50th Episode - Funny Studio Moments and Aha Biz Insights

In this special 50th episode of Yoga Biz Champ, Michael Jay celebrates a milestone with returning guests Jennifer Pahl, Sarah Morgan, and Stephanie Breaux Bradley.

Join Michael and his sassy, outspoken guests as they share heartfelt stories, business insights, and a few laughs. This episode highlights the importance of community, authenticity, and the sometimes surprising moments that come with running a yoga studio.

Highlights:

- Touching Stories: Jennifer shares a heartfelt note from a student who found healing through yoga after a major life change. Stephanie reflects on the ripple effects of support she provided for mothers in her studio.

- Business Aha Moments: Sarah discusses a successful summer special offer that helped retain members. Jennifer shares her experience of raising prices and the lessons learned from letting go of a difficult teacher. Stephanie talks about the importance of meeting clients where they are in their buying journey.

- Funny Stories: Stephanie recalls her attempt at leading a meditation session that didn’t go as planned. Sarah shares a hilarious team-building retreat where they all tried to learn how to twerk. Jennifer reveals her realization that her favorite yoga shorts were actually men’s shorts.

- Favorite Yoga Poses: The guests discuss their favorite yoga poses and what they symbolize for them in their personal and professional lives.

BOOK A FREE CHAT WITH THE YOGA BIZ CHAMP:

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This episode is filled with wisdom, humor, and inspiration, showcasing the unique journeys and experiences of three amazing yoga studio professionals.

Connect with the Guests:

- Jennifer Pahl:
  - Website: http://www.twistyoga.com
- Website: https://www.jcpahlconsulting.com/
- Instagram

- Sarah Morgan:
  - Website: http://www.redsunyoga.com
  - Instagram: [@redsunyoga](https://www.instagram.com/redsunyoga)

- Stephanie Breaux Bradley:
  - Website:  https://www.breauxbradleyconsulting.com/
  - Instagram:

Connect with Yoga Biz Champ:

- Website: http://www.yogabizchamp.com/podlink
- Instagram:

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Transcript

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: [00:00:00] Jennifer, 

Jennifer Pahl: such a sight for surprise. How are you guys? 

Michael Jay: I was looking at my choice of people here, and it's, it's a little slanted. 

Speaker 4: It's 

Jennifer Pahl: a little 

Michael Jay: slanted. Towards outspoken, sassy. 

Jennifer Pahl: Like energy attracts like energy, Michael. Yeah, 

Michael Jay: I love it. Match it, motherfucker. You know what, I think part of the attraction to you three, too, is being a Brit.

I resonate with. Your guys's ways. It's sense of humor. 

Sarah Morgan: It's sense of humor, man. Dry as mud. Yeah, 

Michael Jay: yeah, 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: yeah. 

Michael Jay: So, let's just get straight into this. Are we all good, everyone? Yeah. I have no idea what 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: I'm going to say, but yeah, let's go. That's okay. 

Michael Jay: Free, free flow. Welcome to another episode of Yoga Biz Champ.

And not just any episode, it is our 50th episode. So, so thank you everybody who listens to this podcast, [00:01:00] some of you binge listen and when I chat to you, you regurgitate some of the shows back to me. I love it. Thank you to the folks that reach out to me on Instagram by direct message. I'm just in full appreciation of your support of this show.

Enjoy. This is our 50th episode with a fun crew today. Enjoy.

50th episode. Welcome. 

Sarah Morgan: Congratulations, Michael. 

Michael Jay: Thanks. It takes persistence to keep going on this, you know but I'm, you guys have all been here, so I'm just going to introduce you. I've got three returning. I would call them somewhat sassy, Guests that have come to play today and first returning from season two, episode one with studio chat is Jennifer Powell from twist yoga in Oregon.

Welcome Jennifer. 

Jennifer Pahl: Thank you so much for having me. I feel so honored to be with such a elite crew. 

Michael Jay: Elite group for sure. Season three, [00:02:00] episode one, How I Broke Up With Class Pass. Now this, you guys might have a synergy, Jennifer. 

Jennifer Pahl: I feel it. 

Michael Jay: We have got Sarah Morgan for Red Sun Yoga in Florida. Welcome, Sarah.

Sarah Morgan: Thank you, Michael. Thank you for the invitation. It's an honor to be invited back. 

Michael Jay: I'm so glad to have you here. And last but definitely not least, my sidekick on multiple episodes on Yoga Biz Champ, including episode 49 Stephanie Breaux Bradley from Stephanie Bradley Consulting and the Sales Arms.

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: Thanks for having me. I took some We talked about it last time. I think the name of the podcast was something about like hair and humidity. If y'all didn't get to watch it, Jennifer and Sarah as you know, living in where we are, sometimes you don't have control at the volume to which your hair gets.

And so Michael thought the podcast would be a great opportunity to kind of like dive into that, which is why you see more of the slicked back look today [00:03:00] because yeah. Stephanie 

Sarah Morgan: says I had my hair up earlier. and it was, I was like, I better probably take it down 'cause it was looking a little Rastafari eye

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: Yeah. I love it. That's what, that's what Thursday afternoons goes, you end up being on a zoom call looking and going dry shampoo or do I do I wash, can I 

Jennifer Pahl: take this one more 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: day? All information for you. My, my, 

Jennifer Pahl: that's me. I just glasses and lipstick. Call it good. 

Michael Jay: Me too.

