Stronger Together: How Baby Booty Is Redefining Parenthood Fitness In this episode of the Boulos Beat, guest host Sasha Phillips sits down with Molly DeLong Brubaker to discuss how she transformed her background in startup marketing and her experience as a new mom into Baby Booty—a fitness and community platform designed for parents. What began during COVID as virtual workouts quickly evolved into in-person classes, built around a simple idea: parents need a space where they can work out, connect, and show up as they are—without leaving their babies behind. Baby Booty blends functional fitness with real-life parenting, offering classes where children are welcome and community is central. Each session combines a workout with dedicated time for connection, creating a supportive “third space” for parents to rebuild strength and identity. The business has grown largely through word-of-mouth, with many instructors coming from within the community, reinforcing its authentic and deeply personal culture. A key part of their conversation also highlights the real estate journey behind the brand’s growth. Molly shares how moving from pop-up classes to a permanent studio required finding a space with easy access, ample parking, and a welcoming layout suited for parents with young children. With her first location in Portland and a second in Massachusetts, she reflects on navigating different markets, negotiating leases, and adapting spaces to fit her vision. As she explores expansion in southern Maine and considers franchising, real estate strategy remains central to scaling Baby Booty’s unique community-driven model.
Stronger Together: How Baby Booty Is Redefining Parenthood Fitness
In this episode of the Boulos Beat, guest host Sasha Phillips sits down with Molly DeLong Brubaker to discuss how she transformed her background in startup marketing and her experience as a new mom into Baby Booty—a fitness and community platform designed for parents. What began during COVID as virtual workouts quickly evolved into in-person classes, built around a simple idea: parents need a space where they can work out, connect, and show up as they are—without leaving their babies behind.
Baby Booty blends functional fitness with real-life parenting, offering classes where children are welcome and community is central. Each session combines a workout with dedicated time for connection, creating a supportive “third space” for parents to rebuild strength and identity. The business has grown largely through word-of-mouth, with many instructors coming from within the community, reinforcing its authentic and deeply personal culture.
A key part of their conversation also highlights the real estate journey behind the brand’s growth. Molly shares how moving from pop-up classes to a permanent studio required finding a space with easy access, ample parking, and a welcoming layout suited for parents with young children. With her first location in Portland and a second in Massachusetts, she reflects on navigating different markets, negotiating leases, and adapting spaces to fit her vision. As she explores expansion in southern Maine and considers franchising, real estate strategy remains central to scaling Baby Booty’s unique community-driven model.
MSD 26-0072 Boulos Beat - Molly DeLong Brubaker
Fri, Apr 17, 2026 8:32AM • 38:57
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Baby Booty, Molly DeLong Brubaker, commercial real estate, parent support, fitness classes, community focus, Maine, Massachusetts, entrepreneurship, marketing, branding, postpartum recovery, pop-up classes, franchising, new parents.
SPEAKERS
Sasha Phillips, Molly DeLong Brubaker, Speaker 1
Sasha Phillips 00:01
I'd like to welcome our listeners to the Boulos Beat Podcast. I'm Sasha Phillips, an Associate Broker at the Boulos company, guest hosting for Greg Boulos. The Boulos company is northern New England's largest commercial real estate services firm with offices in Portland, Maine as well as Manchester and Portsmouth New Hampshire. We've been selling and leasing real estate in Maine and New Hampshire since 1975 This podcast is designed to provide insight into Maine's leaders, its movers and shakers, and speaking of movers and shakers, I'd like to welcome Molly DeLong Brubaker to the Boulos Beat. Today we're joined by Molly DeLong Brubaker, founder of Baby Booty, a powerful community built to support parents through every stage of parenthood, from pregnancy through postpartum. Baby Booty blends functional workouts inspired by the everyday movements of parenting with a strong community focus creating space for connection resources and real support with studios in Portland, Maine and Dedham, Massachusetts, Molly is redefining what strength looks like for parents, both mentally and physically. She was also recently recognized as a Maine biz 40 under 40 honoree, highlighting her as one of the state's up and coming leaders shaping Maine's future and its economy. Well, Molly, thank you so much for being here.
Molly DeLong Brubaker 01:16
Thanks for having me. Sasha,
Sasha Phillips 01:19
so I know you're originally from our neighbor to the south Massachusetts. What brought you to Maine,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 01:25
Massachusetts is cutthroat, and people are really harsh down there. But yeah, I'm originally from Newton mass, but some of my family lives here in Maine, and actually went to high school for two years up here, so properties much easier to to get in and purchase up here in Maine, Massachusetts, is so expensive.
