My #1 hiring suggestion for the studio's best front desk staff

It is, indeed, not Wednesday! After flying from LA to Jakarta, Indonesia, earlier this week for a dear friend's (& former 🚲 instructor whom I trained to teach years ago!) multi-day wedding festivities...I am constantly reminding myself what day it is. 😊 
 

Today at SaladStop in Kemang (if you're not in Southeast Asia & unfamiliar: think sweetgreen in the US or customize-your-own salad spots wherever you live!), their staff remembered my order from yesterday, exactly, as I ordered it again...and were one step ahead of me in my client-journey.
 

When I was in India for 2 months earlier this year, building powerCycle with Physique57, I was consistently amazed at the staff at the Tim Horton's by the studio. Their greetings to me were not phony, they always remembered my order & by which method I would pay. Same as at SaladStop this week, they were one step ahead of me, anticipating.
 

When I mentioned this to one of Physique's managers as an example of hospitality, he shared that the staff remembered his order, too...and he'd only been there one other time!

(If you're puzzled at this very random reference...yes, Tim Horton's as in Canada's well-known coffee & doughnut chain & yes, I didn't have "buy coffee from Timmy's when in Bombay with a cycling studio" on my 2024 bingo card, either!)

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned to you, a similar experience at the Starbucks in California by where my Dad lives.

If you're sensing a pattern with these 3 examples from the food & beverage industry...yes. And they're universal across the world IF there is structure in how staff is trained & what is important to the company.
 

The #1 tool I can offer you or your hiring management team to look out for on CVs when hiring any client-facing staff but especially when hiring for front desk reception...is if they have big-corporate service industry work experience, bring them in for an interview.

They may not be mold-able for exactly what you are looking for in your company culture...or they very well might be.

What they most assuredly will be...is accustomed to structure at work. 
 

MASSIVE bonus points for any candidate who has worked at an Apple Store or a Disney theme park, especially; they will have learned authentic client engagement & working with structure. (Anecdotally, the best sales person we had when I worked in Shanghai…was a poach from China's first Apple Store!)
 

What I've found over the past 10 years of working with boutique studios across class formats worldwide, is there is a flip-side to hiring someone with this specific background I've shared above:

If your studio's systems could use a refresh…and that hasn't been tackled yet…it might prove frustrating to an excellent employee accustomed to delivering competent customer service & overall warm hospitality.

If you think you might benefit from a consultation to look-over your written materials for your operating systems & identify any "holes" I encourage you to book a "Pick My Brain" session, here.

As always, click reply to share your hiring wins or anything else; I always love hearing from you.

Have a great rest of your week!

Positive Feedback Straight To The (Instructor) Source

Like many others, I, assuredly, appreciate hearing a compliment when genuine. ClassPass, Yelp, Google and others, for better or for worse, have offered a platform for clients to give compliments & hurl criticism to small businesses. (Personally, when reading the most outlandish of negative comments anywhere on the internet I think to myself, everyone deserves a voice but has everyone earned a microphone…?) 

I remember feeling like I'd “made it” somehow 12+ years ago in NYC when I received an alert my cycling class had been reviewed for the long-dead “Rate Your Burn” website. (IYKYK!)

Several of my studio clients agreed that when a founder or manager directly shares a customer's positive public review or positive private message about a class with the instructor whose class it was…there are no downsides. Taking the time to personally forward an email or screenshot a ClassPass review with a thoughtful and encouraging preface is great leadership.

When was the last time you one-on-one shared a positive class review with an instructor on your team? 

What about the last time you shared a positive class review with the instructor-group-chat?

As ever, I'd love to hear from you if you're inclined to share. 

Have a great rest of your week!

Noël

a reminder: how you make clients feel, matters

In boutique fitness (& many other businesses, honestly) we have the opportunity daily to help our clients feel special & seen. Many times, it costs us nothing.

This morning at the Starbucks by where my Dad lives, I was in line behind a complicated order. A barista noticed me, made my doppio espresso & came over to bring it to me prior to paying.

I'm going through one hell of a rough time at the moment & that simple kindness & noticing me while in line set a lovely tone for my entire day, frankly.

What is 1 thing you can do for a client today to make them feel seen?

As ever, I'd love to hear from you if you're inclined to share. 

Have a great rest of your week!

meet Mitch McGinley & David Finnimore + when to break our own rules

Every once in awhile, I've found it to be ok to “break my self-imposed rule” for the bigger picture of helping others.

I started Boutique Fitness Talks back in 2018 after attending an IHRSA conference where I saw that boutique fitness studio owners were not seen nor served nor (for the most part) anywhere to be found on the expo floor of the mainstream fitness event. 

I first envisioned, then brought to life with exceptional collaborators, a small niched-event where studio founders, managers & key-players could connect & learn from & with one another, with structured topics & great speakers, attend a class together, not race from one side of a sterile convention center to another & most importantly…if you weren't there, then you missed it. There was to be no IG livestream, no Zoom, no taping of sessions; a closed container of people who wanted the same things even with execution differences & cultural differences. 

I had a blast collaborating with & facilitating great dialogue & implementation with smart studio owners & soon-to-be-owners doing their homework at Talks events in Berlin, Hong Kong, Bali & Bangkok from 2018-2020.

In finalizing the Agenda for Saigon 26-27 September, I've been thinking intently about what I see as viewing our boutique industry with 4 different outcomes to pursue, 2 of which can be uncomfortable but essential to speak about; to Sell or to Close.

I decided to break my own rule for a 100% in-person Talks…because you need to know Mitch McGinley. 

Mitch is unable to attend in person & will be taping a session for us which is sure to be dynamic & insightful…about selling your fitness studio business & what that could look like.

