From Humidity Hair to Fitness Fairs: Industry Chat with Michael & Stephanie

On this episode of Yoga Biz Champ, Michael Jay welcomes back Stephanie Breaux Bradley, a returning guest known for her dynamic insights into the fitness industry.

In this candid conversation, Michael and Stephanie discuss recent industry events, the influence of Gen Z on the fitness world, and the importance of knowing your numbers as a business owner. They also touch on customer experiences and the value of authentic communication in building a loyal clientele.

Highlights:

- Industry Insights:  Michael and Stephanie share their experiences from recent conferences, highlighting the differences between yoga and fitness industry events and what yoga studios can learn from the broader fitness industry.

- Gen Z Influence: A deep dive into the characteristics and preferences of Gen Z, including their tech dependency, willingness to pay for wellness, and the importance of authentic, transparent communication.

- Pricing Strategies: Discussion on the importance of transparent pricing, knowing your bottom line, and having flexible pricing options to meet diverse customer needs.

- Customer Experience: The significance of the pre-class, in-class, and post-class experiences in retaining clients and creating a welcoming studio environment.

- Authenticity in Business: Real-life examples of how authenticity in communication and marketing can build trust and loyalty among clients.

- Overcoming Burnout: Strategies for studio owners to manage burnout, including the importance of taking time off to work on the business and the value of support networks.

Apps, Websites, and Tools Mentioned:

- SalesARM:** A service mentioned for its effectiveness in lead management and nurturing client relationships.

- MY FREE CANVA SCHEDULE TEMPLATE: Used for creating visual schedules to help clients integrate studio classes into their lives.

ALL THIS SEASON NOW HAVE VIDEO VERSIONS ON YOUTUBE. GO SUBSCRIBE!
YOUTUBE

Connect with Stephanie
- Website
- Instagram
________________________________

Michael Jay - Yoga Biz Champ 

Michael Jay, the Yoga Biz Champ, stands as the go-to Yoga Business Consultant, embarked on a mission to elevate yoga studios from mere survival to genuine thriving.

With a rich background as a yoga teacher, former studio owner, marketing expert, and yoga studio business coach, he possesses the insider knowledge necessary to elevate your yoga venture to new heights.

His passion for yoga, combined with a sharp business acumen and a sincere desire to see studio owners excel, encapsulates his professional ethos. Michael is not one to offer one-size-fits-all advice; instead, he's dedicated to providing tailored guidance, tangible outcomes, and supporting your studio to emerge as the next Yoga Biz Champ in your community. 

• Certified Yoga Biz Consultant • 
• FitTech Partner •
• Yoga Studio Launch & Growth Specialist

FREE RESOURCES AND BOOK A CHAT LINK
https://yogabizchamp.link/podlink
________________________________
Subscribe, Rate, and Review:
Don't forget to subscribe to Yoga Biz Champ.
Follow us on social media @yogabizchamp, rate, and review the podcast. 
Thank You!

FREE RESOURCES AND BOOK A CHAT LINK
https://yogabizchamp.link/podlink

Transcript

Stephanie: [00:00:00] Can you speak? Yes, I can speak. Oh, there we go. This is what happens when you, um, wash your hair and put hairspray on it because you're trying to do a good thing by going out and then you have a rainstorm and Rosanna, Rosanna Dana's hair comes back. 

Michael Jay I thought you were trying to look cute for me. 

Stephanie: No, it's, this is what the weather does in humidity in the South.

Michael Jay Smooth 

Stephanie: it down a bit. I can't, like, I flat ironed this, like, it's like,

You want me to put a hat on? 

Michael Jay And she is back, the one, the only, Stephanie Bro Bradley. We're all over the place talking fitness trade shows, client experiences, and the Gen Z demographic. Some technical issues in this, I tried some new software, and I gotta be honest, I had some struggles. But So it's either put this out now or it doesn't get out there.

So a few blips in this episode, but you'll get the gist of it. Enjoy. [00:01:00] Welcome to another episode of Yoga Biz Champ. And I've got somebody returning back that just keeps coming back and back and back. I can't shake this one. Welcome back to Stephanie Bro Bradley. 

Stephanie: Thank you. That seems to be in the theme. I got a, I was on a call with some fellow constituents and was being introduced someone and they.

And. They described me as a jack in the box, which I don't know is positive. They were like, she comes out and she says, and then you're like, put her back in for a minute. And that's what binded me when you said 

Michael Jay she's back. I just, so this is honestly, this everybody, this is just me and Stephanie talking about industry chat here and hoping that you get something out of it.