Sasha Phillips 01:44
It's so expensive,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 01:46
so crazy. So we, we came up here in 2019 right before covid. So lucked out on the timing.
Sasha Phillips 01:51
You really did. Did you buy a house before covid?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 01:53
Yeah, right before.
Sasha Phillips 01:54
Wow, I'm jealous. Yeah, that's awesome. So
Molly DeLong Brubaker 01:57
you
Sasha Phillips 01:58
had extended
Molly DeLong Brubaker 01:58
family up here, my mom and step dad. Okay, awesome. That's great. And before you had the brainchild of baby Booty, what did your career path look like after graduating from University of Wisconsin, it was all over the place. I've always been interested in marketing and branding, but I ended up working in Boston for a bunch of startups, mostly in the food and beverage space. I was kind of the go to marketing, sales, field marketer for these businesses. I was always counted on to, like, be the person that could get shit done. Like, they would ask me to do anything, and I could figure it out.
Sasha Phillips 02:36
Yeah,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 02:36
like, one time I had this boss who was like, we're going to a trade show, and I want to have a bathtub in the booth full of pints of ice cream, and I want a really hot model to lay in the bathtub. And I was like, figured. I was like, wow, okay, that's weird, but yeah, let's do it. So, found a bathtub, refinished it, hired a model, yeah, did all the things necessary. So, yeah, so worked for other people's startups, and learned really what is needed in just being in terms of an entrepreneur and the grit that you need to figure stuff out as you go right, insane. Yeah, I was going
Sasha Phillips 03:12
to ask if any specific experiences prepared you for entrepreneurship. Would you say it was that story that
Molly DeLong Brubaker 03:19
that boss, in particular, he taught me a lot. He taught me a lot about building the foundation of your brand and really identifying like who you are as a brand. What was cool about that company is we were only three people, but we always appeared bigger, and we wanted to act bigger and have this confidence about the brand that was really, really cool, and I've definitely tried to bring that to baby Booty in that, you know, I run this company by myself behind the scenes with, of course, the support of my managers and my instructors. But nobody's ever going to be as passionate about a business as yourself. So I try to act big, think, big, take risks, and just kind of keep this badass mentality of, I'll figure it out as I go. I don't always know all the answers, but fake it till you make it. Fake it till you make
Sasha Phillips 04:12
it. It's usually working out so far. Yeah, that's awesome. So for listeners who might not know you yet, can you tell us about what baby Booty is and who it's for?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 04:21
Yeah. So I have, like, you know, the two line answer of, like, elevator pitch, but I think a way to describe it is that's a little bit more visual is it's a beautiful community and place for you to come exactly how you are as a new parent. So maybe you're covered in spit up, you know, maybe you haven't changed your clothes in three days. Your hair is really dirty. Maybe you haven't slept in two days and you have big bags under your eyes. Or maybe you like want to strangle your husband or your partner because you are just not seeing eye to eye on being a new parent. So you show up as you are. Everybody's really. In a similar situation, we want to feel like a third space. So in the fitness industry, that's kind of like a hub, the first space being your home, second being business or work, and third being where you can go for wellness and health and community. So I like that the studio really feels really homey, and people come there and they hang out and they connect. We have classes seven days a week. We have all different types of fitness classes, and then support groups are attached to every single class. So we're getting to know each other. So we really foster all types of strength for new parents, both physical strength through exercise, and then, of course, the emotional and the mental component of becoming a new parent,
Sasha Phillips 05:44
right, right? So the first 30 minutes or so our workout, and then the second 30 minutes is sort of a community connecting time,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 05:51
exactly, yeah, exactly.
Sasha Phillips 05:53
I'll never forget my first class. I think I was probably about eight months pregnant. I was, you know, ready to pop. And after getting my butt kicked in class. I was, I was leaning over the bar with my eyes closed, stretching, and I opened my eyes to a toddler, maybe two inches from my face, just staring up at me, reaching towards my earrings,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 06:10
and
Sasha Phillips 06:10
it was probably the perfect way to end a workout. Yes,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 06:13
it's a beautiful chaos in this studio space. People always are like, how do you how do you work out with toddlers running around, or maybe you have a baby strapped on you. Maybe you're pregnant it, I don't know. You just do it. You just focus. And the kids and the babies are just there, but they're really not the main priority, but it's a safe space for them. They can explore and play and socialize. Yeah? So, yeah,
Sasha Phillips 06:35
I think it makes it more enjoyable. Before baby Booty had its own space, you were running classes out of multiple studios. What did those early days look like for you in the business?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 06:46
Yeah, so I was just trying to figure out, like, how to get legs under this if it was going to become a business. And it gained traction just somewhat naturally as word got out. So here in the Portland area, we rented from a studio, and we started with one class a week, then kept growing two. We ended up with four classes a week or so, maybe even more. Started hiring instructors, and it was, it was really nice to be able to be in somebody else's space that was already set up, but then you start to kind of realized that you're conflicting with their needs as well, with times that you want your classes and they have similar needs. So here in Maine, we rented and then also in the Boston area, I started running pop ups, renting spaces for kind of special event type classes, and then we had a weekly class. We bounced around to a bunch of towns in Massachusetts, also just trying to figure out where we wanted to land with a second studio.