Mitch is based in San Diego, California and is a former studio owner, licensed Business Broker and Exit Planning Advisor specializing in Boutique Fitness business sales and acquisitions. He originally worked in hotel management, and then with an investor who was buying boutique hotels, fixing them up, and then selling them. Shortly thereafter, he and his wife Karson bought their favorite yoga studio. During that time he began working as a Mindbody Certified Business Consultant, and Mindbody Education Faculty, teaching at Mindbody Universities all over the world. After successfully selling his studio in 2019, he was licensed as a Business Broker and merged all of his worlds to help other business owners in this industry maximize their biggest payday. He has helped facilitate over 50 transactions in the past five years. 

If you attended the Talks in Bali in 2019 or Bangkok in 2020, you will remember our colleague David Finnimore, who will be speaking on closing a boutique fitness studio business.

David Finnimore is a marketing and operations leader with over 20 years of experience across Asia, North America, and Australia. Skilled in property, wellness and legal sectors with a results-driven, people-focused track record in each. He was the founder of Cycology Club, Sydney, Australia; a first-to-market boutique cycling concept from 2016-2024.

We'll be an intimate group & I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks.

In the meantime…whether you're Asia-based & can join us next month or not…I leave you with what I hope is an impactful question, due to something David said to me a few days ago: does continuing to own/run a boutique fitness studio fuel your purpose? Your ego? Your P&L?

Have a great rest of your week!

talking about our products, Physique57 India added cycle & Vietnam Talks event end Sept

Earlier this summer, I had a flight with Emirates. As I was making my way down the jet bridge to board the aircraft, I overheard a seemingly regular patron of the airlines chatting with one of the cabin crew. The crew member, was having a lovely conversation which felt natural & un-rehearsed with the regular. She was asking questions of him of what he was looking the most forward to enjoying while in-flight, as he had not yet flown this particular aircraft in his class of service. 

It was an unforced chat & the crew member was genuinely turning-over-the-rocks of getting to know the patron & finding valuable points of conversation in what he shared with her about his needs & preferences when he flies.

I thought of this random yet specific memory recently as I shared a few talking points of vocabulary / phrases to digest using in one's own voice, with the Physique57 India powerCycle team ahead of their cycle launch last week on 8/8 😊

(If you've been opening these weeklyish dispatches for awhile now, surprise!, the cat is out of the bag; ICYMI, Physique57 India has added music-and-science-based cycling to their product offering in Mumbai & I loved designing the programming & training the team ❤️)

Does your instructor team as well as your front-of-house team know how to effectively communicate in conversation with clients…what exactly it is you offer at your studio? Its value to one's life & key takeaways to expect?

Have you overheard the team speaking about your product(s) & felt proud of what you've created?

Have you overheard the team speaking about your product(s) & felt they missed the mark?

Have you provided your teams with current talking-points to best communicate the value & takeaways for your product(s)? Or are they improvising? & have you provided practice opportunities for staff to talk-through how they interface with clients so they feel as unrehearsed & authentic as possible?

On an unrelated-and-bluntly-honest-note…I am at currently sorting a frustrating hiccup with the venue we secured for Boutique Fitness Talks, 26-27 September in Saigon, Vietnam…we are still planning on a lovely event in our typical intimate group setting, with speaker details/topics & pricing to follow, shortly. 

💪🏻Arrive in time on Thursday night for evening class together with our collaborator studio OneCycle & drinks/bites to follow to meet your fellow studio founders.

✍🏻Talks all day Friday, with breakfast, lunch & a tea break.

Have a great rest of your week!

visibility with new clients AND a way to raise 💰for a cause?

Hi First name / Friend,

This week, I caught up offline & outside of a studio, with an instructor colleague here in Seattle, where I am currently visiting. She shared that one of the studios where she teaches was participating in a community outreach event, the Seattle Sweat Crawl, which I wanted to share with you to (hopefully!) validate your own initiatives at your studio 

OR 

to spark creativity for a future event collaboration with other studio founders in your own community.

5 Seattle boutique fitness studios across diverse class modalities (Barry's, Cyclebar, HIIT Lab, [solidcore] & corepower yoga) offered purchase of a week-long ‘passport,’ which gave each passport-holder:

• 1 class at each studio

• a passport pick-up party sponsored by complimentary wellness vendors

• exclusive discounts at local brands (think IV drip, infrared sauna)

• & a closing party with a DJ & a raffle with prizes to be won

Most importantly, all proceeds from the passport went to a local food bank.

I really love this idea for the obvious reason to support a local charity, but as well because it offers each studio the opportunity to capture new clients trying them for the first time who maybe wouldn't be compelled to try…without relying on ClassPass for visibility.

If you are planning a similar event in your town or city, amazing!

I highly suggest:

✅ Creating a way to capture each client's email address & reaching out to them within a day of their visit to your studio. It can be as simple as a lovely and branded thank you for attending, sharing the approximate total of money raised for a worthwhile charity due to their buying a passport, your price list and schedule for their next visit, etc

✅ Being sure instructors are aware of the dates of the event, using names in class in a positive way on the mic (something I suggest anyways, all the time, irrespective of special events!) & are alongside your front desk hospitality staff, are sure to be ready for an influx in each class, of new clients to orient on equipment 

✅ Speaking with your accountant to ensure you have the correct processes in place for your tax write-off as being a part of a charitable event, if this is applicable where you live

✅ Having more present management on hand for class-check-ins to interface organically with folks visiting via the event; where are the opportunities to strike up conversations about which classes they've tried so far on the passport, where do they normally work out, do they have questions about what we offer at our studio…etc. The “turning over the rocks” to do that thing which, in boutique fitness, has turned into funny buzzwords “build community.” 😊

If your studio has participated in something similar, please hit reply & tell me more - I'd love to hear how it went.

