Author: Lisé Kuecker

Here’s a few facts:

60% of our clients have 1 or more team members.

30% or so of those clients have 7 or more team team members.

100% of these clients have struggled to have their team truly engaged in their business.

So what’s the problem here?

I call it the Independent Contractor Conundrum, although unfortunately, it’s just as likely to happen with many hourly employees.

It begins with a team member who waltzes in 5 minutes before their client session and waltzes out the moment the session ends, with no concept that their presence is needed for studio basics like:

• Signing clients in
• Making sure they’re properly equipped for class
• Checking in with where each client is emotionally as well as physically so they can bring their client the very best they need today
• Providing basic sales
• Addressing the minor frustrations that clients express before they become major problems
• And, this list goes on and on and on…

The fact is in studios across the country we have a significant problem with teams that assume their sole job is to provide their service {and be paid upwards of 75% to do so}.

We dealt with this problem head-on about four and a half years ago in our own businesses. I was exhausted dealing with employees {yes, employees} who showed and ran, and clients who never got the exact level of service I wanted {which admittedly is really high}.

It’s how these Pillars came to be.

They’ve evolved over the years, but they’re the primary foundation of our team’s scope of work, schedule A’s and entire basis for how we work together.

And, they’ve changed what teams meant in our business, moving our staff from “show and go” to true teams that unite together to do great things in our community, our client’s lives, and our business itself.

Pillar #1: My primary goal is to provide my customers an extraordinary experience {aka make their day}.

Pillar #2: My primary service is not my training, teaching or the service itself.  It’s the inspiration and encouragement I bring my client.

Pillar #3: If I confront a problem, I should actively solve that problem.

Pillar #4: My job begins when I walk through the door and ends when I leave {and it includes far more than my individual service}.

Pillar #5: It’s not enough to provide a service. I must understand and adapt emotionally to the clients placed before me.

Pillar #6: The client is paying for their personal experience, not my life story. I have to leave my experience, life and struggles outside the studio.

With grit + gratitude,
Lisé

Jerry Maguire…

Cute Kiddo {who made glasses precious to me forever on lil ones}…

Fabulously, Wonderful Renee Zellweger…

And, Cuba Gooding, Jr. yelling “Show Me The Money” {while Tom Cruise loses his mind on the other end of the phone}.

Whenever I start thinking money, that’s the scene that rolls into my head…

Ridiculous, Over the Top… and likely a sign of the fact that I still question whether “Money Mindset” is a real thing.

But, over the last year I’ve done a pretty good job of pushing Cuba aside, digging into my mindset {which like it or not, needed some work} and using this lil ‘ole exercise as my chance to change how I view the monies that come into my business each and every day.

The exercise is simple and takes about 5 minutes of my day, but it’s changed how I view…

• The transformative, life-changing power of my services {cause I’m keeping track of just how much my clients are impacted}
• The impact my tiny business is having on the world around me {cause our reach is much farther than we can initially guess}
• The goodness that these monies bring to my life {cause like it or not, we’ve all been programmed to some degree to believe that money is the root of all evil}

Turns out money mindset is about a whole lot more than money.

Step 1: Write out your goals specifically in turns of exact revenue in, exact revenue saved, and the exact number of clients on specific packages that it will take to reach this goal.

You know how we ask clients to get specific on what it means to “be less stressed” or “get strong”?

It’s the flip side, baby, and your turn to do the same thing for yourself.

Step 2:  Write out exactly how this money and/or your services are going to change:

• Your Own Life: Think everything from college funds paid for to paying off your momma’s house to going all Joanna Gaines and finally putting in the kitchen of your dreams.  These are the ways this money can transform your life, but be specific as to why these things matter. The kitchen in itself is meaningless, but the family dinners you’ll remember forever… well, that’s priceless.

• Your Client’s Life: This is where it gets good. It’s the specific ways you’ve changed your client’s lives and I like to get so specific, I list out my clients and the exact changes they’ve seen. So whether it’s kiddos getting scholarships or the heart rehab patient getting to walk his daughter down the aisle, it’s time to acknowledge the POWER of our work… cause we truly are life changers.

• The World: Yes, the world. Cause your impact has a ripple effect. Whether it means generational change has struck a family, or the charity you give 10% to has fed 50 people, remind yourself that this business has a much BIGGER purpose that what happens in it’s four walls. Shoot… it’s capable of changing the world.

Step 3: Write out the self limiting beliefs as to why these goals won’t happen.

For those of who have no beliefs, get on with your bad self.

For the rest of us, well it’s time to look deep into the not so pretty voices that sometimes roll through our head.

Maybe it’s that you question your worth or you don’t believe you should have money.

Maybe it’s that you haven’t met your goals the last three months, so why would that change?

