077: The Balanced Life with Robin Long

Hi, I'm Natalie Jill, fat loss expert turned high performance coach. When odds are stacked against us, how do we shift and create everything from nothing? How do we level up when we aren't feeling it yet or we've had a big setback? On this podcast, I'll be talking to some of the most inspiring and courageous men and women on this planet who at their worst, learned how to achieve success greater than they ever dreamed possible. Leveling up and creating everything from nothing. Robin Long is a mother of four and the creator of the very popular Pilates community, the Balanced Life. Now, what you don't know yet about Robin is that her business started from nothing, when she was barely making ends meet and she was struggling to even pay rent. But you see, Robin had a vision. She wanted to bring Pilates to more people and she wanted to create a stress free, present, enjoyable life that she could truly enjoy with her husband. And now four children. Join in today and learn exactly how Robin Long leveled up and created everything from nothing. I'm here today with my friend Robin Long, who is the founder of the Balance Life, which is an incredible, incredible Pilates community. Robin, thank you so much for being here today on Leveling Up.

Oh, it's my pleasure. I'm so honored to be here.

So, Robin, your business, it kind of came out of nowhere and it's everywhere now. I see your challenges, your plotties community, it's so, so big online and I see these people go through it. They just love what you stand for, love what you teach. But here you are, you're this, you're a mother for, and you really built this from nothing. And I just want to know, like, who were you before all this and where did this even come from?

Yes, it's a great question. It definitely did kind of start out of nothing. I started as a Pilates instructor originally just classic, traditional Pilates instructor, teaching classes hour by hour. I was doing classes in gyms, classes in studios, classes for corporations, private clients, you know, everything that you have to do as a fitness instructor to make ends meet, really, because you're getting paid by the hour and it's. It's a lot of work to pay the bills as a fitness instructor. So I was actually doing that at the time that my husband went back to grad school. So I was actually, you know, the breadwinner at the time, or attempting to be as he was in grad school doing his studies, and I was trying to pay our rent. So I was teaching Pilates before we had kids.

Okay.

I was working probably Eight hour days, you know, teaching as much as I could without totally burning myself out. But I could tell that burnout was coming at that rate. And I was also realizing, okay, I want to have a family in a few years. I love teaching Pilates, but not at this rate. It's making me exhausted, which makes me not like my work quite as much. And I was also realizing that I was quickly going to hit a ceiling in terms of growth, you know, as far as financial income, how I could take care of our family. Because you only have so many hours in a day, right?

Yeah. And it's like choices. Raise rates or add more hours somehow and.

Exactly. And I couldn't add any more hours, that's for sure. And then, especially if I wanted to have kids, at some point I knew I would need to be home more or pay a babysitter. And it just, the math kind of wasn't adding up in terms of being able to grow. So between that and then also moving around quite a bit with my husband and having to start over every single time I moved with my clientele, you know, I would spend all this time and energy building relationships with clients and building my classes, and then we'd move and then I have to start from zero. I did that multiple times. Thankfully, I got a little better at it each time because you start to find out what works and you actually get a little experience so people will hire you easier. But with that, I started thinking, how can I take this to more people, impact more people, help more people, and also, you know, create more of a lifestyle that will serve my family, my future family, and my desires. So I started filming Pilates classes in my little guest bedroom in my tiny little, probably, I don't even know, 800 square foot apartment.

Okay.

In our guest bedroom with my iPhone, I would just prop it up on some pillows and start filming.

I love that.

Yeah. I got the idea to create a six week program and this was before, I'm trying to think this was about eight years ago. No, nine years ago. So this was before, you know, online fitness was everywhere.

So where did you even, like, where did this even occur to you? Like, were you following stuff online? Were you, was it, did somebody give you the idea? Because there's a lot of people listening right now that are doing something hourly and they have a passion for something and, and they, they hear about it now. But nine years ago, that wasn't something a lot of people were talking about. So where did the idea even come from?

Yeah, I think it came more from just the really practical desire to be able to teach clients after I had left. So I built these relationships with clients in Santa Barbara and then I left to move to the Bay Area and I they still wanted to learn from me. They still wanted workouts. So I thought, oh, I can film some workouts and send them to you in the video form.

So literally it's going to be for the clients initially, like, I'm going to.

Film this for them. Yeah. And then. But it didn't take long for that to just somehow click in me. I mean it was in the time when Twitter was just catching, you know, it just, it didn't take too long for me to click and think, could I somehow turn this into something I could package up and sell? I don't know why, but.

