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As a small business owner, you need to be a lot of things to make your business go—but you don't have to be a marketer alone. Join host Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, and Kelsi Carter, Brand Production Coordinator, as they explore what it really takes to market your business. Even if marketing's not your thing! You'll hear from small business leaders just like you along with industry experts as they share their stories, challenges, and best advice to get real results. This is the Be a Marketer podcast! New episodes every Thursday!
Today on episode 40 of the Be A Marketer podcast, you'll hear from a founder in tune with the energy of her business. And I'm sharing why this is the last episode until 2024. This is the Be A Marketer podcast.
Dave:My name is Dave Charest, director of small business success at Constant Contact. And I've been helping small business owners like you make sense of online marketing for over 16 years. You can be
Dave:a marketer, and I'm here to help. Well, friend, thanks so much for joining me for another episode of the Be podcast. Now you may notice I sound a little bit different today, and, well, that's because I'm recovering from a cold or flu, and I'm I'm not quite a 100% yet. But as I'm sure you're well aware, somebody's gotta make the doughnuts. So forgive me if I'm not as verbose in this episode.
Dave:Maybe that's a good thing. But I did just wanna say thank you for listening to the Be A Marketer podcast this year. You know, it means a lot to me to receive your feedback and read your reviews of the show. And I've learned so much over the course of these conversations, and I hope you have too. In fact, if you have, I would love it if you would leave a review for the show.
Dave:Just go to rate this podcast.com/bam and follow the simple instructions. Now we're gonna go away and tinker with a few things and bring back an even better show for you in 2024. Until then, I hope you have an amazing 2023 and enjoy today's episode. Well, friend, today's guest is Julianna Curtis, the founder and CEO of the Energy Bar, an independently owned fitness and yoga studio with 3 boutique locations in Massachusetts. Now the Energy Bar also offers a state of the art app that allows members to take the studio services with them anywhere they go.
Dave:Now Juliana founded the Energy Bari in 2013, and she joins me for a candid conversation about her business and the successes and challenges she's had over the last 10 years. Now I asked Julianna to tell me about the first challenges she faced after opening the studio. Let's pick up the conversation there.
Julianna:Okay. So those first 10 months were, I think, unheard of, like, unprecedented growth. And we had such opportunity where our risk was so low. Our rent was really, really reasonable. So we just struck and were like, sure profit.
Julianna:And so taking the chance, taking the leap to sign a lease didn't feel nerve wracking at all.
Dave:Okay. Good.
Julianna:And when we did sign that lease, it was only 2 and a half miles down the street from where we were originally, so we didn't have this risk of losing, like, you know, clientele so much based on location. We did lose some. Some people like to be, you know, that close to where they're going. It's fine. But then we moved into and we're actually done we live in Stoneham.
Julianna:So we moved into them, like, truly our community so that we were met with a whole another wave of support and interest, which was really great. So we kept riding that. When did we meet our 1st set of adversity? Yes. Okay.
Julianna:So about a year into having our space in Stoneham forgive me if my timeline is not perfect. But about a year into that into having our space in Stoneham, we ran into challenges with the tenants below us and that then we were getting noise complaints. And I told you I was headstrong. And so we were given, like, warning, and the writing now looking back, the writing on the wall was there that if I didn't adjust and be perhaps more accommodating that it was not going to be good for us. Like, we were not it's not we're not gonna end in our favor.
Julianna:And I just was blissfully unaware of how ugly it could get. So we ended up in court, and I walked in on a day in November into the courtroom and was told left and was told that we couldn't play amplified music anymore between the hours of 9 and 5. It was just like
Dave:Wow.
Julianna:The way that the lease was written, I was something I couldn't have foreseen. And so I had to walk out of the courtroom and call the studio and say, hey. The classes that are about to go off at 4 cannot have music playing. And so it was like, woah. And so I did we did have our first child at that point.
Julianna:So we had, like, a little baby at home, and all of a sudden, we have issue. And our classes are rhythmically driven. Like, music is a huge part of it. And so I panicked and cried. And it was Monday through Friday, so we at least had, like, weekends.
Julianna:So I think it was like we had to get through a couple days, panicked, cried, all of that stuff. And then, you know, and then the next morning, I just had to figure it out. And so I found this company called SoundOff Experience. They had these Bluetooth headphones, and you probably have seen them for, like, silent rave.
Dave:Well, because I was like, well, they have those headphones. Right? Where you could and I'm like, oh my god. It's just so funny that you go there. Okay.
Dave:Yeah.
Julianna:And so I called this guy, and his his his business is huge now. You see sound Bath everywhere.
Dave:Sure. Yeah.
Julianna:Hotels have these raves. People have them they're waiting and stuff like that. It was really cool. But he was just really starting his business. So I called him and I was like, listen.
Julianna:This is my situation. I need your equipment in my studio, like, tomorrow. Yeah. And he was like, okay. He got on a plane from wherever he was.
Julianna:I forget if he was in New York or whatever. Got in a plane, brought the equipment out to us, and we had this set up within, like, within a week. And, you know, it was a solution that not everybody liked.
Dave:Sure.
Julianna:And, also, you know, it was we were brought to court, and then I had to pay the legal fees of the company that brought me to the court. It was, like, more than I ever could've imagined. That was our first bit of adversity, and I then did not meet any adversity of that magnitude until COVID.