Both of us have been going to a few conferences. And what I think is interesting is just seeing The things that come up at conferences and the different vibes. And for me, what's interesting is keeping in mind that this is a yoga. You've been to the LaGree conference. I went to the IHRSA conference, which is a massive [00:02:00] trade show.

It was in Los Angeles and it was a fitness gym bro kind of conference. You had this before on the podcast. I went to a ton of. information sessions and seminars and all that stuff and panel discussions. And I just think that the yoga industry can still learn a lot from the fitness industry. And I know that you're also, uh, with the sales arm.

And so you do see the yoga world and you see the fitness gym world. It's a 

Stephanie: very interesting topic because I feel like there are some elements that are consistent across modality. Right. Like you speak to someone else, how you serve as a client, how you need to figure out your avatar audience, how you need to be consistent.

And so when you say learn from, I think it's important when you are extracting information to see what sits with you and stick and to see what has absolutely nothing to do with you. [00:03:00] Right. And that's with anything you'd work with clients and I'll, we'll be talking about brainstorming ideas. And some of those ideas, someone's like, Oh my God, I want to run with.

That's amazing. And other people, before you finish, the idea was like, yep, not on my brand. If you can get to that point to know right away, when you come across ideas and stuff, my God, there's some thought to this, I could probably tweak this to work for me, or if it's an immediate, like, it's not going to speak to me.

It's not going to speak to my people. That's a good place to be as a business owner, especially with all of the things changing is just to know who you are, what your values are, what your market will like, what your client community will like type of thing. Well, you and I talked about that. 

Michael Jay Well, I think three things you spoke about, there are the foundation of business, know your audience, figure out what they want and deliver what they want, they need, 

Stephanie: and I don't want to offend, but sometimes I naturally do.

And you and I started talking about this. Nowadays, the consumer. Is much [00:04:00] more, I'm not going to say intelligent, but prepared ahead of time when they're walking into a situation, right? Like before COVID, like kind of me, all of the information. And I felt better about it. And I would walk into a place and I would talk to someone and we would establish a relationship where nowadays I feel like if someone is coming to your business, either through in person or online, they've got a, the foundation of a working knowledge of what questions they want to ask.

Yeah. 

Michael Jay Also know if your, if your numbers, your, your, your prices are not transparent on the website, that they're probably going to have to go through some kind of sales. Well, honestly, I just went through it. I, so I've been looking for a local gym around here. I've been going to my little community center, but it doesn't open early enough for me and I want to get it in early.

And so I've been shopping around myself. And so I went, I went in defense mode, to be honest, I went in there going, I know [00:05:00] this business, you're not going to get me. That's literally what I went in there. Right. And I went into this gym and it was the most half assed Anything just walking in, um, the, I'd been getting all these really bad automated messages prior that were not relevant, uh, already booked their meeting and they're trying to still book me like really bad.

Um, and then I got in there and it was like this dead zone in there. There was no music on. It just felt really blah in there that he sat down and had a chat. And literally was like, this is our menu on a laminated piece of thing. And I sat there and I'm like, yeah, this is for me. But I definitely went in, in knowing that the prices were not that transparent and knowing that I couldn't just purchase something online.

I went in, in defense mode. 

Stephanie: Which I think is interesting that you bring that up when it comes to, like talked about [00:06:00] Gen Z and how people like to do it because people I'm referred to as the carrier pigeon, cause I'm older than most people like to have a conversation before I give you my money in most instances, right?

I want to ask the nuances of what it looks like, but you bring up a great, a great point because I sometimes go back and forth with some of my clients How many pricing options should I put on the website? How can I give them a taste of what the pricing is without giving them like a cheesecake factory menu?

Michael Jay Yeah. Because 

Stephanie: I agree with you. It's a 

Michael Jay simple path. 

Stephanie: I want to know ahead of time if you are in the realm of money that I've budgeted for, but I don't necessarily need to have every option that you give me. What do you recommend clients when it comes to when they're starting out? How many, how much to put out there when it comes to pricing?

Michael Jay I like pricing out there. I just love it. I like it. No. So no, it's I like to have a set menu. So for me, I have a magic menu that I think [00:07:00] works for most studios. And I can't generalize everybody's going to be a little different. But for most studios have a general kind of rule of thumb for a good pricey menu.

But you and I talk about this a lot. And that is, Having other pricing options in your back pocket. So you can know in your numbers. Yeah Can you talk about that knowing your numbers and then having that back pocket number that back pocket? Thing a little bit. 