Have a great rest of your week!

our Alaska vacation, the Denali “un-hospitality” & what to avoid at your studio

I was fortunate to travel to Alaska last week with my Mom on a-years-in-the-making family holiday so she could experience her 50th-out-of-50 USA states on her “bucket list.”

(If you love the outdoors & have considered this trip/trek, I do encourage you to visit & I am happy to answer any questions you have! Having grown up so close to Yosemite, the National Parks in the States are a few of my favorite things. 😊)

In spending time close to Denali National Park, at first I couldn’t place why the interactions I had at our (very lovely) lodge seemed different than elsewhere I’ve traveled.

& then it hit me…Denali, Alaska is a “bucket-list place" NOT a “return visit place…& as such, in my opinion, the hospitality-points we experienced were the direct opposite of the fitness business you very likely own or manage.

Do note:

➡️ Denali National Park is not easy to access. From Anchorage a 7+ hour train each way, or a 5ish hour drive on a remote highway you don’t know, or a USD $1500 or so each way small charter plane to an airstrip. (We took the train)

➡️ It is the wild; Denali-the-highest-peak-in-North-America is visible only 20% of the time in the summer & wildlife are not viewable on command, either.

➡️ It is expensive & with a very limited amount of accommodations available.

➡️ You must really want to experience this park.

➡️ I’ve joked that Alaska in summer is where you have the pleasure of paying a Ritz-Carlton price for a step above a Ramada-reality; whatever visual that evokes for you!

Most guests visit Denali once…unless they are willing to make the long trip again & again…which for many is either financially untenable and/or a “well we did it, what’s next?” feeling. The exact opposite of visiting your studio!!! 

I noticed there was no incentive to nurture repeat guests…because the “Denali once in a lifetime visitor” cycles through…daily.

Rather than share a list of what did not happen at the hotel/with staff, here is a list of reminders for what I wish would have happened, localized to your boutique fitness business:

• Welcome clients warmly

• Anticipate in advance what clients will need for the next part of their client journey with you by mentioning a necessary item (cycling shoes, extra water, barre socks, boxing gloves)

• No one should ever wonder how to get from Point A to Point B. (“Call the front desk to book our complimentary shuttle to abc place" rather than not highlighting to guests immediately that they provide a shuttle and to where…!) Physically show clients to the room where class is and/or to the locker room.

• “Did you enjoy the music?” “Was it a fun session?” “We're so happy you came to join us, let me remind you where your locker is” or "I'd love to show you our schedule & get you sorted for your next class with us after you've gathered your things, I'll see you at the front, please take your time & enjoy the space, no rush”

• Acknowledgment by staff when a client passes by

• If someone seems lost / confused as to where to go and within sight of staff, greet them genuinely and check in

• Non-curt replies to simple questions asked of staff by client, so clients feel seen & heard & not like they are asking something stupid

• Circulating staff to answer questions or to strike up conversation & “turn over the rocks” to find points of engagement with a guest (You already know that you cannot be at every prime-time check in at every location…who else can you hire / cultivate to be sure your clients are seen & heard?)

• Does every client-focused member of your team know how to talk about the class product you offer & its benefits? & for the more tricky/nuanced questions, immediate deferral to someone more senior who can take the question more thoroughly (think major food allergy, vague menu, one restaurant on site, not wanting to get sick, you get the idea!)

How many do you & your client-facing staff consistently do?

Have a great rest of your week!

our gift card sales [mis]adventures & how I hope this might help your studio

This past weekend, my Dad asked me to find a nice spa where he lives & to assist him in arranging a gift card for someone who had helped to drive him to & from his radiation & chemotherapy treatments. He wanted to purchase one for an appropriate amount, considering their menu of services & allow the recipient to choose which service(s) they wanted to enjoy, as he didn't wish to assume their preferences.

Seems simple enough, right? I assure you…if it was…I would not be sharing with you. 🙃

I found a lovely spa's website & had a quick peruse. Straightforward information & pricing. Went to their location with my Dad, asked to purchase a gift card & 'highlights' from the dialogue coming from reception included: “well is this person a member?” 

and “we have member prices & regular prices” 

and “our gift cards are not for an amount, you must specify the treatment you want to give, and since neither you nor the recipient are members, we will charge you for the specified service only at the regular price."

Needless to say…we left. I promptly found another spa which looked equally nice at a very quick glance from my phone while in the car, we drove there, briefly glanced at their brochure of services to ensure he was giving appropriately, paid, wrote a “to-from” card & it was then wrapped into a lovely gift box. 

In & out in probably 3 minutes.

Moral of the story: Please ensure your studio's website reflects a client's reality when they enter your space…and please make it easy for clients to pay you for your retail & class memberships/packs! 

This was an opportunity to serve potential clients who were not already bought-into the spa's brand…and they fumbled the ball.

Had the sales experience been more along the lines of: “Our clientele are mostly monthly members on various packages. I'd love for your guest to give us a try, however & see if they want to continue with what we offer. For a gift card, we offer x amount increments good for y services & when they call to book their appointment, they'll simply say they're a new client & we'll handle from there. All of this information is on the gift card. For what amount would you like to purchase?” …we would have been all-in.

Coincidentally, the day before the adventures-in-spa-customer-service, I had checked into a hotel with my Mom & was a bit…taken aback at the boldness of the label of the bottled water in our room. It read, and I promise you, I embellish not: “Hilton Honors: Diamond, Gold & Silver members-just a little thanks from us! Enjoy two free bottles of water on every stay. All other guests: $3.00.”

As I chuckled to myself & took a quick photo so I would remember their wording, I couldn't help but think of the old Groucho Marx line “Please accept my resignation. I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member."

As always, if you have something to share, hit reply - I'd love to hear your [mis] adventures with a membership model!

Have a great rest of your week!