Sarah Morgan: Well, I've had my afternoon nap, so I'm ready. 

Michael Jay: All right, folks. Well, we're going to have a little bit of fun today. We've got four three studio owners or two studio owners and two previous studio owners. And I thought it would be a little bit fun for us to share a few stories today. And I actually used chat GPT to randomize the order so that we don't give them back to back.

How impressive. So the first one we're going to start with is going to be our touching story, and she doesn't know it yet. The first [00:04:00] person that's going to tell us a story is Jennifer from Twistio. A 

Jennifer Pahl: touching story. Okay, so this was a really, I loved your three prompts. I, and I was really appreciated that.

You know, I got to think of them at about them at three o'clock this morning, because, you know, like you wake up in the middle of the night and your brain gets to work, which is awesome. So the touching story was an easy one. I have this little box right here That I keep on my desk And so I've owned my studio for almost 11 years and I've been consulting for about four years and I have a huge stack.

It's just holding them up for 

Michael Jay: the audio listeners.

Big stack. 

Jennifer Pahl: I have a big stack of cards and notes that people will write either to me personally or to the studio. When they're saying thank you. A nice thing. I have a separate box for the feedback, bitchy ass notes. Like, do you please have organic tampons? You know, we all know those people. So that's a different [00:05:00] box and that's a different conversation.

This is my nice box. So I picked one out that we recently got. And I, I left this at the front desk. I said, teachers, please read this sweet and amazing note and leave it at the front desk. It's a beautiful reminder of why we do what we do. And so as a student just left this in our little feedback jar said my Valentine's love letter to twist in June, 2023, I separated from my husband of 31 years.

This has been a journey of healing and forgiveness that I have never experienced. I joined TWISTS as an added way to care for myself, along with a good therapist and a loving family. The experience of coming to class has been so nurturing. Some days feeling emotionally Broeuxken on the verge of constant tears, the spiritual component of yoga has been uplifting, sometimes if only for the moment.

When I hear the words, let it go. My mind would always focus on letting the bitterness go and to stop the self doubt that plagues me. I have been challenged physically reminding myself I can be strong. Thank you [00:06:00] twist for doing what you do for your wonderful instructors and positive men message, inspiring, challenging, and grounding me one class at a time.

Namaste. And then it just was anonymous. 

Sarah Morgan: Oh, that's so beautiful. 

Michael Jay: I know. I love that. And what I also love is the idea of keeping those things. And I think that's a great thing for other studio owners, especially new studio owners at the beginning to try and keep. 

Jennifer Pahl: Yeah. Cause you get frustrated, you know, 10 times a day.

And when I see this little box there, I can open it up and just like grab a note from all kinds of time frames and just pick something out to Oh, here's a good one. This is a hope your birthday is fucking magical. So, I mean, just to send it I'm offended I'm offended. But I do like it. I do like having it right there.

And it isn't. Right there. I don't open it and pull one out. It's there. Just reminding me that it's bigger than, than 

Michael Jay: all 

Jennifer Pahl: of the little, [00:07:00] the little stressors. 

Michael Jay: Yeah. I think I did a scrapbook for the first couple of years of all the press releases and the ads and all of that stuff. 

Jennifer Pahl: Yeah. 

Michael Jay: I love that. Thank you, Jennifer.

Jennifer Pahl: That's 

Michael Jay: beautiful. Next up. Thank you. Southern Stephanie. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: What am I talking about? 

Michael Jay: Oh, it's the same question? This is your touching story. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: Oh, my touching story. I didn't know when you said like randomly generated, if it was like, I was waiting for direction which I don't normally do. 

Jennifer Pahl: I 

Michael Jay: pressed a button on chat GPT and it said Stephanie.

And this is 

Jennifer Pahl: not about you physically touching someone. It's not like a hands on touching story. So just, I just want to make sure we're all on the same page. It's been a while. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: Pivot. Pivot touching story actually came recently and to caveat on what you said, Jennifer, as I don't think that when you get into the business, you realize the trickle effect of what you bring to the table for people.

So when I opened up my studio [00:08:00] here, it was very important for me to have a kid's room or a child's room, because that was the stage of life that I was in. And I knew that the women needed that kind of support and it was not an offering that was, that was, you know, Given in another space here. So when I did that, I go that in mind and you're like, Oh my God, nice little place for the kids to play.

Have some toys, all good. Not really thinking what the trickle effect does. Fast forward to, I run into one of the kids that came to the kid's room post cancer treatment diagnosis. And she had sent me a letter when I was in the treatment, like with all the little pictures and all the other kind of stuff.

And it was basically her praying for me, but letting me know how the studio and its practice helped her mother. And how she was witnessed to that. And this from the time from a girl who was 10 years old. And it just really stopped me. Cause you're like, okay, I'm in business. I'm going to deal with my avatar client.

This is who [00:09:00] I'm directing it to not realizing the effect that you have on the people that are in direct line of sight or support for the people. And it was just really, I don't get surprised often. I don't get like often. And just to know that you supported someone. And it was so poignant for me at the time because my kids were getting that support from other people when I was not at a place to be able to give it in their time of life.

And so, That was my most touching story that came to mind when you asked, was not realizing the trickle effect of what it looks like. 

Michael Jay: There's a whole life that happens in a studio, right? There's a whole, I mean, as studio owners, especially over a long time, mine was 13 years, you see the cycles of life through a studio and through its people.