Sasha Phillips 07:48
That's awesome. What would you say were the biggest challenges of being in someone else's space? I know timing it sounds like was tricky to work with? Yeah,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 07:56
I would say really establishing, like who your brand is, and feeling comfortable in your own space because you're you're just borrowing, you know, you're just borrowing their brand and putting yours inside of it. So, you know, we try to feel like a boutique fitness studio, but that's safe for babies and parents to crawl around on the floor, and it's baby proofed, and all those things. And most other fitness studios are meant for adults only. So you know, there's that difference as well. And yeah, the timing, all of our classes are really strategically timed based around baby nap times and when parents would realistically want to come work out so we currently we don't have like, a 7am or an 8am class, because those are just not ideal for new parents to be able to get out of the house, or maybe you have to bring your toddler to daycare. So that, yeah, that would be probably the main Yeah,
Sasha Phillips 08:57
that makes sense. Was there a specific moment where you thought this needs to be more than a pop up classes?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 09:05
Yeah, I think when people started asking for more class time, why don't you have a class every single day, I was getting really into all the different styles of classes we wanted to offer. So we currently have a bar class. We have mat Pilates, yoga, yoga with weights. We have a new step aerobics class. We have cardio, we have hit we have strength like we have all these different offerings. And I think I was realizing that we were going to become bigger than you know, we were going to outgrow somebody else's space, and we really needed our own space to fully see what baby Booty could be. And I'm trying to think if there was like specific moments, but I think when I realized that I could figure it out, and I was like, I've never done this before. I've never rented a commercial space. So I started asking. Questions. I asked questions of the studio owner where I rented, and I was, how did you do this? Like, you know, how do you even start? How do you have the money to do this? And just started asking a lot of questions, yeah. And then yeah, reached out to you once I started poking around the internet, looking for spaces in Portland. So, yeah, here we are,
Sasha Phillips 10:18
here today. So you offer such a wide range of classes. How do you how do you attract instructors who are able to teach such a wide variety of classes? Does it happen mostly organically, like parents come to classes and they decide they want to teach for you? Yeah, it's pretty it's pretty, pretty cool. It's usually the instructors that I'm hiring have been clients for a
Molly DeLong Brubaker 10:42
while, so they've they fully understand who we are and what we're trying to do, and how we're trying to prioritize parents and really get all these parents to really feel like themselves again, after becoming after becoming a parent. Who were you before having a baby? That's really what we think about a lot. Yeah, and all of my instructors are moms. Most of them have two kids now, so we've gone through all these different cycles where they're they're teaching pregnant, they have a baby, they have a toddler, they get pregnant again, and they really are pillars in the community. All of my instructors are so badass and so strong. They're so cool and such a cool team. We've had all these beautiful moments in the past few weeks, just coincidentally that they've been supporting one another through, like, really tough parenting challenges, and it's just been really, really, really cool. It's like the whole reason that we're here is to support other parents, but then internally, with our own team, we just kind of make it happen without asking questions.