Noël

a California hello + data from The Fit Guide

A few months back, I was asked by The Fit Guide to weigh-in on the extensive data across multiple categories, collected from boutique studio visits in NYC, London, Singapore, Dubai & Sydney, across cities & modalities. Data was collated by city as well as by fitness modality and, in my opinion, a combination of both the fascinating & the thoroughly unsurprising. 

A small sample of my thoughts: 

(please do substitute “cycle” & “riders” for “modalities at your studio” & “clients”)

"On reviewing The Fit Guides' stats, the categories which scored poorly are, coincidentally, what was done well during my first SoulCycle rider experience. The good news for studio management is that these are not hard to improve as where cycling studios scored highly are the harder points to develop!

For example, only 34% of riders were spoken to by the instructor before the class, only 41% of the time the instructor followed up afterwards & used names 35% of the time. As these are all fundamentals, to improve I suggest management plan to work on consistently addressing, monitoring & training."

A component of delivering an experience worth money is ensuring clients are seen & heard. Using & remembering names is one part of the hospitality we provide in boutique fitness spaces…has this been made a training-point at your studio & with your teams?

You may use my code NOEL to download two complimentary reports here.

I'm with family this week in Central California. My dad has been very very ill…thankfully doing well now…but I share this with you as I believe strongly that he, in large part, has “bounced back” the way he has, albeit slowly, due to his childhood/young adulthood of competitive team sports (UCLA baseball!) & past decades of consistent physical exercise even as his health has declined.

What we do for clients' overall health while in our spaces…matters.

 Have a great rest of your week!

A tool from a persona-building exercise for instructors

Wednesday June 19, 2024

“What is next for founders in our space?" was the common-thread of the many meetings & catch-ups from my time last week in Singapore with co-founders of multiple- format-type studios across 5 countries.

And with this in mind, I have begun to plan the next Boutique Fitness Talks event for us to come together and brainstorm, celebrate, problem-solve & connect with each other IRL next year. We will be leaning-into 4 potential answers to this question as our Talks pillars & I look forward to sharing more with you in time!

I'm in my last few days in Mumbai with this extraordinary management team & team of new cycling instructors as the studio prepares to launch a new product vertical to their existing formats & brand identity. 

Today when sharing a persona exercise with the trainees, I asked them to list 10 adjectives to describe who they are or who they aspire to be when teaching an indoor cycling class. 

As well, I asked them to write down 5 things which they are not; (eg entitled, thinking they're better than another coach on the team, etc) as I firmly believe it is as important to note down who/what you are not as it is to note down who you are.

I offer you this tool to give to your team or to localize for your own efforts as a manager or owner.

I'd love to hear what you uncover!

Have a great rest of your week!

P.S. Were you forwarded this email by a friend? Subscribe here & gain a few complimentary tools for your studio, too.

The question successful boutique fitness studio owners all must answer

Wednesday June 12, 2024

The passage of time has been blowing my mind these past few days: 10 years ago this month, my contract in Singapore was extended an additional 5 weeks so I could continue to work with a few cycling instructors in training who were on-the-border of being class-ready & worth the drop-in cost of the class. The clients saw the value in ensuring that the instructors delivering their product were fully-baked & ready to be the answer to the question we all need to answer; “I already have a gym membership with group classes included; why should I pay extra to come to your studio?”

We were the first indoor cycling studio riding to the beat of the music to open in *Southeast Asia (XYZ Hong Kong opened in August of 2013) & our 2-week unlimited first-timers trial class purchase was approximately SGD $179 (USD $132 today); we needed clients to “make us a habit” & to do that, we needed to ensure a robust schedule of instructors worth the time & money, should clients opt for a class package rather than the more costly unlimited 6 month minimum commitment of an unlimited membership.

 We offered a metrics-and-music-focused ride, a choreography & weights-focused ride & an on-off-bike HIIT Bootcamp, taught by personal trainers. 

3 class types so clients could have multiple verticals with us to train. 

2014. CBD Raffles Place Singapore; a corporate area. 

No Lululemon store yet (that would come later that year to Duxton) & no Classpass (Guavapass would begin first in 2015 & be acquired by Classpass in early 2019).

If you're familiar with Singapore now, you may or may not remember that back then, there were gyms, there was Yoga Movement & there was U-Fit, along with the box gyms, of course. That was about it.

 I'm back in Singapore for a few days this week to catch up with colleagues in the region, which I'll share more about another time. 

Most importantly, I leave you with a repeat of the same sentence as above:

“I already have a gym membership with group classes included; why should I pay extra to come to your studio?”

Click reply - I would love to hear your answer.

Have a great rest of your week!

Noël

Connection

P.S. Were you forwarded this email by a friend? Subscribe here & gain a few complimentary tools for your studio, too.

would you rather: 65% technique/100% ‘zazz or 90% technique/nominal ’zazz?

Wednesday May 22, 2024

Between today & yesterday, I observed 11 cycling trainees teach-back a class from their pre-class speech to the final stretch. 1 trainee hit probably 65% of the salient points for the class…but was so engaging in his analogies & coaching & personality, I found myself laughing as well as writing down some of the great things he said to share with him, following his teach back. 

Another trainee hit closer to 90% of the important parts of the class to convey…but was going through the motions & I had no idea who he was as a coach.

Do I think they will both become excellent cycling coaches with more time, practice & mentoring? (they're already solid while teaching barre!) 

I absolutely do…but they each received the reverse feedback from me, today.

This reminded me of 2014 when I taught briefly for Equinox NYC. One day after my class at their SoHo location, a member came up to me & said “I love taking your class but I'd prefer to ride with you at SoulCycle rather than here at Equinox. Can you please give me your schedule at Soul?” 

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Me: “What a lovely compliment; thank you for taking the time to share it with me…but I don't teach for SoulCycle…so I hope you'll continue riding with me at Equinox!" 