Yeah, I love that step. 

Speaker 6: Yeah, that's beautiful. 

Michael Jay: By random selection, I'm next.[00:10:00] 

So mine's not really my most touching story. I've already told on the podcast, which is on the season. I think on Jill Agonias, it was about so I'm not going to go over that, but it's about love and loss. And finding love again within a studio. So I won't go over that. So I'm going to talk about a touching person.

And that was a 84 year old, my 84 year old girlfriend called erm guard. And she was this crazy woman had done yoga all her life. She was on many bipolar meds and she found my studio one day. And then we kind of fell in love. She was Out there. And then you would come every Thursday morning for her slow flow class with Wendy 45 minutes early to be with me.

You know, when you're getting ready before you're on the front desk and you're getting ready for the day, 45 minutes, she would come. So I'd have to entertain her. If she was late, she had a [00:11:00] certain spot. If she was late. People would save her spot for her. They put props down for her. They knew that that was Ohmgard's spot on Thursday morning.

And then she would randomly be in the middle of the room and pull some, she had the strongest core than more than anybody. And she would randomly pull a pose out in the middle of the room and scream out in front of anybody. Look, Michael, look,

everybody, everybody absolutely loved her. And, She used to knit these socks and she, so she started knitting these socks for we donate the money to hospice. The socks did not match. They had, they were different colors. They were different shapes. They were different sizes. People love them. We called them.

God, Shavasana sucks. People, everybody was wearing them in classes. Like they became a thing. We sold a ton of those rates, a ton of money for hospice on them. She would knit me, she knitted me a scarf and she would do. The, she would do, the [00:12:00] count would be the same on the scarf, like the knit count would be, but she would use different types of, she'd use different types of wool.

So it would like start narrow and then go really, really wide. I still have it. And she would show up and she, when she was driving, I remember being there on the front desk and watching her come one morning and bump a car that was out there. I do that 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: now. 

Michael Jay: And then, like, backed up, parked on the next block.

Came back. I'm like, I didn't see 

Speaker 6: that. 

Michael Jay: It's just, you know, she was just represented one of those people that touched everybody in a studio. And those people are so special. And she was such a big part of the studio. And, you know, she was, she was, 84 years old and just a big part of the studio. So she was my touching part of the studio because she was there many, many years.

And the beautiful thing, if I [00:13:00] was away when she wasn't driving, she ended up in a a nursing home. And when she wasn't driving, Our teachers and our students that were on that path would pick her up and bring it to us. So yeah, it was beautiful. 

Speaker 6: Do you miss having a studio, Michael? 

Michael Jay: Some days I'm not teaching right now.

This is the first time I'm not teaching in a long time. And so I miss that a little bit right now. And then it's very hard not to see a space. And a great, in a great lake, great location and go, Ooh, I could. So yeah, it's yeah, there's, I do some days. I think I get the best of it by helping other studio owners really.

So thank 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: you for that. 

Michael Jay: Yeah. Thank you. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: We should have cocktails for this. I'm just saying. You know what? I thought about it. I was going to have it. I was going 

Sarah Morgan: to have 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: the 

Sarah Morgan: G and 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: T. 

Jennifer Pahl: Do you hear my most embarrassing story? You will. [00:14:00] So the most embarrassing is not on 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: here, funny, but not most embarrassing, Jennifer.

Michael Jay: Well, next, next one, 100th episode. The next one is business studio business aha moment and by random selection, Stephanie. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: I've mentioned this on a podcast, but I think it's worth mentioning again. Going into my studio pricing business model, it was like, I'm going to decide what you're going to do.

You're going to do a new client special. This is how long it's going to be. And then you're going to go straight to auto pay. Cause that's what's best for my business. Like, you know what? I'm a Leo. I'm an Enneagram eight. I'm the one spending all the money. We're going to do what I say to do. And I remember very clearly having a client consistently in my studio day after day.

And still going by a class pack and it would have made more economical sense. It just, in the whole world, it would have made sense for her to get on my membership, [00:15:00] unlimited recurring. And when I brought it up to her one day, she's like, listen, I only commit to my partner and my hairdresser. I'm not committing to anybody else.

And at that moment, it was hysterical. And then the business aha moment was for me was like, why am I fighting this? I can't change the mindset. of someone, and why should I want to? Because from a business perspective, I'm going to get more money on the class pack anyway. And so it was kind of like an aha releasing of, I need to establish my boundaries, my value, my pricing.

But I also need to meet the client, potential client, where they are in the mindset of how they buy. How can I make that work for everyone? And that was huge for me because I had decided what you were going to do. And as a professional, I think there's a certain element that, yeah, you're going to do what I need to do because of my goal, but I'm [00:16:00] boutique and I'm going to be of service to you and it's just like, I was a little kind of like, aha, what could the confusing message I was putting out 

Michael Jay: any reliability, Jennifer, Sarah.

Sarah Morgan: Yeah, I would like to, I'd like to piggyback off of that. I, my pricing, I feel like my pricing is pretty tight. I've, you know, I think you all know Katie Dom's auntie she's in Orlando with me. Gina, I support each other. I've worked with a couple of mind body consultants. So I feel like my pricing is pretty tight.

I do a unlimited of the limits, adding a limited package and getting a, getting rid of the five class package, but doing a four class limited, limited membership reoccurring was an aha moment. Cause it was like, ah, okay, that's a good one. But then. Probably over the last two months, attendance has really kind of fallen off.