Dave:Okay. Well yeah. So that's a huge thing. Right? Yeah.
Julianna:Yeah. But I would say it prepared me.
Dave:Well, so just so I have it straight. So the Stoneham location, this is where that happened. Right? Yeah. This is not the same location you're still in or is it?
Julianna:Same location.
Dave:Okay. Yeah. So how do you deal with that? Like, is that still an issue?
Julianna:So I was humble. I was at my headstrong nature, and I was just turned down. We did what we had to do, and then I worked really, really hard to build a trusting relationship with my building manager and the tenant who created, you know, the most resistance to what we did left the building.
Dave:Okay.
Julianna:And so, you know, things shifted and changed, and we were able to reach an agreement
Dave:Okay.
Julianna:Where, you know, I now need to be more cautious and aware of what's going on. There's so much that we love about this space that we're in, and lots of people, including the attorney that I had to hire, would probably say I'm crazy for still staying in this space. But we love it. And it's home, and we were able to recover the relationship, and we don't use ad phones anymore.
Dave:Yeah.
Julianna:We were able to reach an agreement that worked out for everybody.
Dave:Okay. Good for you. Yeah.
Julianna:Yeah.
Dave:So, I mean, you brought it up, so let's go there. I mean, what is going through your mind when 2020 comes around?
Julianna:Yeah. That was an experience.
Dave:And how many, I guess, how many locations do you have at this point?
Julianna:At that point, we had 4.
Dave:You had 4. Okay.
Julianna:So we had and so the first time when we entered the lost situation, we had 2. So we had opened Beverly and we had Stewart. And then in the years between then and COVID, we opened Medford and then North Redding. And when COVID came, I think everybody tells, you know, some vein of the same story where it was, like, all of a sudden, you started hearing about people getting sick and this like, we had this scary situation happening, and then everybody needed to, like, stay inside. But before it really struck home, like, and in schools and everywhere, people were looking to the small businesses to, like, make a choice.
Julianna:You know, the term flatten the curve, if you remember Mhmm. Is out there. It was essentially, like, the call was for anything nonessential to just shut down in hopes that in 2 weeks, you know, the we'd be over the hump. And so my husband at the time was working on the police department, and he was at work. And I sat home on this, like, Sunday afternoon talking to friends in the industry who have similar businesses.
Julianna:And our North Reading studio, we shared with the spin studio. So I was talking to them, and I was you know, my headstrong part came out again, seeing, like, people can make their own choices. You know? Like, why I don't feel comfortable doing that. And, really, the 2 girls who own the intercycle, that was who we partnered with in North Redding.
Julianna:They were just like, you know what? We really, like, we really have to do this. And it was they were, like, the strong voice that I needed to hear at that time. Like, this is, like, a social responsibility. And so it softened that headstrong nature that I have.
Julianna:And we sent out an email that afternoon and said we're closing the studio, so we don't know when we'll open them back up again. And we sent that email on Sunday, but we said we would close them, like, end of business day the next day. So John and I taught the last class that was held in our Stoneham studio. We taught we teach yoga together often, and we taught a yoga class. And, you know, the numbers had, like, naturally dwindled anyway.
Julianna:So I think there were about, like, 6 people in that class. And by the time, you know, we were in Jovassana, both John and I were just sitting there in tears. You know? Like, we were closing the door and had no idea when we'd open them again. And we at least had the foresight to know the 2 weeks that everybody is talking about was not going it was not going to be 2 weeks.
Julianna:Weak. So that was really scary. You know, we had 4 leaf spaces. 5 actually because we have an office space. So we have 5 leaf spaces that we were not going to be able to make any money off of for the foreseeable future.
Julianna:2 kids at home. And my husband was on the police force, so he was the, you know, essential employee. And it was just like it felt like, yeah, it felt like a certain kind of house.
Dave:So where do you go in that situation that, like, I guess, how long were you closed? But then, I guess, before you even get to the point where you're even reopening again, I have to assume you're trying to figure out, okay, like, what do I do here? And so what did you do? What's going through your mind?
Julianna:Yeah. So we very similar to that feeling of, like, what happened that evening that I walked out of the courtroom. We went home. We opened a bottle of wine. We sat by the fire.
Julianna:Cried, felt sorry for ourselves, and, you know, complained about the world and got all of that out in a sense. And the next day fortunately, my mother-in-law lives with us. So the next day, John went into work. I left my kids home with my mother-in-law, and I came into an empty office and sat behind my computer and just started figuring it out. Just started calling our landlords to see if they were planning to do anything to assist.
Julianna:I started calling insurance agents and, like, anybody I could think of that would have any kind of advice and put together a plan to build up our on demand. So we always had an on demand feature Mhmm. Within our business. It was really geared towards just being a supplemental for our members. So put together a plan for how to start building up our on demand content and how to make that accessible to anyone, our existing clients.
Julianna:So sending out emails, communication, it was an insane time. And so the first thing we did, we saw everybody a lot of people were going, like, right into Zoom and right into livestream. We had so much on demand content that for that first, like, week, we really just used the on demand, got it in front of our customers as much as possible, and then started to build our plan for, like, what we would do with livestream and how we would get that done. But it required so much manual labor that we weren't set up for, you know, making sure that these 40 people who were signing up to take this class, you know, somebody needs to be awake in the morning to make sure they got that link. You know?