Stephanie: Yeah, I can't get started in this consulting thing.

And we know of a whole bunch of things cause we've ran a studio, but then you kind of those things that you really feel like you can add value with that. You could really shine. And for me, I've always been a numbers 

Stephanie 5: person 

Stephanie: and, um, as a studio owner, I will vulnerably admit looking at my numbers all the time, wasn't something that I did on the regular.

Um, it's something that I think you should do on the regular cause it just paints a picture. And I think the most important thing that a studio they're already opened are. Going to open is to know that it's not a copy and paste kind of situation. There are too many [00:08:00] variables that come into play. For instance, knowing what your market can uphold, obviously is very important.

You don't want to be $30 less or $50 more. Yeah, you want to be able to be able to play the game. Secondly, but even more importantly, you need to know what your business needs to make for you to keep your doors open. You need to know what those numbers need to be as far as how many people you need to have in a class.

paying what amount of money to know how to price it so that you are breathing freely, that everything's going to get paid because you're price clear. Once you have what that magic number is, you keep it in your back pocket and here is why. 

Michael Jay We alluded. So just to be, I just want to be really clear on that number.

This is your bottom line number. People need to know. It's like it's your bottom line, bottom line number that that particular class needs to run. To be profitable. To be profitable. Yeah. 

Stephanie: I'm. Once you know that bottom line number, [00:09:00] you can give yourself that space when it comes to what pricing looks like and what promotions look like and where's that bottom line, that best, that 

Michael Jay you can't 

Stephanie: go below and it helps you with not like feeling or undercutting existing members when you're going to get new members.

And the reason why I feel like that magic number is helpful is because you don't want to have a cheesecake factory menu on your, on your studio website. Right? Like. I'm on page three and I'm still in salads. You've lost me. I'm now gone. Do something else. But if someone comes to you with your more intelligent consumers that we talked about and says, I want a 27 a month class package to do unlimited because unlimited says that I'd come 30 times.

I feel like I'm going to shortchange myself. This is what I want. That 27 class is not on my website, but I know what my magic number is so I can sell you whatever you want right here and I'm not undercutting anything. counting your [00:10:00] value, it is showing up the way that the consumer needs the pricing to be shown.

Michael Jay You can have, you can create something custom that's not front facing to the consumers that you could offer as a, uh, for example, if we're trying to get them into a unlimited and we're, they're not going for the unlimited and we don't have much of another option, we can have a back pocket saying here's a mini membership.

Yeah. Customer forward 

Stephanie: because the mistake I made and I owned my studio and this was all pre COVID was new client special to membership. That was the route I needed everybody to take. I didn't ask you what route you wanted to take. I didn't ask you how many times you were coming to what would make sense to you.

That was my route that I decided and it soon became very clear that you bite the mindset of the buyer. I had one client who literally came to class every day. But wanted to buy packages. Didn't [00:11:00] want to buy anything contractual because she said she only committed to her partner and her hairdresser and nothing that I was going to do was going to change her mind.

So why am I going to fight that? With inevitably I'm getting more price per class her on that package anyway. So we always preach about having your auto renew because it helps you with the consistency of your business. And 10 class package or whatever. But then just realizing like you just, you want to meet the sophisticated buyer where they are in a customizable fashion, especially if you label yourself boutique.

But at the same time, you don't want to compromise what the value of your business is to have 

Michael Jay in order for you to 

Stephanie: pay your bill. 

Michael Jay And also, it's perceived value too when people are looking at your schedule, right? Because, I always present, so I have a Canva template that I have all of my studios use that show the schedule Monday through Sunday.

Right. Because I want people to [00:12:00] be able to look at schedule and go, I can get in Monday, Wednesday evening, Saturday morning. That is value to me, if I can get in there and that's easy to make a decision.

This is my most given away resource that I give to my yoga studio clients that work with me. So I'm giving this away to everybody. And it is a free Canva template that creates a schedule, a [00:13:00] visual schedule, Of your studio classes. And the reason for this is people don't think about their lives when they're choosing your studio.

They are going to look at, can I fit that in my life? So they're going to look and go, Oh, that studio, I can get in a 4 30 on Monday and a half, I can get in on Thursday for a gentle flow at seven o'clock. Oh, and a nine 30 at half of low. That's worth me trying it out. Right? So I have my studios. integrate these into their sites.

So this is Westpark Yoga. I opened them with 220 pre sold members, and this is how that they're using it. This is Newberg Yoga Sharla. I opened them with full classes on first day, and this is how they're using it. And so it doesn't mean you can't use your integrated one, but it just really is a great tool to help people visualize how your schedule fits in their life.

