Why We Closed Our Signature Program (And What’s Next for Studio Owners)

Are you building a studio business that still fits the season of life you’re in?

In this Season 5 opener, Chantelle and Michelle share the biggest pivot in Studio Evolution’s history — the closing of their long-running signature program and the launch of something far more intimate and powerful: The Eight. This episode is an honest conversation about evolution, leadership, simplicity, and choosing depth over scale.

You’ll learn:

• How to know when it’s time to evolve your business model (even if it’s still “working”)
• Why deeper connection and accountability create faster, more sustainable studio growth
• What to consider when pivoting your offers without losing momentum or profitability

If you’ve been craving more spaciousness, stronger support, or a business model that actually matches your current life — this conversation will feel both grounding and expansive.

✨ Curious about joining The Eight? Apply here: https://studioevolution.com/apply

💡 Join us in The Leap: https://studioevolution.com/leap

📖 Full transcript + blog post: https://studioevolution.com/journal/s5-e1-why-we-closed-our-signature-program/

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Transcript

Chantelle Bruinsma (00:04):
Welcome to Your Studio Podcast, sharing strategies for Studio Owners. I'm Chantelle Bruinsma, here with Michelle Hunter, and together we're the CEOs of Studio Evolution, where for over a decade we've helped thousands of studio owners around the world of dance, music, acting, art, yoga, and Pilates studios transform their passion into thriving profitable businesses. So if you're a studio owner, grab a cup of tea and settle in. You're in exactly the right place.

(00:32):
Hello everyone. It's Chantelle Bruinsma here with Michelle Hunter and we're back for Season 5. What? Oh my gosh. We are back, baby. We're back.

Michelle Hunter (00:45):
How did that happen? 5 Seasons. That's just crazy. It's crazy. Someone was flicking through Season 1 the other day on their phone showing me. I was like, wow, it's been a lot of episodes. It's been awesome.

Chantelle Bruinsma (00:58):
Do you know podcast record days are my actual favorite workdays. These are the days where we just get to talk shit all day and laugh. My cheekbones ache by the end of the day. I love you so much this time with you.

Michelle Hunter (01:10):
Yeah, a lot of powder because we are laughing and sweating and crying and-

Chantelle Bruinsma (01:15):
Yeah. We have to fill in the crow's feet up between every take.

Michelle Hunter (01:20):
We love so much. I love it.

Chantelle Bruinsma (01:22):
I love it. It's so good. It's so good. And we're kind of coming back, Michelle, with a really big episode revealing an enormous change in our company, in our lives. In fact, it's kind of the real beginning of a whole new era, end of one era and beginning of a new one, which is very special.

Michelle Hunter (01:48):
It's huge. It's huge, Chantelle. And guys, today we are going to be revealing some news that's massive in our industry as well. And so much of our heart of everything that we've done here at Studio Evolution as a company for the last 9, 10 plus years, there's so much gone into it, but we know that sometimes change is just as good as a holiday, isn't it, Chantelle?

Chantelle Bruinsma (02:13):
Yeah. I love a bit of change.

Michelle Hunter (02:16):
The change, but it's also pivotal to transformation.

Chantelle Bruinsma (02:20):
Yeah, that's true. So as you guys know, our company is called Studio Evolution, but our signature program is also called Studio Evolution. Very confusing. Move along. And Studio Evolution, the program was formed about 8 years ago. I actually had the kind of concept for it when I was pregnant with my first child and I was nearly 40 weeks pregnant and so very enormous and it was stinking hot in Sydney. And I was just living in the pool because I was the size of a pygmy hippo and just spending all my days just floating in the pool. And I got this complete download of how Studio Evolution would work and the structure of the program. And it has been probably the most fulfilling, creatively challenging, generally challenging, but also probably one of the things that I'm most proud of in my entire life. It was in some ways like my first baby.

(03:21):
It was my first baby and then I had my other two babies. The Studio Evolution has been a program and I'm sure lots of our graduates are listening to this episode. We've had nearly 500 studio owners go through this completely transformational two year high level signature program. And it has been the great love of my life and the great love of our team's kind of devotion. And yeah, it's been something that's been so precious to us, Michelle, hasn't it? It's been just our whole

Michelle Hunter (03:52):
World. It has been our old world, sorry, our whole world. And I say that when a lot of studio owners started to work with us in Evolution, they're like, they've never encountered an experience like it. When they apply to work in Studio Evolution, they think, "Oh, it's this six pillar curriculum that's going to address all the areas of my business that I need to have this dream studio." And they come into the program. I'm trying not to get emotional, so I'm just going to have my staunch face. Staunch

Chantelle Bruinsma (04:23):
Face. Hashtag staunchface.