To be abundantly clear: Equinox' cycling classes when I worked there, were taught on a Schwinn bike with a power meter & a wattage console; everyone taught to metrics; power, RPM and distance in mileage. There were no weights on a bike nor tapbacks, “pushups” or any dancing whatsoever in my class at Equinox, being that I was committed to an on-brand experience.

(And remember, of course, Equinox' parent company acquired SoulCycle years back…so there is, of course, a serious brand-differential from what members do on bikes at EQX vs Soul!)

The clients who come into our spaces, regardless of the class formats we offer, want to feel something:

Connection to a musical arch & progression of music that is not one-color and one-beat….but bright & brilliant.

Connection to the cueing and coaching. 

Connection to humor, organic & spontaneous storytelling in the room.

Connection to their results.

Many many others, you get it.

Instructors give instructions. Coaches help us progress to the next level…and deliver hospitality & a journey in the room.

Do you have more instructors on your team who clearly share 65% of the class rhetoric perfectly but make us feel something? Or share closer to 90% without drawing-us-in-for an unmissable class experience?

Click reply - I would love to hear.

Noël

P.S. Were you forwarded this email by a friend? Subscribe here & gain a few complimentary tools for your studio, too.

training break & Peloton instructor recruitment 2013

Wednesday May 15, 2024

Firstly, before we get to Peloton: this week is our training break for the new cycling studio project in Mumbai. We ALL needed a pause in feedback, giving & receiving both! Trainees are absolutely keeping to a group training schedule this week with benchmarks to attempt to hit & time to collate questions for me as they stumble-through teaching their first class + the hospitality chats which come before the lights are lowered and class begins.

Do you/did you build-in an intentional training break at your studio? I highly recommend building one into any class-format immersive instructor training. If everyone is on-task, it is a valuable use of time & provides opportunity for trainees to bond as team-mates as they teach-back their classes, together. Do feel free to reply to this email if you have any specific questions! 

*

My own Peloton story reverts back to the boutique fitness experience we deliver in boutique studios, rather than virtually. (Of course, hybrid training virtual & in-person, both, we know is here to stay & it was never an “either” or an “or” but an “and”) Peloton is back in the news seeking a new CEO & amidst more staff-cuts, but rather than focus on that negative for the folks at the company…it prompted me to share & offer you insight.

Back in 2013, the NYC Well+Good newsletter mentioned that virtual video indoor cycling classes were to launch on a new platform called Peloton. 

I immediately sent a resume & an invitation to take my cycling class at Crunch gym to whomever was in charge of scouting talent.

That September, I was asked by their then-consultant if she could come take my class, which turned into “actually, come to 227 west 29th St. Suite 9F on Friday September 13th, 11-1 & here’s the door access code” for a demo & conversation.

We approached both SoulCycle & Flywheel, separately, to collaborate with us on this & they both decided to continue to pursue the studio experience and not in-home exercise is what founder & former CEO, John Foley, shared that day.

He was very clear that he didn't care how much money their studio would lose; they would give away classes at a flash-sale rate on ClassPass if they had to…because he was building a television production studio, essentially, which would be their flagship cycling studio. They knew they had to have riders in the room for energy; the instructors couldn't cater to an at-home ridership without feeding-off human interaction on bikes in front of them, live from Chelsea NYC. 

I remember suggesting to look at country clubs & hotels as his target user travels for work & to second homes.

It was all about selling the bike. And building enough of a subscription model that people would keep…even if their subscription wasn't utilized daily, same as Netflix.

And to sell the bike…they had to sell the content. (Even though they couldn't be bothered to license music properly in the early days if you remember when this hit back in 2019)

And to sell the bike…and the content…they had to craft & mold new fitness celebrities to deliver the class product. Emphasis on celebrity. The Peloton instructor TV-hosting a red-carpet, becoming best-selling authors & boasting large social media followings…was by design from even before these early meetings in 2013.

I left the demo & conversation very grateful I had connected IRL with Carol, their consultant (who would 3 years later, refer me to a cycling studio client in Mexico City), because I thought she was so real & so cool.

And I knew working with Peloton as an instructor was absolutely not for me. Happy for other colleagues for sure; a USD six figure instructor salary is nothing to sneeze at; but I knew that being camera-ready all the time, and coaching hundreds of thousands, (if not millions) of people I couldn’t see was not where I saw my fitness career progressing; it simply was not my dream.

[Frankly, I also was underwhelmed by the bike prototype I rode during the demo; it felt cheap & flimsy to me, who had taught on virtually every bike on the market at that point.]

But the reason for my sharing this with you…is that while I firmly believe the brand has cultivated engaged members across screens across the world, the Peloton experience is not the same class experience as what we do in-person, in-studios, whether its on bikes, treads, mats, apparatuses, whatever. 

I love being a part of a group of people, delivering service to clients on a daily basis. 

I love getting to know people both in class and in the organic chit-chat before & after.

I believe in these interactions wholeheartedly. Do you?

Having human interaction and connection in a third-space delivered to me is why I continued to attend classes after I was “dragged against my will” by a friend to my first boutique cycling class back in 2008. So many of you fell in love with boutique fitness concepts while living and working abroad & wanted to re-create magic when you moved back home.

If there were ever a time to double-down on hospitality & tightening-up service to your clients….it is from the moment the C**vid quarantines were lifted…to right now.

I have a few ways to work together, irrespective of the format(s) you offer, in the pipeline & look forward to sharing them with you, first here, over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, I hope we may all continue to lean-into what make our community spaces special.

