316. We’ve got the A team, everyone stayed!

Have you ever faced the potential loss of a key team member and thought it might derail your plans? That's exactly what happened to me, but instead of succumbing to panic, we turned it into an opportunity for growth and innovation. I found myself in a tough spot as one of my star instructors initially decided to step away, just as I was looking to expand their role. However, a surprise message led to a pivotal heart-to-heart conversation that transformed our approach to team dynamics. We discovered the magic of transparent communication and the incredible impact of recognizing each team member's unique strengths. By the end of our discussion, not only had we retained this invaluable instructor, but we also crafted a dream role that aligned perfectly with their skills and aspirations.

With all three key team members onboard and more committed than ever, we're ready to unveil our new SOS (Structure of Staff) strategy. This revamped approach embraces specialization over generalism, bringing in experts tailored to specific areas like management, staff training, and workout planning. While financial hurdles remain, the renewed energy and unity within the team are palpable, fueling our optimism and determination to succeed. This episode is a testament to the power of cohesive teamwork and strategic growth, and as we embark on this new chapter, I'm excited to share our journey and the lessons we've learned. Join us as we navigate the challenges and triumphs of running a thriving fitness studio, showcasing how the right team structure can lift burdens and energize a business.

Chapters

• 0:32 Employee Negotiation and Position Offer
• 6:17 Team Structure and Growth Success

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:32

Hey, happy Friday, it's a good day. So today was a fun twist of events. I got a message last night from one of my three key employees. I had three targets. So I have my management team, I have my instructors team. Some of them overlap a little bit, but in all those mixtures I had three people who said, hey, I want to keep all my instructors, I want to keep all my managers. I'm I need, must do whatever it takes to keep these three people and a personal reach out, like be flexible schedule wise, but I need these three people to be able to be willing to still work with me in the studio.

Speaker 1: 1:13

Moving forward, and at first glance, there was one person that was a quick yes. There was a little bit of a delayed yes, one person that was a hard no. They said, for a handful of reasons, they wanted to take a break from instructing at the studio and they're going to miss the team. Like, oh, come on, no. And so then the one delayed person said hey, know, I'm still on board, I'm here for the members and the instructors. You know, managers, owners, they come and go, but like it's the members that I really care about and the other person, they do like vendor services for us. So I had a feeling it'd be an easier ask and so they said yes, but I'm that one person. That was a hard no. I was crushing. And so I sent them a text maybe a week ago or like five days ago. And then around like four or five days ago, they messaged the rest of the group like hey, I'm not going to be instructing. And that was rough. I really hit me hard because I really wanted that person to stay involved in and like even do a little bit more and pay them for it. But it was. I didn't want to chase them down if they were having to work through some things. I didn't know their situation, but last night that person messaged me on Facebook, said hey, nathan, hope you're doing well. I'm heading out for vacation in a couple of days. Uh, never thinking things over, can we like just meet up and talk things through a little bit? And it was something to the extent of that. And I was like, yeah, absolutely, I'll be there.

Speaker 1: 2:41

And so, after working a 15 to 16 hour shift yesterday, uh, I went in and I got there like five, 35, 45, right before her last session of, right before her shift ended. So, hey, I got your message. I wanted to reconnect. No, you know, honestly, I came here for you. So if you have a few minutes I would love to chat. If you got to go, I get it, but if you have a few minutes, I came here because this really matters to me and this is important. She's like yeah, absolutely, let's do it. So we talked it out. It was like I was thinking it would be like a 30 minute conversation, turned into like an hour hour and a half. It was really good heart to heart conversation stuff.

Speaker 1: 3:23

She's someone who's been in the business a long time. She's very knowledgeable about boutique fitness. I won't give away too many details because that's that's her business, um, but she just she understands what an owner has to do. She understands what a GM has to do. She understands what an instructor has to do. That's a very unique skill set that not everyone has and at the end of it, her mindset was like she's here for the members, she's here for the instructors, she cares and she understands people come and go and she doesn't necessarily need to know all the details on why someone was was terminated, but she gets that.