Julianna:Like, all the automations and things like that, we weren't set up for that right away. So it was like, I would wake up at 4 in the morning, manually send an email with a link to anybody who had signed up, get on to the program to make sure that everybody was getting in there fine, and it was just insane. It was like we didn't sleep. I had a small team of people who also needed to work. You know, we have 50 people who teach at the studio about.
Julianna:And so for a lot of them, it's, like, supplemental. You know? Fun. It's like their fun job. It's the whatever.
Julianna:A little bit of extra money, whatever. So, sure, that always hurts when you know that you have money coming in. So everybody's impacted by it. But there was a small bunch of us who this is how we feed our families. You know?
Julianna:This is the money that goes that we take home. And so anyone who was in that situation was worked into the plan of, you know, like, scheduling times to come in when no one else is in the office to record, scheduling when they would teach live streams, and just finding a way to continue to keep them on payroll and keep them working. And, you know, on the other side of that, keep our our business operating in any capacity.
Dave:So let me say this first. One, congratulations to you for weathering that storm and being here today and just even on the success of having a business for what, 10 years, 10 plus years or whatever it is. 2, what would you say that you learned during that period then?
Julianna:Oh, gosh. I learned a lot. I learned a lot during that period. The first and foremost, it highlighted the importance of taking care of people. It highlighted how valuable the excellent customer service is that when we were no longer a the neighborhood studio.
Julianna:You know, we went from being the neighborhood studio that, yes, you found and stayed at because you love, but you found us because we're down the street from you, a couple miles from your home. So we went from being the neighborhood studio to being an online studio where you can in competition with anyone. You know? Like, these massive brands that had like, Peloton and Alomoves and all of these these businesses that had capabilities way beyond our own, and so many of our members and our regular clients stayed with us. And, yes, they loved us, and we teach incredible classes, but I have to believe that the primary reason we were able to retain so many of our users is because of the experience that they get from knowing us and knowing that we're there to take care of them and really putting the customer experience first.
Julianna:Number 2, the importance of taking care of your team. And I definitely had you know, it was a learning experience. So looking back, there are things that I wish I had done differently for my team at the time, and there are things that I'm really proud that I was able to do and that I prioritized doing. But really seeing your team as your greatest asset and looking at them as a whole. I sat and watched, for the first time, really see everybody experiencing a high level of stress and needing them to be able to perform because I needed a team.
Julianna:Right? But also needing them to be well. So how could I help to facilitate that? And it was a struggle because the demands on this small group of people were so high. So I really saw and learned the importance of being in tune with in touch with what's going on with your team and finding ways to support them the best way that you can.
Julianna:And then 3rd, the importance of taking care of yourself. And I reached such a horrible, horrible level of burnout through this experience that I wasn't even able to recognize or witness until much, much, much later. But, yeah, I felt very firsthand the toll that neglecting your own self care in order to get your job done or put a business for what that looks like, and it wasn't great.
Dave:How do you feel coming out of that situation, like, where you are today? Like, do you reflect back on that? Or
Julianna:Yeah. All the time. Everything now, I think there's just so much more. There's so much reflection on what it like, dialed down and dialed in. What's working right now and what's not working right now.
Julianna:Like, there I just have such a smaller level of tolerance for investing time and energy into things that aren't working and spinning wheel and asking or wanting anybody on my team to do the thing. You know? So where before, it was like I guess I felt like we had the luxury of playing things out longer and seeing how things would go and that I am so much more tuned into the efficacy of what we're doing in that current moment and, like, just making changes so that we're taking care of the business, taking care of ourselves, taking care of our families. And there's just not really no room for anything else. Mhmm.
Julianna:So that's happening. I feel proud. I feel proud that we've made it here. And if I'm being honest, I want to be 2 years down the line when I can feel like we've dug out of all of our holes. You know?
Julianna:There are just some holes there, and I have 10 years behind me. And so with that 7 years pre COVID of really, it was like just like this wonderful churning. And so in that, we're, like, things it was just positivity and growth and growth and growth. And so with those wheels of growth and things is always turning up, I didn't have to notice when we were picking up and holding on to things that didn't serve my business well, our clients well, our team well. I didn't have to notice because we were always going we were just going up.
Julianna:You know? And so I guess that's what I'm saying now where it's like, now you know, it kinda feels like flat rope. So, like, we're doing great, and I see all of this positive. But, yeah, I want to be somewhere else because I've been there before.
Dave:Yeah.
Julianna:And I know that we're capable of it. And so it's kind of a funny a funny experience of being so proud and also not satisfied. But in that same breath, it's made me very hungry again. And there are some areas where I can see I had become a bit complacent.
Dave:Yeah. Well, I think it's interesting how, you know, a situation happening like that really does, I guess, for lack of a better way to describe it, it really focuses you. Right? Like, it puts you in a place where you to your point about, like, oh, you have a little bit more time to let things breathe and do where you don't necessarily have that luxury. And right or wrong I mean, life is, I think, at many levels and when it comes to running a business, whatever, really is about a series of decisions that you have to make.