Until next Wednesday, 

Noël

"Train people well enough so they can leave…" non-competes & NYC 💸💌

Wednesday May 8, 2024

Every so often, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes, attributed to Sir Richard Branson; “Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don't want to."👑

In case you missed it, the USA Federal Trade Commission recently ruled against Non-Compete Clauses put forth by employers; “The final rule provides that it is an unfair method of competition—and therefore a violation of section 5—for employers to, inter alia, enter into non-compete clauses with workers on or after the final rule's effective date.[2] The Commission thus adopts a comprehensive ban on new non-competes with all workers.” (Peruse the complete document here)

While senior executives in the six-figure salary range are not a part of the ruling, it is for lower-wage workers…when someone cannot be hired by Burger King for a service job because they've been working for McDonald's…I think we've lost the plot.

Back in 2011, I was offered USD $45/class at Crunch Gym in NYC to teach group fitness. Easygoing clientele, mid-range big box gym; not a boutique fitness studio. No non-compete clause & it wouldn't have made sense for me to sign one, anyways. 

In 2014, I briefly taught for Equinox & fought to make $60/class instead of $50, again a box gym where classes were/are a part of a flat rate monthly membership; not a studio wherein clients would be paying a premium to attend a class.

Fast forward to 2024…and I can offhand think of two NYC boutique fitness studios charging their clients a premium per-class package rate, who:

• have a mandatory internal instructor training program in their homegrown methodology, i.e. you have to complete their training to teach there, unlike Crunch or Equinox gyms where you need only to have a 1 day certification + CPR training

• have a very specific method they teach which will not easily transfer to other studios or a big box gym

• pay their instructors between USD $42 - $60 a class (yes, what I made at a gym not boutique in the same very expensive-to-live city more a decade ago 🤡🤡)…including some senior instructors…

• …have a non-compete clause in place for their instructors for the method they offer

Of course, the ruling will be challenged. 

"Noncompete agreements trap workers from finding better jobs, drive down wages, and stifle competition," the AFL-CIO, the country's largest labor federation, said in a tweet in response to the announcement. (from the Reuters piece)

Are you working towards having the very best work experience possible for your staff at your boutique fitness studio? Treating staff well enough that they don't want to leave?

I'd love to hear what's been working well for you.

Until next Wednesday, 

Noël

Openings, closings & your key player; equipment distributors

Wednesday May 1, 2024

Hello from the construction site of the new cycling studio project which has been taking up the majority of my brain-space here in Bandra, Mumbai. Of course, the project has had a delay of a few weeks…because if there is not a delay, are you even launching a new studio? Even Wildly Efficient Singapore had a two week delay back when we opened in 2014. 😉 

I was so sorry to hear that SpaceCycle China ceased operations in Beijing & Shanghai yesterday. If you had the chance to take a barre, indoor cycling, HIIT or cardio dance class at their studios in mainland China, you undoubtedly saw and felt how they only added positive value to new fitness communities in those cities.

Do I have an update on what's happening with Stages Cycling? I don't.

(ICYMI last week, here is one of the many articles out there) 

Let's see what shakes out in the coming weeks.

On a related personal note, we have begun Week 3 of 7 weeks of the comprehensive cycling instructor training / program development I was hired to do here in India, and as of 2 days ago, finally have our power display consoles. Big shout-out to TIFC, our local distributor, for keeping an engineer on standby for us for when the consoles arrived to their offices via DHL!

Which…brings me to the bigger point for todays' email: your key equipment suppliers & what they offer to your brand.

I have seen far too many studios of ALL formats over the years invest very significant money into high CapEx equipment purchases…and unfortunately, then end up not investing energy into the following….so here's what I most commonly have seen overlooked, over the past 10 years:

(take the tools you want, leave the rest, and if you've done it all, reply to this & tell me so I can send you a virtual gold star! 😉)

a. Create a cleaning protocol, written-out as a checklist or as an internally-distributed video, etc, made clear how to clean equipment properly, using best practices shared by the folks who sold it to you

b. Learn which parts of equipment need to “be aired out," or need to be oiled or need to be adjusted and with what kind of simple tool do you need for an adjustment. Create an operating procedure that the person(s) whose job it is to see that its completed properly…has all tools available to them for their success and yours! 

c. Learn basic servicing troubleshoots to mitigate common issues yourself! Then as well have a great working relationship with your equipment suppliers (who sold you your product & your service package for x amount of months) for when a bike, a Reformer, a rower, etc needs to be fixed which is beyond your ability.

d. If you have a larger team, significant equipment & multiple locations, were you offered an FAQ-type 1-2 hour learning-seminar with your equipment suppliers after install? And if so, do you have those notes updated for new team members? And if not…what is your relationship like with your equipment supplier?

If you'd like to intentionally nurture your relationship with such an important member of your extended team…what step can you take in the next 1 month to do so? A call? A check-in? An invitation for their office to take a class as your guest?

As always, hit reply if you want to chat or share.

Until next Wednesday,

xx Noël

💌value discounting, no more Stages Cycling? & a future time to meet IRL💌

Wednesday April 24, 2024

One of our indoor cycling trainees here in Mumbai, is, (like every other trainee!) a dancer as well as a dance instructor. She shared with me that during the beginning of the pandemic lockdown when everyone “had pivoted to online," she felt it was a good time to sharpen her technical skills while unable to work in-person performing or teaching. She decided to ‘shoot her shot’ & reached out via Instagram to an esteemed LA-based modern dance instructor & mentor to see if she'd be open to a private lesson on Zoom & what is her rate.

 USD $250. For 30 minutes, 1:1.

 As you can imagine, given strength of US dollars vs India rupees + average income levels, this dancer needed to really think could she afford to spend a decent chunk of her hard-earned savings on this lesson. Our trainee came back to this dance instructor (who runs academies, has a studio in the LA area, has former students dancing professionally in every kind of media & is legitimately worth the fee) & said very simply, “I'd love to learn from you & I know I'll grow…but with the currency conversion, it is a lot of money for me…do you have any flexibility?”