So when you were first doing it and you were filming them with the propped up pillows and the iPhone, which I just love, were you talking to like one client at a time or you, what was your plan? Like, were you going to put it in Dropbox and email it to them? What were you thinking at the time when you were going to create those?

Yep, the plan was to send them out via email, but I always had the thought that I would do it in more of a group way. So it wasn't just for one client. I was filming as if I was teaching to a group even though I was just in my little bedroom and was uploading them. I was figuring everything out as I went. I do not know how to edit videos. I did not know how to edit videos. So I didn't ever edit anything because.

I didn't know how pressing the button to turn it on.

Yep, that was in there. Every mistake was in there and just uploaded them to. I was actually using Box, so very similar to Dropbox because work there. And he showed me how to get it set up and I figured out how to somehow bring it all together with a PayPal button and this cheap little integration that would somehow send. Everything was very manual obviously at the time and I just would send it out via email. So I, I, I remember once I kind of got this idea and started bringing it together. I did find an online course that was teaching how to grow your wellness business online.

Okay. How did you find the course?

Probably Twitter.

Okay.

Yep. And I didn't know the women who were teaching it. I didn't know anything about it. In hindsight. Now it was actually a great course, but they did it one time and then it disintegrated. I'm not sure what happened after, but.

Maybe you were their only customer.

I think it's possible because it was in those early days of online courses. But to me, it helped me bring the vision of, you know, how to create some kind of online offering and bring together just the pieces of who I'd be serving and what I wanted to teach and how to bring it all together as something that you can turn around and sell. So I love this.

I love your story, and I love how it reminds me a little bit about how I started. I think we had talked about this at one time before we knew what we didn't know and just kind of going with it and roughing it and just doing it because you have the intention to serve. Did you ever, in. When you were doing this, did you ever struggle with it's not going to be good enough or it's not going to look like other people's, or did you just not even care about that? What was going on your mind with that? Because clearly, like you said, you didn't know how to edit, you didn't know how to do this. You were sort of winging it. Were you comparing to anybody else? Or how did you prevent you from getting in your head around that?

Yeah, I think I was lucky and that everyone wasn't doing this at the time. So I think in the sense that I felt like I was making it up as I was going, I didn't have a lot of people to compare myself to. Okay, there were some other bloggers out there putting out, you know, YouTube videos, obviously were a thing, but I just didn't spend a lot of time thinking about it or worrying about it. One thing that I've always been careful about from the very beginning is I actually don't follow. Follow a lot of people online, especially in the fitness industry. And I think in that way that really protected me from seeing what other people were doing and feeling like it wasn't good enough.

Such an important message, because I think that happens a lot. We get into this comparison mode.

Totally. Yeah. And that's something. To this day, I'm actually very intentional about. I don't. I follow very, very few people in similar industries. And for that reason alone, I think it messes with your creativity and it messes with your, you know, you want. You think, oh, they're already doing that and they're doing it way better than me, so why should I even try? From the very beginning, I think I was sort of protected by that and just that I didn't follow a lot of fitness people. And then having the Focus on just being. I knew from the beginning I knew the small handful of people I was on hoping this would serve, which was past clients, you know, and focusing on that, just what's my next step? Who are those first people I can help versus thinking I was going to just get out to the masses and explode in a large way. At the very beginning, I knew very few eyes were actually seeing the work that I was doing. And I think my first two purchases were my mom and my mother in law.

I love it.

So they were supportive no matter what. But it was more, you know, focusing on who can I help in my closer circle before it became something that was being really expensive.

And what I love about this too is I. And what I'm hearing from you, and I know people are picking up on this, is that you did not jump into this with how do I get rich quick? Which is what happens online a lot. You truly started this with how do I serve my audience better, reach more and allow for me to have a life I want to live, like to be present in my life.

Yes, totally. It was starting with that and thinking, you know, if I could make money from doing this, that would be really cool. But not, you know, again, I think it was partially the benefit of it not being so popular that it was like, hey, if I can, if I can add this as some side income to supplement my teaching, that would be awesome. And if it can help free me up, that would be awesome. And even more than that, I never fully fit in in the fitness industry. My message is a little bit countercultural to the fitness industry in a lot of ways. I'm just, I'm very focused. And now the whole, the whole purpose of the balanced life is really about taking a realistic and balanced approach to fitness. So I would say our community is actually more for the people who they're not. The people who easily spend an hour a day in the gym and exercise comes really easy to them and they've always had that drive in them. It's a lot of people who are focused who need a little an easier approach or a more gentle approach and need some grace on their journey. In fact, we focus on workouts that are as short as 10 minutes. So I think in that way it's serving them and focusing on wanting to more get My message out there that I feel like I've been put on this earth to spread was a huge motivator for me versus just getting rich quick.