Sasha Phillips 11:48
Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. So what inspired you to build something specifically for parents, and did your own experience with pregnancy and postpartum shape the concept?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 12:00
Yeah, I've always worked out and been into fitness and sports, Mom, you know, since I was little. And then I, when I moved to Maine, I got into doing bar and Pilates, and it just really never occurred to me that I would stop throughout pregnancy. So I kept doing it all through pregnancy. And then my baby was born, and then she would come to Pilates and be next to the reformer. And then I was like, oh, you know, you have that moment where, like, now your baby wants to crawl around. What do you do? I want to get out of the house. I'm a very social person. I like to have a good butt kicking, you know, somebody tell me what to do. So I yeah, I just ended up strapping her to my body in a structured baby carrier and continuing to do workouts. And then thought, Wow, this could actually be a class. There's got to be other moms who want to do this. So here we are. I always say that the classes are not for the baby. We're not like a mommy and me class. We're not like Googling and Googling and lifting the baby in the air like they're just there. But really, I selfishly, just wanted to keep doing the same workouts I was doing and just have my baby there, but kind of like, pretend she wasn't there. So we truly focus on being a fitness studio that feels like one you went to before having kids, in the sense of, like, the the focus, the way we talk, the way we teach, the classes are not really centered around the kids being there. And don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with those types of classes. It's just not where the brand kind of sits. And I think it's because of, out of my own desire, like I wanted to go back to the same types of fitness studios and classes that I went to, and then I became a mom, and I was like, I don't really know where to go. There's nowhere that really exists where I can bring her, and I don't want to put her in a daycare or childcare within a gym and not be able to see her. You know, as a brand new mom, that's so hard. You're not just gonna leave your baby with a random person. So that's kind of also need you know that we solved is that your baby can be right next to you. They can be on you. They can be crawling around. They can be socializing. They can be eating. They can be playing, really, they can they can do anything they want.
Sasha Phillips 14:19
Yeah, and still know that your baby is yes because you have eyes on them
Molly DeLong Brubaker 14:23
exactly.
Sasha Phillips 14:24
Yeah, that's awesome. So getting a business off the ground can be a roller coaster. What kept you going during those early stages?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 14:37
So I started the business in 2021 during covid, and I was just trying to figure out what to do with my day to day. And so it was just, it kind of started as kind of like a hobby, of like, I'll just do a workout with my baby, and I'll just invite some neighbors, you know, to see if they want to jump on. Zoom and do it too. So I ran a bunch of classes on Zoom and just kind of snowball effect, like, where was it going to take me? Where was it going to go? I just kept going because I had nothing else to do at that time. And I think my brain wanted to be put to work. You know, after becoming a mom, a new mom, you're like, like, what am I doing? Who am I? You know, you're just, like, your identity changes. You're tired all the time. Your whole world is like, talking to a tiny human who can't talk back, and they're just, like, eating and pooping. So like, I was like, oh, I should talk to adults, and I should, like, put my brain to work. Like, I have a college degree. I love marketing, I love branding, and I love fitness, and I'm a mom, so, like, mush them all together, yes? So it's like I was just having fun, yeah. And I realized I've become passionate about about, like, obviously, being an entrepreneur. I love it, but especially just about who baby Booty has become, the community, the support network, the resources that we have is really, really cool. Yeah,
Sasha Phillips 16:06
awesome. Well, speaking of your marketing experience, you have maybe the most adorable and empowering Instagram account that I follow. How did you build your presence?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 16:15
There's just all that's just all like natural, I don't know. It's just like stuff that comes to me and as you can see, like the content is, like, totally pure. It's just like the the clients who are in classes, just like working so hard, like lifting heavy weights, like just getting stronger, yeah, just just badass is the only, is the only way to describe, like, all the parents and
Sasha Phillips 16:39
all badass,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 16:40
yeah, we have so much fun.
Sasha Phillips 16:42
And as a new business owner, how did you build your leadership and operational skills? Did you have mentors? Or did you take any classes? Or was it sort of just learn on the fly,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 16:51
fake it till you make it. I work with CEI Women's Business Center, coastal enterprises. They have been a great resource for me. I had a mentor through their shout out to Ruth. I haven't talked to her in a while, but I miss you. So they're, they're great. They offer free coaching in Maine for women business owners. They are, they are great resource for funding as well. I have, yeah, I have a couple different mentors that I've worked with and just asking lots of questions, and, you know, you make a lot of mistakes, and you figure stuff out, and you have to take big risks and big leaps, and, yeah, it's really scary sometimes, like running the ship, but you just do it,
Sasha Phillips 17:40
yep. What's the saying? Figure out how to open the parachute after you jump out of the plane.
Molly DeLong Brubaker 17:46
Yeah, that's that is literally
Sasha Phillips 17:50
me. So so I'm just thinking of my own personal experiences. When I when I had my son, I hired a doula, and she one of the first things she recommended was baby Booty workout. Obviously, I already knew about you, and after I had him, I had a pelvic floor physical therapist who also recommended you. How have you gotten the word out, and how do you forge and maintain these local relationships? Oh, it's a nice question.
