Consulting Session: From Full-Time Teacher to Fitness CEO: How to Build a Business with Zero Free Time!

The Email Marketing Show

Have you ever wondered how someone can build a successful business while juggling a full-time job, two kids, and a dog? It sounds impossible, doesn’t it? But today, you’ll discover the secrets behind making it happen. Meet Mel Bridger, a high school teacher by day and a thriving fitness and women’s health coach by… well, every other moment she can grab! If you're busy but dreaming big, this story is about to blow your mind.

Meet Mel: The Teacher Who Never Stops

Mel Bridger is not just a high school teacher; she’s also a women's health and fitness coach specializing in menopause support. Yes, she’s doing it all. Her days start early (we’re talking 6 AM sharp) and are packed with teaching, grading, and supporting students. Then, after-school life takes over: kids’ extracurriculars, dinner, bedtime routines… and oh, did we mention she runs fitness classes in the evenings too? Wednesdays and Thursdays are fully booked with sessions she delivers in person.

Despite all this, Mel has managed to grow a successful fitness business and is now expanding her offerings into staff well-being programs for schools. How? Let’s break it down.

The Big Problem: Where Does the Time Go?

If you’ve ever tried to balance work, family, and a side hustle, you know time feels like sand slipping through your fingers. For Mel, time was her biggest challenge. She struggled with:

• Finding time to plan her business moves between her teaching job and family duties.
• Lack of consistency in her marketing, especially with email campaigns.
• Juggling creativity and exhaustion after long, busy days.

Sound familiar? Mel’s solution was both smart and simple.

Step 1: Turn Your Time Limits Into Creativity Boosters

Kennedy, the podcast host helping Mel, shared an eye-opening insight: Constraints don’t limit creativity—they fuel it! Think of it like this: In improv comedy, the funniest moments happen because of constraints. For example, if someone says, “Pretend you’re Winston Churchill stuck in a train station but can’t use the letter T,” magic happens.

Mel’s constraints became her springboard. She couldn’t work during the day (hello, teaching and parenting), so she blocked out Sunday afternoons to focus solely on her business. By defining her limits, she created space for creative bursts.

Step 2: Map Out a Simple Plan

Mel’s first Sunday session was all about planning her email strategy. Instead of trying to do it all at once, she broke the process into manageable chunks:

1. Plan 60 days of emails. This sounds huge, but Kennedy advised starting with just the topics. What are the main reasons her audience might buy from her? She listed these out, such as:

• Helping schools retain teachers and reduce burnout.
• Supporting staff morale.
• Giving schools a proactive reputation for caring about well-being.

1. Focus on campaigns, not random emails. Each email campaign had a theme—like the financial cost of teacher turnover—and she planned a series of emails for each topic. This way, her emails felt purposeful, not scattered.
2. Use Sundays as creative power hours. On Sundays, Mel brainstormed ideas and wrote email drafts. Knowing she had just an hour or two kept her focused and efficient.

Step 3: Write Hooks First, Emails Second

Here’s a tip that changed everything for Mel: Start with email hooks before diving into the actual writing. A hook is like the headline of your email—the attention-grabber that makes someone want to read more.

For example:

• “You’ll never guess what’s costing schools thousands every year.”
• “Why teacher burnout is bleeding your budget dry.”

Once she had 10 hooks written down, Mel found it much easier to write the emails themselves. Why? Because her brain wasn’t doing two jobs at once (thinking of ideas and writing). Instead, she stayed in flow.

Step 4: Build an Evergreen Email Machine

Mel’s next big shift? Stop writing emails for just today. Instead, create emails that work forever.

Each email Mel wrote became part of an automated sequence. For example, when someone joined her email list, they’d automatically receive a series of emails over 60 days, covering all the reasons they might want to book her menopause workshops. Here’s why this mattered:

• New leads were nurtured automatically.
• Mel could focus on other tasks, knowing her emails were building relationships in the background.
• Her emails became assets. Instead of “spending” time writing one-off messages, she was “investing” time in reusable content.

Step 5: Make Time Work For You

Mel’s strategy wasn’t just about emails. It was about shifting her entire mindset. She stopped thinking of time as something she didn’t have and started thinking about how to use it wisely.

For example:

• Repurpose content you already have. Mel had podcasts and videos from her fitness business. By turning transcripts into emails, she saved hours of writing.
• Let AI do the heavy lifting. By training AI tools with her voice and tone, Mel sped up her content creation process.
• Batch tasks by energy level. High-energy moments were for creative work like brainstorming hooks. Low-energy times (like late afternoons) were for simple tasks like scheduling emails.

The Payoff: A Business That Fits Into Her Life

With her email system in place, Mel’s business started working for her—not the other way around. Leads came in, relationships were built, and schools started booking her workshops. All this happened while she stayed consistent with her day job, family life, and fitness classes.

Mel’s story proves that you don’t need endless time to grow a business. You just need a plan that fits into your life.

Ready to Make It Happen? Here’s What You Can Do

If you’re feeling inspired by Mel’s journey, here are three takeaways to get you started:

1. Define your constraints. What time do you actually have? Be real with yourself and use that time wisely.
2. Plan first, write second. Spend one session brainstorming hooks, and another writing emails. Don’t mix the two.
3. Think long-term. Create emails and content you can reuse. Every piece you write should be an investment in your future.

Conclusion: If Mel Can Do It, So Can You!

Mel’s story is proof that even the busiest among us can build something amazing. Her secret? She didn’t try to fight her limits—she worked with them. By using Sundays to batch-create emails and focusing on evergreen strategies, she turned her side hustle into a thriving business without sacrificing her day job or family life.

So, what are you waiting for? Your big dream is just one small step away. Take a page from Mel’s book, start where you are, and let your creativity soar. Share this article with a friend who needs a little inspiration, and let’s all start making the most of the time we have!