Michelle Hunter (04:25):
Yeah, hashtag staunchphase. And they come in and they realize that this program completely, the secret sauce, it's about them and it's about the individual and it's about the studio owner. And we actually, what we really care and give a shit about the most is them as a person. And they actually do this course and inherently do improve their profitability, their attention. They become the number one studio in their area and have a team that are just leading the way, but they actually completely change as a person personally. And it is probably the biggest gift we get to see when we see studio owners go through this program. And the impact of this program is just something that we are so proud of. And we've had almost 500 studio owners, hey, Chantelle, go through this program, which is like staggering to me that there's like 500 people that you've looked in the eye, worked with, know the ins and outs, seen their profit and loss statements, and seeing them just completely change in the program.

(05:30):
Have babies, get married, get matching tattoos. It's just ... Big

Chantelle Bruinsma (05:36):
Deal. It's a big deal. It's a big deal. And I think probably one of the things I'm most proud of is that how many emails we've gotten from partners of people in Studio Evolution, like from husbands or partners. And like they say, "I got my wife back thanks to this program."That's what it's really about at the end of the day. And yes, the business has grown and yes, their profitability and their systems have improved and all of those things happen, right? But I always joked this program was called Studio Evolution, but what it was actually about was human evolution about

(06:05):
That human becoming more of themselves and becoming happier and more whole and stepping into a whole new level of leadership within themselves. And that's what we're really proud of. And what's been really interesting is that Michelle and I, we've been running these retreats, overseas retreats for studio owners and we spent a whole 10 hour flight to Thailand middle of last year and we sat there with a notebook and we asked like, "What are we called for this new era?" And it's been a really beautiful learning of like what we are being called towards and what we resonate with. And it was the best flight, Michelle. Look, it

Michelle Hunter (06:55):
Was the best flight. It was the best flight ever. Apart from like comparing what snacks we both got in our online, sorry, our in flight trays. Remember like, "What do you got?" No. Did she get different from me? I don't remember that. What did she get? Just like the different flavor of the sponge cake, remember, on one of them and we're just comparing them together. I love that you remember that. Highlight. We got to eat a sponge cake without toddlers sticking their fingers in it. It's a big deal. It's big deal. It was a big deal. It was a big deal.

Chantelle Bruinsma (07:25):
We changed the course of our company, but I also love that you remember this. Your capacity for detail is extraordinary, honey.

Michelle Hunter (07:32):
But when we're on that flight, let's just step back. We were on a retreat with our clients and it was called Horizon House. And it's where we come together and Chantelle is really able to take our clients through this transformational experience because you're not just there for two days or three days. You're actually there for five days and in a location where you just feel like a different person, your mind actually has the spaciousness to push the boundaries and actually really think what if, what could be? And when we're in those moments and situations with our clients, I have to say, Chantelle, it's like we really see your heart come alive and we see transformations like we've never, ever seen before. It is really special. And it was after one of those magical weeks where we had clients taking some of the biggest leaps and there's just so many to name.

(08:31):
I'm just thinking of that last day on the beach where we kind of said our statements and commitments and let it go into the water. And when we're on that plane, it's like, what do we want? What do we want for ourselves and the industry and the impact? And I think from that week we just knew that for us where it was at, it was connection.

Chantelle Bruinsma (08:54):
Yeah, for sure. For sure. And we've run big programs. We've had thousands of clients over the years in different large scale programs. And for myself, I think I'd really put all of my creative energy into Evolution and running it for Eight years, I felt satisfied. And the program was working to such a degree. The results our clients were getting, the statistics that the program was achieving were still superb. It worked so very well. And I personally was being called for something different. We've run this curriculum, but I think what I have been really craving in my life now and how I work with people and the impact I have is more of that intimate connection with humans, like really being connected with you and probably a smaller number of people because I love that deep transformational work, that understanding your motivation, your triggers and your fears and being able to hold you through that is feels like the next iteration for me.

(10:02):
And it wasn't because Studio Evolution wasn't performing because it was getting the results and it was a behemoth of a program to run. I mean, let's be real. Operationally, there were so many touch points, Michelle. There was so many, it was so carefully curated that your role was spent on just delivering and making sure that we had full-time operations managers, full-time kind of team members, making sure this program delivered to the level that we expected it to, right?