Molly DeLong Brubaker 18:12
Well, Portland's like, so small, like, as you know, like everybody you know within the fitness industry here, everybody knows each other within, like, the parenting, like pre and postnatal, community and network. Everybody knows each other. There's lots of events that happen. Yeah, I've really formed friendships with a lot of other business owners to share ideas, and we're working with the same the same demographic. And obviously, when you become a new parent like you need so many different resources for yourself, for your baby, you don't know what the heck you're doing. So you just you know you need to learn from all the specialists, and there's tons of them here in Maine, which is really cool. We created a like a membership partnership program where baby Booty members get access and kind of discounts, and a big list of all these partners that we have so they can go try out these resources and get some kind of offer that we've created through, like our relationships with them.
Sasha Phillips 19:17
So this is a real estate podcast, so we will now talk about your real estate. When did you realize it was time to find a permanent home for baby Booty?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 19:26
Once we once we outgrew the studio where we were renting just by the hour, and I kind of realized it was going to be possible. I actually spoke to the CEI Women's Business Center, and was like, This is what I'm thinking. You know what? What are you thinking? And my mentor there, she's always, like, super cautious. And I was like, but that's not like, that's not my style. Like, I want to do it. I want to go for it. I want to try it. And I've just always had that mentality of like, I'm going to I'm going to just go for it, because if I don't, I'll regret not trying. So. So, yeah, once I started poking around just to see what was, what was available in the Portland area, like, where I thought we should land, I definitely felt like Portland was the right spot in Southern Maine to be able to draw people from, like, a big, you know, a big area. So we do have parents that come from, like, an hour north, an hour south. People, yeah, people are ready and willing to drive to Portland? Yeah, I've met a lot of women in classes that came from far away, yeah, yeah. So when we started looking for space together back in 2022 What were your top priorities in a location? Parking, parking. Number one, parking, yeah, just the ease ability of getting into this space. So they couldn't have a ton of stairs. If a mom's gonna be coming in with her baby in a car seat or stroller, that would just be an extra workout to get into the studio. That just seemed like a pain. I would say parking, you know, safety the I would say, I didn't want to do a ton of work. So I knew I needed, like, a big open space where I wouldn't have to knock down a ton of walls. I was just looking for something easy, like something just I could walk in and kind of set up and not have to do a lot, just as my first location, not knowing what I was doing right,
Sasha Phillips 21:18
right? And I know that it was valuable to you that it was right off the highway. Molly's located at 449 forest Avenue, for those who don't know, it's right off the highway. So you're able to, you know, attract people from different towns further away. Parking is huge because, you know, parents, it's already a marathon getting out the door with your baby, and you don't need another challenge when you finally make it to the site. Was there anything about the real estate process that surprised you?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 21:46
It's like, kind of slow, like commercial real estate. And like, props to you guys, like having the patience of, you know, showing lots of spaces. It's not quite as, like cutthroat feeling as like buying a house where you're, like, having a bidding war. So it was, like, a lot slower. There's not as many like options necessarily, of like, exactly what you're looking for, surprising, not really. I think I had, like, a really smooth experience this time. You know. I think it could have been a lot harder if I was, like, doing a ton of work, having to deal with like contractors or, you know, just added complications of the space.
Sasha Phillips 22:27
So baby Booty feels very welcoming and safe the moment you walk in. How does the physical space support the sense of community you're trying to create?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 22:36
Yeah, so I looked at a bunch of spaces with you. There was quite a few. I remember being like, yeah, this could work. That could work. And then when I saw this space, I had to, like, use a little bit of, like, a creative vision, because it had some weird elements, like on the walls, and like, the lighting was a little bit weird in the floors, and like, it needed to be painted. I think it was, like a weird blue color. But the lighting, the natural light that comes in through the windows, is really, really nice. The floors were already there. I didn't have to do the floors. It's on the second floor, so it felt like a little bit safer. The parking lot is, like, right there in front. And then I was just able to visualize, like, this clean, open space. So we have some rugs in there to make it kind of feel warmer. We have a couch. It's, yeah, it's just like, a really sweet, soft, like, soft kind of space. Like, it's not like, super harsh, the lighting is not super harsh. Like, it's just supposed to feel like, warm and welcoming.