I don't, May was just abysmal [00:17:00] and it's so hot. I can't, there's no rhyme or reason to why people decide to come, why they don't decide to come. I've been looking at, I've been a studio owner for 10 years and I can't, I've not been able to discern any kind of pattern. So I was like, all right, we need to do something.

So I came up with a summer special. 250 for 90 days of unlimited yoga. No perks, no extensions, no discounts. And I, because I looked at, I looked at all of the, I looked at the limited and the unlimited pricing and like the, the customer journey going from the the trial membership into the unlimited, they get a discount if they go straight into that.

People were falling off though. They weren't, Go like you were talking about, Stephanie, they weren't doing, they weren't doing what they were supposed to do. So I'm like, all right, you 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: told them to do 

Sarah Morgan: exactly. So there was something missing and we're going to get a special guest appearance here in a [00:18:00] minute.

I was like, all right, well, I'm going to come up with this summer special to fit, like I said, two 50. And I priced it in such a way that it didn't. People who were already on the unlimited wouldn't want to cancel. So there's like just a, just maybe like 50 cents less than the unlimited. If they followed the customer path.

And I was like, okay, it's 90 days to 50. 90 days from the date of purchase you and it's going to be on sale from June 1st to August 31st. And then after that, it's gone and you can 90 days, no specials, no, no extensions, no discounts no freezes, no guest pass, no commitment. Once your 90 days is up, you're done.

And I was like, maybe if I can get people to commit to that and it's prepaid if I can get people to commit to that, maybe they'll. Decide after their 90 days is their 90 days is up. Maybe they'll say, Oh, you know what? I really want to, I want to stay here. So that was my [00:19:00] business aha moment. 

Jennifer Pahl: Yeah. And you can also like, think about if you have that incentive to convert into membership, you could be that same incentive that you've had going from intro.

Yeah. Yep. Thank you, Sarah. I, I think those little chunks, like it's a matter of knowing, like in in the pricing side, it is a matter of knowing your area. 

Speaker 4: Mm-Hmm. . Mm-Hmm. , you know, and 

Jennifer Pahl: know and, and being able to like, have 10 years worth of knowledge like you have, like that's like, this is not making sense.

Let's just try something. I mean, you try it. And you see, you know, and you might be able to save some people that, that are going to just cancel for the summer and then start back up. You might be able to just get them on that. And then, like you said, and then fall comes and they're ready to get back into their regular membership.

Michael Jay: Thank you. 

Jennifer Pahl: I will go next. You're messing up the 

Michael Jay: algorithm here Sarah just jumped in. She don't care. 

Jennifer Pahl: That's why we just jumped in 

Michael Jay: out of order there. Okay, so 

Jennifer Pahl: I don't follow directions from others. I don't know if it's a good [00:20:00] idea to do this either. Wait, Sarah, what are you? Leo. Answer with sad rising.

Michael Jay: Yeah. 

Jennifer Pahl: Well, I wanted you to stay kind of on that same tangent. I, I have two ahas. One is the first time I raised prices, I was really nervous about raising prices because I was nervous and I, when I first opened up the studio, I kind of looked to see, I did what everyone else was doing. I went like, you know, change things a little bit.

I had way too many pricing options and at that time too. So I've kind of narrowed things down over time, but I just decided like, okay, I'm going to write a letter to everybody that had, that was on membership. I don't care about like 10, not class cards. You could just raise those anytime. Nobody really knows the difference.

But the people who are on membership, You know, I just wrote them a really nice letter and I just said, here's, you know, it's October and you know, here's what's happened. And I, I did try to do kind of the shit sandwich of, you know, like, Oh, that's so, so nice. The prices are raising and then you get a little extra something.

So I [00:21:00] added in like a perk or two, which were really negligible perks. And I set the stage for membership for pricing changes every October. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: Yeah. 

Jennifer Pahl: Would you be kind enough to share that letter with me? Yeah, I can try to find it. It was from 2015. I was a different person then, and I could, I was much nicer.

They were 

Speaker 4: pleasing, 

Jennifer Pahl: they were thankful. 

Sarah Morgan: You know what? I think it's funny. I think it's funny that when you become a yoga studio owner, you actually become a meaner person.

Jennifer Pahl: Especially internally. Like my outward facing face is, it does not show the resting bitch face as much. Yes, I will. I think I have a

But I didn't have anybody push back or anyone cancel. So, I mean, it was like a 10 a month type anyway. And, you know, we still have Pilates and bar Pilates, bar and spin in the [00:22:00] area are still higher than yoga, which is just fucking ridiculous. Like for a 45 minute class where basically all they are is a DJ.

And, you know, like to be a yoga teacher, you have to go through so much training and do so many things besides this on the side, but that's a different. Conversation. So 

Speaker 4: I 

Jennifer Pahl: won definitely was raising the price. And then my second one, the first time that I had to let an employee, a teacher go. 

Speaker 4: Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I 

Jennifer Pahl: was really scared about that. I was nervous. She had probably the most experience. She was like the biggest draw quote unquote. Yeah. Yeah. 

Michael Jay: You face that. That's a common problem. Yeah. 

Jennifer Pahl: Totally. And people are scared, like, oh my gosh, people are going to leave blah, blah, blah. And I have too many classes 

Michael Jay: and too much power.

