Last week I recorded a podcast with Krissy Monaghan for her Class Business Podcast.
You can watch the interview here: https://youtu.be/2_as4xvd10k
The conversation was supposed to be about booking systems, systems for growth, and the realities of running a class-based business.
But, as these things often do, it wandered a bit.
We talked about how Book That In started.
We talked about the chaos of running classes without systems.
We talked about the wonderful (and occasionally slightly chaotic) personalities that seem to gravitate toward running activity businesses.
And by the end of the conversation, we were talking about something much bigger.
Responsibility.
Mindset.
And the quiet but powerful impact that class providers have on people’s lives.
Which is exactly why we decided to sponsor the Class Business Awards.
But I’ll come back to that.
First, a quick story.
A Long Way Back to Karate
When I was a teenager, I used to do karate.
I loved it.
There was something about the discipline of it. The structure. The feeling of progressing through the belts and gradually getting better at something that, at first, seemed impossible.
I eventually made it to red belt.
And then I had to stop.
Life happened. Money was tight at home, and karate wasn’t something my family could afford to continue paying for at the time. So that was that.
For years it sat in the back of my mind as something I’d loved doing but had quietly left behind.
Fast forward a couple of decades… and about a year ago I started again.
Only this time, I wasn’t alone.
All three of my kids joined me.
Now the four of us train together every week, and we’re all orange belts, with our next grading coming up in April.
And I have to say… it’s brilliant.
Not just because of the karate itself.
But because of the people running the classes.
The instructors who show up week after week.
The encouragement they give.
The quiet confidence they build in the kids.
It’s easy to forget how powerful that is.
But those moments stick with people.
Clearly… they stuck with me.
The Hidden Impact of Class Providers
One of the things Krissy and I talked about on the podcast is how class providers often underestimate the impact they have.
They’re just doing their job.
Running the class.
Setting up the equipment.
Welcoming people through the door.
But the ripple effects are huge.
Kids gain confidence.
Parents make friends.
Adults discover hobbies they never knew they’d love.
Communities quietly form around these weekly gatherings in church halls, gyms, community centres and village halls up and down the country.
In fact, when you stop and think about it, a lot of life happens in these spaces.
People meet lifelong friends.
Sometimes even partners.
Stories start in these rooms that people will still be talking about twenty years later.
And yet the people creating those environments often don’t see themselves as doing anything particularly special.
They’re just “running a class”.
The Reality Behind the Scenes
Of course, as anyone in the industry knows, running a class-based business is rarely as simple as it looks.
Most providers get into it because they love the activity.
They love teaching.
They love helping people.
They love the energy of a room full of engaged participants.
But the actual running of the business?
That’s a whole different story.
Suddenly they’re dealing with:
- Marketing
- Admin
- Customer communication
- Payments
- Bookings
- Cancellations
- Pricing
- Systems
And usually… they’re figuring it all out themselves as they go along.
During the podcast, Krissy shared a story about launching classes where she had over a hundred people book.
Sounds like a great problem to have, right?
Except every single booking meant emails, chasing payments, confirming places, checking bank transfers and trying not to lose track of who had paid and who hadn’t.
Multiply that across several classes and suddenly you’re spending more time managing spreadsheets than actually delivering the thing you love.
That’s exactly the problem Book That In was built to solve.
We wanted to take the messy, time-consuming bits of running a class business and make them simple.
Bookings. Payments. Communication. Reporting.
Handled.
So providers can spend more time doing what they actually started their business to do.
Running great classes.
Why We Said Yes to the Awards
Which brings me back to the Class Business Awards.
When Krissy first told me about her vision for the awards, it immediately resonated.
Partly from a business perspective, of course.
Book That In works with class providers across all sorts of industries - children’s activities, fitness, wellbeing, education, dog training, and many more. Supporting something that celebrates that entire sector makes perfect sense for us.
But the bigger reason was much simpler.
I believe in Krissy.
If you know her, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
She’s one of those people who seems to achieve more in a month than most of us manage in a year. But more importantly, she genuinely cares about the people in this industry.
She sees the impact they have.
She wants to tell their stories.
And she wants to celebrate their successes.
That’s something I can absolutely get behind.
Because the truth is, the people running these businesses are some of the most hard-working, passionate and inspiring entrepreneurs you’ll meet.
They deserve recognition.
And they deserve to feel proud of what they’ve built.
You can learn more about Tha Class Business Awards here.
A Conversation That Ended With Responsibility
Toward the end of the podcast, Krissy asked me one final question.
“What’s the one piece of advice you’d give class business owners right now?”
My answer surprised me slightly.
Because I didn’t talk about marketing.
Or systems.
Or growth strategies.
Instead, I talked about responsibility.
It’s very easy right now to blame external factors for why things aren’t working.
- The economy.
- The government.
- The cost of living crisis.
- Algorithms.
- Competition.
And to be fair… some of those things are real challenges.
But there are also thousands of businesses succeeding in exactly the same environment.
Which means the real question becomes:
What can I do differently?
What can I improve?
What action can I take today that moves me one step closer to the business I want?
When you adopt that mindset, everything changes.
Because suddenly your future is no longer controlled by outside forces.
It’s controlled by you.
A Few Small Reminders for Class Business Owners
If you run a class-based business, here are three thoughts I’d leave you with:
-
Don’t underestimate the impact you have.
The classes you run today may become memories people carry for decades. -
Build systems that support your growth.
The more you automate the admin, the more time you have for the things that really matter. -
Take ownership of your success.
External factors exist - but they don’t define what’s possible for you.
Why I’m Excited About What’s Coming
The Class Business Awards are going to celebrate the people behind this incredible industry.
The teachers.
The coaches.
The organisers.
The entrepreneurs building communities one class at a time.
And I couldn’t be prouder that Book That In is the headline sponsor helping bring it to life.
Because after 16 years working alongside class providers, I can say with confidence:
This is one of the most passionate, supportive and inspiring groups of business owners you’ll ever meet.
They absolutely deserve their moment in the spotlight.
And I can’t wait to see them get it.
Until next time,
Tim
About the Author
Tim Freed has spent the last 16 years as an entrepreneur building businesses, systems and the occasional complicated spreadsheet.
His career started in door-to-door book sales, where he learned the art of persuasion while building a sales organisation of 52 people. He later moved into recruitment, eventually running two teams generating around £7 million in annual revenue.
Since then, Tim has co-founded Toddle About, a UK franchise network supporting families and small businesses through their magazines, events and online hub, and later co-founded Book That In, a booking and automation platform that helps small businesses automate bookings, payments and customer communication.
With an academic background in Maths and Philosophy, Tim brings a slightly unusual blend of skills to business - part entrepreneur, part sales professional, and part systems geek who enjoys turning messy operations into elegant processes.