Dave:And oftentimes you can put decisions off because you feel like you don't need to make them, but this really forced, I think, a lot of people obviously to make decisions, which I think at the end of the day I mean, from what I'm hearing, it sounds like it's made you stronger in terms of the business because you know that, like, yeah, we don't need to waste time with that. Let's do this, which I think sometimes people do waste too much time on things that aren't gonna serve them in the way that they really need to. So I think that's the interesting positive byproduct of this whole thing.
Julianna:Yeah? Yeah. And it's, like, not to keep going back to this loss, but, like, what I said is that was the first, like, major adversity that I ever experienced in the business. And there was so much time that I was just, like, really angry about it. You know?
Julianna:Angry about what it took away from me, angry about what it took away from my business, my family, our clients. And then there was, like, this recovery period from it. And once the recovery period really made its way through or I made my way through the recovery period, I was able to look back and see how much positive came out of that experience as well. How much growth, how much learning, how much of a new perspective, and really a new era of who I was as a business owner to a fault of self taught in literally everything. You know?
Julianna:Aside from my formal education in hospitality, nobody told me how to do any of that. You know? So I'm trial and error, and I'm not really good at taking advice anyway. So I had to go through this, like, experience and figure it all out on my own, and sometimes that does mean learning the hard way. Right?
Julianna:But out of that experience, I became such a the new era of me as a business owner was really there were some really great things that came out of that. And so I think that part of me is, like, I know I'm not done with the recovery period yet, and I wanna be done with it because I want all the resentment and all the, like, you know, the trauma of what the experience of COVID was. I wanna be able to look back at it and have the positive eye, you know, and say, look what came out of that.
Dave:So where you are today, after all of this, you get to this point, you know, you've got your multiple locations, you've got 10 years behind you, you're we're kind of out of whatever, you know, has happened. So we're moving in a different direction now. What would you say are your top priorities right now?
Julianna:My top priorities right now are being so in tune with the pulse of my business, and the pulse of my business is what happens in the studio. And the reason that that's so important right now and the reason that's my top priority is because even prior to so this is not to get into a COVID conversation again, but even prior to COVID, I was somewhat removed from that pulse because of the ages of my children. So Okay. My son turned 1 in January of 2020. Right?
Julianna:So, like, my kids were so small that I had kind of really placed a lot of my dependence on the team and was able I had built the business to a point where I was able to kind of let things run a little bit and really turn my attention home to my family and be there a bit more. And then we were really removed from the studio. You know? And so it's, like, almost like all the information that I have gathered over the years is almost irrelevant. Like, it's not irrelevant, but it's not things aren't the same anymore.
Julianna:And so I need today's data. I need today's information. And so as much as I can, I'm back in the studio. I'm taking classes. I'm there listening to clients.
Julianna:I'm standing behind the front desk, like, as much as I can when I'm not coaching my kids' soccer team or picking them up from school or doing all these other things. So it's different, but there's a part of me that's trying to reawaken that really, really early entrepreneurial spirit, like when I was one of 4 members of the team, and I was the one sweeping the floors in the morning and sweeping the floors in the evening. Mhmm. You know? Because that enables me to breathe the language of our business into social media, into email marketing, into into conversations with, you know, someone that I meet at a restaurant.
Dave:So tell me a little bit about that because it's interesting what you're talking about here. Right? Is where you like, yeah, you're in it. Like, you are the business at a certain point when you're first starting. Then you're growing and you're bringing on new people to obviously help you run the business.
Dave:Right? So you're not kind of in the day to day of everything. And I guess sounds like you're feeling a bit disconnected from that a little bit, but then trying to get back into it. And so, I guess, what does that do for you? And I have to assume on some levels with your the type of person that you are, I'm sensing that there's a you pick up, like, a an energy, pun intended, I guess, with the energy bar.
Dave:Right? But, like, you pick up an energy, right, from people and what that is and what you're trying to accomplish. And so I feel, like, probably being removed from that situation doesn't help you internalize the way you need to in order to do these things that you're talking about. So I don't even know if what my question is at this point. I'm but, like, what was that scenario like to be, like, in it, out of it, but realizing, no, I need to be really in it again?
Julianna:Yeah. So you're right on, and I think I'm picking up exactly what you're saying. And I'm I'm gonna go kind of a long roundabout way Okay. If you only want to answer anything.
Dave:My question was very roundabout too. So
Julianna:A long time ago, sometime in this 10 years, almost 11 years of running this business, someone and I can't even remember who it was. Someone said to me, you are the business. You are the energy bar. Mhmm. You have to be there.
Julianna:And, like, when you're there, your business will always threat more. Like, it's like you you're the water for the feet. Mhmm. And I resisted that statement at the time, but I never forgot it.
Dave:Wait a minute.
Dave:You resisted something?
Julianna:Listen. Yeah. Like, so I guess but here's the thing and here's the irony of it all is that, like, my daily mission is to keep my ego in check. I am a naturally really confident person, and I've always been really outgoing. And I'm a Leo, and, like, I love to be if if God had given me, like, a beautiful voice or any kind of talent in acting, like, I believe I'm meant to be on a stage somewhere.
Julianna:You know? And so the energy bar is my stage. So, like, I have to keep my ego down. So you would think that somebody to say that to me would be like I would flourish into that and believe it. So I don't know I don't really know why I didn't.
Julianna:I think it's that peace and that balance between knowing that is true. There's truth to that, but also not wanting to allow that to really get to my head because as much as I am the business, so is my team. You know? And I have had periods of time in my career as being a business owner where I have placed myself above my team, and that has been very detrimental. But then there's been times where I placed myself and my needs, you know, and desires for the business so far below the team that that's also been detrimental.