Jennifer Pahl: She, she was not a team player. She did not follow the eight limbs of yoga. She, she was, And finally it got to the point where it was like, I didn't care if she talked shit about me, fine. I can [00:23:00] handle it. But then it was like talking shit about other teachers and just like, she really wanted to step into like the guru position of teaching and like bow down to me type of a situation.

And so I worked with a coach to have the conversation. I read. Some book about it. And it just like, I was so nervous. I called her and I said, we had to have a conversation and she was just like, well, what, what I, what, I don't want to wait. And I said, well, you know, I would like to talk to you in person tomorrow.

And she's like, well, what is it about? You know? And I was like, well, it appears our core values aren't lined up. And I had like my whole thing that I said, and she was like, fine. And I said, okay, but you know, if you would like, and this was a mistake that I made, I would not do this again. She was set to teach the next day and I had thought that I was going to have the conversation with her the next day after that class.

Speaker 4: So I 

Jennifer Pahl: still had her set to teach. So I said, well, you can, you know, we still have you set to teach, but we won't have you teaching the rest of the month. I will pay you for all your classes the [00:24:00] rest of the month as just like, you know, just to shut up and go. And and I, you know, of course I was going to be at the class the next day and she started talking shit in the room.

Yeah. Like about, well, this is my last class. I have no idea why they don't like me, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like a couple of fucking students were crying, which also showed me like, you know, non attachment, like that was not, that was happening attachment. And I think we lost like two, maybe three members, but you know, I felt so proud of myself as an owner for doing that.

And then the morale for all of the other teachers who had been with me for seven years. It was like, Oh, thank you so much. Like, I didn't want to come to you, but like, you know, this happened and that happened and blah, blah, blah. And I was of course like, why didn't I do this six months ago? But I also just felt like so fucking proud of myself for doing it.

Michael Jay: Yeah. Yeah. Jen, how do you do it differently now? So, you know, I imagine now [00:25:00] you've probably got a tighter onboarding and then tighter process holding to values and yeah. So what's the, what have you learned from that? 

Jennifer Pahl: That's a great question. I mean, you know, we, we all hear higher, slow fire fast, right?

Right. Like that is the phrase I definitely lead by that. I don't I'm very careful in the hiring process. I also haven't hired a lot. Our teachers have been just sticking around, but coincidentally right now we have two teachers taking the summer off. So I do have to hire for the summer. We don't have any type of a sub list.

So I only have teachers who teach at the studio. I don't have coming and going, but I know now, like If I were to hear something, especially, well, two things. One, I don't need to have the star teacher who thinks that they're the best teacher. Because even though she had been teaching the longest amount of years, that does not equate.

And now I can kind of. And she had taught a bunch of other places and it didn't work out. And then I was like, sure, I [00:26:00] could handle her, like, whatever. And like, trust your gut, trust your, 

Michael Jay: it 

Jennifer Pahl: doesn't matter if they're a star teacher, if they're going to upset the apple cart and they don't, they don't really, really understand your core values.

They're not a fit. 

Michael Jay: Yeah. Can we just, I want to go stay on that. So what about the studio owners? that are desperate. I mean, there's a lot of studio owners that are really, really desperate and it's hard to be picky about what you're, who you're hiring. Well, I 

Jennifer Pahl: think you have to be willing to train people up.

You know, and be very clear in like a mentorship type of a thing where you're going to be attending their classes. They understand you're going to attend their classes. You're going to give them feedback and you're going to hold them to that feedback. And maybe they're on a temporary three month assignment or like that, you know, 

Michael Jay: Sarah.

Sarah Morgan: I, I don't know if all of you all know, but I took over [00:27:00] the studio as the sole owner in October of 2021 by March, I had lost half of my teaching staff. And that was a really it was a really, really big kick in the teeth. But you don't know what you don't know. I didn't realize how. These teachers were that left and they kind of let they didn't leave on mass.

It was like, I let one go. And then it was like a domino effect. These same teachers one of them stole a Buddha from my studio. Or another teacher and a student saw it, told me about it. I was like, okay. Then these teachers all got together. Yeah, they all got together and they were emailing students at the studio.

They were trying to get people to come to their classes and, you know, over some, you know, place where they were renting space. Then they had a woman buy a building [00:28:00] for 900, 000. Take it down to the breeze block and spent two. I don't, who knows how much money this poor woman spent. And then they dissolved the company because it couldn't get it to go.

And I was like, well, there's a karma and none of them are teaching anywhere. And I was like the whole time, you know, behind the curtain, I was like, I was. Literally beside myself. I'm like, what in, what in the hell is going on here? And they had, I mean, they had a private Facebook group and they were just saying stuff, saying stuff about me and about the studio and all this stuff.

And I was like, you know what? My students are watching me. And they're watching how I am going to respond and how I'm going to react and I did nothing. I didn't say anything negative. I didn't say anything about what was happening. I did Nothing. Now, if somebody did ask me about the particular teacher who stole the Buddha, I [00:29:00] was very upfront about it and I said, this person, this particular teacher did steal from my studio and a student saw it because I was like, I felt like that's not gossip.

That was actually an event and it happened to me. And I was like, well, You know, that's that's what happens, you know, so I'm very, very I've worked really hard over since then to build my team. And I mean, I, I did a yoga retreat where I closed the studio for a weekend. And I took all my teachers over to Ormond Beach and rented a house.