Sasha Phillips 23:31
You've got the room with couches if, yeah, mothers need to nurse or have a moment. Yeah, no, it's, it's very, it's very cozy and welcoming space. Do you have any advice for new business owners looking for their first commercial space?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 23:44
I would say, like, ask a lot of questions, of course, but then don't be afraid to, like, like, ask for more. So like, if you really want something, really want a space, but it's like, maybe a little bit above your budget. Like, there's normally a way where you can create some kind of lease agreement where maybe the rent changes over time, for example, so you can get in a lower price because they want to fill the space. And I just, I just think that I've learned that you can always, like, ask for more and like, negotiate things. Like, it's not just what they present, because I know, like the property owners, like, they want to have a good tenant, and they want to have somebody who's going to stay a long time and treat the space really nicely. I have a great property manager at the location you rented me. So, you know, all those kind of things, I definitely asked, like, How long had the my neighbors on the floor been in their spaces just to see, like, how people liked it. And people have been there for like, oh my god, like, 10 to 20 years. So I was like, the newbie, and now I've been there three years. So
Sasha Phillips 24:55
three years, three
Molly DeLong Brubaker 24:56
years, yeah, I think
Sasha Phillips 24:57
it'll be three years in February, right?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 24:59
It was. January 10.
Sasha Phillips 25:02
That's awesome. So you now have studios in Portland, Maine and dead of Massachusetts, as well as pop up classes in York Maine, with the hopes of opening a third location here. Which studio came first? And how did you know it was time to expand?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 25:15
Yeah, so Portland came first, January 10, 2023 and then we were running classes in Massachusetts at the same time, like right from the beginning, same thing, renting from another studio owner. We were kind of busting out of that space with wait lists on the classes. And again, I was just like, I have to just jump and do it. But looking at spaces in Massachusetts, it was like a lot different. You weren't there, Sasha, I didn't have you to hold my hand. Yeah. It was like, more cutthroat, because that's just like, what Boston is, right? The prices are, like, sticker shock. I was like, wait, what? Like, you're asking for that? Like, obviously the prices in Maine are less than mass. But there it was, just like, you know, there's so many businesses more
Sasha Phillips 26:05
competitive,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 26:06
yeah, super competitive. But what I do, think a piece of advice would be, as well, is like, really try to take, like, a human approach. So like, the space that I wanted, I knew a few other businesses wanted it, the one in Massachusetts, and I asked the realtor if I could meet the owner, and he was, like, super intimidating. He's a super nice guy, but I was, like, really intimidated because he owns like, a million buildings. And then it turns out that he's like, a dad. So I tried to, like, play to like, you know, yeah, you know, a family, family business. Like, I'm, I'm a first time entrepreneur, you know, all that stuff. So I think, I think that helped a little bit. So, yeah, trying to just be a human in, like, a cutthroat, like, it goes a little state business, yeah,
Sasha Phillips 26:52
a long way. Yeah. I think that's very sound advice. How did your experience with the first location influence decisions for the second.
Molly DeLong Brubaker 27:03
I think I thought I could run the two businesses the same, but they're very different, like, they serve the same demographic of like, new parents. But my other location is in Dedham mass and, yeah, just the types of moms are a little bit different. In Massachusetts, there's a lot of moms who go back to work. It's obviously more expensive there, whereas in Maine, we have a lot more kind of stay at home moms, for lack of a better word, I hate that term, so that's just a little bit different. The space itself in Massachusetts is different.
Sasha Phillips 27:40
How? So
Molly DeLong Brubaker 27:40
it's the first for the first floor of an apartment building. It's a little bit more industrial feeling. It's been a little bit harder to have it kind of feel that, like warmth. It definitely has an upscale feeling to it, which is cool. It's like, it looks like I designed it. Like people are like, wow. Like, look at these cool lights. And I'm like, they were there, actually there. Thank you. Actually there the building designer. But it's, yeah, it's just, it's different. Whereas, you know, in Portland, I'm in a commercial building here, it's like a residential building. We're on the first floor. Yeah, it's a little it's just a little different, that the spaces look different, but they're both beautiful, wide open spaces with mirrors, you know, all over the walls. And I actually just used the same, the same vendors for the ballet bars. And then I had a local mirror guy here in Portland who drove down, drove the mirrors down to mass and installed them for me, because everything in Maine is less expensive than Massachusetts, so
Sasha Phillips 28:38
and Mainers are lovely to deal with.
Molly DeLong Brubaker 28:39
Yeah.