Julianna:So it's just, like, really important balance that I'm always working to strike. Right? So I wanted to resist that statement to be true. And then I think I further wanted that statement to not be true because I really wanted to be a very present mom with my kids. And with no one else being my boss, I had the ability to make my schedule, put myself on a schedule when it worked for me, not when it didn't.
Julianna:You know? So I really had the ability to remove myself or insert myself into the business as much as I wanted because by the time we had kids, we really had built up a very strong team. And so I think I wanted to deny the fact that I am not essential to the business and the, you know, the health of the business because I'm also that essential to the health of my family, and I'm really it's really hard for me to be all into more than one thing at a time. Mhmm. And so my kids are so small, and they need me all the time, and I wanna be 100% there.
Julianna:But life has changed and schedules have changed and all of this, and so I've, like, been awakened to a new opportunity to be more immersed into the business and putting myself back in in these spaces. And it doesn't look the same as it did before I had kids. It doesn't. But it's very familiar to that. And see, every time I'm there, I'm getting, like, new hit of inspiration.
Julianna:I'm making connections with new people. People are talking to me about what they want from the studio or or how the studio has positively impacted their lives. And this is the funniest thing. I am falling, like, in love with running this business again, and I didn't know I had fallen out of it. So I don't know if I'm falling more in love or if if I had kind of fallen out.
Julianna:But I am so excited and obsessed with the fact that this is what I get to do and that discontentment that I talked about that I actually have the power to change that. You know? I can sit here with you today and say that I am the water that waters the seeds. Whoever told me that, like, thank you so much for saying that and letting giving me this little nugget of wisdom that I could hold on to and resist for so many years, but having lived through so many things, actually, maybe have it land on me in the way it was intended.
Dave:In the right moment that it needed to.
Julianna:Yeah. I love that. The water and the seeds, one doesn't work without the other. Yeah.
Dave:So tell me a little bit about then, like, how are you finding that balance now? Like, are you do you feel like you're in that zone where you've maybe not perfect? Right? Because I don't and, of course, nothing is. Right?
Dave:But, like, are you feeling like yeah. Alright. My I'm walking on that water in the right way, so to speak. And, like, what does that look like now for a typical day for you as the owner?
Julianna:Okay. So, yes, I feel like I'm getting there. I feel like I'm working on the balance, and I will never achieve balance. Right? So it's just, like, constantly playing one foot on, one foot off, whatever.
Julianna:But you know what? Like, my kids are happy. My husband's happy. And I feel that the team and the clients I feel like an awakened energy from everybody who steps foot in this place. And so I'm getting the immediate feedback from everyone on both sides of the things that are most important to me right now that we're moving in the right direction.
Julianna:And, you know, right now we're coming into speaking of marketing. Right? Right now we're coming into what's a really, really huge season for us. November is, like, our most important month of the year, typically, when it comes to sales because of holiday coming up. And so, you know, the other day I've done this before in the past.
Julianna:My husband the other day, I brought up the reminder, like, hey. November is coming up, which means, like, you take the torch for a lot of life at
Dave:home Yeah.
Julianna:And I'll see you in December, and you have a great job.
Dave:Yeah.
Julianna:And he is, like, so good with that. You know? Even with that, we're learning on that personal level, like, learning how to communicate to the people who aren't involved in the business. Like, hey. This is what this looks like for me, you know, to my friends, to my my family outside of my home, but, like, my sisters and my mom.
Julianna:Like, I'm really close with them. We do a lot with them. And the other day, I was able to look at them. They're making plans for November, and I was like, guys, I can't commit to anything Yeah. Because this month's really important, but I'll be there if I can't.
Julianna:You know? You just won't know until the day before. So I think it's just paying attention. You know?
Dave:Yeah. So how are you applying the feedback and the things that you're learning through being there? How does that present itself in what you're doing?
Julianna:Yeah. Well, one of my favorite things is social media marketing. So it's like, I love it. It feels like communication. You know, even though the audience isn't face to face me, I don't get to see them.
Julianna:I know that what I put out is being seen. So I have been working, you know, over the last few years, and we rebranded over the last few years and really dove into social media marketing. And we've curated and created this, like, really beautiful aesthetic that we use in social media, and it translates really well into our into our email marketing. And I've put so much of my energy into that, and I'm really proud of, like, what we've developed. And being, like, on the pulse of what's happening in the business, I got the feedback and the understanding.
Julianna:Really, a lot of it was intuitive that people wanna see what's going on inside of here too. You know? So outside of, like, this beautiful aesthetic and brand recognition, which is so important, people also wanna see, like, what's happening? You know? What's happening behind that beautifully created post?
Julianna:And once people walk in the doors and so it's kind of awakened this new idea and concepts that we're going with with our social media marketing and how we can blend the 2 together to have a strong brand identity and also to use what is, you know, like, free. Like, the people who walk in the business and allowing them in different ways whether it's through testimonials or videos of classes and pictures, like, in real time that aren't done by a real photographer in a staged environment. Like, what does it look like to be in the energy bar? And the response is already really great. It's kind of just like a new thing that we've been, New direction that we've gone down.