 And instead of discounting her private lesson cost, she was given the option of a 45 minute 1:1 lesson for the price of a 30 minute 1:1 lesson. An add-on of time, gifted to a young dancer in a less economically blessed situation from a leader who was still being properly compensated for her time & extraordinary feedback.

 Was it worth it? She says yes; this dance leader was able to unlock better technique for a specific type of movement & her performance of that specific move has never been better. A tangible result.

 This is the strategy I would love to see boutique studios of all modalities worldwide employ rather than a % discount; an additional value given to the client for the price you've set (you're the one who knows your break-even) rather than a discount. 

e.g. Buy 10 classes at the regular price + receive 11 classes + a pass to bring a first-time friend for free, instead of buying 10 classes for a % discount.

The shift is that clients plainly see the price you've set as a small business they're supporting and are gifted something more. In the case of the dancer with the expensive 1:1 lesson, she knew the value of the high cost & that she would come away from the lesson with something great she could use, immediately. 

As my friend & marketing coach Alexa Cawley says often; if we condition clients to wait for the “deal” to buy, it is incredibly tough to re-train them to buy at full price. (An analogy of feeding your dog scraps from your dinner table comes to mind; unless you want that to be your dog's normal expectation, never do it!!!)

Two other newsworthy bits of information I wanted to share with you:

• Stages Cycling has ceased operations & apparently laid-off their entire staff. WOWZA. Do I know, specifically, what this will mean for your studio, should you use an SC1, SC2 or SC3 bike? I do not…but I will absolutely share any news I receive, should you want to chat privately or wait for an update here. Finding parts may prove problematic depending on your region, so do revert to your local distributor as needed. I heard a bit of gossip while at IHRSA…but will wait until more is revealed as Stages has not yet formally announced if they have been acquired or not and by whom or if it is truly game over with no version 2.0. If you are considering replacing bikes you've had several years or have an expansion plan in place, I highly suggest taking a beat before moving forward on a new purchase. Do click reply if you want to chat through anything.

• I've spoken with several of you over the past months who are wanting another Boutique Fitness Talks event…and I do, too! The plan was to meet together in Saigon, Vietnam in June & collaborate with a wonderful studio & studio owner I know you will sincerely enjoy meeting…but I simply could not appropriately time an event with you all due to this new studio project I'm consulting in India! We WILL do another in Asia in the coming quarters…and I am narrowing-down a collaborator for Europe…stay tuned.

Until next week!

xx Noël

non-negotiable hospitality in group ☘️🧀fitness classes

Wednesday April 17, 2024

I am in Mumbai, India; week 1 of 7 weeks of indoor cycling instructor training for an incredibly exciting new boutique studio project. I look forward to sharing more soon! With 11 of 11 of our trainees dancers, I am reminded why I ❤️ love ❤️ training dancers to teach cycle; tend to be consistently on time or early & prepared for the learning session, innately hear the music & what it wants from its listener & have a knack for being “on” from the moment the door to class opens or closes. Should you have a cycling studio (or even if you offer another fitness modality or two) I cannot recommend more highly, recruiting dancers to teach with you.

But first…back to Europe. The last 3 group fitness classes I joined were with Denise @ Perpetua Fitness in Dublin & with Gina & Eva @ Open Ride in Basel, were 3 of the most authentic classes I've joined in awhile. I had previously only had short conversation with 2 of these ladies before these classes, so I cannot truthfully say that "I know them well" and show bias in my observation…but I can say that while taste is subjective, these 3 leaders showed up for their rooms as an enhanced version of themselves & it was refreshing to see. 

As well, these 3 leaders each embodied key hospitality best practices: 

• made clients feel seen & heard

• offered help at the beginning (as everyone should) & in a kind manner

• introduced regular clients to newcomers when organic

• began and ended on time

• were “on” from the moment the door to the room opened or closed (something I always look for & forever teach in any instructor workshop I lead; if you're not sure what I mean by this, please do reach out & I'm happy to share more)

• always had music playing (no silence!) when clients were present & genuinely nice interaction with the front desk staff.

• treated every client like a welcomed guest to an experience which was worth paying a premium price to attend 

Irrespective of group fitness format offered, I feel strongly we all can benefit from checking-in on these hospitality-points, which is why two of my favorite questions to ask (which I ask in my free studio Audit) is: did the instructor both coach movement & what to do and encourage the room with personal touches? i.e. if you didn't already know this person, would you know a bit about who they were based on this class?

I believe hospitality is part of an excellent before/after class as well as what happens in the room. 😊

'Til next Wednesday,

xx Noël

uncomfortable isn't only for the group fitness room

Wednesday April 10, 2024

If you caught last week's email, I am all ok for another year with my never-not-nervewracking cancer screenings! Know that if you're putting-off scheduling a necessary medical check, I am always happy to give you a pep-talk/quick-kick in the butt; you know how to find me.

What I had planned on sharing this week flew out the window (but I’ll come back to it another time!) after I heard from one of my favorite people in our boutique fitness space who is truly “going through it” at present.

Starkly-said: if you are reading this, we know one another by virtue of the fact that the very first indoor cycling studio consulting project I took on 10 years ago in Singapore…had a poor shareholders’ agreement. While this had nothing to do with the 2 cycling formats I built for the studio, I was affected, of course, as was everyone else….& frankly, it was gut-wrenching.

For me, while I mourned the loss of this studio as with any other big disappointment…this poor shareholders' agreement meant that I would be free to build my global consulting business; working closely with cycling studios to both create new programs & train talent AND provide continuing education opportunities for existing studios.

Instead of expanding & growing the studio’s footprint robustly in Southeast Asia as licensing & strategic partnerships across markets was always the overarching goal with this studio…I, instead, became free to work anywhere & to meet YOU.

[So in the end…I came out OK, though it took time & a lot of mental energy!]