Maybe it’s that you had a competitor open up and you’re scared out of your mind that your clients are gonna jump ship for greener pastures.

Write it all down.

Step 4: Write down the truth, complete with the actions you’ve taken to change these beliefs.

Just had a competitor open? Well, you’ve spent years building a loyal following and this month you’re reaching out to 120 of your best customers to share how much you appreciate them {along with a bottle of your favorite wine}.

Haven’t met your goals in two months? It’s a good thing you hired a coach to serve as your operations director for two hours a month, cause she’s going to bring amazing change {and I do believe that our action steps forward often yield change in themselves}.

The key is to notate the actions you’re taking that negate these beliefs. It’s not about sitting by the wayside. It’s about taking the steps into change.

My Challenge To You: Do this exercise daily for thirty days and let’s see what happens. I guarantee, you’ll find yourself in bigger and better places shortly!

With Grit and Gratitude,

Lisé

Local Media is {not} dead.

It’s just time to repurpose it.

Case in point…

These four strategies that we’ve used to turn FREE local publicity in hundreds of thousands of dollars of new client and corporate sales.

And, the best part about them?

You can choose one action item and get started building your brand and your client base today.

So let’s get started…

1. Use the Oft Maligned Press Release: For the first seven years of my business, I ignored, derided and blatantly refused to use a press release.

But, one day a plucky manager of mine sent one off to the local paper and in the next week, three new people walked through our doors. It was nothing fancy, but overwhelmingly effective and it changed my views of press releases forever.

Since then, we’ve announced our new hires, new programs, new locations and new moves and driven in new clients each and every time.

What’s made them effective is a simple Call to Action within the release that gives clients a reason to step forward and join you.

2. Be the expert: As our industry grows more saturated with generalists, it’s your job to become “the expert”.

And, not just any expert.

Whether you’re the go to resource on new momma issues for the local television station, a rehabilitative expert for geriatric populations that writes for the local paper, or the premiere athletic trainer for children between the ages of 13-18, you have a chance to carve a niche for yourself as the best of the best.

**If you’re in a town of 10,000 people or less, you can remain a generalist, but I would encourage you to speak to specific audiences you regularly see in your media appearances.

3. Adopt a Reporter: Yes, literally take them on free of charge for 30 days and let them share the experience.

Trust me when I tell you, you’ll never get better publicity than this!

4. Engage your Local Business Organizations and Chamber: Ever wondered how to access a treasure trove of potential corporate clients and thousands of prospects? Just walk through the front door of your local Chamber of Commerce or similar organization.

Our local business organizations provided free of charge:

• Email blasts to hundreds of local businesses with thousands of local employees
• Signage of major promotions on the primary highway in town
• Facebook and Instagram campaigns
• And, relationships that helped hundreds of clients through our doors.

Can you see why I want you to get in touch?

So you’re ready to get started and maybe make this happen? Then I’ve got something to help you on the way. Click HERE to grab a copy of our Press Release template that’s ready for you to complete and send to your local media.

With grit + gratitude,

Lisé

On January 19th of this year my dear darlin girlfriend Michelle Laframboise wrote me and said she had someone I had to meet.

Now, if you’ve ever met Michelle, you’d know she’s the craziest Canadian with a heart of gold and an ability to connect people like NONE other. She see’s relationships and moves to make them happen, so when she said this, I begged for an immediate introduction.

And, so it was that Delia Buckmaster came into my life.

While most people know Delia as a finalist for The Pilates Anytime Next Instructor Competition, I’m gonna have to declare her a Renaissance Woman in the field of fitness as her studio includes:

• Pilates {she is Stott certified, PMA-CPT and Basi trained}
• Booty Barre {for which she’s a Master Trainer}
• TRX
• And, IndoRow {this is what happens when a Pilates Instructor meets a rowing machine}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, all of this happens in Whitefish, MT, population 6,357.

This momma of 2, has spent 16 years transforming both her own body and thousands of clients and in the process she’s developed a following that goes far beyond the boundaries of her small town.

I happen to love the fact you can build a studio in a community you love, raise a family and still make a name for yourself in the wider world beyond {Check out this month’s Pilates Style for proof of that}.

Join Delia and I as we chat boutique fitness in small towns, using the media to build a personal brand and making the leap from brick and mortar to an online presence like:

• A mental connection to Pilates was what made Delia fall in love with the practice
• How Delia grew her business organically – through opportunity
• The advantages of having a studio within a gym when you’re starting out
• Why she chose to step forward during the recession (instead of pulling back!) and how this served her
• The importance of taking time to regroup and rebalance between clients
• How Delia introduced different paradigms into her business

With grit + gratitude,

Lisé