Julianna:Yeah. Which is funny because it's really an old direction. You know, like, things just get recycled just like style.
Dave:Well, so tell me about then, I guess, your relationship with marketing. You said you love social media, and I'll I'll go back to something we we've talked about kind of before that you also have this love hate relationship with social media, which I think many of us do. But I'd before maybe we'll go there, maybe we won't. But first, I'd like to start with, I guess, do you have regular marketing meetings? Like, how does this all come together?
Dave:How do you think about marketing? What's your approach? How are you doing this?
Julianna:Okay. So I cannot this is me. I don't do well with, like, regularly scheduled things.
Dave:Okay.
Julianna:So I have a team that is exceptional. So in our office, there's there's 3 of us. We have Dina. We call her the baby of our office. She's 23 years old.
Julianna:Anything that plugs in, she helps us, like, to fix and keep the
Dave:like IT Gina. Right? Yeah. IT Gina.
Julianna:She does all of our editing for videos and, like, she's just, like, she's on. She keeps us in touch with, like, the young craft. And then there's Shay who I'm not gonna tell you how old she is. She's getting mad at me. She is our operations manager.
Julianna:She, like, does so many things, but literally makes sure that, like, the lights are gonna turn on tomorrow and that we have everything that we need and that everybody is taken care of and that emails are answered. Right? So that I can be this creative person who, like, listens to these intuitive hits that I get and runs forward with them. This is the amazing dynamic that we've created in the office, and I'm sure sometimes it's frustrating to work with me in that way. But they do it, and they're a blessing.
Julianna:So as far as structure goes like that, we don't do that. But I have an amazingly structured marketing team that I work outside marketing team called Fetch. Okay. That she forces me into enough structure that what we need is going out on time and so that I can feel like I'm doing things in real time. That's what matters to me, if that makes sense.
Dave:Yep.
Julianna:So what we do is schedule out, you know, create our post and content for upcoming months, schedules out, and create our emails that we know that we need to send out and posts that we know that are, you know, like, timely. We have an event coming up. This needs to be seen. Whatever messages we want to relay in, like, an organized fashion so that then I can do the thing that I really love to do, which is, like, this is happening today. Look what's happening in the studio.
Julianna:And it feels that feels like authentic, like, grassroots kind of marketing to me, which is really what I built our business off of. And so now 10 years in, there's the need for both, but I can't abandon that, like, kind of gypsy style of business owner that I am, which is it's just the way I am. So I've found to get the team that helps me to have that, like, structure so I can work outside of it.
Dave:So a couple of things here that I think one of the things I'm always recommending to business owners, right, asking about, like, how to do marketing is, like, lean into that thing that is your strength. Like, let that be the thing that drives what you do, which it sounds like you're doing. Secondly, I'm curious, when did you bring on another team to help with the marketing? The outside
Julianna:team? So in October of 2020, that's when I connected with Fetch. That's when we started our rebranding.
Dave:So what drove that decision?
Julianna:Well, it was 2020, and I wanted our online presence to evolve and to be stronger. And the time like, previously, you know, I had had someone build a website. There was no, like, ongoing relationship there, you know, so I didn't have someone to do that. I wanted a new brand. I wanted a fresh look.
Julianna:And so I brought on Fetch. And the owner of Fetch, her name's Olivia, and she was amazing to work with. I loved what she did. I loved our new brand, and she's actually another young thing in her early twenties, maybe 25. And, she was like, well, you know, if you want support with social media or ongoing marketing, this is what I could offer to you.
Julianna:And so we just kind of, like, kept dipping our toes in a little bit more and a little bit more to see if working together remotely she doesn't live in the Boston area at all, so it was all remote. So to see if we could create a good synergy together.
Dave:Sure. Yeah.
Julianna:And we did. And she continued. It's been really helpful. She continues to, like, push me in the direction of having more structure with some of our marketing being much more advanced. I mean, I never was, like, ahead, and we're already talking about January.
Julianna:You know? That's wild to me.
Dave:Good for you, though.
Julianna:Yeah. Yeah. It's great. It's great. So she has it's been so beneficial to have that.
Julianna:It's almost like having somebody tether me to the ground a little bit, but still allow me to to to do my thing. So it's been really helpful. She has, like, actual marketing experience and education and knowing what works and knowing what is important. I've never had had guidance in that. Everything was really just, like, intuitive, and I think this will work.
Julianna:And that worked really well. I don't mean to, like, dismiss my ability, but it's really helpful to find people who then have this as an area of expertise that can also bring out more from you and into your business.
Dave:I was gonna say it's about that. Right? It's taking what you do and have to another degree, right, another level that you can do with that. So where does constant contact come into all of this for you?
Julianna:Constant contact. I told you this when we were on the the panel. I believe so. Constant Contact is, like, the first actual business decision and commitment that I ever made. I didn't even have an energy bar email when I opened it.
Julianna:So, like, our email is still connected to, like, an old Gmail account or something. So Constant Contact, what exactly do I need to do? Like, I was like, I have I put out a post on Facebook, and I got all these emails. So, like, what do I do with these emails? And so that company worked with Constant Contact.
Julianna:So she was like, here. You should use Constant Contact, set us an account. And I went over to her house one day, and she gave me, like, you know, a 2 hour tutorial on how to use it and put an email together. And I sent out my first email, like, hey. The energy bar is coming soon.
