Discover how a pop-up Pilates class grew into a thriving wellness community in six months with bsport

How Salt + Core's schedule grew

It was New Year's Day, and Maggie was waiting at the airport for a flight home to Indiana. Before boarding, she opened her laptop and on a whim, filed the paperwork to launch the Pilates business she had been thinking about for months.

"I had been going back and forth on the idea for so long," she says. "Then a snap decision that day made me do it."

That leap of faith became Salt + Core, a pop-up Pilates business in Northwest Indiana. Maggie now runs twice-weekly classes from a rented hall, as well as sessions in parks and local businesses.

It is a much bigger operation than she first imagined. Her original plan was to host roughly one class a month. But when more than 60 people attended her first hometown pop-up, Maggie realised the idea had the potential to become something more.

Building the community before the studio

Maggie did not have a permanent space, a large team or the financial certainty of an established business. Rather than waiting for those things to fall into place, she began with the spaces already available to her.

The pop-up model allowed her to introduce Salt + Core to the local community without taking on the cost of permanent premises. It also gave her the freedom to run Pilates in different settings and find out whether people would return.

And return they did. What started as a plan for occasional classes developed into twice-weekly sessions, with some attracting up to 30 people.

For other aspiring studio owners, Maggie's experience offers a practical lesson: the first version of a business does not need to look like the final one. Starting with temporary spaces can be a way to test the concept, understand the audience and build a following before opening permanent doors.

But early demand also created a new problem. Maggie was building Salt + Core while continuing to work full time as a school teacher, leaving little room for a growing list of administrative tasks.

Running Salt + Core between school hours

Before bsport, even sending a class update could become a lengthy job. One platform required Maggie to enter every member's email address individually, turning a basic message into almost 90 minutes of work.

"I would sit there typing in every single email address and think, this is ridiculous," she says. "I needed something that could take work off my plate because there is only one of me."

Maggie was initially cautious about paying for studio management software. Salt + Core was still new, and she had no way of knowing how quickly the audience would grow.

What convinced her was the amount of day-to-day work bsport could manage on her behalf.

"I run Salt + Core by myself, and bsport handles so much without me having to think about it," she says. "Bookings, cancellations, reminders and emails are all taken care of. It has made the business much easier to run."

Maggie can now contact every member at once and process bookings and payments through one system. If someone can no longer attend, she can quickly add a credit to their account. Promotion codes allow her to recognise loyal members without creating another manual process.

Tasks that once had to wait until she was home can now be handled between lessons or during a planning period.

"If I'm at school and see a message from a member, I can usually sort it in 30 seconds," she says. "I don't have to wait until I'm home, open my computer and work through a long process."

The time saving is significant, but so is the consistency it creates. Members receive the information they need, payments are handled automatically and Maggie has more space to focus on teaching and developing the business.

Making a pop-up business feel connected

Without a permanent reception desk or physical studio, Salt + Core's digital experience plays a larger role in how members encounter the business.

The website connects directly to bsport's booking system, which Maggie has adapted to match the Salt + Core brand. Members can move from exploring a class to booking a place without the experience feeling separate from the business she has built.

Ever the encouraging teacher, Maggie also uses first-class markers and individual promotion codes to acknowledge members and encourage them to return.

"People love being recognised," she says. "It could be their first class, their tenth class or simply a star next to their name. It doesn't matter how old you are. People want to feel noticed."

For Maggie, those details are not separate from running a successful business. They help a growing community retain the personal feeling that encouraged people to join in the first place.

The support she received from bsport reflected the same principle. During onboarding, the team arranged calls around her school timetable, meeting during lunch breaks and planning periods.

"With other companies, I felt like I was speaking to a bot," Maggie says. "With bsport, people knew who I was. They wanted to understand Salt + Core and why I was creating it."

That combination of practical tools and personal support helped Maggie build the systems behind Salt + Core without making the business itself feel automated.

"bsport has helped me keep the family-oriented feeling of Salt + Core," she says. "The platform makes it easier to look after people and the team has supported me in the same way."

Proving the idea before opening the doors

In six months, Salt + Core progressed from a once-a-month idea to twice-weekly classes. Its first hometown pop-up attracted more than 60 people, while regular sessions have grown to accommodate as many as 30.

Maggie's long-term goal is to open a permanent Salt + Core studio. While that may be some time away for now, the pop-up model has allowed her to test the idea and build an audience without taking on the immediate cost of a dedicated space.

"I would love to have my own studio one day," she says. "That is the end goal. It is not in the cards for me right now, but I know my time will come."

Until then, each pop-up gives Maggie more evidence that the community is there. The systems behind the business mean she can keep nurturing that demand alongside her teaching career, rather than allowing administration to limit its growth. And bsport is with her every step of the way.