Sasha Phillips 28:41
So the million dollar question, how do you balance being a founder with being a mom?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 28:47
I don't. I was like,
Sasha Phillips 28:51
we all try
Molly DeLong Brubaker 28:52
driving here. And I put on this branded sweatshirt, and then I looked down and it was like, covered in paint from my daughter. I was like, oh, okay, well, that's fitting. So business on the top, party, paint on the bottom. I don't think that you can find balance every day. I think that being an entrepreneur is you make a lot of sacrifices, and it's really, really hard as a new parent. The best example I can think of is I recorded on a another podcast a couple years ago, and the only recording date that they gave me was Halloween. So I missed trick or treating with my kids, but I really wanted to be on this podcast. It was the NPR podcast, how I built this, which was, like, one of my favorites. I was like, this is the coolest opportunity. Like, I have to do it. But I, like, definitely cried that I missed trick or treating. So, you know, give and take, and running your own business, it's really hard to turn your brain off, turn your phone off. You know, when you have 18 instructors, two managers, people are texting you, clients are emailing at all hours. And you know. That is amazing, and that's what I asked for in running a business. But at the same time, yeah, I have to figure out how to have boundaries, and I'm still working on that, because my brain has like, 5 million tabs open. Obviously my computer does too, and it's just like, I'm just bouncing back and forth always, like making mental lists, so I like try to calm down sometimes and just pay attention to what my kids
Speaker 1 30:23
always get there. But yeah,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 30:25
it's
Sasha Phillips 30:25
a work in progress.
Molly DeLong Brubaker 30:26
Yeah,
Sasha Phillips 30:27
what does a successful day look like for you now versus when you were just starting
Molly DeLong Brubaker 30:32
from a business perspective, right? Like having a good sales day? But that obviously doesn't define the success of our community, I would say, from like, the fitness and wellness standpoint, I would say, like, when our classes are full and people are excited, and the energy and the vibes of the studio are super upbeat, like, those are such fun days, and vibes of the space like that is something that I really love. So the music sets the tone. The instructors set the tone. All of our instructors have different personalities, so they all bring their own vibe and really just kind of being a motivator for like I said before, moms who come in covered and spit up, they're tired, they've had three coffees, and they're like, I don't really want to work out, but here I am because I wanted to get out of the house from a personal, personal success. You know, I love teaching classes, but I've been trying to work a little bit more on like the strategy of building a business and running a successful team and things that I can improve upon. So when a day works out seamlessly, where I can communicate to my team, we can share successes, or maybe we have, like an amazing client story that happened of somebody like overcoming a challenge personally or with their fitness, those are beautiful days as well, obviously making time for my own kids and feeling like I can find that balance sometimes is a successful day. But my days are like, boom, boom, boom, like I the other day, I wrote down everything I did in one day because I literally impressed myself. You know, from driving my kids to school to teaching to doing another workout, to, like, having an interview, to sending a newsletter. It was like, social media instructor training like, it was just like, non stop, and I was like, Wow, I did that.
Sasha Phillips 32:32
I did all.
Molly DeLong Brubaker 32:33
I did all of that. Yeah, so that's a long that's a long answer. There's lots of different types of success, right,
Sasha Phillips 32:42
it's true. Would you say your goals for the business have changed as the business has grown?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 32:50
Yeah, I think like, different challenges have come up. Yeah, throughout we've grown really beautifully in terms of, like, word of mouth and new parents finding us and communities growing naturally. Like in Portland, we have like, this core group of moms who have become friends, and they do stuff, you know, go to the playground. They started a book club, like we do moms nights out. So that's happened naturally, and then there's been just like challenges along the way, of making sure that I can pay everybody, making sure I can pay the rent. I always pay the rent. Don't worry, I've always paid the rent. I've never missed it. But yeah, like just keeping the business, keeping the business running, but then not feeling like I'm on a hamster wheel. Like, that's my whole thing is, like, you know, some business owners might just be happy when things are like, everything's going smoothly, and we can stay like that for a while, but for me, I, like, want more. So I'm like, Okay, so like, all of our classes should be full. Do we need more class times? Do we need more instructors? Like, what are we doing to continue to build like, what do people need? What do they want? Do we need more? You know, social time, we do we need more events? So asking a lot of questions, I like to, like, pull the the community, of like, what are your needs? Because we were not successful unless we're meeting your needs, because everything is for them.
