FFS Staff Memo – Historical

Past Memos

current memo

 

4.19.15

IMPORTANT UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  • FYI, as you saw last week, I’ll pull out a couple *key* points and have you sign before receiving your pay, but please FOR EACH MEMO, COMMENT at the bottom of the page to confirm you’ve read it

  • WE HAVE A STAFF FACEBOOK GROUP!

    • Be sure to enable notifications in our NEW STAFF FACEBOOK GROUP, we’ll use that for regular daily communication/updates! 🙂

  • HAND OUT YOUR BIZ CARDS – AND USE THEM FOR 50% OFF!

    • FYI you can just write “50% off” then initial the card if you want to lure ppl in!  Don’t need the “new fit friend” cards!
    • If you’re running low or don’t have any and want some, just let me know and I’ll order you them.  You can also take the “official fit friend” cards at the studio and use those, up to you!

  • BABYSITTERS NEEDED

    • We’re getting more and more requests for sitters and while Marissa is 100% ours Monday nights, she does have a new job so I can’t always snag her!
    • If you know anyone looking to make a few extra bucks ($10/hour cash), let me know!  We need weekend mornings more and more!

  • ANNOUNCEMENTS IN CLASS!

    • Please get into the habit of making an announcement at the beginning and end of every class
    • Even regulars like to feel appreciated so, at a minimum, please thank everyone for taking the time to spend an hour with us at the studio and please tell everyone to download our app!  You can even come up with your own little quirky thing (like the FFS namaste butt wiggle 😉 )!
    • Alllllways offer to come early or stay a few minutes to answer any questions or tell them to contact you/us

  • UPDATE YOUR ZUMBA/PIYO/OTHER PROFESSIONAL PROFILES W/ YOUR SCHEDULE!

    • I’m 100% guilty of forgetting about the mothership that is Zumba.com when I change my schedule but what a MISSED OPPORTUNITY when I do!
    • Please go to whatever professional site hosts your license (Zumba, Beachbody, etc) and update your schedules so everyone can find you!
    • Don’t know how?  ask me or check out the Beachbody how-to doc in the FB staff group!

  • AH, THE HEALTH & WELLNESS EXPO…

    • Well, that was a learning experience.  Long story short the guy no-showed on day 1 and the police got involved.  He then contacted me to tell me it wasn’t a scam and I should go and set up… A day later he said it was canceled due to low participation.  My guess? CYA.  Oy!
    • How do we recover?  Recruit recruit recruit … lucky for us, our potential is virtually limitless!!!!! And if anyone asks, just laugh it off …it’s absolutely not something I’m stressing about 🙂

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS :-):

  • THEMES FOR CLASSES!

    • I will admit, totally stealing this thought from Caitlin who posted in the FB group about a themed Barre class!!!
    • Now, obv most of our classes are “choreo format” … meaning they’re pre-designed and don’t have too much room for music/choreo creativity…
    • But that’s not the case for dressing up!!!!
    • Much like tutus became a Step requirement and toe socks a PiYo requirement … think about ways you can set YOUR classes apart!!!  Even our individual Zumba classes
    • My FAVORITE thing about our staff is we are all SO UNIQUE … we all have our own VERY different styles and I just love seeing them come out … and I love EVEN MORE when students start copying them … what an incredible complement!!!
    • If there’s anything you think would be fun to sell to students to enable them to be a part of the theme, just lmk and i’ll look into it!

  • DON’T FORGET:  STAFF BIO/PICS!

    • Please send your favorite health/Fitness-related pic of yourself and a brief bio of yourself so we can feature you all on the website!  If you’ve already sent one, please resend so I can put them all together.
    • I had wanted them for the expo but that’s obv not happening, SO, if we could get them up for May that would be great!
    • To clarify,  please include:
      • 3 words to describe your teaching style
      • your favorite type of music
      • your favorite inspirational quote
      • your favorite thing to do OUTSIDE of teaching

  • DON’T FORGET:  “NAME THAT STUDENT” CHALLENGE!

