected with her clients. 

[22:05]: Social media helped Emma’s mental state feeding during the night. 

[22:51]: People don’t relate when you use stock images and quotes. By sharing things from her own life, Emma built an authentic following and connected with the community.

[23:29]: Amy Porterfield’s quote resonated with Emma: “show the scar, not the wound”.  

[24:36]: Emma attended an Instagram workshop I hosted at Eclectic Tastes in Ballarat and she learned to show her face, make it about her , people want to buy from people, and she has used this advice ever since. 

[25:58]: Emma has been in The Modern Marketing Collective for 4 years and has brought friends in too. 

[26:44]: The Modern Marketing Collective keeps Emma on track and loves the meetings, the community, and the monthly check ins. 

[28:14]: Emma loves the email marketing information that is given in The Modern Marketing Collective and has seen clear results after each email. 

[29:50]: Emma is working on the Caesarean Recovery Online Course and aims to have it launched by the end of September. 

LINKS: 

Connect with Emma Powell: 

Instagram: @bodybegood and @completecsectionrecovery

Website: https://www.bodybegood.com.au/ and https://www.completecsectionrecovery.com/