It’s not every day we find an opportunity that truly changes us. And, it’s not every day we find a practice that can help support us through change. Thus, it’s even rarer that the same thing can do both of these. But as I spoke to Brandy about the new Oxygen Yoga & Fitness studio she’s opening in Arizona, she explained how yoga’s been just that for her as she first found yoga in a time of need, and how it’s stuck with her and is now pushing her to grow as a leader in the next chapter of her life.
It was about ten years ago that Brandy first discovered a love of yoga. Brandy explained, “I was going through a divorce and found yoga as kind of my therapy in that time.” But while yoga quickly became an important practice in Brandy’s life, it had never crossed her mind that she’d want to be involved in the fitness world professionally.
“Yeah, not even a thought, actually,” Brandy shared, when asked if working in the yoga and fitness industry had always been a goal of hers. She explained, “I’ve been in real estate for almost 20 years. Yoga was just my, like my exercise, my therapy”. But then, she saw an ad regarding Oxygen Yoga & Fitness’ franchises on Facebook. At the time, she’d never been to an Oxygen studio. In Brandy’s home of Arizona, there were no OYF studios open. All she knew of Oxygen was what she saw in that ad and yet, something about it drew her in. She showed her husband and together they decided to explore deeper. They filled out an interest form. Since then, Brandy shared “it’s just been really welcoming, tons of support.”
“[Oxygen Yoga and Fitness] really do embody the kind of yoga mindset,” Brandy explained. “Like, it’s a really sound business, but it’s all done with kindness and it’s a unique business for sure.”
Part of what appealed to Brandy about joining the Oxygen Yoga & Fitness community was the guidance that franchising provided.
“I would never have been willing to do it on my own,” Brandy shared. “There’s just too much I don’t know. So I definitely needed this support.” In addition to the support, Brandy added that she just liked Oxygen. “I liked the variety of formats. I liked the flexibility in the franchise. It’s a much better fit for me.”
Even with all the support of Oxygen’s team, starting a business comes with its own challenges. For Brandy, two of these that stand out are the patience required to start a business and the leadership skills she’s learning to embody as a studio owner.
“It’s been interesting for sure. When we started, they told me 12 to 15 months to get to opening, and I thought no, like, you’re crazy. There’s no way. It’s gonna be like a 10 to 12 week buildout.” Brandy shared. But sixteen months later, Brandy’s three months out from her opening. “So, that’s been a little bit of a longer journey than we thought. The support has been awesome. They’ve gone with us through the journey, and every time we hit another hiccup, they explain that that’s just part of it and, you know, help us move past it and get to the next step.”
Even so, what Brandy’s most proud of throughout this process so far is her patience.
“I haven’t hurt anyone yet,” Brandy joked. “It’s super exciting. I love the growth that I’m going through the process. You can see it happening as I look back to a year and a half ago to an hour, like the things I’ve learned and the things that I put into place and the systems that are there and so I’m pretty excited about the personal growth that I got.”
As she practices patience, Brandy’s also learning essential lessons that she’ll be able to use to better support her team and the next franchisee in her area. For example, Brandy hopes to share what she’s learned about finding the right commercial agent. She’s also had the opportunity to visit some of the studios, both in Calabasas, California and Montreal, and has found there’s a million ideas to absorb and consider from every studio she visits, or even connects with online.
Looking forward to the opening of her studio, Brandy’s considering how she can best lead her community. Brandy’s discussed it with her husband and explained, “I’m going to have to separate myself a little bit from the personal piece.” Luckily, Oxygen’s guidance has also helped her in this area. “Jen Lockett’s training with numbers and how to determine if the cost is successful and how to determine if an instructor is successful has helped me, like, quantify. And so I guess what I learned about leadership is, I just need to work from a place where I can quantify what I’m doing”.
While Brandy’s pushing herself to grow into the best leader she can be, it’s clear from our conversation she’s already passionate about supporting her community and driven to make the studio prosper. Brandy explained success, for her, will be “when I have a solid member base of people that are coming and getting what they need, and the studio, is providing income for other people. Because I think it’s so powerful creating something that’s supporting other families.”
As for what she hopes members will get out of the studio, Brandy shared, “I just want it to be a place where they can go, where they want to go. I want it to be on Sunday when they’re thinking about their week, that oxygen is something that is included, no matter what. That they’re excited when they walk in and they feel even better walking out.”
Brandy’s loving meeting the community near her studio. In the complex with their studio, there’s multiple other businesses in the health and business space with whom Brandy’s already talking about community events, fundraisers, and ways they can build each other up.