    • Yay!!! we learned about Bridgette Reiss who moved here to be with her bf and Vanessa Hanger who is THE SWEETEST (and also lost ~90 lbs in the last year!!!) … who else???
    • Don’t forget to choose your FRIEND and post their name here or in the staff FB group with a description (or maybe a FB stalker link lol) so we can learn them too!
    • It makes a world of difference! and that’s what we are, DIFFERENT! 🙂

  • “CALL TO ACTION” IN YOUR STAFF FACEBOOK PAGES

    • We all have FB pages now, yay!!!!!!!!
    • One top that’s a new feature is the “Call to action” button on your FB page
    • you can set it to link to anything you want, I suggest our website, but that’s just me 😉
    • Don’t know how?? ask me!!!

SCHEDULE STUFF

  • REGISTERING FOR CLASSES!

    • Remember I said that we love when you’re students and all classes are free?  just to clarify … you MUST register for all classes, EXCEPT REGULAR ZUMBA.  I say this bc everything but zumba is restricted to specific class capacity limits.  In regular zumba we can all stuff up in the mirror 😉 … and some of us can even co-teach, so i highly encourage you attend!

  • WE NEED LATER WEEK NIGHT AND EARLIER WEEKEND MORNING CLASSES! DAY TIME TOO?

    • With the sun we’ve all been so desperately awaiting, comes a complete shift in how our FRIENDz spend their days
    • People want to get the daylight in, so they like later week night classes
    • They also want to enjoy their days, so they want earlier weekend classes
    • And lord knows there’s a HUGE untapped day market out there!
    • Please reach out to me privately or here or in the FB group if you’d be up for any of these time slots!!!

  • BACK TO BASICZ … A NEW TWIST ON AN ENTRY LEVEL CLASS

    • Roxanne and I have been wanting to do this class FOREVER and we’ve decided we’re going to do it in May!!!
    • The idea is that it’s a fundamentals class for students to take, even those who’ve been taking classes for a while, to remind them about the importance of form, etc.
    • It will also serve as a choreo steps basics review for zumba styles (and others?)
    • PLEASE think of 3+ things that you wish every one of your student was aware of when they’re in your class and let us know here or in the FB group
    • We’ll put together a handout and if you want to join in on teaching, that’d be fun too.  schedule and format are still TBD

  • AWESOME JOB WITH THE NEW CLASS POLICY!!!

    • OMG I can’t even TELL you how awesome this week was by comparison to previous now that you’re all uber mindful of your class timing!!!  THANK YOU and keep it up!!! ❤

  • STILL NOT CANCELING CLASSES IN APRIL … 

    • As I said before, I’ll be doing an assessment on enrollment and tweaking accoridngly so promote promote promote!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

  • SAT MAY23RD, TIME ~2:30PM-TBD

    • What:  Staff Meeting & Lunch/Dinner
    • Where:  Studio & TBD
    • Cause:  It is REALLY important to me (and hopefully to you too!) that we get together to talk about the biz, brainstorm ways to make things even better, and most important …spend some quality time together!
    • I’ll be sending the Google invite, so please respond accordingly and make your best attempt to attend cause it’s happening! ❤
    • I’ll have a “make-up” meeting, but it won’t be the same 🙂

3.30.15

IMPORTANT UPDATES:

  • FFS VERSION OF A STAFF MEMO!

    • We all get enough newsletters, so I’ll simply update this page on a regular basis and shoot you a quick text/email when I do.  This way you can always have it available and it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle!  This one will be longer than most, so hang in there!
    • FOR EACH MEMO, please COMMENT at the bottom of the page to confirm you’ve read it
    • I also suggest BOOKMARKING this link (copy link/add to homepage on your mobile device).
    • This page also allows comments, so please post here if you have questions, updates, announcements, schedule conflicts, anything that we can discuss as a staff!
    • I also added a “feedback” form for private requests, they’ll be emailed to me (Lauren) only 🙂
    • If you “follow” this page (usually located at the bottom of the screen, depending on your device)), you can get an email when there’s a post about anything

  • SHARE YOUR NEW SCHEDULE!

    • And make sure you know it 😉
    • Let your students know your new schedule on FB, in person, via texts, emails, whatever!
    • Don’t forget to add a plug for your fellow staff from time to time as well 🙂

  • BE A STUDENT IF YOU CAN!