Julianna:And we have used Constant Contact ever since. We use Constant Contact to send out surveys. We use Constant Contact to send out regular emails about what's going on in the studio. We use Constant Contact to have, like, contact forms and things like that, And we use Constant Contact to communicate with our team. So Gina sends out our, you know, our weekly team updates.
Julianna:So has always been my most formal use of or commitment to marketing that there is. And it gives us a ton of information.
Dave:So well, talk to me about that. What type of information? How do you use that?
Julianna:Well, we're able to see, like, who's opening or if the emails are getting opened, which I got this devastating news from you on the panel that was, like, doesn't necessarily mean they're really reading them. But our open rate is really great, but really more so, like, what is getting clicked through? What are people going to? You know? What are they interested in?
Julianna:So we're able to look at those analytics and be like, okay. Well, this click through rate was here. There you know, people must want to see more of these style trainings or more of these kinds of events, or they really were into this style of apparel because more people went right to our shop from there. So it's just been really valuable in that way. And then the surveys, of course, to be able to ask direct questions and have a place to get direct answers, it's not flooding your email box.
Julianna:It's really amazing. That's really cool.
Dave:I think one of the things that you do is interesting too that I think is worth mentioning is you obviously, you're using it to communicate with customers, but you also use it to communicate with your team internally.
Julianna:Yeah.
Dave:I feel like sometimes people don't make that jump. Was that somebody's idea? Like, how did you end up oh, yeah. I can use this to email employees. How did you get there?
Julianna:Yeah. So we have like, from the beginning, we used Facebook as our, like, team communication center, which we still have. But as the team grew and we grew and right? So we went from being a fitness studio to now we brand we have our arms in so many different places that even letting our team know what was happening within the studio and within the multiple locations that we have, it was, like, kind of impossible to do in an organized way. And so then we started doing these team updates.
Julianna:A member of my team suggested it. She was like, I think if you just took all the information and put it in one one place, send it out to the team, that would be excellent, and people would know what's going on in advance. And it was like a something I never would have thought of on my own. But here's us, came up with the idea, one of our team members, and it it's been great. So now they get the information.
Julianna:It goes out every Thursday, and they have something to click back to and look back to it. What's going on? Or someone's asking them a question about something that's coming up in the studio. If they don't know, they can they have a place to look. Easy.
Dave:So you mentioned algorithms a little bit earlier, and I know we're all kind of I think some people still don't really realize that this is what's happening. But at this point, right, there's the social platforms are kind of dictating who sees what and what's going on there. And so, I guess, how important are you finding or what are you noticing and what's changed in maybe your approach when you start to think about the reality of that and the importance of having that email list?
Julianna:So the importance and the value of having the email list is, like, without question. Like, we just constantly need to be staying in touch with that. And one thing that's really great for us is that we use a scheduling system, mindbody, that integrates directly with Constant Contact. So when someone creates a profile, we get their email goes into our email list
Dave:Yep.
Julianna:Which is amazingly simple. Like, we don't have to be going out there really asking for it. It happens, which is so amazing. But, yeah, I mean, the reality is we've really built our initial following off of Facebook, and then everything about Facebook changed, and Instagram was where it's at. You know?
Julianna:And we've built a hue a good following through Instagram, and we do most of our communicating there, daily communicating there. But TikTok is huge. You know? And, like, TikTok's not relevant really to my business and what I'm trying to do. So I'm not chasing that, but I also am aware that, like, I'm not getting in front of everybody that I used to with Instagram.
Julianna:So my belief is that for me, what we need to do is make sure the information is going out through multiple sources. We've also begun having more information digitally available. We set up, like, a TV screen in the studios that when you walk in, you see on, like, a revolving circuit what's happening. And those are really kind of, like, repurposing our Instagram posts because even our greatest fans aren't necessarily getting fed our content.
Dave:Right.
Julianna:So tomorrow, you know, Mark Zuckerberg and all those other people could take away our ability to get in front of our customers, but you can't take away our emails. You know? When we back to COVID, when everything changed overnight with our business, we weren't depending on Instagram to get that very vital information and communication out to our people. We were using them. It's just a it's a guaranteed delivery system.
Dave:Are there any particular things that you're doing outside of the Mindbody integration to build your email list at all?
Julianna:Oh, do you have any ideas?
Dave:Well, I mean, I would say, one of the things we often recommend to people is that from time to time on your social channels, let people know, hey, We have an email list, and you can join that and get right? Like, I think it's one of those things if you wanna make sure you're seeing the things that are happening at the energy bar or, like, those types of things. Like, do that every once in a while, and you'll see, you know, oh, yeah. People as long as you're giving people a good reason why they should, like, you'll see people join the list, and then you're not having to rely on social for those people that you may not have. You know what I mean?
Dave:Because, again, you're having that direct content. So, I mean, I think that's something that you should talk about working into the rotation. Yeah. And then I've heard some people do things like, I don't know how much you participate in, like, local community events and those types of things. But those are also good opportunities to try to build that list.
Dave:Like, it's we have some customers that have done things like, you know, raffles, like those types of things to build email lists, like, with local communities and give away classes or do something like that, which again, gives you people I always say it's kind of like, you know, somebody comes to your website, they come to your store and they leave. Well, how do you get them to come back? Yeah. Right? And if you don't have that contact information to be able to do that, well, you've got no way to influence whether or not they're gonna come back to you again or at least get them, you know, closer to you.