That's so good. Now how did you know when you like when you made it, like, because I look at it now and you're just super successful with it. Like, what did you ever have that? Do you still not have that? Like, I'm curious, when did you know this is actually my business. This is what I'm going to create. I don't need to teach anymore. When did that happen?

Oh, that is a great question to reflect on. I'll say that there were a lot of years of putting stuff out there that it felt like no one was reading, no one was responding to. I would ask questions on social media, no one would respond. I specifically remember doing like a no sugar October challenge thing on my blog when I first started and essentially pretending like people were going through it with me. I don't know, maybe someone was going through it with me as they were reading, but no one was commenting. And no, no one was really so great. But I just kept doing that. I mean, day after day after day. And I don't remember exactly what year it was, but I somehow connected. I mean, somehow, meaning I had been reaching out and reaching out to brands. I connected with Athleta and the stars aligned. And somehow their editorial person at the time must have needed some content and must have needed it fast.

Okay.

Because I was running a free Pilates challenge called the Pilates Summer Series, and they needed some content for their blog, so they posted it on their blog for their audience. And that was a key moment. And I think one of it didn't. It did not lead to, like, an explosion or anything like that. But how? One reason when I knew, okay, I feel like this is taking off and starting to prove that it's a true concept is people started responding to me online. Honestly, the most simple thing, like, I started getting comments and answers to my questions. There was actually an audience coming back to me. I already had clients in email. You know, I did a lot of, like, personal coaching and things like that. But once in the public forum, I started getting responses back and forth. Then it felt like, this is taking off. I know that sounds silly, but.

No, I love it because I'm listening to you and I'm thinking if I put something out there, even right now, if I put something out there and there was no comments or engagement, I would quickly come to the assumption that it's not working. I'm done. So how did you not do that? I want to know that. I want some of that.

That's a great question. I think, because I had this small, devoted group that I was working with mostly via email. So my programs at the time the initial program that I launched was a six week program. Six weeks of Pilates workouts, a six week meal plan, and coaching with me via email. So I would go back and forth with them. So that was slowly building. So every time I launched it, the number of people who signed up got bigger and it just kept filling. I was able to kept filling it and keep running it. And so I think because I had that going on, I saw the transformation that women were making. I was getting the back and forth in that way. I knew that it had legs and I knew that it could work. I think it was just, you know, getting started online and growing an audience online just takes more time than a lot of people realize. And so I think I just had that vision. I knew it could work. I just knew that I had to keep showing up.

Gosh, that's so good, Robin. Everyone please listen to this. Because I think the opposite is normally so real for people. They look at feedback instant and they jump to a conclusion.

Yes.

And what you did was you stuck with your vision and your intention and look what happened. It's amazing.

Yes.

It's incredible. Okay. So, so clearly the other. There's so many things that you've done right. But what I, what I'm also noticing is that. So we're like, I look at you and me, we kind of started in a similar way. Like, we started just grassroots, doing our own thing. What I did wrong and what you did right. I'm going to share this, is that I got easily distracted into like a million different directions. How did you stay focused on one thing and build on that? Oh, was it tempting to go to other things?

You know, I think at the time. So I launched the Balanced Life. I started running some online programs and shortly after I had my first baby.

Okay.

Also, at the same time, my husband finished grad school and didn't have a job.

Okay.

He, he. We moved to Colorado to take a job. It didn't quite work out. We were in. It was hard. We were struggling to pay rent. We had our first.

Oh, my gosh, you have a new baby. Yeah. And now it's really fallen on you. Yeah.

And so I think given the fact that I was home with my baby, didn't have any childcare, and was struggling to make ends meet, struggling to pay the rent, struggling to afford groceries, that right there, I knew I had to keep it laser focused because I could only work during nap times and after bedtime because I had a, you know, baby who was eventually a one year old running around and I think my limitations in terms of time, finances, and really expertise or connections, all of those limitations that I had in the beginning actually helped me to stay focused, knowing I only have two nap times to do some things. So I couldn't add. I couldn't go in a hundred different directions without it, you know, completely ruining the one direction I was going.

It's so brilliant too, Robin, that that actually happened to you that way and that you. Because I feel that so many entrepreneurs especially that is a struggle that they work to get back to where they start with one thing. It's working. They add a lot of things because they were trying to please everybody, and next thing you know, it's out of control and then they work to get back to focusing on one thing. So you stayed that course, which is incredible.

