Episode 158 - Scaling to $7M in 4 Years: Essential Business, Team & Leadership Lessons with Allana Ford
Why You’ve Got To Listen To Today’s Episode:
Join us for an inspiring conversation with Allana Ford, the founder and CEO of Muse Pilates, who has built an incredible fitness empire across Australia in just five years. Since opening her first studio in December 2019, Alana has grown Muse Pilates to 13 locations with nearly 100 team members - and she's just getting started.
In this conversation with Paula, Allana openly shares her leadership journey and the essential business insights that drove her successful scaling story - from building high-performing teams to successfully launching into franchising.
In This Episode
Allana shares her entrepreneurial journey with refreshing honesty, including:
- How a personal setback led to spotting a gap in the market
- The real challenges of scaling while raising young children
- Key turning points in her business growth
- Recent exciting developments including franchising and online education
Why You'll Want to Listen
If you're looking to scale your business or dream of building something bigger than yourself, this episode is packed with practical insights. Allana gets candid about:
- The critical decisions that accelerated her growth
- How she's built and maintained quality across multiple locations
- Her approach to building high-performing teams
- The realities of protecting your energy while scaling
You'll especially love this episode if you're:
- A business owner looking to scale
- Interested in franchising opportunities
- Balancing business growth with family life
- Looking for practical leadership insights
Don't miss this honest conversation about what it really takes to build a multi-million dollar business while maintaining high standards and a great culture.
Highlights
[00:01:33] From startup to scale: The Muse Pilates origin story
[03:35] Critical business scaling lessons from the early years
[05:30] Leadership strategies while managing rapid growth
[08:06] Essential systems for scaling from 2 to 13 studios
[12:14] Team building and hiring processes evolution
[21:52] Strategic business expansion through franchising
[27:50] Scaling through online business diversification
[30:55] Key leadership decisions that accelerated growth
SHOW NOTES:
Connect With Allana
Instagram @theallanaford and Tiktok @allana.ford
Website: musepilates.com.au and spicypilates.com
Connect with Paula
Website: https://paulamaidens.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulamaidensconsulting/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulamaidensbuildingawesometeams
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulamaidens/
Keen to explore working with Paula? >> Book a Dream Team Discovery Call
About Big Dreams Great Teams Podcast
The Big Dreams Great Teams podcast helps business owners and leaders build and scale successful teams. Each episode features practical leadership strategies and inspiring stories from business leaders who have successfully navigated the challenges of growth.
Tags: business scaling, team leadership, business growth strategy, scaling operations, leadership development, team building, hiring strategy, Australian business, women in business, fitness business