Michelle Hunter (10:31):
100%. My full-time role is probably eight hours a day talking to team, which I loved. But again, we knew where we wanted to go with connection. It's like we could not be there anymore. And this would have made it even harder, right guys, when you're listening. Evolution works. If you came into the program and you did each project, it would 100% transform your business and says what it does and tick the box. So that was even harder for us as well because we had so much attachment to it and we loved everyone in the community, but we just know we just had to do something differently if we wanted to have more connection and obviously less ops because it was an absolute beast to manage operationally. And that's just because of the extent ... It's a program built that like you can log on from anywhere in the world and get that mentoring.

(11:23):
And we still have those options, but it was built in such a way that everything had like a physical presence with you.

Chantelle Bruinsma (11:32):
Oh my gosh. We were sending out boxes, huge boxes three times a year with a lot of printing and things like that. Anyway, we digress, but it was a very operationally and very physically a high cost program to run. And again, like in this whole idea of business model, and what we talk about here on this podcast is again, a lot about why are we doing this and what is the results? And I think Michelle and I are in a season of like deep parenting, heavy duty parenting, and we just want simplicity and spaciousness and ease and seeing like what the program delivers and also we'd systemized it incredibly well and yet we were still craving more, still craving something different. So we really allowed ourselves to think and dream and come up with what if, what would we do? How would we feel? What would it include?

(12:26):
And that's where the vision for the Eight came about. So probably one thing that I believe in deeply, and all of Evolution is actually, it was centered on this, it was the idea of the pod because I believe that small groups of people with a core intention who were united in their devotion to each other and to kind of supporting everyone in that group achieve remarkable results is the secret to everything.That level of camaraderie and support is unprecedented. And so the idea for the Eight was curating pods of Eight studio owners who have unprecedented support and unwavering support, both within each other and then in the pod themselves. And so this vision of we meet frequently as a pod, and it's just like, where are you? What do you need? What's going on? It's moving away from having the curriculum as the center of what we do.

(13:36):
We still use the curriculum and refer to it consistently throughout it,

(13:40):
But it's less about that and more about when we come together, it's like, where are you? I want to hold you. I want to see you and hear you and be part of a space where you can have that radical transparency, that radical vulnerability of, this is what's going on in my studio, this is what's going on in my life, help or see this, or look how awesome this is. That sharing, that connection, that being seen. And in a world that is increasingly so chaotic and there's so much noise and it's incredibly difficult to manage your energy, running a business takes a huge toll on your nervous system. And so the whole idea of the Eight is having this sanctuary of a group that has your back like nothing else. And there is strategy support for sure and there is practical support for sure, but it's how you're held that is what really has driven this next era of how we're working with studio owners.

Michelle Hunter (14:42):
Yeah. It's where you are now, we're meeting where you are now in the Eight and what you need now in this kind of more connected format, we're able to deliver that.

Chantelle Bruinsma (14:55):
So yeah, what's been beautiful is that by closing down evolution, we made the decision like, yes, it's going to kind of close, but we just transitioned all of our beautiful clients into the Eight and it's a beautiful, beautiful place to be. The Eight is actually, like we have like less than five spots remaining, I think, currently out of the program.

Michelle Hunter (15:21):
Out of the program. And what was really integral was when we ... So all you need is a 10 hour plane ride with your business partner and you really get some clarity. But what I really hold to you, Chantelle, was you're really integral with the amount of studio owners you could hold. And it's like, this is my maximum, Michelle. This is what I know at this level that I can service with everything they need. And that number that we were able to land on and out of that number, we only have four or five spots available.

Chantelle Bruinsma (15:52):
Yeah. So there's 64 places like 8 pods of 8 in the Eight. And yeah, so we have sold 59 places who are committed for a year. So we will be at wait list for the Eight within weeks more than likely, which is, again, just goes to show sometimes when you trust what you believe in and how you want to work, it's safe to make big pivots in your business when you do it really calmly and really strategically. But we've just made an enormous pivot in our business and it will make us ... It'll give us more spaciousness. We've been able to kind of reduce our kind of wage outgoings. We've been able to improve our profitability. This is a case study, I suppose, for each of you in, it's okay to do what you want and it's okay for you to follow your heart and to connect with your students how you believe they deserve to be connected with, to lead the way you want.

Michelle Hunter (16:55):
And what's been really beautiful about this transition, Chantelle is the Eight is designed for wherever you're at. Chantelle, upon your application into the Eight and you come in, we really curate you with a pod that is suitable for you. And if that pod's full, we pop you on the wait list and you'll be first dibs in when a spot becomes available. But we've had so many Grads reconnect with us. So we've had a whole lot of Grads who have gone through the Studio Evolution program for two years. We've gone on, just we're always cheering them on. And then when they heard that we opened up the Eight and we'll only be working with 64 studio owners, period, they've been actually able to come back and re-enroll and to support them in that next phase of their journey as studio owners has just been so beautiful because the curriculum's always there, but it's that accountability.