Dave:And so I think, yeah, just looking for just little things, they don't have to be crazy, but doing some things like that, I think, helps you move that audience closer to you and off of social. So, you know, the site goes down, whatever, you still have a way to contact them.
Julianna:Yeah. That's such an amazing idea. Who put you in charge of marketing over there? So because, like, at an event, a lot of times at a community event or if I'm going to some kind of, an event that's industry related, I will have, like, a QR code that brings them to our website or maybe give them an offer. But that's been kind of depending on them to take the next step.
Julianna:Whereas if I give them a QR code to enter their email address, I can take the next step and send them a message tomorrow.
Dave:Yes. So you could use Constant Contact to build the landing page.
Julianna:Mhmm.
Dave:That is the offer, enter your information, and then you could use automation on the back of that to send them the offer. But now you have a way to contact them again and drive that conversation versus waiting for them to take it up. Right? And so there you go. You definitely do that.
Julianna:I love that idea. Put that on the list. Tonight. I have to put a QR code on my phone and get them up there. Yeah.
Julianna:Because I can build that landing page easy with like, the size of content.
Dave:Yep. Absolutely.
Julianna:Warm to gather there and pop.
Dave:Yeah. You can get that done in less than 10 minutes if you really wanted to. Yeah. Absolutely. Alright.
Dave:Again, I thank you for going over. I wanna close this up. So I guess, what would be a number one tip you would have for a similar business using Constant Contact?
Julianna:For a similar business using Constant Contact actually, this is huge. For a similar business using Constant Contact, my advice is to create your most valuable communication and put it into your email form first, and then create your social and all of your, you know, your social and your flyers and all that off of that information. But start with your emails because you know that's going direct to your customer. I think in the world of people going you know, you see people going viral overnight and get growing their followers and all that stuff. For my business, we are not selling, and we have some stuff in an online shop.
Julianna:You know what I mean? But we're not really selling stuff digitally as much. What we want is to bring people into our physical space. And so I think it's easy to get lost in the world of social media and believing that your number of followers is dictating how much of an impact you're making through your marketing or the engagement and all of that. But that doesn't translate necessarily directly into people walking into your door and buying your services.
Julianna:So the people who are on your email list have bought in much more than people who are following you on social media. Social media to me is entertainment, and the people who are on your email list are telling you they wanna hear from you. So I would put your most value that focus your content there first and then build your engaging, all that stuff off of there. You know?
Dave:Any business advice you'd like to share that you've learned?
Julianna:Yes. Find the value of having people who you can consider mentors or advisers in areas that you are not an expert is really, really vital, and it's really important to honor the way that you do business. So shopping for those kind of mentors and advisers should come from a feeling of connection to that person that they understand you and your goals for your business and that you can feel safe and comfortable talking to them about that so that then the advice that you're getting actually makes sense for you in the way that you do business. I talk about this all the time in, like, my personal life, but I have ADHD and, like so there are probably a 1000000 amazing ways to do things that other people would be really successful with that would never work for me and would cause me to, like, spin my wheel. So it's really, really important for me to find people that I feel not only understand me and what I want for my business, but me and how I do business and wanting to help me build systems and find ways of being successful as myself.
Julianna:Because there's a million ways to do that, and we're all unique and different. Each business owner is going to be unique and different. So find advisers who see that your qualities and wanna help you, not change you.
Dave:Well, friend, let's recap some items from that discussion. Number 1, put the customer experience first. During the pandemic, the energy bar went from being a neighborhood studio to being an online studio. Now all of a sudden, the business was competing against mass brands that had weight and capabilities way beyond their own. Now Juliana believes that the primary reason they were able to retain so many users is because of the experience that they get from knowing the staff and knowing that they're there to take care of them.
Dave:Now there's value in those relationships and the actions you take to show your customers that you care about their experience. Number 2, take care of your team. Now Juliana recognizes the importance of seeing your team as your greatest asset. During times of high stress and when demands are so high, you need to be in tune with what's going on with your team and finding ways to support them the best way you can. Now those investments will come back to you many times over.
Dave:And number 3, take care of yourself. Now during the busy season or other moments of high stress, it's easy to neglect your own self care in order to get the job done or put your business first. Giuliana reached a horrible level of burnout that she wasn't even able to recognize until much later. So be sure you're giving yourself time for grace and to breathe. Rely on those you trust to give you a nod when they see that you may be spreading yourself too thin.
Dave:At the end of the day, you are your business and your physical and mental health matter. Here's your action item for today. Check out the landing page features in your Constant Contact account. If you want a simple way to collect emails or mobile numbers online, a sign up landing page has you covered. Paired with a QR code, you can easily drive people to your page when you're at events, at the store, or even online.
Dave:I'll includea
Julianna:a
Dave:link with more details in the show notes.
Dave:I hope you've enjoyed this episode of the be a marketer podcast. If you have questions or feedback, I'd love to hear from you. You can email me directly at dave.charest@constantcontact.com.
Dave:If you did enjoy today's episode, please take a moment to leave us
Dave:a review. Your honest feedback will help other small business marketers like yourself find the show. Well, friend, I hope you enjoy the
Dave:rest of your day and continued success to you and your business.