This is Summer Sol. I opened them in Canada. And so all you have to do is grab [00:14:00] this free copy of my 

Stephanie 5: download.

And a very timely 

Stephanie: comment that you make, because as all of the listeners right now are figuring out what their summer looks like. 

Stephanie 4: I 

Stephanie: do think it's important to do what you said and look at what your summer schedule is going to be so that you can accurately have your summer specials. Speak to that. And what do I mean by that?

Especially in the value of expectation, if you have a shortened staff during the summer, um, for the July's coming around, maybe you don't even have any instructors in town for that weekend, it's important to have that schedule figured out because the first thing in me as a consumer is going to do if I'm looking at what package I want to buy for my summer special 

Michael Jay is 

Stephanie: look at the calendar and see how many times I'm going to be able to come.

Michael Jay Totally. Totally. [00:15:00] I'm 

Stephanie: aggravated if I bought the package and then you reduce the schedule. 

Michael Jay Weak. Weak view schedule. But yeah, in the consumer's mind, it's, you need them to make that decision really quickly, right? It's, uh, consumers though. I'm going to switch modes just a tiny little bit because you touched on, you said the word Gen Z.

Stephanie: I don't think I said that, but okay. 

Michael Jay Yeah, the conference, there was a big discussion about Gen Z and millennials. And I was absolutely fascinated by the, this discussion. I'm actually going to have one lady onto the podcast and talk about this because to me, it was completely, uh, so I'm going to throw some notes to you that I, that I made.

It's the first ever. Digital only generation, right? So from birth, that's all they've known. Technology's always been there. Uh, they're searching for info on Tik TOK and Instagram. 

Stephanie: I've heard YouTube also, 

Michael Jay uh, [00:16:00] YouTube biggest search engine. Yes. 

Stephanie: They 

Michael Jay have a lack of experience. They're pragmatic. They're into mental health and wellness.

Um, I love this line. They are not tech savvy. They are tech dependent. Um, I tell 

Stephanie: you that has become at the forefront. I'm a mother of three young adults, right? Throughout their teenage years. Some of them were easier to manage than others. Um, the go to for me, if there was some situation where discipline was needed.

What's to want to take their digital back away from them? Cause they were so ingrained in it. Like, okay, your privileges on your one serious kind of situation where I was dealing with one of my children and it saw, um, some help on like having a better parent and they opened my eyes to. That's all they know.

Stephanie 4: Yeah. 

Stephanie: That's how they are connected to everything, their friends, their teachers, their school schedule, their [00:17:00] paper, 

Michael Jay anything. 

Stephanie 3: That's how they're connected. And it was so hard for me to grasp. It's like, that's like, that's like one of my clients all the time. And that's because I 

Stephanie: didn't grow up with that.

That was disturbing to me. And they're bringing this up. It's like, it's all they know. 

Michael Jay It's 

Stephanie: all they know. 

Michael Jay So you're that, 

Stephanie: if you are. Someone who's not Gen Z, who's a little bit older, there's that learning curve to know how 

Michael Jay to digitally reach them. Right? Well here's, here's, so they are diverse. Um, the MO are gener, they are generation active.

I loved that. Mm-Hmm, . Um, I liked that they, they are willing to pay more for health and wellness. That surprised me. Um, they can a luxury 

Stephanie: really. 

Michael Jay Um, strategy and marketing. I'm just reading my notes say strategy and marketing is more diverse. Uh, regressive is satisfying. I lost my notes. Satisfy, incisive, satisfying individual growth, they're in it [00:18:00] forever.

But here's the interesting thing for the fitness world, they have more than one membership. Um, and so they will change and flip membership, but they will come back if they like the experience. Um, 

Stephanie: You touch on a good point because I think the experience, we always talk about experience and value, and I think those two things are true.

People will pay more, For the right experience to feel included, because here's the deal. I go by this all the time. I always want to be invited to the party. I might not come, but I always want to be invited. And that's where that consistency shows up. So to your point, if they leave because they're going to, they're in yoga and they decided to go try cycling, they still have that feeling that they felt to your experience.

They'll be back in a heartbeat. What does this mean for the industry? Just came out today, like there are a lot of brands that are all going under one umbrella. Grab my free resource at yogabizchamp. link forward slash canva. yogabizchamp. 

Michael Jay link forward slash canva or grab the [00:19:00] link from this episode show notes.