(17:41):
It's that more in close connection and support that they've been seeking and is just so in line with what we want to achieve in the Eight.

Chantelle Bruinsma (17:49):
And that's really the heart of it. I think accountability was the center because I think there's a lot of programs out there that kind of teach you lovely things, but there's no one actually looking you in the eye and say, "I want that done." Right? Yeah. And that's what I kind of love. I love having that kind of role of, so when we meet in the Eight, the end of every call, you tell me what you're going to have done before you see me next.

(18:12):
And it's really joyful because it is like I'm holding it with you and then we offer support for like whatever you've committed to, it's called your commitment. Our mentor works with you over the cycle to ensure that it is done. And the other thing that is really important is that we have a dashboard. So not only are we kind of having commitments with you, we also have this dashboard of your real statistics. So we're looking to see your revenue every month. We're looking at your retention of every month. We're looking at your pre-tax profit every month. We're looking at your wellbeing score every month. We have a whole set of statistics that we are looking, you submit every month, and then the mentors and I can actually review them like, "What happened there? What happened in September? What's going on there? We need to address that.

(18:57):
" You're not holding it by yourself anymore.That's the most lovely thing. So there is transparency of this is not yours. The whole pod is here to support and cherish your success. And that's what gives the growth, right? It is when you're not having to do it all and come up with all the solutions. The team and I are looking at your actual numbers, holding you to support, getting the accountability done, and also looking at the big things. So every cycle, we ask you to submit something important, like it might be your website that we're going to review and make sure it's kind of looking squeaky clean. We're going to be looking for your profit and loss statements. We're actually kind of really making sure the core fundamental measurements of your business are taken care of and optimized, not on your own anymore, but with absolute unpreestended support.

(19:46):
It's just so beautiful. It's so beautiful.

Michelle Hunter (19:49):
And it's so beautiful. And the biggest thing that I love is like for new studio owners. So if you're like, "Oh, but I've never worked at the Evolution before." We've had a whole pod of nearbies who've never done the Evolution course. And for the first time ever, you don't have to work through the course per pillar. As soon as you join the Eight, you have open access to all the projects, all the six transformational pillars that we talk about on here on the potty and that you've heard so much about that have transformed so many businesses. So if you need to come in and it's like, "I need to fix my marketing first," or it's like profitability, we can set you on the way and go. You can sync your teeth straight into it.

Chantelle Bruinsma (20:24):
That's what's really fun. As opposed to being in a curriculum, this is the difference of having that bespoke mentoring. It's like, "Oh no, no, no, can you just go do that? You just need to work on that right now. And that's going to give you what you need in your business at this particular point in time." That's very satisfying, very satisfying.

Michelle Hunter (20:41):
It's so satisfying. And you know what's even more satisfying? The cocktails at the signature retreat, my friend,

(20:50):
That's in the Eight program. So as part of the Eight, one of the inclusions, if you choose to take that option is that event we host at Horizon House when we're like, "We love this. The transformation we're seeing, a five-day signature retreat is actually included in an international location." So we have a lot of people flying in from North America, the US and Australia, New Zealand, and that's where we meet once a year for five days as a collective. And it is huge, isn't it, Chantelle? And it's just mind blowing what happens in that week.

Chantelle Bruinsma (21:22):
Yeah. Magic can happen when you are out of your normal environment and we're able to have the conversations and explore the strategy and break through the limiting beliefs that really get the catalyst for life-changing events. So it's beautiful. It's the laughter and the tears and the memories and the decisions that people make. We have seen people change, completely change from one of those experiences to another. And that's what's really satisfying. It's less probably about volume for us as a company anymore and more about what we're really passionate now, man. I want to really transform that person's life and the relationships that they form in their part of Eight would be life changing too, what we can achieve together, what we can achieve together in the Eight.

Michelle Hunter (22:11):
And because we have this more bespoke approach and we're not opening it up to everyone, we've really got a bit of flexibility. If you join the Eight, you don't have to do the signature retreat, you can just participate in the program in its core function. And in my opinion, we've also made it more affordable than ever, Chantelle as well. So I just think we're really meeting the market and just staying true to ourselves of how many people we want to work with and it gives us that connection and simplicity. It was hard to let go of evolution, but it's also so exciting for this new journey for us as well.

