The Bar Method Demands Focus—So MINDBODY Removes Distractions

Business Name: In one of the country’s fittest cities, ascending in the The Bar Method crowd of gyms and studios isn’t easy. Location: San Francisco That’s what makes The Bar Method’s rise from a single San Francisco Mission District studio to 121 Industry: Fitness locations in the U.S. and Canada notable—and

Number of Locations: noteworthy. MINDBODY’s software has provided 121 consistency every pulse, bend, and stretch of the way.

01 | mindbodyonline.com Maintaining safe Burr Leonard founded the first studio in 2001. Leonard—who loves ballet and jazz classes—discovered the Lotte Berk Method and structured while living in New York in the 1980s and decided to build from her growth transformational experience with that practice. It put her barre training together with input from physical therapists.

This ensured joint safety, and great results.

Clients of all ages, abilities, and shapes enjoyed the outcome— finding the focus they used in class could be folded into their daily lives. Twenty-somethings work out alongside 70-somethings at Bar Method studios—the practice was created with long-term mobility in mind, and each student can work out within their own limits.

Going through 6 months of rigorous training... I realized just how accomplished the instructors were.

Cat Ro, Instructor, Bar Method

Leonard’s teachings were a hit. So much so that when members and Expanding the teachers needed to move away, they wanted The Bar Method to brand through move with them, as well. training and “You can tell with our ownership group of franchisees, many of them have personal relationships with Burr,” said Brad Mack, The Bar franchising Method’s franchise operations manager. “They had taken classes from her and taught for her at the San Francisco Bay studio. And then a lot of times how we grew was people were wanting to go back home, or were moving, and wanted to bring us with them.”

Training instructors for The Bar Method is an intense process, requiring annual certification exams. “Going through 6 months of rigorous training, learning anatomy as well as the actual method, I realized just how accomplished the instructors were,” said Cat Ro, a Bar Method instructor in Englewood, New Jersey.

To put the focus on the work rather than running the business, removing as many distractions as possible is key for The Bar Method’s decision makers.

02 | mindbodyonline.com A franchisee’s focus should be on empowering students to make lasting changes to their bodies and lives—not navigating point-of- purchase software. That’s where MINDBODY comes in.

The franchises began as a trickle in 2007. By 2010, they turned to a full-blown flood, as The Bar Method expanded beyond the Bay and throughout the U.S. About 10 new locations are added annually.

For our franchisees, using MINDBODY is just less on their shoulders to set up, because they’re already doing a million things at once.

Brad Mack, Franchise Operations Manager, Bar Method

A fast-growing With such a tight focus on teaching Leonard’s method, Mack makes running the franchises simple. That means using MINDBODY for franchise bookings, scheduling, payment processing, and more.

“We have a process for getting someone onboarded, getting them on the MINDBODY app,” Mack said. “We have a template that’s preloaded with standard Bar Method products and contracts and classes. So for our franchisee, it’s just less on their shoulders to set up, because they’re already doing a million things at once.”

MINDBODY takes the work out of finding different vendors for the services it provides in one software, Mack added. “It takes care of a lot of things that, if you had to choose on your own, would be...” Mack said, “very difficult.”

To learn how MINDBODY can position your business for success, schedule a guided tour today at www.mindbodyonline.com/ business-software, or call us at 877-755-4279.

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