Stephanie: So, well 

Michael Jay here's the interesting thing. So, I mean, massive fans, or I'm going to say I'm not a massive fan of ClassPass, but this is where ClassPass fits that audience perfectly. Right. Right. So, you know, that audience is wanting, you know, have diverse experiences, ClassPass is on to something. 

Stephanie: Well, I think, and I think you're correct.

I think that ClassPass has molded in this just from my experience and observation, that it's less of a platform for those people seeking a deal and more for a platform for those people seeking a diverse 

Michael Jay crowd 

Stephanie: experience. Yeah. Over on. 

Michael Jay So, let's come back to ClassPass, because I've got to tell you, I've got to tell you about, um, somebody must pass out right now.

Stephanie: You know you're right. 

Michael Jay Yeah. Uh, on the, on the Gen Z, there was a couple of other things that I thought were, um, so more membership, [00:20:00] authentic communication. So they spent a lot of time and they heard this in multiple different rooms and it was Your words can't be meaningless anymore. They can't be me. They can't be just words of we do this on our website.

You actually have to back those things up with actions now. So this audience cares about what you do, what you support. Um, and so how you show up, how you show up. So authenticity, we can't just present a glossy front anymore. I think for this audience, like, okay. 

Stephanie: I actually, I don't know if I use this example when we've talked before, but it still sticks in my head.

When you talk about authenticity, I remember coming across someone who I think it was a Bikram yoga studio is very hot yoga studio. And she was constantly asked because she didn't offer her intro was a three class pack. She didn't offer a free class at the beginning, which we can go on a tangent about how we feel about a free class.

Um, [00:21:00] and I'm getting questions asked. Why don't you offer a free class? Everybody else in town offers a free class, blah, blah, blah. And she decided to address it in a very authentic way. She sat in her studio room with her phone. So you could see that she was just bottom line sitting on the floor talking.

And she said, I'm all asked why I don't offer a free class. And here's why. Your first class will suck. You will be basically trying to manage how to breathe through a heated room And she gave like the degree of temperature that it is So if that was your only experience, I would never have anybody coming back because the first class Your second class sucks a little less because you know now what to expect as far as the heat But now you want to kind of maybe paying attention and being able to stay in the room for that full time And knowing what the words are It isn't until your third class that you feel successful and realize that this is a practice that will benefit you or not.

And it was so raw and it was so authentic [00:22:00] that it was like, I respect that. I get that. I will follow you now. If shady or overselling or like, I'm just for money. It's like, this is what you're going to go through. I'm doing it. Yeah. This is what you're going to go through. And through my experience, you know, as the expert in this arena, I'm going to tell you what you need to do to be successful in this arena.

Michael Jay And it's not only just about, it's also about the teacher. You may not, I have been, how many classes have you been to where you've been screaming in your head, get me the F out of here. Like this, I like get me out of here. Like I'm like, 

Stephanie: can you just give me the microphone? Let me take over. Sorry. Sorry.

Just give it to me. 

Michael Jay But you know, if you were dropping, you would. You're judging that teacher, but if you were dropping, you're judging the entire studio on that one experience. And folks, that's why we want people testing out the entire menu in that intro off a period, right? To get a good sense of the vibe and the feel that's pass.

So [00:23:00] my unnamed partner, uh, decided to try out class pass. Now, here's the interesting thing that, um, he went with one of his friends to a class. So he has got ClassPass on his insurance plan at a cheaper price. ClassPass, interestingly, gamifies the classes. This is interesting knowledge, because when he goes with his friend and they book the same class, he's got a cheaper membership with the same points.

She's got a little bit more expensive with membership with the same points. But his class points each, when they go to the same class. She's charged seven points, he's charged nine points. Is that 

Stephanie: why they always say algorithm, because it's too hard to communicate all that 

Michael Jay stuff? Exactly. The other interesting thing on the, so post the intro offer period now, during the intro offer, all, all the classes were discounted, right?

Really, I didn't know that, but all the classes looked like a great deal, but then actually now it's like, he's like, Oh, [00:24:00] for those amount of points, I can get two classes in a month. But the experience thing has been the most fascinating for me because of going to all these different studios and me hearing the different experiences.

So I have heard from the, uh, one of the, uh, so looking at, you know, big, looking at parking, looking at a website and going, there's no information on parking here. We're in LA. How can they not put parking? So I'm sitting there and I'm going, there's a problem with parking. And he's like, what do you mean? I'm like, there's a problem with parking.

If they are not telling you where to park easily, like there are hidings. Sure enough goes there. It was a nightmare. It was like really, really bad. There was three parking spots for the whole business. 