Chantelle Bruinsma (22:47):
Yeah. No, it was time for a new way of working. And I think when you have been doing what you've been doing for a very, very long time, like I've been running Student Evolution for, goodness, it would be 15 years this year.

Michelle Hunter (23:00):
Yeah,

Chantelle Bruinsma (23:01):
You have. It's important to honor your own evolution too. This is what I've been called personally, and I'm very excited to see the transformation that happens in each pod of the Eight. We've also been able to create specialized pods. So we have a pod for a kind of adult based services. So for yoga, Pilates, areas, kind of studios who deliver services only to adults, not to children. We've got a music based pod, we've got a dance based pod. We're able to have specific conversations like never before and really dial into the specific strategies for specific genres, which is also going to be very, very exciting to work with them on. Yeah. And the most lovely thing is Kathy and Sam, our mentors from Studio Evolution have kind of moved straight over into the Eight. So our beautiful mentors are reconnecting with all the grads and still continuing their incredible work with our team too, which is the best bit.

Michelle Hunter (23:58):
It's the best. Yeah. The team are still back together. So it's been an absolute joy.

Chantelle Bruinsma (24:05):
Nothing small. Nothing small. We're just ... No. And like I have to kind of say, Michelle, in doing these transitions, like this, they're big, right? They're operationally really big and we've put a huge amount of thought into the transition and the communication and the holding and the systems. And it's been remarkable watching this. So Michelle, you've been unbelievable in supporting this transition too. I want to thank you also.

Michelle Hunter (24:31):
Thank you.

Chantelle Bruinsma (24:31):
You've been incredible.

Michelle Hunter (24:34):
Thank you. It's been big, but I think me and you had a lot of conversations of when we were going to roll out the transition. And to be honest, we could have probably done it earlier. It wasn't just one 10 hour flight. We had numerous conversations. It was just probably that flight where it all really ... We had our money. It came together and it landed for us. And we had to really feel into when it would be best as well for our current member base, honoring them in Evolution and rolling out a program to market. And even though it has been operationally heavy, seeing the joy and the member experience go through it has just been so worth it because you don't want to sacrifice operational load for youris and sacrificing their experience. That's how much we really cherish our members. And they're a part of our family.

(25:29):
It's funny, I saw a meme the other day with Leonard DiCaprio is like dancing, The Wolf of Wall Street. It's like when you say to your clients, you dance with your clients and it's got him doing this. It's us. It's like, these are the people who Chantelle does mentoring with, but we also have deep belly laugh conversations and they're telling us what's going on in their life. And it's like,

(25:50):
It's serious stuff. And we really cherish their transparency and their trust in us of holding that.

Chantelle Bruinsma (25:59):
It's a real privilege actually. And I'm just tickled pink to be able to connect with people in this way in a whole new way. It's really beautiful. And like the world, it's what we need in the world, right? I think more and more it's like, I just want really fucking great relationships with people I know really well and I care about and I am like, you're my people. I want my people and I want to have that deeper relationship. And that's what we can really have in the Eight that probably wasn't quite a fit for in evolution, which is a big driver too.

Michelle Hunter (26:33):
Yeah. And if you do want to work with us in the Eight and a pod is full and it's not the fit, just join the wait list because it will be worth the wait. I'm telling you, if you speak to a Grad or we've actually had two pods already commence and kick off and if you just see the connection and the transformation and the accountability- The WhatsApp threat. The WhatsApp thread, it is like on fire. They are on fire. And yeah, it is worth the wait. And we're just loving the connection so far and the other pods that are kicking off very, very soon.

Chantelle Bruinsma (27:08):
Pretty magic. So that's our news, just closing down major program, that's what we've been doing. That's what we're doing.

Michelle Hunter (27:16):
Biggest part of our life. It's huge.

Chantelle Bruinsma (27:19):
Rolling into another one. It's been huge. And beautiful. Beautiful. And I also want to really thank the response from all of our current members has been astonishing. And so I just want to thank them for trusting in us and continuing the fun with us. And of course the team for being just so gosh, on board with this decision and having our back. It's really awesome.

Michelle Hunter (27:43):
It is truly amazing. And yeah, our team has been our biggest pillar of support and just our sounding board and so patient. Yeah, we are really blessed with our team, Chantelle.

Chantelle Bruinsma (27:55):
The best. Well, lovely ones. If you're curious about the Eight, head on over to studioevolution.com/apply and you can find out a bunch of information about whether this is a good fit for you. And we'll look forward to seeing you next time on Your Studio Podcast. Bye. Bye.

(28:12):
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