Sasha Phillips 34:23
The ongoing suggestion box. Yeah,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 34:25
exactly so Instagram's for. That's
Sasha Phillips 34:27
what Instagram is for. Absolutely. What are you most proud of when you look at baby Booty?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 34:33
Oh, I cry. I might cry. I, like, almost cried yesterday in thinking about, like my instructor team, like, supporting each other, like, without question. Like, you know, hey, I'll drive to your house. Hey, what do you need? I can babysit for you. That's really cool. I think it's just been really beautiful that I've been able to bring my kids throughout the past four years of building the business. Us and have them with me while I was working, you know, I say working, it's like weird, but it's your own business, you know, but trying to build something that they they'd be proud of, you know? And I've made sacrifices along the way and scrambling to make ends meet. And you know, now I'm a single mom, so it's like, a little bit different to where I'm, like, this better effing work, because I have put so much into it. And I, you know, I'm I'm not doing it for a paycheck, like, I'm doing it because I love it, and I see what it does for parents who are, like, just in the thick of it, because I've been there too, like I'm still in it. My kids are five and three, but it's, it's just like, important work. And I do love it. I do feel passionate about it. I think most proud of is just the feeling that we give people, maybe after they come to our classes. I think that's really important to to really, like, hone in on, and, yeah, how our community impacts them and has changed their postpartum recovery. That's a big one is, oftentimes, people will say, I wish I found you guys sooner.
Sasha Phillips 36:17
Yeah. And
Molly DeLong Brubaker 36:17
I'm like, I wish you came when you were pregnant, and then came all throughout, you know, all throughout that. And then, yeah, we have a long life cycle. So if you're listening to this and you're like, my baby is now six years old, well, cool, you can still come because, like, I think you're postpartum, like, forever. And yeah, we're just a beautiful, beautiful community of parents. And yeah,
Sasha Phillips 36:37
I can vouch for that.
Molly DeLong Brubaker 36:38
Yeah.
Sasha Phillips 36:39
So what's next for baby Booty?
Molly DeLong Brubaker 36:41
Yeah, so we started running classes in York Maine out of this really cool organization called strong girls united, so renting space from them. So I'm just kind of using that same model right now, of like, I'm testing out that area. So we're renting space by the hour running classes, and just trying to see if like, that could be a good area for a third location. So I don't know if you have any property down there, you could show me.
Sasha Phillips 37:07
I'll keep an eye out. Yeah,
Molly DeLong Brubaker 37:09
yeah. Like that, York wells, Kittery, I don't know. I just like putting feelers out there, yeah, and I think I should stay in Maine this time. I had classes in Portsmouth at one point, and I was like, let's not do three states. Like, maybe I should just, like, own home, like own main and and have some more locations here. I do know we do get asked, like, hey, come to Brunswick, come to Freeport. What about Lewiston? What about Bangor? I'm like, yeah, like, how about all those places? Um, so, so third location. And then also, if anyone's listening to this, I am, I am thinking about franchising the business. So I've had some calls with people who are interested. That's kind of my thought, because I think it'd be an amazing opportunity for somebody who's like a mom and they want to run a business, and they love fitness and they love helping other moms and something that other other parents could be passionate about. I think there's just like a cool opportunity for us to exist in other locations.
Sasha Phillips 38:03
Yeah, that's awesome. Well, what you're doing is incredible. I mean, you just to bring like minded individuals together who are going through the same monumental shift in life, and forming this community is so important. Thank you. Thank you for what you do.
Molly DeLong Brubaker 38:16
Oh, thanks, Sasha, and thank
Sasha Phillips 38:18
you for joining
Molly DeLong Brubaker 38:18
us. Yeah, this is fun. I love being on podcast.
Speaker 1 38:20
Love to have you again. One day. Awesome. Thank you, Molly. Thanks
Molly DeLong Brubaker 38:26
guys,
Sasha Phillips 38:27
Molly, thank you for joining me today. I really appreciate you taking the time to sit down with me. You can learn more about Molly DeLong Brubakers business, baby Booty workout at WWW dot baby Booty workout.com you can find them on Facebook and Instagram at baby Booty workout. And if you'd like to learn more about the Boulos company, please be sure to visit us@www.Boulos.com you can also find us at the Boulos company on Facebook in LinkedIn, and at the Boulos company on Instagram and X you.
About Guest Host Sasha Phillips:
Sasha joined The Boulos Company in 2021. After graduating from Trinity College in 2015, she moved to Jackson, Wyoming, where she worked in property management for four years. A Connecticut native, she has always considered the East Coast home and was thrilled to move to Maine in 2020. At The Boulos Company, Sasha works across all property types in leasing and sales, with a focus on office and retail. Her favorite part of the job is connecting local and national business owners with real estate where they can succeed and grow.
Sasha currently lives in Scarborough with her husband, Cole, and their son. On the weekends, you can find Sasha spending as much time as possible outdoors, exploring the natural beauty of Maine with her family. Her proudest moment is bike-packing across the United States, and she would love to do it again one day.