Stephanie: Now, why wouldn't that as a studio owner be the first thing? Like, let me, exactly. 

Michael Jay So exactly. So let's just.

I wanted to talk about this because like that's transparency in the, in that situation for me, I would be, there are three spots behind the building and a map of the other street [00:25:00] parking is over here. Two blocks over here, you'll find a parking lot, like literally just the problem up front. Right. So, 

Stephanie: like, literally it could be in like, you could.

That same information is in the receipt that goes to them. Like after they could be in your AI generated of your five most asked questions, when you go on the website to kind of 

Michael Jay email, you're welcoming them 

Stephanie: anyway, you have it because the 

Michael Jay problem, 

Stephanie: my experience by already late to the class, because I was already, you know, it was already a done deal.

Michael Jay Like that one off that was written off right away. Right. Um, Another one welcoming experience, like really like not at the door, met at the, like everything, everything as it was supposed to be. But as a male, he felt it very female focused. And so the experience on the website was didn't feel the same.

didn't convey [00:26:00] that. And so going into this experience, everything was done perfectly, but it was very female focused, you know, the, uh, um, female type things and facial things, as well as that. So there was not a lot of male focuses. So that was just interesting that the, what was on the website and then the experience felt different.

Stephanie: Can we talk about this feedback first? No, please. 

Michael Jay That's why we're here. 

Stephanie: So this could be like a shameless plug, but I also work, as you know, um, what the sales arm does is they do the meticulousness of lead management when it comes to the minute someone shows interest, what it is to create that relationship and they are working on behalf as an extension of the studio they're working with.

A lot of studios come to us as a sales arm. Um, And you'll familiar because they feel like they have a sales issue, right? Like everything else, right? Our instructors are amazing. Our brand is amazing. Our class is amazing. We just need to nurture the [00:27:00] lead so that they become members. And while that all sounds well and good, and we have a tremendous amount of success with helping people when it comes to booking and increase their membership, another huge thing, beneficial thing is we follow the lead.

And if they are not going to come back to your studio, We want to know why I'm going to use an example and not give the name. We are able to sell amazing memberships for them, and they are having just as much churn of members walking out because of the experience that happens once they walk in the door, which as a studio owner, sometimes it's hard to kind of wrap, get yourself out of those four walls to see it from a different vantage point, but it's like the best salespeople in the world can't help.

If someone walks through your front door and the person at the front desk doesn't even bother to look up and say hello. Or if the teacher is so busy only talking to their three good friends that they see that comes to their class all the time that they completely alienate or don't even make contact [00:28:00] with the four new people that came in for the first time.

Michael Jay Every single one of my clients now in my packages, uh, I now built into, cause it's so important, sales training. Um, for the whole, for the whole team and we go through the pre class experience, the in class experience and the post class experience. And, 

Stephanie: and it's all information. Someone could put something in, like you said, came in, it was a very female dominated studio space and the owner could receive that feedback and go, well, yes, we are female dominated.

Then you don't need to change anything about what you do, just maybe how you put it out there. Like not all feedback is like, Oh my God, you got to fix this. It could be, this isn't your person, or this isn't your client. 

Michael Jay But 

Stephanie: in my head, all the clients I mean, this isn't 

Michael Jay having a female focused business, right?

It's just Not at all. But put that out there. Like just put the vibe out there. That's your bottom 

Stephanie: line is everybody that comes through your front door. You [00:29:00] want to be able to speak to an amazing experience, whether it was my place to fall or not like love the people. It's just not me. I'm not a yoga person.

I probably should be. I could use the call me. Yeah. Kind of thing. But if I go to yoga, I want to make sure I have a great experience and then I'm going to refer you. 

Michael Jay The, uh, experience was, um, for a bike class and on the bike was, uh, in the States 

Stephanie: we say cycle, 

Michael Jay cycle,

cycle, 

Stephanie 5: but 

Michael Jay there was a sign on the bike that says, welcome. Simple teacher identified that there's a new person in the class. Um, I mean people that they might be like, I just want to hide in the back of the room. That's what I'm saying. Like 

Stephanie: you take all that with a grain of salt. Some people are like, Oh my God, they know my name.

And you have some people like, I don't want to meet anybody. I just want to come cycle. I talk to people all day 

Michael Jay and it's just 

Stephanie: further siphoning out who your client is and who it's not. 

Michael Jay [00:30:00] Yeah, and I think his purpose was this, was he wanted a home. He wanted a fitness home. And so this was, uh, not going to sound class passed.