For everyone else involved in this initial Singapore studio, the poor shareholders' agreement meant a few hundred thousand dollars down the drain & chalked up to a heavy-lesson, emotional pain, bewilderment, severed friendships, a decision to stop teaching, a later decision to start one's own studios (especially since they saw a few examples of what NOT to do), rolling with the sale of a business & teaching for the new owner, not rolling with the sale of a business because they thought the new owner was garbage, among others.

In the end, the above 192 words can be boiled down to 10:

Your passion is not enough. You need a shareholders' agreement.

Your drive to create a fantastic third place for your community & provide clients with the best classes & hospitality possible & a place to feel seen….is 👏🏻not 👏🏻enough 👏🏻.

I hope you will protect your passion, sanity, money, time, energy with an updated shareholders' agreement. I firmly believe this is no different than updating your will & financial trust, your payable-upon-death bank accounts & your wishes for your end of life.

Do you have an agreement? And have you re-worked the terms as your business has grown and/or changed?

If you have 1 business partner or many, 1 angel investor or a fund backing your studio…truly when was the last time you had your attorney scrutinize the terms & have dialogue with your fellow shareholders?

I care about our industry & I care about you enough to ask the hard questions…& dare to make you uncomfortable so that we can all grow & thrive.

If you need an ear and/or a recommendation for someone qualified to help you with this crucial task, I'm always here & likely have a referral. 😊

On a happier note!…Eid Mubarak to our friends observing & celebrating.

Til next Wednesday,

xx Noël

what am I gaining rather than losing?

Wednesday April 3, 2024

I'm traveling today as I write you. It has been a lovely week in Basel, Switzerland, and I'm heading to Nice, France. Tomorrow morning, I'll take the train over to Sanremo, Italy, where I have been transitioning all of my medical care & will have my annual 3D mammogram & breast ultrasound. My mother was 40 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy & reconstructive surgery, i.e. breast implants. I don't miss a screening…and this time, for the second time…tomorrow's will be hilariously entirely in Italian. My Italian, not to mention my medical Italian, is not at the level it needs to be for a feat such as this one…so thank goodness for Google Translate, smiling, apologizing, trying to speak actual words & for the written-in-Italian radiology report from last year, that I'll bring to the imaging lab so they may have a comparison.

(If you're American, you may be intrigued to know this will cost me $110 total as I don't have nor need “insurance” & I'll leave the appointment tomorrow with my final results…)

Stay with me: this isn't really about a medical check but an overall mindset shift I am trying to adopt personally & professionally and hope you may find value in, too.

My Mom focused on “seeing herself well” through the entirety of her dance with breast cancer back when. She had a 7-year-old child (me) she was told previously she'd never be able to have (…and there I was, born healthy; how wildly fortunate) & she was determined that she would handle whatever came her way. Cancer?! I got this.

Mom also loved sharing that “Now I get to choose my own size!” 😂😂 during her reconstructive surgery & focused on what she was gaining rather than what she was losing. 

What if every new person who came into our spaces for a class experience…was not there to find fault? Was not planning to leave a nasty ClassPass review? Was not wanting to compare what we offer to what someone else does?

What if they were coming into our spaces to gain confidence rather than lose weight? 

What if what we are facilitating in our spaces, focused upon what clients were gaining…rather than what they were losing?

I spoke recently with 2 longtime boutique studio founders who shared they no longer wanted to focus on aesthetics with their clients. That it served a purpose at one point in their business, but they want to continue to lead the industry in their market & they believe the industry is ready for another level. 

And so I ask you…what are you gaining in keeping the faith that what you offer is special & the right people will find you? And is that bigger than what you are losing? And can you “see yourself well” through the next phase of your growth?

All I want is a clear test tomorrow. The rest is icing.

Til next Wednesday,

xx Noël

who recommends their competitor?

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

I've been thinking for far too long about “what if I send out a short email, whenever I have something worth sharing that could be impactful for boutique fitness studio owners & instructors? And do so on Wednesdays?” 

So here we are. It's a Wednesday night where I am & I have something I feel is worth sharing with you…that I hope will offer you the opportunity to think about it twice.

I am currently in Basel, Switzerland for the first time. In less than 24 hours, I found myself in thoroughly unplanned conversations with 2 boutique studio owners with which I have no relationship with whatsoever and have never once spoken with nor met until this week.

[Why Basel? An opportunity arose to cat/housesit here for Easter week & since I love capturing street art as I travel (if you follow me on Instagram, you know that's how daily Stories have kicked-off since late 2022!) & figured there would be some cool murals alongside beautiful scenery/vibe to give me my European-fix before leaving for India next month.]

Last night, I went to an indoor cycling pop-up class at a nightclub, docked on a boat in the Rhine River. It was, as you can imagine, cool AF. I chatted briefly with the woman checking riders in before & after (before went something like, “Umm hi, am I in the right place? Are we really riding bikes on a boat?!”). As we chatted more on my way out, I mentioned I'd seen online that the studio was currently closed.

She very rightfully share-vented their situation (I realized I was talking to a co-founder & I then shared that I'm in our industry, too). I was honored to hold space for her as she shared Psytrack's tribulations with the Swiss government.

What she said next, stunned me. It should be the norm…but we all know it is not:

“You should check out Open Ride while you're here - they're from Zürich but recently opened a space in the train station & they've done a beautiful job.”

 Fast forward to lunchtime today, when I joined a class at Open Ride. Found myself chatting with the instructor afterwards, she outed herself as the owner…and I shared, verbatim, what was said last night by a colleague in our space…someone who would, of course, be construed as a competitor.

 She was as genuinely touched as I was. 

 And I'll be back to ride with her again before leaving Basel, to support the kind of leadership I always aspire to possess & be around.

 xx Noël