Yeah, that's a good point. And it's something though, that I'm still working through. Right. As you can relate to. So now I'm at a completely different place in my business where it is bigger and it is growing and it is successful. There's more opportunities now and I have more help. I have a team that I work with. And so we could now potentially go in a lot of directions. And we've definitely branched out in some ways. But to this day, same way you're working on this and growing in this, to this day, I have to step back over and over and over again and say, okay, just because we can do that, should I do that?

Got it. Yeah. Great. Just based on this conversation, I don't think you should. I think what you're doing is working. I think it's amazing. So now you have four kids. Holy moly. So you're running this business, you have four kids. How do you do that now?

Oh my gosh, it's crazy right now. So I have. And by the way, how old are your kids? Yeah, I have a five year old, a three year old and eight month old twins.

So listen up, people. She's running a business serving so many people. She's got four kids and she's fit and in shape.

How do you do it? A lot of help right now. A lot of structure, a lot of routine, just focusing on the most important things and letting everything else go. So that's kind of a wide, overarching answer. But I think taking the time over the years to strategically help build my team is massive. I mean, I was doing everything myself and now have a solid team of women in place. We all work remotely, half of us are moms and work really well together. As a team, that's hugely helpful. And I currently work three days a week and then two days I'm with my kids. So I have to get really, really laser focused on what my priorities are. And literally this is something that I'm dealing with, I'm working on every day. I would not say I have it all figured out.

It hit me too. And I'm wondering. I'm sitting here listening to you and I'm thinking of what you do and what you built as a living. And it's Pilates based. And for the little I understand about Pilates, because it's very little. Doesn't it take being patient and present and being still in your mind and focusing on what you're doing in Pilates while you're doing it?

Absolutely.

Which is interesting because that's really what you've built in your business, in your life too.

That is such a cool connection.

I love that I literally just put it together and I'm thinking of my high intense, fast stuff in my life. So it's interesting how I feel that that supports what you do.

That I love that you just made that connection. No one's ever made that before, including myself. And Pilates is very much an exercise that's focused on mindfulness focus. And beyond that, it's focused on kind of getting the most bang for your buck. Right. So instead of doing 100 reps of something, you do 10. But you do them very intentionally, focusing on the right muscles, the right alignment, the right breath pattern. And so it's all about efficiency. And so it's interesting that you. You make that connection because that's how I have to strive to work.

And I believe that it just came up for me. I really hear that in you, and I feel that that's. You truly live the balance, what you call your business, because that's what's reflecting. Like you're not only an example of it, you've taken it into your business and your life, which is super cool.

Thank you. I'm always working on it. And honestly, it changed every season. It has to change. You know, there are new challenges and like, what was working last season or last month doesn't work. There's a lot of figuring it out over and over and over again.

Yeah. What would you. Somebody's listening to this right now, and they are hourly work. Because I know a lot of people listening are they're thinking about starting their own business, doing something. What would you tell them?

I mean, if it's working for you and you enjoy it, keep Going because there's nothing inherently wrong with that if that's what you love. If you're frustrated by that, then I would just challenge you to think, how can you help more people thinking of it that way without requiring more of you. So it might even be something as simple as expanding into a group setting. You know, if you can, how many more people can you help in an hour instead of helping just one? Is there a way that you could expand. Expand it to a group setting where there's 10 people, whether it's a coaching or a class or. Or is there a way to even take it online, as I have done, just so that you have a way to get your message out to more people? Also, the benefit of that is not only you help more people, but you can also increase your income without it requiring more of you of your time and your energy.

So awesome. I love that. And then what would have you had any. I'm just wondering because it seems just like it. Gosh, compared to my own story or so many other entrepreneurs, your seem just so smooth. Like, have you had any setbacks? Are we being fooled here? Like, have you ever had setbacks, challenges in your business? What did those look like and how.

Did you fix those?

Or really, was this the key, focusing in that, avoided that?

Oh, that's such a good question. I've absolutely have challenges. No question about that. You know, in different seasons of life. And like I said in the beginning, I mean, we were. We could not pay rent. And I'm here with my little blog and my little thing, trying to make some money just to pay rent. And so there's absolutely been challenges along the way. We've had ups and downs. We've moved to a new state where we found ourselves in a similar situation. But I would say I have not had any significant things that have thrown the business off course or thrown a day off course. And I think that's because, like I said, it's been a slow, steady build. And so it's not as flashy, it's not as exciting as some of the, you know, just exploding online and doing, you know, what maybe everyone else is doing. It's been more steady behind the scenes. Just keep showing up, only, you know, hiring when we are ready. We've never taken on debt. We've been really, really slow and intentional. Now, could that also be. Could I have grown faster? Yeah, I do. I think I could have. Could I have taken more risk and can I still take more risks? Absolutely. And I said, I think now I'm at The point of trying to figure that out, going, okay, as an entrepreneur, where's that balance between continuing to grow slow and steady and just honor that and nurture that, versus taking some risks and being able to go all in on things now that I am where I am in the business? So. Yeah. Does that answer your question?

