Reclaiming the Wild West: How Digital Tools Gave Me the Reins…
By Melody Morton-Buckleair
Founder, The Good Space Pilates & Elmwood Place Retreat
Instagram: @thepilatescowgirl
When I first opened my Pilates studio 23 years ago, there were gatekeepers everywhere — banks, landlords, ad agencies, magazine editors, and men in suits who decided what ideas were "worth" funding.
But now? That gate has blown wide open.
Tech Has Given Women Entrepreneurs the Reins
I run two businesses — The Good Space Pilates in Houston and Elmwood Place Retreat in rural East Texas. I don’t have a big marketing team or deep-pocketed investors. What I do have is a laptop, Wi-Fi, and a stack of smart tools that let me scale with sovereignty.
Here’s how I use them:
Square, Venmo, and Zelle — let me book clients, process retreat deposits, and run my business without a middleman. No delays. No 3-week bank approvals.
Canva and AI tools — I build my own marketing, write my blogs, design my signage, and prep my franchise materials — without a third-party agency. It’s me. My voice. My brand.
Instagram + Linktree — My digital storefront. I connect, share, sell, and tell my story with a simple bio link.
Google Docs + Zoom — These run my Pilates teacher training programs and franchise planning from anywhere, including my barn.
It’s the New Wild West — and We’re In It
We’re not just building businesses. We’re reclaiming our time, our voices, and our ability to serve the people we’re called to serve. With the right tech, women don’t have to wait for approval. We just go.
This isn’t about going viral. It’s about staying visible and in charge. Tech lets me do that without watering down my message or outsourcing my wisdom.
My Advice to Other Women Entrepreneurs?
Stop asking for permission. Start using the tools in front of you. You don’t need a million followers. You need courage, consistency, and a clear vision.
And if you’re worried about being "too late" to the digital economy? You’re not. The frontier is wide open.
So saddle up. Build the business you dream of. You’ve already got what it takes — now you’ve got the tools too.
For more stories of entrepreneurial grit and grounded movement, follow me at @thepilatescowgirl or visit The Good Space Pilates and Elmwood Place Retreat.
