Why We Charge What We Charge
I’m going to be transparent with you.
Let’s talk about pricing.
If this is a place for wellness and health, then it only makes sense that we respect you. Because this isn’t just an investment in us—it’s an investment in you, your health, your mind, your stories, your future…
We took great care in deciding our pricing so that it’s fair to you and to us so that everyone benefits.
I know many professional advisors would tell me that I don’t owe you an explanation for my prices. I know what I’m worth, and I’m not welcoming anyone to question that. But here’s the thing: I founded this community and this service for you. So it only makes sense to me that you know what goes into it.
Professional-Level Knowledge
StroyFit Studio, our subscription fitness video streaming service, is tailored to writers’ and creatives’ specific aches and pains. Certain careers or hobbies breed certain physical maladies, and if you have one of these—carpal tunnel syndrome or neck pain, for instance—then, chances are, when you talk to your primary care physician or urgent care, they’re going to refer you to physical therapy (PT) or occupational therapy (OT) to fix it. We’ll talk about the differences between PT and OT in another post, but for now you can think of both as physical rehabilitation specialists.
PTs and OTs undergo years of schooling and clinical internships in order to develop the critical thinking skills and experience to diagnose and treat movement pathologies. We are movement experts. I earned my doctorate degree in physical therapy (in fact, I was valedictorian of my doctorate class, if you’ll let me toot my own horn). And, no, please don’t call me Dr. Chelsea.
So, let’s say your primary refers you to a PT like me for your “tech neck” and you have pain radiating from your neck into your arm because you were pulling 12-hours days on deadline for your next bestseller (and your readers are feral). Now, your health insurance covers physical therapy—great! But you have a co-pay. From my clinical experience, let’s be optimistic and say it’s a $30 co-pay. Then most PTs will want to see you twice a week for eight weeks.
Let’s do the math:
2 appointments per week * 8 weeks = 16 appointments
$30 co-pay per appointment * 16 appointments = $480 in co-pays.
That’s not cheap! Especially since most clinics only see you for 30 minutes, and sometimes you’re not even one-on-one with your PT during that time (they over-schedule patients).
Now, in PT/OT you get individualized diagnoses, treatment, and education from your provider, which is nice, but let’s keep in mind: rehabilitative services, by nature, are rehabilitative. You can only go to PT and OT once you already have a problem! That makes it much harder to fix than if preventative measures were taken.
If you want to get on top of your health before you’re injured and you want high-level care from someone with a doctorate or a masters, then that leaves you with cash-based clinics (ones that don’t accept insurance and therefore, in my humble opinion, are allowed to provide better care, but that is another discussion for another day). What’s one session at a clinic like that going to cost you? $150-$300 easily.
Okay, so that doctorate-level knowledge is worth a lot!
What About A Personal Trainer, Then?
The greatest thing about personal trainers is they very often get to play a role in injury prevention and overall health. I have had the pleasure of working with some amazing personal trainers in my professional career. Just like physical therapists, they can be incredibly creative, highly motivating, and brilliant mechanics. But you don’t need me to tell you that for every good personal trainer, there’s another who’s a dud. Frankly, the exact same holds true for physical therapists. But, let me say this: because there are fewer barriers to personal training certification than a doctorate degree in physical therapy, the average physical therapist (theoretically) has had more access to specialized training, the latest research, and clinical experience than the average personal trainer.
But a good personal trainer can be cheaper than a meh PT, right? Well, Google tells me that the hourly cost of a personal trainer is at least $40 (per session) or $300 for a month. But at least it’s preventative care!
Going To The Gym
Well, at this point, you’re just about ready to either 1) give up on fitness altogether, or 2) join a gym and just teach yourself workouts. Bear with me because this is going to get worse before it gets better.
I did a little research for you.
I looked up the monthly cost of gyms in my area. The average was $51.40 per month. Keep in mind that usually includes unlimited entry and access to a ton of great equipment; the higher priced gyms (around $75 per month), have pools, saunas, and rock-climbing walls in addition to expansive selections of weights, machines, and functional training areas.
The lowest cost was $15/month. If that sounds good to you right now, compared to PT co-pays and personal trainer fees…just hear me out: the cheap gyms are where all the teenagers go.
Other Subscription Fitness Plans
Online fitness subscription platforms afford easy access to workouts that you can usually do anytime, anywhere. Their appeal is in their versatility! And, better yet, you don’t have to leave the house or go to a sticky, sweaty gym filled with judgey people or, worse, those stinky teens taking pictures of themselves flexing. (Look, I’m all for some healthy egos, but let me get to that squat rack, will ya?). Online subscriptions are convenient, versatile, creative, and—most importantly—cost effective.
This is where I sized up my greatest competition. (No, I won’t name them.)
I sorted through and found a dozen platforms that I viewed as competitors, mostly because they were women-focused, founded on higher-level educational principles, or catered to the creative community. The average cost of these platforms was $35.87 per month or $354.50 per year (since annual subscriptions are usually discounted).
The most expensive platform was women-centric and formulated by both MD and doctorate-level knowledge. It was $55.99 per month without an annual discount. From a peek at the content, it seemed like it was worth it, especially if you compare unlimited online access to your average PT co-pay for just 16 visits ($300) of rehabilitative care.
StoryFit Studio’s Pricing
In order to figure out how to price my subscriptions, I had to take all of the above into account, but then I had to frame it for my business and my clients. That means additional factors…
What my professional knowledge is worth:
Based on how my colleagues and I bill insurance at our clinics, 30 minutes of physical therapy is between $300-$600 . No, that isn’t what I get paid. But that’s what healthcare has determined my skillset is worth for 30 minutes of one-on-one PT. How does that get translated to an online resource with 24/7 complete access?
What I lose:
Let’s factor in that my third-party tools snipe up to 23% of each purchase before I even see it…and then taxes… So if I have $1000 in business bills, I have to charge $1000 + 23% + taxes just to break even. And that’s breaking even, not paying me as an employee for structuring workouts, filming, editing, website maintenance, marketing, etc.
What about you:
I’m a writer, too. I’m a creative. I know how much we put into our projects and how little we get back. I want this to be accessible to the community. This is where the hard part comes in: striking a balance of setting a price that’s fair to you and to us at Chelsea Fit & Flex.
At first, I wanted to charge $24.99 per month. But that wasn’t going to pay the bills, and my business would crash. My business mentor wanted me to charge $39.99 per month to make a solid profit. I didn’t want to make writers and creatives shell that out.
So, here’s the balancing act: $29.99 per month or $299.99 per year.
1) StoryFit is below the average of comparable services designed by my peers in the medical community
2) An annual StoryFit subscription is cheaper than your co-pays for 8 weeks of PT, and grants you year-long, unlimited access, not just for rehab.
3) StoryFit gives you guided, professional advice without shelling out for a personal trainer.
4) StoryFit is ick-free. No sticky gym benches. No sweaty teens taking selfies. No sleezy guys watching you workout.
We worked so hard at Chelsea Fit & Flex, brainstorming and building models, to fairly price our StoryFit Studio subscriptions. We know times are hard. But we also know that investing in yourself is investing in your story. And that’s why we’re giving it to you straight. We’re in this together, and we want the best for you.
If you made it to the end of this post, use code TRANSPARENCY for 10% off.
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