I've done a team building and all kinds of things, you know, just to Show them that we are a team and I have a really, really solid teaching staff and I'm, and I understand what you're saying, Jennifer, it's difficult. I'm so, I need to hire one, maybe two teachers and I'm like, I just, I'm so nervous about bringing somebody in, especially an unknown, because it's going to [00:30:00] change the energy of the group.

And I just have put so much effort and so much energy into making my team as strong as it is, that I just. I hear you. I feel you. 

Jennifer Pahl: Well, one thing that I always, one thing is that, that is like a non negotiable for me for hiring is they have to come and do our intro offer first and take classes at the studio so that I could see them vibing in the space and see how, I mean, I'll, I'll do it for free for them, but they have to interact with people.

I have to see how they move in the space. And. A lot of times you kind of know just I've 

Sarah Morgan: made people audition and make, and I, what am I going to teach? I'm like, I'll tell you when you get here. And you know, and I don't even take the class. I just sit in the back, like, you know, like watching somebody do a practicum.

And I'm like, I want you to do this, this, this, and this, you don't have to do it on both sides, but I want to hear, I want to hear their voice. I want to see [00:31:00] how you, I want to see how they do their practice. Because I've had some people come in and. Their practice itself, like they're the way that they do the, the shapes.

And it's, it's, it's a way to talk about what's going on. how a lot of what's going on is. Could be injurious to somebody. They're using that. If there are people are watching them, you know, They're doing a Chaturanga that looks like shit. And I'm like, My shoulders. Oh, you know? So I am very, very careful about that.

And I audition everybody so that I can. Hear their voice and see. So that's the way 

Michael Jay: I've approached it. Definitely. It's like, what's the Cheddarunga? 

Speaker 6: I know what that is. She's secretly going like this to you. 

Michael Jay: Stephanie, on learning about firing, what about your first fire? 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: You know what, if you put it out there sometime, Jesus helps you in these kinds of situations.

I had two difficult things where I was like, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. And then all of a sudden [00:32:00] they found their way out the door and they thought that it was their idea. I liken, which might not be popular. Hiring and dealing with staff the same as dealing with difficult teenagers and maybe Jen, you can relate.

I mean, like I would get very aha moments because there were things that I was allowing my staff to get away with. That my kids would never even ask to do. And I realized it was, I got to look inside and tap into for example, I think because I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to be micromanaged.

I went into studio ownership thinking these are grown ass people. I don't need to tell them what to do. And in reality, it was, I think people thrive with structure and it was what I should have done. And the aha moment came because obviously I did not set up my business correctly for me to be out for 18 months.

And in hindsight, take your key out of your purse. Put it in the front door, turn the [00:33:00] alarm off, turn the lights on, like that, turn the air conditioner on. Cause I would get to the studio and get frustrated because the air conditioner had to be left on and the music system was on and I would get mad and it would build up.

When in essence, I had not ever really gone through the checklist. That's a 

Sarah Morgan: great, thank you. That's a great, that's a great idea. I'm going to, and here's the deal. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: It helps you in so many ways, because when you want to exit the business for a week, a day, a sabbatical or, Oh my God, sell it. There you go. This is how you do it.

Yeah. 

Michael Jay: Before, before smart thermostats, leaving the heat on overnight was the worst. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: Oh God. In Louisiana, I'm like, do you know how much you cost me? Do you know how much it cost me for this to run in July? So I 

Jennifer Pahl: typically, when we're, when we have a space to fill, I, my first step for hiring is going to my teachers.

Is going to my teachers because they know they [00:34:00] know the studio well and they know the values and I asked them first, who is out there that you guys have come across that you think is a good fit for the studio. So I usually give them that first. Yeah, and almost everyone we've hired. has come from a teacher recommending them.

Michael Jay: Steph, was that your aha moment? 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: What? No. 

Michael Jay: What's just, what's your aha moment? What is 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: my aha moment? My aha moment? Yeah, we already did my aha moment, didn't we? Yeah. 

Michael Jay: Oh, did we? 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: Dealing with Way to pay attention. It's 

Jennifer Pahl: just because 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: we went We went off of his script. You're off 

Michael Jay: of my algorithm. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: Yeah. Apparently it was so enlightening.

Everybody I mean, there's only three people. Resonated and remembered. I think we can keep it organized. All right. Funny stories. Funny story. Funny story. All right. We'll go to the funny story. So, I decide at the end of class, I'm going to, because I was a bar studio owner, that we're going to do, I had done like this.[00:35:00] 

meditation or whatever one time and everybody loved it so they wanted a part of meditation and the meditation that I had done was like a recorded whatever and I'm like I can do this right so everybody takes class and they're all laying down and you know you have to change your demeanor and I put the soft music on.

And I get the card that I'm supposed to read. And of course I'm stumbling through it and I'm trying to have the mood be reflective. And after I done everybody in the class just started laughing. They're like, yep. Nope. Nope. It's not your wheelhouse. No, done. Thank you for the attempt. Not going to do that again.

Thank you very much. But I, like, really thought I could do it. I was like, just lean into the space. You 

Michael Jay: got direct feedback. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: Did you 

Sarah Morgan: use a yoga voice? Did you, did you make your voice? And then I 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: was like, And I realized, I don't know if y'all ever seen the meme, which I think is hysterical and it's just like the [00:36:00] video of like the beach and you could hear the water coming in and the person talking is talking very methodical, but they're just like, do you ever run into that person?

