What is your EXIT strategy from COVID-19?

Quit? Sell? Stick it out?

 Guess what? What your business needs from you today is the same, regardless of your choice.

 There’s no doubt that 2020 has been the most challenging year ever for fitness studio owners. And it is likely that there are still many more months of struggle ahead.

 We’re always told when running a business that part of our overall business plan is to have an exit strategy. How are you going to lead your business and yourself out of COVID-19?

 Certainly, an exit strategy for a boutique yoga studio owner probably doesn’t involve a golden parachute and a vacation home in the Caymans, but it is important to know what your exit strategy is, and how to get it done.

 Studio owners all over have been pondering their exit for the past several months. While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, studio owners today are faced with three primary choices to move on from COVID-19 and its impacts on their business.

 Option 1: quit and walk away.

 Option 2: sell the business, and then walk away, or

 Option 3: stick it out and wait for the tide to turn.

 And here’s the thing. Regardless of which of those choices you make, your actions today and for the next 30 to 60 days, are EXACTLY THE SAME.

 That should come as a relief to you. So many owners are stuck in "analysis paralysis" right now trying to figure out what to do next, and they can’t figure out how to move forward, because they aren’t sure where they’re going, or where they even want to go.

 But check this out! Say your choice is to quit, and let’s be clear, there is absolutely no shame in that at all, and it might be the most financially viable solution. But unless you have a super forgiving landlord and absolutely no debt, it’s likely that you still might be 30 or 60 days away from being able to shut the doors and walk away.  So in the meantime, you need to shore up your staff, maximize revenue, and continue delivering the high-quality yoga or fitness classes that your community loves so that when you walk away, you have minimized your debt and amounts owed to vendors, and you have delivered services to your customers that they have paid for, and no one feels cheated out of any value.

 If your choice is to sell, also a very viable choice, it might be several months before there is a willing and able buyer who will pay a fair price for your baby that you are willing to take. So in the meantime, you need to shore up your staff, maximize revenue, and keep delivering the high-quality services that you offer, so that when you sell you can sell for the highest amount possible with the minimal amount of debt owed to others. Your actions today are the same as choice #1.

 And finally, if your intention is to stick it out and wait for capacity limits to be lifted and for your in person students to come flooding back (they will!), then you need to commit to showing up for your staff, maximizing your revenues, and continuing to deliver high-quality service to your customers.

 See what I mean? It doesn’t matter what your exit strategy is, or where you want your studio to be in 90 days. The actions you need to take today are exactly the same.

 So let’s bust out of that scarcity mindset and  analysis paralysis, and get crystal clear on the end goal, and let’s move forward.  Update pricing and put systems in place to maximize revenue. Make sure vendor agreements are as cost efficient as possible, reduce other costs where you can, and make certain that you don’t have any rogue staff who are going to make your life challenging. Make sure your customers are happy and are paying a fair price for the service that you are offering. Maybe create some new revenue streams in the meantime, with virtual offerings, workshops, retail or even trainings.

 Let’s get this done! Reach out to me for help. I would love to help you work on your exit strategy from COVID-19.