Yeah. I just find your first part super refreshing, and I think it's unique. And I think that the other story of the super fast growth and then the hard falls and the bounces is very stressful, and it seems to be the norm. So yours seems very refreshing, and I like the slow and steady wins the race, you know, and it feels that you've. Of everyone I've ever interviewed, like, literally, you're. I feel like yours just seems very grounded and thorough, and I think you're onto something with that. I think it's amazing.

Thank you. And when you say that, I think it was a choice for me and that you have to decide at a certain level, like, is it worth it to you? Right. And I, for me, during this season, I joke that I've been growing a baby, a business, and growing babies at the same time. Right. When I started the Balanced Life, I got pregnant, and then I've pretty much been just having babies ever since. Hopefully we're done there with that. I think I had to make the choice of how I wanted my business to feel, and I just did not want to be so stressed all the time. And I didn't want to, you know, between what I was dealing with, with having babies and being home with them and not having a lot of childcare, and I truly intentionally made the choice of how I wanted my business to feel, and I didn't want to deal with that stress. So therefore, we made your power amazing.

And what an amazing Pilates instructor to learn from, too, because you truly live the purpose of what Pilates is. It's amazing. Thank you, Robyn. I do have a final question for you before I ask where people can find you and so forth. And this is something I ask every guest on Leveling Up. If somebody's listening right now and they're in their own personal rock bottom, whatever that is to them, maybe it's the I can't make my rent how you were at one point. Maybe it's overwhelmed. Whatever their own personal rock bottom is, if you were to give them advice, three things on what they can do to start shifting and leveling up and creating everything from nothing, what would you tell them to do?

The good question, because I've totally been There. The first thing I would recommend is to trust your gut and your vision. And that may take some digging to figure out what that actually is. But I can tell you that as I was starting to build this, for years, nobody understood what I was doing. Friends, family, you know, those closest to me, no one caught the vision that I had. And honestly, probably up until recently. So I would suggest to people to find what your vision is. If you have an idea, if you have something that you just know, a message that needs to get out there, worry so much about what other people are thinking, trust your vision, keep going. They'll figure it out once you can bring it to fruition, and they'll see where you're coming from. Not everyone can see from the very beginning what you can see, so I would encourage people to do that. I would also say that to picture yourself five years down the road, three years down the road, and you will get to a place where you'll be able to look back in hindsight. And that's something I always do when I. When I've been in one of those seasons. I can. When you say that, Natalie, I picture myself walking my baby around the neighborhood, just praying that we have some money come through or that something, you know, my husband would get that job offer and praying and praying. And what I would do is I would just say we're. I would picture. We're going to get to hindsight, you know, like in a few years, we are going to look back and we are going to remember this and we are going to get through it. And so I think if you can focus on five years out, two years out, maybe even six months out, and knowing that you will look back on this season and you will see how you got brought through it, how you made it through, how it is behind you. And I think keeping that in mind is so powerful. So good. I would say pray.

Yeah. And I like that, because whether it is praying or faith or. Or universe, whatever people want to call it, I think it's getting outside of yourself and putting it out there and declaring what it is that you want.

Yeah.

Is super helpful, too. Yep.

And trust. Just trusting that that where you are right now is not where you will be forever. And so hold onto that hope that you will get out of it and you will look back on this season and see how far you've come.

Gosh, this is so good, Robin. Where can people find you? How can they learn more about you? How can they do your program? Tell us all.

Yeah, My website is the balanced life online.com okay and I'm over on Instagram at the Balanced Life and those are probably the two easiest places to find me.

I love it. Thank you so much Robin. It's been really great chatting with you today. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks for leveling up with us today. Please share this episode if you found it helpful so others can join in. And don't for forget to hit that. Subscribe so you don't miss out on future shows. And if you would leave me a five star review. I appreciate those so much. I read all of them and it's how I know that I'm giving you information that you find valuable. And come interact with me over on Instagram @nataliejofit. I read all the direct messages and comments over there. Make it a great day. Creating everything from nothing Sa.