Sadie Lincoln – How Growing Up In a Circle Surrounded by Women Helped Shape the Wildly Successful Franchise barre3

January 16, 2019 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

What struck me most during this interview was her grounded nature and assured sense of purpose. A quiet power.

In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Sadie’s mom and her four best friends joined together to create a village to support their children around their common core values. They intentionally broke the nuclear family mold.

My guest today, Sadie Lincoln, had an early vision to franchise barre3, a fitness company focused on teaching people to be balanced in body and empowered from within when she was writing the business plan (along with her husband who’s also her business partner).

Their flagship studio opened in Portland, Oregon in 2008. Today, barre3 has grown to include more than 140 franchise studios powered by female entrepreneurs (and a few good men!), plus they now have an online-workout streaming-subscriber base in 98+ countries.

What was once a workout has turned into a movement followed by millions of people around the globe.

On today’s show, Sadie talks about what it’s really like to work with her husband (in business and at home), the philosophy she was raised with and how that has influenced her, her brilliant tips on managing cash flow and so much more.

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!

I say a lot of times people come into barre3 wanting a hard body, and they leave with a wise body.” – Sadie Lincoln

Show Notes:

How she went from 1 studio to over 140 Today
Why her franchising ‘agreements’ are different from most and why the difference makes them so effective
Her brilliant method for attracting the RIGHT franchisees (it’s sort of foolproof!)
What happened on August 12, 2008, at 5:45 pm that changed Sadie’s life (this blew me away)
How she dealt with the most DIFFICULT Times. She did feel like giving up some days, “I want to throw in the towel and get the hell out of here!”
How she ‘struggles with the juggle’ all women face. She’s CEO of a fast-growing franchise and a mother of two
How her ‘unconventional’ upbringing has affected her life and entrepreneurial journey
Her SIMPLE FORMULA for managing cash flow – Brilliant!
Why Sadie doesn’t’ give ADVICE
The KEY to working effectively with her husband as a co-founder
Her biggest Challenge growing from 1 studio to over 140

We are really interested (and continue to be interested) in the pursuit of balance.” – Sadie Lincoln

Connect with Sadie Lincoln:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | barre3

The juggle is not going to go away, the struggle is not going to go away and frankly, I don’t have control all the time over all of that. But what I do have control over is being calm and honest and purpose-driven.” – Sadie Lincoln

The Evolution of a Woman Entrepreneur

August 30, 2012 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

My son came home from his first week of middle school with a lot of excitement about his new history class. Turns out they are studying “early man,” the evolution of life and its many changes. This got me thinking about the evolution of women entrepreneurs and the different phases we go through on the journey to business success.

When you pick up a magazine, read an online article or meet a woman who's achieved great success in her business, do you sometimes wonder, “How did she do that?” I know I used to ask myself this question in the early days when my business was in start-up mode. When I think about my own entrepreneurial journey and the women mentors who walked this path before me, I visualize five phases in the evolution of a woman entrepreneur. Once you understand each phase, you'll begin to see where you are in your entrepreneurial evolution and what you need to do next to create the business you dream about or take your existing business to that next level of success:

Smart Women Make it Easy for Their Ideal Client to Say “Yes!”

August 3, 2012 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

One of the questions I get asked often by women entrepreneurs is, “Joy, once I’ve created a relationship with my ideal client, how do I get them to buy from me?” Great question!

Notice how the question was worded: “once I’ve created the relationship…” Smart women know the first step in marketing their business is establishing a feeling of belief and trust with their ideal client.

When your ideal client is feeling ready to say, “Yes! I want to work with you!”, now is the time to have a simple, easy, process for them to follow to get started with you. In today’s article, I’m going to focus on six tips and solutions that are guaranteed to help you attract and embrace more clients if you follow these simple suggestions:

Smart Women Survive Summer Break

June 21, 2012 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

Women entrepreneurs everywhere are experiencing the same dilemma and asking themselves the same question: “How do I manage my business while navigating the kids during summer break?”

You’ve just spent the last 9 months with a structured number of days and hours to work on your business and overnight, the day after school is out, your schedule becomes a moving target! With camps, friends, swimming pool and Wii time, it’s essential to do some creative planning so you can stay sane this summer.

It’s a real gift to have your children home, especially during the summer months when the weather is perfect for outdoor activity. At the same time, if you’re running a growing business, you need to keep your eye on the goal and not lose the momentum you’ve worked hard to achieve.

