From Single Studio to Regional Brand: A Year of Strategic Growth for MBS Pilates (Part 2)
Pilates Studio expansion
Multi-Location Growth Strategy
Teacher Training Revenue
Pilates Studio Expansion
Telomere partnered with MBS Pilates in Downers Grove, Illinois to diversify revenue streams, launch a proprietary teacher training program, expand into international retreats, and execute a studio acquisition — helping founder Heather transform a single-location Pilates studio into a regional brand with 55% revenue growth and 33% membership increase year over year.
55%
increase in overall revenue
42%
studio visits increase
18.7%
more unique clients through the doors
33%
membership increase year over year
“Working with the team at Telomere was truly an incredible experience from start to finish. The retreat was such a huge success that just 7 days after returning home, I rebooked for the following year and the entire group signed up again, selling it out before it was even released to the public. ”
— Heather, Owner of MBS Pilates
the telomere effect
Our strategy for Growing with Intention
01
01 Implementing Teacher Training
In September, Heather updated her proprietary teacher training program to solve two problems at once: creating a more fruitful revenue stream and building a talent pipeline for expansion. She developed an innovative program with instruction in ways traditional certifications didn't offer.
Priced competitively, it attracted committed participants immediately and generated over $8k in the launch month alone. With projected net profits of $17,000-$30,000 depending on enrollment, the program established MBS as an education authority while creating a sustainable solution to one of the biggest constraints on growth: finding qualified instructors who understood the MBS methodology.
02 Taking MBS Global: The Retreat Business
Heather's first international retreat to Tulum, Mexico proved that her client relationships extended far beyond weekly classes. All 15 spots sold out, generating over $10k in profit with 40%+ margins, exceeding expectations.
The success validated retreats as a high-margin revenue stream and led to an ambitious pipeline of future destinations across the globe. Beyond the financials, the retreat business elevated Heather's positioning from studio owner to wellness retreat leader and created a business model that could travel with her—offering long-term flexibility and freedom that studio-only operations couldn't provide.
02
03 Acquisition & Expansion
When Reformer Village's owners needed to exit on a tight timeline, Heather negotiated an acquisition that would transform MBS from a neighborhood studio into a regional brand.
Working with Telomere, she implemented a thoughtful integration strategy:
temporarily maintaining Reformer Village's existing schedule
winning over instructors with superior benefits
and creating personalized communication plans that explained dual-studio access while locking legacy pricing for early commitments.
The acquisition created MBS Clarendon Hills. Most importantly, it positioned MBS for a "triangular market strategy" with a potential third location, transforming the business from a single-location operation into a scalable, multi-location model with continued growth capacity.
03
Closing Out 2025
By the end of 2025, these three strategic moves had fundamentally transformed MBS Pilates from a service-only studio into a diversified business with multiple revenue streams and a clear path to regional expansion. Overall revenue climbed 55%, studio visits increased 42%, unique clients through the doors grew by 18.7%, and memberships rose 33% year over year.
Each initiative built on the last — teacher training created a qualified instructor pipeline for expansion, retreats established brand authority and premium positioning beyond the studio, and the Clarendon Hills acquisition proved that the MBS model could scale.
Together they shifted Heather's role from operator and teacher to CEO, building a business with the infrastructure, the talent, and the revenue diversification to grow well beyond a single location.
What makes these opportunities truly transformative is how they build on each other:
What makes MBS's growth story worth studying is how deliberately each move built on the last. Teacher training solved the instructor shortage that would have capped expansion. Retreats established Heather's authority beyond the studio and opened a revenue stream with margins the studio model alone could never match. And the Clarendon Hills acquisition proved the MBS methodology could travel — that what worked in Downers Grove wasn't luck, it was a replicable system. Three initiatives, each independently valuable, each making the next one possible.
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