Have you ever stopped to think about the client journey through your business? Do you know how most of your clients find you – word of mouth, social media, advertisements, a custom app?

Specifically, do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your front-end systems are working hard for you and converting clients?

Regardless of how your prospects find you it is almost guaranteed that they will check your website before beginning a fitness plan.

That’s why it’s important that your website clearly states what you do and provides a clear call to action on how prospects can get started with you. 

Sounds simple right? Yes, but it’s not necessarily easy to get everything from your head out onto the page of your website with clarity and conciseness. And more often than not we don’t look at our website from the perspective of our prospects.

That’s why we absolutely LOVE Donald Miller’s StoryBrand Framework. His simple, no-nonsense approach to...

We are officially almost halfway through 2020, and like most of you our studio has been closed for more than half of that time.  It’s crazy when we think of it.

Currently we are still closed as we await notice from our state authorities about moving to the next phase of re-opening, and sadly, we are seeing huge spikes in NC which makes us a bit worried about opening up right away – even if it is allowed.

And to top it off some of our team members are a bit worried about returning to the studio – some for health reasons and some because they have grown complacent and comfortable in the WFH gig.

Needless to say, there are a lot of decisions flooding our heads as studio owners and it’s important that we stay focused and do our best to continue to lead through this next phase of re-opening. 

So….how do you re-engage your team as you start to re-open your studio?

1. Communication and clarity – It is important that everyone on your team is on...

No, we didn’t suddenly find ourselves with a crystal ball and magic powers, but one thing we know for sure is that the future of fitness and wellness is changing. 

Overnight our industry was literally transformed when we were all forced to move to a virtual format, and now we are faced with another change – navigating how do we live, cope and do business in a world that now has Covid-19.

All this time in quarantine has given many of us time to reflect and actually “think” instead of “do” all the time. And over the last few weeks we’ve noticed a collective shift amongst studio owners to a “where do I go from here” mentality.

Some are deciding to contract, to simplify, to get smaller. Some are deciding to change directions all together – to pursue a new passion or to simply just take a break. Others are finding themselves leaning heavily into re-opening their studios with new protocols in place.

Wherever you are we are...

As the studio owner you are kind of like the coach of a world championship team. You can have all the talent in the world, but it’s how you coach, mentor and bring them together that really matters.

A world-class coach doesn’t just roll out the balls at the beginning of the year and say good luck – instead there is a lot of hard work, perseverance, communication, discipline, practice and growth that happens throughout the season.

And that’s exactly what you must do as the studio owner – constantly mentor, motivate, coach, inspire, teach, train and evolve your team.

So how do you that? Through communication and regular meetings.

First and foremost, we recommend a regular team meeting (ideally weekly but at a minimum monthly).

You may be thinking, “I don’t have time to meet” or “I don’t want to waste my team’s time.”

Well – we’d like to argue that you really can’t afford not to meet if you want...

Vibe check – how you doing studio owner? It’s officially week 8 of the stay at home order, and by now you probably have a bit of a routine going. Congratulations to you for how far you’ve come and how much progress you’ve made over the last few weeks. You are.still.standing!

However, you are not done, and the job of a studio owner is always an adventure – especially as many of us turn our thoughts to how and when to reopen our studios. It’s definitely something we are thinking long and hard about, and currently we are making plans for a slow and safe (as possible) reopen. We’re brainstorming, strategizing, talking with our team, moving equipment around, setting new protocols and making sure our physical space is ready. 

In addition to creating a safe physical space it is also critical that you have clear plan for profitablity in your business. In particular you need a clear way to measure how your business is doing so you can make...

We’re rounding the corner to week 5 since our studio shut down, and yes, we are officially over it. The roller coaster of emotions is almost too much to handle at times, but like you we keep persevering. We hope you are hanging in there, you are healthy, and staying safe and strong.  It’s ok if you’re not… these are hard times indeed.

Running a business through a global pandemic is not something we’re necessarily familiar with so each and every day we are learning something new about our business, our team, and ourselves as leaders.

Here are the top 6 lessons we are learning. There are many, but we’ll leave you with the top 6.

1) Health is everything – When the pandemic started we had a hard time distinguishing between the fear of shuttering our business and the fear of the virus itself. One thing this virus reminds us is that life is short, there are no guarantees and being physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually...

We hear from so many wellness entrepreneurs about how they would like to take a step back and spend more time working ON their businesses and less time working IN their businesses.

Of course just as soon as they say that, fear bubbles straight up to the surface.. They start thinking… "Oh my goodness, I'm training clients, or I'm working with people one on one, and I know that I'm bringing money in… what will happen if I take a step back?”

It is possible to gradually step away from working so much in your business and shift your focus to more strategic goals, but you must be smart about how you do it.

First take a look at your all-around pricing. How are you pricing your services? What kind of fees are you setting? Are you actually demanding what you're worth?

Examine your own thoughts about money and make sure you are leading with a “worth it” mindset. Remember that you are offering a tremendous value to your clients – a gift of health and wellness...