Best Use of Time for a Wellness Studio Business Owner

You have heard the adage that you should work more ON your business and less IN your business, but what does that really mean?

Of course, as business owners our “to do” list is a mile long and there are truly never enough hours in the day. So why do so many studio owners continue to fill their schedules with clients and never officially step into the higher-level tasks that fall in the working ON your business category?

Before we get started, we have to share a bit of training about this concept that we learned from one of our friends and colleagues, Ashley Selman, owner of Evolution Trainers and Thrive Studio Coaching.

Ashley teaches about this concept of $15/$100/$1500 per hour tasks, and she encourages studio owners to lean into their highest value/highest return tasks as much as possible – hence the $1500/hour tasks.

Let’s break this concept apart a little.

$15/hour Tasks

What are the $15/hour tasks? These are any tasks that can be completed by someone other than you as they usually require a lower skill level. Notice that we didn’t say they are “less important” because every little detail makes an impact in a small business.  Examples of $15/hour tasks are:

• Answering phones
• Taking out the trash
• Cleaning the toilets (yes, we’ve done it)
• Organizing employee files/paperwork
• Administrative tasks

Essentially these are the types of tasks that you could easily pay someone $15 (or less)/hour to help offload you. 

$100/hour Tasks

Moving on to $100/hour tasks. These are usually your client appointments or the “bread and butter” of your business… and oftentimes these are the most challenging responsibilities to pass on to another staff member.  Hundred dollar/hour tasks are very important to the livelihood of your business, and when we engage in $100/hour tasks we often feel more secure….until we literally can’t work another hour or further maximize our earning potential in each given hour. Then we start to feel stretched thin and like there is no room for growth.

In short, $100/hour tasks have a cap (even it’s it way above $100/hour) because either you, your studio or the market will not allow you to scale beyond a certain level.

$1500/hour Tasks

That’s why we encourage you as owners to focus on the $1500/hour tasks. These are the important strategic initiatives in all businesses and ones that you as the owner are going to be the most invested in and committed to making them work. For example, if you invest a few hours developing a marketing campaign that ultimately yields your business new leads and converts ideal clients (with a high average dollar spend) then it is well worth your time and more in line with the $1500/hour threshold.

Other example of $1500/hour tasks are:

• Building your network
• Creating a signature program
• Systemizing your business
• Developing automated marketing funnels
• Creating passive revenue streams
• Managing your team

Yes, all of these tasks mentioned above take time to implement. That is why you must have the time to work ON your business instead of simply in it. When you prioritize these strategic initiatives then you are ultimately setting yourself up for long-term growth and stability. 

Rather than falling prey to the "owner does it all" model you are laying the groundwork for a "successful, profitable, business."

Your Studio Business

The $15/$100/$1500 concept is not absolute, but hopefully the analogy makes sense as you start to think about your business.

Now, practically speaking how do you start to spend more of your time on the $1500/hour tasks?

1. Make a list of all the tasks/initiatives you are currently doing.
2. Categorize the items on your list by $15, $100 or $1500 tasks. Are you loaded down with the lower dollar/hour tasks and therefore you have too little time to focus on the higher-level initiatives?
3. List all your strengths and make sure the tasks you are doing line up with those skills which you are both good at AND that you enjoy doing.  If you love being on the floor – then you will likely need to hire out for some of the other strategic initiatives. On the flip side if you love strategy and managing the team then consider off-loading some of your client responsibilities to a trusted team member.
4. Evaluate your team and determine if someone in house can learn some of the $15/$100/hour tasks. Empower them and train them to be successful in this new roll.
5. Consider a virtual assistant for those tasks that do not require someone be physically present at your studio.
6. Ask around your studio for help. Oftentimes there is a stay at home parent, retiree, student, etc. in your community who would bring a new skill set (and an outside perspective) to your studio and would greatly appreciate a new opportunity.
7. Start with just 3/hours per week. We tend to have this all-or-none mentality so if we feel like we can’t take a complete step back from providing the service we tend to stay put in our comfort zone. Challenge yourself to spend 3 hours/week working ON your business. Guard this time like you would any important appointment, and don’t allow anyone or anything to schedule during this time. Make this a weekly practice and you will start to see your efforts stack exponentially.
8. Scale up your time working on your business. As your team grows and you become a better leader you may find that you want to spend even more time working ON your business. As the owner, this is your decision and a luxury you have earned. Keep tweaking it until you get to your desired schedule.

We know it not's easy to prioritize this time working ON your business. In fact, we remember when our business grew to the point that it became clear that we as owners were going to have to level up and start leading from the front lines.

It was hard at first to tell long-standing clients that we could no longer see them at their ideal time, but we worked hard to make it a win/win. 

Like you, we had fear that we would lose clients, but quite the opposite actually happened. These long-standing clients got to meet a new trainer, they experienced a different approach/philosophy to training and they reaped the benefits of working with someone who was not distracted by all the other responsibilities that fall on the owners’ shoulders.

In fact, when we officially shifted to work only 15 /hours week IN the business we hit our first $1 million/year mark.

Related? Or coincidence?

We like to think it was because we finally had time to focus on those $1500/hour tasks and get strategic about growing our business.

What about you? Where do you spend most of your time - $15/$100 or $1500/hour tasks? Comment below and let us know.

Until next time…

Be Bold, Be Free & Live Empowered,