Smart Women and Successful Joint Ventures

June 7, 2012 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

I have the opportunity to speak with scores of women around the globe about smart ways to grow a successful business. One of the best ways to grow your business and collapse your time frame is through joint ventures. A joint venture is where you and another business owner come together for an agreed upon period of time and collaborate on a project or product. You agree to share revenues and expenses associated with the specific project or product.

Why is this so powerful? It offers you and the other person an opportunity to showcase your skill and expertise to a larger audience. When you meet someone who serves the same target market as you, but in a different way, it can be a wonderful boost for your business. Here are a few examples of potential joint venture possibilities:

Smart Women Know Cash Flow is The First Goal of Any Business

May 24, 2012 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

I have the good fortune to listen and learn from women all around the globe about their big ideas, dreams and goals and a common theme is women start businesses based on their values and a desire to make a difference in the world. The idea of giving back or helping others is exciting and it gets the creative juices flowing. However, the desire to serve can sometimes overshadow the one thing you must do in order to keep your business strong and healthy: cash flow.

Cash flow is the heartbeat of any business. It is the one constant you need in order to keep your business running smoothly and without stress. Having said that, I find women entrepreneurs leave this one essential near the bottom of their actions steps when it comes to starting a business. The reason, in most cases, is women are nurturers by nature. We have this innate gift that compels us to reach out and help others – sometimes without being properly reimbursed for our product or service. Women share that it feels uncomfortable to ask for business. There's a feeling of desperation inside.

Smart Women, Skiing and Entrepreneurial Success

April 12, 2012 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

One morning last week, I was helping my 11 year-old son, Jack, get ready for a day of skiing during our family vacation. It was sunny, 55 degrees and gorgeous outside. I handed my son his face mask and he looked at me puzzled and said, “Mom, there is no way I'm going to need this today–have you looked outside?”

I replied, “Yes, I have and you always need to be prepared for a quick change in the weather when you are on the mountain.” As I prepared myself to leave for skiing that morning, I began to reflect on how being prepared for snow skiing is a lot like preparation for success as a woman entrepreneur.

When you desire a successful day of skiing, there needs to be some planning before you get on the chair lift. You need to stop and think about all of the things you will need in order to have a successful day (This is why ski clothing has so many pockets!). If you’re a woman who skis, you know that the weather can change at any given moment so you need to pack accordingly. If you choose to go skiing without thoughtful preparation, you may be in for a challenging day.

As I rode up the chair lift that morning, I thought of 5 solutions to help you have a great day of skiing and achieve success as a woman entrepreneur:

Smart Women And Their Relationship With Money

February 16, 2012 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

Recently, I had the opportunity to spend the day strategizing with a group of smart women entrepreneurs from different parts of the world. It was an energizing day focused on topics such as effective marketing, clear messaging to attract your ideal client, time management and money.

At one point, women were expressing the challenges they face in getting everything accomplished each day including running a business, managing a family, and hopefully time to squeeze in a little self-care.

I shared with the group that when I'm in the office, I ask myself three questions to help me stay focused and directed on making money in my business:

1. Where is the potential for new business?
2. Are my private clients and groups experiencing award winning results?
3. Have I reached out to my referral sources this week?

Smart Women Avoid The Perils of Being Queen of Their Castle

February 2, 2012 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

One of the most exciting parts about being a woman entrepreneur is you become “queen of your own castle.” You sit on the throne in your tower (sometimes referred to as the corner of the dining room table) making decisions for your domain (your solo-business) and over time, this can become a lonely existence. It’s not easy making all the decisions by yourself and it’s possible that your decisions are not as creative or innovative as they might be if you had a supportive group of people around who care about your success.

In my work, I’ve discovered that women find asking for help risky as they see it as a sign of weakness. They create a belief that they are the only ones having a struggle and this could not be further from the truth. Everyone is questioning some aspect of their business. Whether it’s to attract more clients, increase their income or expand their programs and services – women entrepreneurs have many of the same challenges.

What Smart Women Can Learn From Einstein About Reaching Goals

January 5, 2012 | By Joy Chudacoff 1 Comment

My favorite quote by Einstein is “Vision without execution is merely hallucination.” The first time I read this I was surprised at the glaring truth to this simple statement. At the same time, I realized it's sometimes easier said than done.

Goal setting, New Year’s resolutions, dreams, and big ideas-these are heavy on people's minds right now as we cross the threshold into 2012. Everyone wants to make up for lost time and start off the year on a course to reach their biggest goals and why not? It's a leap year which makes it even more exciting to think about soaring to new heights. I'm right there with you. I, too, have big ideas, dreams and goals.