Ten years after starting a fitness revolution, SoulCycle Co-Founders, Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, reflect on their success and the value of investing in employees.
We knew we were on to something with SoulCycle when…
We met at a lunch in 2006, and we always say it was the best blind date we’ve ever had. We were both passionate about changing people’s relationship with exercise and creating a workout that didn’t feel like work. We opened our first studio five months later.
We are so humbled by the response to SoulCycle and are working hard to bring more SOUL to more people!
SINCE LAUNCHING IN 2006, our approach to strategic planning has evolved…
We wrote our first business plan in Starbucks on the back of a napkin! We had a very clear vision of the brand and experience we wanted to create. Today, almost-10 years later, we have the best team in place, who we meet with regularly, to strategically scale, innovate and grow the brand. We also spend time in the studios to connect and listen to our riders.
We motivate the team to achieve and surpass our goals bY…
Offering extensive training. For us, growing the business has always been, and will always be, about training. We have an in-house hospitality program and intense on-boarding program that all our employees go through. They learn the history of the brand, hospitality and all facets of the brand. Our employees are empowered to make on-brand decisions in real time.
3 tips for SEtting realistic business goals…
- Just put one foot in front of the other – give yourself small achievable goals versus huge impossible goals—those paralyze you.
- Act on your gut and commit to learning. If you make a mistake, learn from that mistake and move on.
- Stay scrappy as long as you can. We worked hard and kept costs down. As a result, we were profitable earlier than expected.
As SoulCycle grows we maintain our positive workplace culture by…
Investing in our employees and staying committed to our sense of community. Culture is important to us. From corporate lunches, to company wide volunteer days, to guest speakers, we want to ensure our employees feel engaged, developed and empowered.
Skills We developed as entrepreneurs…
We have learned to be great partners and be the yin to each other’s yang.
Our best advice for entrepreneurs…
Create opportunities for customers to make noise about your product. SoulCycle was built on word of mouth. Our best marketers don’t work for the company; they’re the ones riding in our studios.
Success means…
Bringing the joy of movement to as many people as possible!
IN FIVE YEARS SOULCYCLE WILL BE…
Delivering the same killer workout and motivation to our riders in even more cities across the country! #SOULtothepeople
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