And you just want to say, Oh my God, you little bitch. And like, so he's saying the words that are resonating, but the manner in which he's speaking is very calming. I'm like, maybe I need to aim for that. Yeah. 

Michael Jay: So yeah, I tried. It didn't work. Well, and you know, it does have to be a specific kind of tone too.

I mean, I've heard some people reading Shabazzters that it just comes across as really fake and sounds awful. It's got to come from a heart. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: Yeah, it has to be authentic. But to your point, Jennifer, like try whatever you want to try. Some things will work and some things won't. I gave it a shot. Didn't work.

As 

Sarah Morgan: well, you're not gonna, you know, the, not that this is an aha moment for my studio, but as a personally, you know, I'm not going to be everybody's cup of tea, you know, I'm kind of crass. And I mean, [00:37:00] I look like a Southern belle and you could put me on the back of a Harley or you could take me to a presidential ball.

But I'm not going to be everybody's cup of tea. And I, it took me personally, a long time to come to that realization and be okay with it and be okay with that. Be okay with the fact that not everybody who comes into my studio is going to, it's going to stay, they're going to be like, yeah, 

Jennifer Pahl: it's not 

Sarah Morgan: for me.

And I I'm okay with that. I'm okay. Well, you 

Jennifer Pahl: know what they say, right? If you appeal to everyone, you don't appeal to anyone. 

Sarah Morgan: Yeah. Yeah. So that helps me personally just become, you know, my authentic self as I, as I continue to evolve as a teacher and as well as a, you know, as a studio owner and just being there and connecting with, connecting with our community, connecting with my community.

I have a, I have a, can I say the F word? I have a fucking amazing. yoga community with my studio. And I just love it. I love it. [00:38:00] 

Michael Jay: I just have to click a button that says adult content. 

Speaker 6: You got Stephanie and I on here.

Jennifer Pahl: Just set that up as always clicked. We're adults. We might have adult content. 

Michael Jay: They forced me to click it.

Well, Sarah, you just went back to aha moment. You got a funny? 

Sarah Morgan: I do have a funny and it's not actually a studio funny. It's a teacher funny. I mentioned that last september I closed the studio and I took all my students my teachers went to ormond beach and rented a house And we had so much fun we all brought food to eat and drinks and the we had a pool with a hot tub It was on the lake Or on the, one of the rivers and the second night after, I don't even know how, I think there was some tequila involved.

There may have been some [00:39:00] wine. We all decided that we were going to learn how to twerk. I'm a teacher. And there is not one. Well, there, I have one teacher that knows how to twerk. And since this is a podcast, I can't share the picture, but I do have a picture of one of my teachers in a handstand with her feet against the wall, trying to twerk.

And that was. None of us could inverted twerk. That might be a good workshop. 

Michael Jay: New workshop.

Sarah Morgan: So that's my 

Jennifer Pahl: funny story. 

Michael Jay: Oh, thank you, Jennifer. 

Jennifer Pahl: Okay. I, I had so many and I was, I, I kind of narrowed it down to one cause it's a little different from the other ones. So when I first started taking yoga, before I opened up the studio, I was taking hot yoga classes because I had come from like a fitness background and I thought that yoga was too boring.

And if I didn't feel like I needed to throw up halfway through the workout, that it really wasn't a workout. So I really liked that [00:40:00] Bikram, like where they were so mean to you and you felt like you were going to throw up. And so right away, I decided like this was in. Like 2010, 2011, something like that.

These like little shorts that they wore, like the little tiny stretchy shorts and like the little tiny workout top. And, you know, I was like, okay, this is what you wear. And I was like, not a hundred percent sure I was going to stick with it. So I didn't really want to spend a lot of money on the stuff.

And the studio that was going to had this sale and it was like 50 percent off. So I got these little, these little trunks. They were bright pink. And I just loved them. And I wore the shit out of them. And I thought I looked so damn hot in these little tiny shorts. And I wore them for probably three years and I was opening my studio and I was looking at getting retail retail.

So I was like, Oh, I want to get those little shorts. Like those are, I look so hot in those shorts. I always thought there was like one weird thing about them, but I just was like, Oh, these are just short shorts, whatever. So I go to order them, I come to find out they're men's, they're men's, and they [00:41:00] have like a little pocket in the front for like your junk, and it was always like, and it was very obvious it was like a piece that had extra padding and I remember always thinking like, I'm so skinny.

Like this, like if this whole area, like I could pull it, I could keep something in there, but I just thought that I just was so skinny and awesome. And then I realized, no, those, those were men's shorts that you wore all over town for three years with a place for a banana. And so. I didn't think it was possible, 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: but I love you so much more now, Jennifer.

Jennifer Pahl: I wish I still had them. Because the minute that I realized it, I put them on and I was like, I'm such a dumbass. These are 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: obviously for men. And yet no one in your life brought that up to you. So I have, 

Michael Jay: well, I don't know how many friends are telling you that they're looking at your crotch. 

Sarah Morgan: I don't know about you ladies, but I probably about 10 years [00:42:00] ago, I had just like a pair of regular shorts and I did the down dog.

And I looked at the skin on my legs and I went. Oh, hell to the no. Ain't nobody ever seen my thighs uncovered ever. You know, I 

Jennifer Pahl: can tell you there's one pose that they look really good in is legs up the wall. Because everything kind of comes down 

Speaker 4: and 

Jennifer Pahl: you're like, Oh my God, there's my legs from my thirties.