He's not the ideal audience for that, but it's been a great experience for him to test out the different. To date. To, yeah. And he's, I think, found a home that has good. 

Stephanie: One of the non negotiables. Yep. 

Michael Jay Has good parking, felt non intimidating but noticed and acknowledged, and more importantly, um, felt, felt like could do more than he could do on his own.

Like felt really supportive. Motivated. Really supported and motivated. So it's been a, for me, it's been a fascinating experience hearing all the stories. Cause it's like, you know, that just goes, Oh yeah, parking problem. Yeah. 

Stephanie: I actually, it's hard to kind of like, so I went to take a class because I wanted to be a student, right?

Like I wanted to get out and I wanted to be a student and I'm finishing the class, love the class. And the person at the front desk did what they were [00:31:00] instructed to do was asking me if I wanted to book another class. And I I was like, you know what? I don't know my schedule. I'll call. And I wasn't trying to, like, give an objection.

I was being honest. Like, I didn't know my schedule. And she goes, oh, well, you could just buy a 10 pack because it takes a year to expire. And I should have just said, thank you and walked out the door, but I couldn't. And I was like, yeah, I was like, you know, we can't legally expire. And here's this young girl.

And she's like, what is she talking about? And I was giving just like business knowledge, had a client who started with me, who learned the hard way. When somebody pushed back on an expiration in a studio in California. And I should have just said, Oh, thank you. And moved out. But no, I was just like, you know, that's correct information.

She was like, girl, I just want to sell you a 10 back. So I get 

Stephanie 5: it. 

Stephanie: I get it. 

Michael Jay What do you see? No, go, go. 

Stephanie: I just, I just want to finish off the conversation that we're saying that if you are in a situation where you are getting feedback, not all feedback is geared for you to make changes. [00:32:00] If it's not 

Michael Jay aligned with 

Stephanie: you, it's just kind of eye opening experience of There's always things to make better to tweak.

Michael Jay Well, so that I just had a great conversation with, you know, Sarah, and we just had a great conversation about that because I, I, you know, I touched before and I looked through the reviews and they were five star, I mean, glowing reviews. The only, The only reviews that were bad were things like music too loud, wasn't relaxing.

There was all things that had to do with their vibe, which is they're all about the music. They're all about that experience. And, uh, and, and so that was just, that client is not aligned with that business. That's not what they're looking for, but that doesn't mean they're a bad business. You know, all the people are the, they are their ideal audience.

Stephanie: Okay, you were going, taking us somewhere else. 

Michael Jay Oh, where was I going? ADHD. What, where [00:33:00] was I going with that? What do you see in right now? Like you're, you're out there talking to a lot of people right now. What do you see in successes? 

Stephanie: Ooh, um, It's in that you bring this up because I am dealing with a lot of burnout owners right now.

Michael Jay Yeah, me too. Yeah. I mean, I'm with clients that, that are, that need help. 

Stephanie: I feel like this is always the time of year that it's kind of amplified. Notice on social media, they call it, um, was it Mayember? Um, like may as crazy as the holidays or for christmas And so if you woke up and all of a sudden all of your mom Um with school children are no longer in your studio is because they're bogged down with all of this end of the year stuff And I feel like one of two things I do think that you know summer's challenges depending on Where your market is like I'm in Louisiana.

So the summer doesn't slow down here because people don't work out outside because we live on the sun. Right. So my slow time is always Mardi Gras when people are out drinking, not [00:34:00] the summer when it's hot. That to be said, like when you, your numbers and you see what those seasons are, perhaps that could help take out the, that, you know, there are months of the year that are always going to be a little slower, so you either a budget accordingly for those slower months.

Maybe look into having more personal training or any kind of training sessions if you are a yoga studio so that you can have some new coming in when you've reduced your schedule, less people are coming, that sort of thing. Yeah. Feel like we just need to get in a place with all this mental health awareness and really like looking into.

You deserve some downtime and a break also. 

Stephanie 4: Maybe 

Stephanie: it's the universe telling you, here's some time for you to decompress. Maybe look at that, those sales emails that you haven't looked at in two years. Do some tweaking. I actually say. 

Michael Jay Take a week off, one week, one week off to work, the vacations [00:35:00] aside, one week off to really work on your business where you're not distracted.

I do that probably twice a year. You know, I do that twice a year. I, I, I, you know, I definitely. I want to, uh, encourage people to, you know, take the work on the business where you can get through those chores. And 

Stephanie: I think sometimes taking a step back and allowing things to kind of settle, you look at things a little differently.

