Setting up a studio takes seven short steps. The first four are the basics: your name and address, a logo, your room, and how clients pay. After step 4 your studio page is live. The last three put something on it: your first class, your instructors, and your link and front-desk poster.
Only step 1 is required. Everything else has Skip for now, and anything you skip waits for you on a to-do list on your dashboard.
You land in the setup at /studio/onboarding after signing up as a studio.
Step 1: Your studio
- Studio or gym name. How your studio shows up across MoveMentors. Your page address (
movementors.com/studios/<slug>) is created from the name you signed up with, and it stays the same if you rename your studio later. - Where is it? Search for your studio name or address and pick it from the list. We fill in your city, state and postal code.
- State or province and Postal code. Filled in from the search. Correct them if needed.
Your studio name and city are public. They appear in the studios directory and on your studio page.
Step 2: Your logo and a photo of your studio (optional)
Two pictures, both optional. Each saves as soon as you pick it.
- Your logo. A square logo, as a JPG, PNG, WebP or AVIF file up to 5 MB. It shows on your studio page and on your classes.
- A photo of your studio. The large picture beside your logo at the top of your studio page. Use a real photo with no text and no logo on it. Best of all, your studio itself: the room, the equipment, people moving in the space. Landscape works best. The step shows a small preview of how the top of your page will look.
If you skip the photo, we show a photo from one of your classes in its place. If the photo you pick is portrait or quite small, we tell you, and still save it.
Nothing to hand? Click Skip for now. You can add or change both later under Settings, then Studio profile.
Step 3: Where classes happen (optional)
Your first room is filled in from the address you gave in step 1. Give it the name you use for it, such as "Reformer room", and click Continue. That saves it.
If you teach somewhere else, pick Gym or Outdoor and search for the place. One room is enough to start. Add more later at /studio/locations. Every studio plan, Free included, lets you add as many rooms as you need.
Step 4: How clients pay you (optional)
Choose your currency, then tick the ways clients can pay you:
- Cash at the class, cards in person or a bank transfer. Also PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, Wise, crypto, or another method you describe.
- Card payments through your own Stripe account. Clients pay by card at checkout, and the money goes straight to your Stripe account. Stripe's processing fee applies (about 2.9% plus 30 cents in the US; it varies by country).
MoveMentors takes no commission on your classes, whichever way clients pay.
A card booking confirms once the client has paid. Bookings paid another way confirm straight away, and you use Mark paid when the money arrives. Studios connect Stripe the same way mentors do; see Stripe Connect setup.
When you click Go live, we ask for your password once more. That is a safety check we do every time payment details change.
Then your studio page is live and your studio appears in the studios directory. You can change your payment methods any time under Settings, then How clients pay you.
Step 5: Add your first class
Pick the starting point closest to what you teach:
- Weekly group class. Same day and time every week. We put the next 12 weeks on your calendar.
- Private session. One person at a time, on a day and time you set.
- Workshop. A one-off, longer session on a single date.
Then fill in a short form: the name of the class, what kind of class it is, the date, start time and length, how many spots, the price per person (leave 0 for a free class), and a photo. We write a first description for you; change it to sound like you. It needs at least 100 characters.
Every class needs a photo. If you added a logo in step 2 and have no photo yet, leave the photo empty and we use your logo for now.
Click Publish class. The class is on your studio page straight away, ready to book.
There is a fourth option, Online class. On Studio Pro ($49 a month or $499 a year) or Premium it opens the full class creator, because an online class also needs an instructor with Google Meet or Zoom connected. On Free it shows the price of Pro and takes you to your plan page. See Online classes for studios.
For everything this short form leaves out, such as early-bird prices, add-ons or equipment lists, use Create class on your dashboard. Creating a class walks through it.
Step 6: Invite your instructors (optional)
Search for an instructor by name, or type their full email address, and click Invite. They get an email and accept from their own account. Until they do, they show as waiting on your Instructors page.
This finds teachers who already have a MoveMentors profile. If someone is not on MoveMentors yet, use Email, WhatsApp or Copy message to send them a ready-written note with the sign-up link. A teacher profile is free. Once they have one, add them from /studio/instructors.
Instructors invited here join as employees: your studio creates the classes and clients pay the studio. To add someone who rents your room and runs their own classes, use the Instructors page. See Your instructor roster.
For teachers who will never use MoveMentors, add custom mentors instead.
Step 7: Your studio is live
The last screen gives you everything you need to tell people:
- Your booking page. The one link to give out. Copy link copies it.
- WhatsApp and Email open a message with the link already written.
- Front-desk poster. Print the poster prints one page that says "Book your class here" with a code clients scan with their phone camera, and your link underneath. Your own logo is at the top when you have added one.
- Just the QR code. Download PNG or Download SVG saves the code on its own, with a transparent background, for your own flyers or website.
Click Go to my dashboard when you are done.
The to-do list on your dashboard
Your dashboard shows Get your studio ready, a short list of what is left. Each line ticks itself when the thing is done, and takes you to the right page:
- Add your rooms
- Publish your first class
- Add how clients pay
- Finish your studio page (a logo and a few lines about your space; a photo of your studio is welcome too)
- Invite an instructor
- Check your cancellation policy
- Share your link or print the poster
Your cancellation policy starts on Flexible (a full refund up to 24 hours before the start). Change it under Settings, then Cancellation policy. Your cancellation policy works the same way for studios.
The list also brings you back to steps 5, 6 and 7 whenever you like, so you can print the poster again or add another instructor. When everything is ticked, Hide this list puts it away.
After onboarding
Rent out a room
If visiting teachers use your space, set a rental fee and decide who can rent with Rent out this space on the room's card. Renting out a room needs Stripe connected. See Renting out your space.
Operating hours
Set each room's operating hours at /studio/locations. See Multiple locations.
Your schedule on your own website
There is no embed widget for studios yet. Put a "Book a class" link to your public studio page (movementors.com/studios/your-slug) on your website; it is always up to date. See Embed widget.
Choose a plan when you are ready
Every studio plan, Free included, has the instructor roster, rooms and space rentals. Studio Pro ($49 a month or $499 a year) adds online classes, financials, expenses and the video library. See pricing.
What if you stop part way
Each step saves when you click Continue. Save and finish later saves the step you are on and takes you to your dashboard. (If you leave before filling in step 1, there is no dashboard yet, so you land on the home page.)
Until you click Go live in step 4, your studio page isn't public. Your dashboard is open all the same: a notice at the top says your studio is not live yet, and Finish setting up takes you back to the step you stopped at. You can already add rooms, payment methods and your studio page details. Creating a class, inviting instructors and the share screen open once you are live.
After you go live, Go to my dashboard leaves the last three steps, and the to-do list brings you back to them.
Common questions
Can I set up without Stripe? Yes. Tick cash, bank transfer or another method, or skip the step. You can connect Stripe later under Settings, then How clients pay you. A paid class can only be booked once you have at least one way to get paid.
Why do you ask for my password again in step 4? Payment details decide where your money goes, so we check it is really you every time they change.
Can my studio have more than one login? No. A studio account has one login. Instructors on your roster use their own teacher accounts to see your schedule and claim open slots.
Can I change my studio's page address later? There is no setting for it. Your address stays the same even if you rename your studio.
We run two separate businesses with different bank accounts. One studio account or two? Each studio account connects one Stripe account, so if each business has its own bank account, use a separate studio account for each, each with its own email address.
Next steps
- Business profile: what clients see on your studio page.
- Multiple locations: your rooms and venues.
- Your instructor roster: employees and renters.
- Studio overview: the bigger picture.