The PSM blog

Chalk Talk. For studios that fly.

Business advice for studio owners, guides to every apparatus, the fun side of pole, aerial and circus culture, and what’s new inside Pole Studio Manager.

A pole fitness student holds a beginner spin while classmates practise at their poles and cheer her onLatest · Studio businessL1 to L5
Studio business

How to structure pole levels (with a free level chart)

Levels keep students safe, make your schedule easier to understand and give everyone something to work towards. Here’s a practical way to build them.

A pole instructor checks her class list on a tablet while students warm up and stretch behind herInside PSMPrereqs
Inside PSM

Feature spotlight: prerequisites that keep students in the right class

Keep students in the class that’s right for them, automatically, at the moment they book.

An aerial silks student holds a foot lock while her instructor spots from the crash matDiscipline guidesSilks, lyra & trapeze
Discipline guides

A beginner’s guide to aerial apparatus

Silks, lyra, trapeze, straps, hammock and rope. What each one is, how it feels, who it suits and how studios usually teach it.

Two chalk-dusted hands grip a chrome dance pole, with a towel and a grip-aid bottle on a bench behindCulture & funGrip 101
Culture & fun

Pole grip 101: skin, sweat, weather and slippery days

Skin, sweat, weather and the pole itself all decide whether you stick or slip. Here’s what’s going on, and what students and studios can do about it.

Friends laugh and cheer as a bride-to-be tries a beginner spin at a pole studio partyStudio businessParty to regular
Studio business

Bachelorette pole parties that turn guests into students

A party room full of people who have never touched a pole is the best marketing a studio can get. Here’s how to run parties that pay well and bring guests back.

Culture & funMallakhamb to main stage
Culture & fun

From mallakhamb to the main stage: a short history of pole

People have been climbing, spinning and balancing on vertical poles for centuries. Here’s a short tour of how we got from ancient training grounds to today’s studios and championships.

A new student signs a studio waiver on her phone at the front desk while a staff member holds a tabletStudio businessWaiver checklist
Studio business

What to include in a pole or aerial studio waiver

A checklist of the sections most studio waivers cover, plus how to make sure every student has signed before their first class.

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