Like I think, you know, for me, I'm a firstborn, I'm a Leo, I'm an Enneagram 8, I'm going to do like this until I get what I want. And now that I am getting older in age, I realized that sometimes. Whether it's Jesus for you or the universe is like, this is not the way you're supposed to be going. So I'm going to stand here.

You're going to keep hitting your head against the wall until you stop and realize you're supposed to be looking this way. 

Michael Jay Yeah, kind of your energy. So my, my coach, um, really got looking at my work week and my work day, as far as my energy is a little bit more, you know, I have this structure. I mean, I just structured [00:36:00] to my life, but, you know, I look at, so I'm looking at things differently right now.

It's like when I do things. So for example, um, in the morning I'm great at getting tasks done before, you know, if I get something like that, I first thing in the morning, but the afternoon I'm shit at that stuff. The afternoon, I'm a little bit more inclined to maybe work on my iPad, work on, you know, on the sofa and do the creative side of, you know, I'm more creative in that environment instead of trying to force that into my You know, one, two, three, four, yeah, yeah.

And really looking at your energy of the day and kind of slot into that a little bit helps for me. 

Stephanie: I do think also as we wrap this up, that having a support group, whether it is a consultant that you work with, a group of other owners that can help, like we talked about, pull you out of just those four walls and look at the big picture can help also.

Michael Jay [00:37:00] Yeah. I coach. When you sign up, 

Stephanie: when you sign up for entrepreneurship, that's what this is. I finally, I have my oldest child is graduating from college Monday. He calls me and he says, I don't feel like I've done enough. And I said, welcome to being a firstborn. I'm like, you graduated of your class and you are at this amazing establishment of a college who's graduating from Wake Forest and the accolades and the things that he had accomplished there.

But I was just like, some of us are built differently where we can celebrate our successes for maybe five minutes. And then we're like, okay. Because we don't stuck. So it's interesting just to see that reflected in Kim, because I beat myself up about it and like, he's struggling, right? He had four days between finishing exams and graduation.

He doesn't know what to do with himself. And I'm like, watch TV, you deserved it. Yet. That's something I can't do. So that first born entrepreneurialship, you got away? Yeah. I 

Michael Jay don't know. You have your bubble bath and your Bravo TV at the same time? 

Stephanie: Yeah. But that's [00:38:00] at night. That's at night. That's for my mental health.

That is for my mental health. 

Michael Jay Stephanie. Is actually nice. We haven't spent much time for with each other for a little while, so it's nice to catch up and have a, it is chat and yeah, thanks. It's been great. 

Stephanie: Yep. 

Michael Jay Hopefully they got some good little tips from us chit chatting. 

Stephanie: If not, they'll have to stay tuned to next time and hopefully we have something of value to say the next time we talk.

Michael Jay Well, you are coming back, aren't you? Yes. 

Stephanie: Next week, me and Chris. Chris. Am I 

Michael Jay Chris? Yep. From the sales zone coming back, reoccurring coming back. I can't get rid of you. 

Stephanie: We'll be in.

Michael Jay Thank you, 

Stephanie: Stephanie. Thank you, Michael. 

Michael Jay Adore you. Where can they find you? 

Stephanie: Um, Steph Rowe Bradley can find me on LinkedIn under that. You can find my website, Rowe Bradley Consulting. Um, so yeah, or Bell Dorms. You can find me there too. [00:39:00] Instagram, Steph Rowe Bradley. 

Michael Jay She's around. 

Stephanie: I'm around. 

Michael Jay Thank you so much.

Stephanie: Thank you.

Michael Jay And that's a wrap on today's episode of the Yoga Biz Champ podcast. Thank you again for tuning in and sharing this time with me, and remember your journey to opening or growing your yoga studio is unique, and I'm here to walk the path with you. If today's episode sparked a new idea, A question, or even if you're ready to take your yoga studio dreams to the next level, let's connect.

Visit Yoga Biz champ link slash pod link to book your free strategy call with me. It's time to turn those yoga dreams into a thriving reality. And don't forget to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform. So you're never going to miss an episode. And also follow me on social media at, at Yoga Biz Champ to stay updated on all things Yoga Biz and also shout out now that all [00:40:00] of these episodes are going out on video on YouTube.

So go check out Yoga Biz Champ. Also on our now expanding YouTube channel and again, if you want to book a, um, a appointment with me, a free chat with me, head over to your podcast episode and you will see a link at the top of every episode that says, text, send me a text message, send me your email address, and I will send you my booking link.

Until next time, Namaste.