Scaling a Boutique Studio: 3 Growth Traps You Have to Avoid
Before you dive in, grab a coffee and hit play on the full episode of Multi-Studio Mastery with Ben Ludwig. This blog pulls highlights, but the full conversation is gold.
Scaling a studio isn’t just about adding locations. It’s about evolving as a leader, building repeatable systems, and most importantly, staying rooted in what made your first space special.
In our Season 2 kickoff episode of Multi-Studio Mastery, Tessa sat down with Ben Ludwig, a fitness executive who’s scaled multiple concepts to 12+ locations, to talk about the real challenges behind growth.
Spoiler: It’s not just about the playbook. It’s about the people.
Here are the three biggest traps Ben sees studio owners fall into…and how to avoid them.
Trap #1: Thinking Scale Is “Just Doing More”
You know what worked in your first studio: the vibe, the service, the member journey. But here’s the truth: what got you here won’t get you to 5, 10, or 50 locations.
“If you can’t write it down in an SOP, it stays yours forever.”
Scaling requires structure:
- Documented SOPs (sales calls, class intros, lead follow-ups)
- Standardized onboarding and training
- A culture that doesn’t depend on you being in the room
You don’t lose authenticity by building systems, you protect it. You give it the space to grow.
Quick win: Start with your most chaotic process. Write it out as a checklist. Train your team on it. Then do it again for the next.
Trap #2: Growing the Business Faster Than Your Team (Or Vice Versa)
This one’s a silent killer. Growth speed and team development have to stay in sync.
Ben’s seen it all:
- Teams promised promotions that never come
- Businesses scaling too fast for staff to keep up
- Star hires getting burnt out and bouncing
The fix: Intentional development.
- Hire from your member base (they already love the culture)
- Run monthly reviews based on personal and professional goals
- Make mentorship part of your ops, not a nice-to-have
“We started every review with personal goals. That’s what created buy-in.”
You’re not just scaling locations, you’re scaling belief.
Trap #3: Confusing Revenue With Profit (Especially During Expansion)
Expansion feels exciting; new market, new members, new momentum. But if you don’t have a clear financial model, you could be scaling losses, not wins.
Ben’s team opened 12 locations in 18 months. And they did it by:
- Forecasting costs by phase (presale, opening, post-launch)
- Sharing team resources across locations where it made sense
- Building profit models before leases were signed
If your first studio is profitable, great. But will the third one be? The fifth?
“You don’t have to grow slowly. You have to grow intentionally.”
Want to build your own forecast? Use our free High-Performance Studio Scaling Toolkit to plan your growth with confidence.
So, What’s the Real Secret?
Ben summed it up in one sentence:
“Leadership is mentorship.”
When you invest in your people, train with purpose, and lead with clarity, the scaling takes care of itself.
It’s not about being the busiest person in the building. It’s about building something that thrives without you needing to be everywhere at once.
Catch the full episode with Ben Ludwig here → Watch now
Download our free Studio Scaling Toolkit → Get the toolkit