And I'll reverse the picture. So it looks like I'm standing up, but I basically, it's like everything like comes down into your hip creases and your legs just look amazing. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: Yep. 

Jennifer Pahl: Fashion 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: tips on the next episode by Jennifer Paul.

Michael Jay: Episode 51. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: What not to wear. Exactly. There are fewer 

Michael Jay: yoga poses. What would you be and why? Thank you, Jennifer. That's hysterical. 

Speaker 6: I would be wide legged forward fold because it's, 

Sarah Morgan: first of all, it feels really good for me. It's what it's, it's [00:43:00] one of my money shot poses. But it also, it's such an open pose.

It reminds me of how how much I put my arms around my studio and how much I put my arms around my yoga community. So 

Michael Jay: nice Jennifer. 

Jennifer Pahl: Well, some days I think I'd be corpse pose because that's about how I feel. But the pose that lets me like embody yoga, the most that I really like is Ardha Chandrasana half moon pose.

Speaker 4: I 

Jennifer Pahl: feel like it's a big heart opener. There's balancing. You're kind of spreading like, you know, East and West, North and South. It just feels like a really connected pose. 

Michael Jay: You're the third studio owner to say that on this season. 

Sarah Morgan: Really? 

Michael Jay: Yeah. Huh? Yeah. 

Sarah Morgan: I love by the way, I love an art of Chandrasekhar and it's when I teach vinyasa people and I don't teach half moon, people are like, where was the half moon?[00:44:00] 

Why did we not have half moon today? Because I teach all the classes because it was my, I started as an Ashtangi. And when I started taking vinyasa classes, I had no balance in half moon. I'm like, I'm going to get this. Frickin pose. And I worked on it and worked on it. It's one of my favorites. 

Michael Jay: Stephanie, do you like it?

I 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: have no idea what she's talking about. You're just nodding your 

Jennifer Pahl: head. 

Michael Jay: I do have a pose, but I have no idea what you're talking about. This is another language to her. 

Jennifer Pahl: Well, what's your favorite bar pose besides barstool? 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: No, I have a favorite yarn.

My favorite exercise ever in the whole world is a plank. Hmm. Okay. 

Speaker 4: I think it's 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: challenging. I think it works everything. I feel very powerful when I do it. Love it. My favorite yoga pose. And I say favorite because I think it challenges me, although I feel strong when I do it. I do this in warrior. Like it's a [00:45:00] very challenging pose for me.

Yeah. The whole alignment of stuff, the whole being still thing, the openness of the hips. 

Jennifer Pahl: Yeah. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: But I feel 

Jennifer Pahl: like. But you can feel the warrior in the pose. I can feel the warrior. Awesome. 

Michael Jay: I like wild thing, dancer pose, stuff that opens the front for me. It just makes me feel a lot more free and open. Do you know what run like the 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: wind, da na na na.

What? Run like the wind. There you go, huh. That's when you know you're with your group, is when you start it and they can pick it up. Mm hmm. 

Michael Jay: Guys, thank you so much for being here on the 50th episode. That was super fun. I think stories are great. I think they're super relatable. You are the perfect storytellers to be here for the 50th episode.

So, thank you. Sarah, where do we find you? 

Sarah Morgan: You can find me at red sun yoga, www. redsunyoga. com [00:46:00] in winter Springs, Florida, which is just outside of Orlando. 

Michael Jay: Thank you, Sarah. 

Sarah Morgan: Thank you, Michael. 

Michael Jay: Stephanie, where do we find you? 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: I don't want to be found.

Speaker 6: You know what, if 

Michael Jay: anybody, not until the fall. 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: I'll get back to 

Michael Jay: you 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: September. I'll get back, you put in the show notes. Breaux Bradley, just look up Breaux Bradley wherever you want to go. 

Michael Jay: Breaux Bradley Consulting. Breaux 

Stephanie Breaux Bradley: Bradley. 

Jennifer Pahl: And I am twist yoga. com or twistyoga underscore Lake Oswego or jcpaulconsulting. com. I can share my OnlyFans, but that'll be in the next episode.

We are on 

Michael Jay: YouTube now, so everybody can see this in its glory on YouTube for this episode. Thank you so much. I'm really just Thrilled to have you guys as friends and colleagues and thank you for sharing all your fun stories today. 

Jennifer Pahl: [00:47:00] Thank you so much for including me. 

Michael Jay: Of course. So thanks for being here everybody and that's a wrap on this episode.

Bye folks. See 

Sarah Morgan: you later. Thank you. Bye. 

Michael Jay: Let's take a moment to breathe and talk about turning your yoga business dream into reality and nurturing the growth of your yoga sanctuary. At Yoga Biz Champ, I offer two specialized coaching packages tailored just for you. My starter studio package is designed for dreamers ready to bring their vision of a yoga studio to life.

While my grower studio package supports existing yoga studio owners and expanding their impact and community reach. So again, head over to yogabizchamp. com forward slash pod link. Remember to follow. Like and leave a review wherever you're listening to this podcast. Your support helps me connect with more yoga visionaries like you.

[00:48:00] Until next time, keep stretching towards your dreams. Namaste. Last but not least, before you head off, we have a new feature. And that is, if you look at the show notes, you can now send me your email by DM directly from the show notes on this podcast. If you send me your email by DM, I will send you my booking link.

That's the fastest way, and also don't forget, we can also now be found video 

YBC-50th -Final: version on YouTube.