Speaker 1: 4:04

Those are hard decisions to happen and I'm. I don't know if she said it or if someone else said it, but like you're a good guy, you're trying your best. Yeah, you don't know how to instruct. Yeah, you don't know nutrition. Yeah, you're a dude. And people want to talk to a woman, a woman, about some of their fitness things. And sorry, you're not that Nathan. And like no, no hard feelings, I know I'm not that that is 100% accurate and I'm not offended that. I'm not that and just realizing, if you're trying to run a studio, I'm trying to have the right people in the right positions. I think I know what I'm doing most of the time. Obviously, when I let that person go, I did not see there was me this really big gap and I'm trying to fill it candidly. I had you as my, my backup option, because you're you know this, you know that You're so knowledgeable. I'm not going to try to twist you into it, but if you're on board and you want to do some stuff, you want to get a few extra hours.

Speaker 1: 5:05

This role has your name written all over it and I know you would crush it and I'm not used to candidly telling people what I want from them. Explicit out loud asks, needs asks that I'm hoping that someone will say something I'm used to, like kind of it's called in Minnesota, we call it the Minnesota nice. Like, hey, you really should consider this. We're like, oh, man, did you ever think that you might wanna apply for this? Or like, oh, if you asked me, I would offer something. And it's this like cat and mouse game and I have to be more like New Yorker. Like, hey, this is a position I, a position I know. I have to get this figured out. If you wanted it, it's yours. You know how to do this and this and this. You're strong in this. And just to say upfront, like where your heart and your sleeve? And let's get rejected here. Like, let's not mince words, let's get rejected and know we got rejected. And so at the end she's like, yeah, like this is a dream role for me. I, I want this. This is something I really want to do. Um, if I can work like this kinds of hours and have like this kind of report to this person and not this person, like, yeah, yeah, I would love to do this. So it's like yes, let's go.

Speaker 1: 6:17

So three out of three key people that I really really, really wanted to keep are staying, and tonight I get to announce that and so we're calling it the SOS. So they proposed the thing of like the structure of staff, and so right now I've got my GM. Gm is going to be handling everything behind the scenes administrative, sales, business, inventory, factual, statistical stuff. This new person that said yes to me today, which I'm stoked about, she's gonna be handling structure of staff. So when it comes to instructor trainings, cpr certification, injury prevention, modifying a move so that people can do it on a band or a weight or an alternative way, do it like she's she's a, she's a boss. She knows that area really well and I'm stoked, and so she's going to be dealing with all of like the people side of instructing.

Speaker 1: 7:15

I've still got my longtime expert who is like a master craft at creating workout plans, like so good at that. And then I have my manager who's going to be handling everything behind the scenes billing, payroll schedules, stuff that's like really boring and so and systemizing it, building out systems for it, and so I feel like I've got the team, I got the A team together. I'm really stoked. I had a really good team beforehand and there was some stuff that was not in hindsight that was not fully clicking. That had to be clicking and as you listen through the episodes you'll know what I'm talking about.

Speaker 1: 7:54

But I think I've got the people in the right spots here. Someone who's very kind of in a quirky way, right For the business side. Someone who's quirky for the instructor side. Someone who's quirky for the workout side. I need quirky people to be in their quirky spot and that's how you win. I don't need generalists, I need experts. So I'm stoked. I'm on top of the world. My pay is down to zero. Bringing on this new person chips away at some of that, that money savings. But this is the right move. This is how the morale is going to stay high. This is how the cohesive glue is going to keep everything intact. So, still working on the marketing stuff on the side, still working the day job, still working the gym, I am optimistic. A weight has been lifted, the sky is blue, even if right now it's kind of gray. But man, this is it. This is where it's supposed to be. Let's go, let's grow. That's where it, that's where we're going. Let's rock and roll.