Author: support@studiogrow.co

Y’all, when I spoke to my team about this episode via our weekly Zoom huddle, they just looked at me and said: 

Lise, you cannot say that on the podcast

However, despite any controversy, I truly believe in what I’m going to be sharing this episode. 

So, keeping with the theme of the past two weeks, if I were to go back and change how I ran my business, here’s the one thing I would do, especially in the context of 2021:

I would let go of every in-person sales staff member and completely centralize my sales system. 

Now, I know the response to this statement will be split, to put it lightly. So, let me explain what I mean by this. 

When I say in-person staff member, I don’t mean your instructors who also double as incredible sales people. Instead, I’m talking about someone dedicated to sales who works exclusively in-studio. They can be a front-desk staff member who doesn’t do too great of a job at sales, or they can be a dedicated sales member who isn’t pulling their weight in-terms of bringing revenue into your studio. 

On the flip side, a centralized sales system means building out a sales team that can work (and close the sale) from anywhere. 

And I truly would either not hire in-person sales members in the first place, or lay them off now in favor of a centralized system. 

But, I know it’s easier said than done. 

So, in today’s episode, I’ll be breaking down WHY I believe in this system so much (including some real-world success stories), the two routes you can take with this system, their pros and cons and much more!

In this episode you will learn: 

• What a centralized sales team looks like {and why I would focus on using one if I were starting over again}

• One downside of a centralized sales time that makes them not for everyone

• What happened when we first tested our sales system with one of our accounts

• Things to consider when setting up an automated sales process and sales team

• Specific questions to be asking yourself as you set up the sales process in your business

With grit and gratitude,

Lisé

LINKS:

https://www.instagram.com/studiogrowco

https://www.boutiquefitnesscoalition.com/

https://www.boutiquefitnesscoalition.com/press

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3312618912101211/

https://studiogrow.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/SG_StartingAgain_Sales.pdf

Last year, I spent a month with my parents in Louisiana. 

Now, we’re a family from the deep south and we’re rich in conversation, hypothesis, and playing a more grown-up version of make believe. 

So, the question ‘how would I start all over again’ has been tossed around constantly in our living rooms during game night, often to hilarious results. 

But this time, my mom and I used it to springboard a more serious discussion. 

My mom is an incredible woman and one of my biggest role models. She’s a therapist, but spent a huge part of her life as an entrepreneur. Not only did she own businesses in male-dominated industries in the 80 and 90s, those businesses thrived.

So, when we were discussing why some studios thrived in 2020 and why some didn’t, she looked me right in the eye and said: 

“Lise, it’s all about the branding”

Of course, I disagreed with her at first. I thought the core offer and client interaction were more important. 

Yet, when I woke up the next morning, I knew she was right. 

As always. 

Because when I look back at how her businesses succeeded in industries where she had all odds stacked against her, it was because her branding was so on point, that it almost didn’t matter that there was a woman in the CEO’s office. 

So, in this second part of the ‘If I Were to Start Again Series’, I break down all things branding and why it should be on the top of your priority list too. I talk about how to create a perfect brand guide (and why it’s so important), why I’m obsessed with content calendars, and why you should add ‘Chief Marketing Officer’ to your title ASAP. 

In this episode you will learn: 

• The big lesson I learned from my mother about the power of a brand

• The new job title I would use if I were starting over growing a studio

• What our branding process in 2017 looked like, and how long it took to complete

• The importance of a brand guide and the impact ours had on the results of our branding

• A big mistake a lot of studio owners make when branding that I want you to avoid at all costs

• Why I want you to get exceptional with your content calendar, and how our team does this 

With grit and gratitude,

Lisé

LINKS:

https://www.squarespace.com/

https://showit.co/

https://studiogrow.co/episode413/

https://www.instagram.com/studiogrowco

https://www.boutiquefitnesscoalition.com/

https://www.boutiquefitnesscoalition.com/press

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3312618912101211/

https://studiogrow.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/SG_StartingAgain_Branding.pdf

Y’all, I’m literally taking a deep breath as I record this episode. 

We’re in a new year, and for the first time in a long time, we’re finally at a point where we’re out of survival mode and can really look ahead. 

Studios we’ve been working with in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand are up and running and seeing some of the biggest returns they’ve ever seen. Revenue in studios in North America are up by 32%. We’re seeing some incredible things happen in the boutique fitness space. 

So, while 2020 was a crazy difficult year, I don’t want to say it’s been all bad. 

And looking ahead at 2021, it’s obvious that this year will be drastically different than any year before. 

So, as I sat down and planned this podcast, I wanted to tackle it from a different, more useful perspective: 

If I had to go back and start my business again in 2021, how would I do it?

How would I tweak my business and change my vision?

There’s a LOT to cover on this topic, and I’ll be trying to tackle as many as I can over the coming weeks. 

And today, I’m starting with the basics – should you reinvent your business model this year?

So, listen in as I go through why malleability is so important when it comes to your vision, the three most popular business models post-pandemic, and which model fits your studio the best. 

These are probably some of the most important episodes I’ve ever filmed. And I truly hope they help you figure out your journey ahead.

In this episode you will learn: 

• How the playing field has totally changed in 2021 – and what you can do about it as a studio owner

• The way that I would adjust my business model if I were starting over this year

• What the difference is between the model, the vision and the values of a business

• How you can truly harness the ability to adapt, and why this will be crucial to master going forward 

• The 3 new business models that are emerging and should not be ignored 

• What to know about “profit goldmines”

With grit and gratitude,

Lisé

https://www.instagram.com/studiogrowco

https://studiogrow.co/episode413/

https://www.boutiquefitnesscoalition.com/

https://www.boutiquefitnesscoalition.com/press

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3312618912101211/

https://studiogrow.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/SG_StartingAgain_BusinessModel.pdf

Being a studio owner means asking yourself the tough questions – ‘am I overpaying my staff? And can those expenses be renegotiated?’

When I spoke my colleagues about this, the response I got was universal and worrying:

‘My instructors, trainers, teachers, and expenses hold more value than I do to the studio and how I pay them and myself will reflect that.’

Y’all, once again, I totally get it.

In fact, when I first started expanding my team, I paid my staff an inflated salary.

I just wanted to be seen as a good boss.

Until the year-end rolled around and I was barely making money myself.

That’s when I realized one thing:

Your studio is your rodeo.

If you don’t value yourself financially, you sure ain’t valuing your business or your team.

Which is why I wanted to bring this episode back for a ‘Best Of’ run!

Join me in today’s throwback episode as I tackle this belief headfirst and share my 30/30/30 profit roll, how to value yourself in your business, and what ‘constantly being in hiring mode’ means!

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The real reasons why you aren’t paying yourself

• Whether or not you are paying your instructors an above-average rate

• A breakdown of my 30/30/30 profit roll 

• How to start evaluating your instructors based on the client experience 

• Ways to renegotiate with open financials 

• The misconstrued belief of your worth 

With grit and gratitude,

Lisé

LINKS:

https://www.instagram.com/studiogrowco

https://www.boutiquefitnesscoalition.com/

https://www.boutiquefitnesscoalition.com/press

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3312618912101211/