    • Please check the new schedule (posted a pic on the home page)!  As you know, you’re all welcome to ANY classes at the studio FOR FREE, I highly encourage you attend as many as you can!  Not only is it nice to be a student sometimes, STUDENTS love to see us as students :-).  Note, you MUST register for classes, EXCEPT REGULAR ZUMBA (you all have “unlimited” memberships on your accounts).  We can squeeze bodies into regular Zumba, so please don’t use up the allocated capacity in Mindbody 🙂

  • NEW SPRING PROMO:  “#COMMIT2FIT W/ FIT FRIENDZY STUDIOS”

    • We’ll be launching a new campaign to promote our 3-month unlimited membership contract, which lines up perfectly for the 3 months left til summer!!!
    • The theme will be “create your health and happiness TREND” focusing on the number 3 because “2 points is a line and 3 is a trend” (yes, I’m a geek) … we’re looking to drive a TREND of health and happiness!
      • 3 days/week
      • 3 NEW classes (new teacher/type)/month
      • 3 NEW recruits (which in this case includes anyone who hasn’t been here in 2015) in 3 months
      • Maybe more, but 3 categories seems fitting 🙂
    • We’ll send out some promo materials that will look like this, hope you’ll share 🙂

commit2fitwebsite

  • OUR VERY OWN APP!

    • I gave in to MINDBODY’s offer to create us our very own app 🙂 it’ll literally be an app in the app store called “Fit FRIENDzy Studios” and it’ll be integrated with MINDBODY so it can be used for registering, but also for checking out studio promos, linking to our social media networks, lots of fun stuff!! I’ll let you know when it launches so be ready to promote away!!! 🙂

  • GOOGLE CALENDAR

    • I’ll be adding “Special events” to the google calendar at the top of this page for easy reference to anything going on.  Feel free to “Add them to your calendar” if you can attend!  and share away!

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS :-):

  • VACATIONS/TIME OFF

    • You know we always accommodate, I just ask you let me know ASAP and i’ll add it to the calendar above.  If you don’t see it there, harass me! 🙂

  • STAFF BIO/PIC TIME!

    • Please send your favorite health/Fitness-related pic of yourself and a brief bio of yourself so we can feature you all on the website!  If you’ve already sent one, please resend so I can put them all together.
    • Please include:  3 words to describe your teaching style, your favorite type of music, and your favorite inspirational quote 🙂
    • I’d like to get these up before the health expo, so if you could send by 4/9 that’d be awesome!

  • SCHEDULE/PRICING/POLICY AWARENESS

    • Please spend a few minutes looking at the schedule so you have a “general” idea of what’s offered and when, in case prospective students ask!
    • Please also brush up on the pricing, it hasn’t changed since January but it’s good to revisit!
    • Let people know babysitting can be requested any time, they just email the studio if they aren’t familiar with Mindbody

  • “NAME THAT STUDENT” CHALLENGE!

    • I, Lauren Demers, challenge you, (insert fantastical FFS instructor name), to learn AT LEAST 1 student’s name/week and USE IT when you talk to them 🙂
    • When you do, post their name here with a description (or maybe a FB stalker link lol) so we can learn them too!
    • It makes a world of difference! and that’s what we are, DIFFERENT! 🙂

  • STAFF FACEBOOK PAGES

    • I’d love for each of you to create a FB page so we can tag YOUR FITNESS IDENTITY from both our FB page and in the group.
    • Super happy to help you out of you want, just say the word!

SCHEDULE STUFF

  • NEW CLASS POLICY

    • We’ll be following suit like most gyms now, so please ensure you END YOUR CLASSES 3-5 MINUTES EARLY if there is a class immediately following yours (I’ve added specific studio’s to each class in Mindbody (e.g. Zumba in Studio A…) so you can simply check your app or ask Morgan/someone at the desk)
    • As we pack the schedule this Spring, it becomes increasingly important to be respectful of the classes following yours (I know I’m a MAJOR culprit here and I PROMISE to follow this as well!).  This includes BOOSTs and TIGHTs (though I try to schedule a break between these and a subsequent class when I can).  Keeping the intensity HIGH for 25-27 minutes in a BOOST is perfectly acceptable, as is keeping a (free) TIGHT class short and sweet.  Please check your playlists ahead of time and make them no longer than ~52, ~25, or ~12 minutes, depending on the class, as there is ALWAYS time lost to water breaks, instructions or random chatter.  If you have an equipment-based class that requires setup/breakdown, please SUBTRACT 2-3 MINUTES from your playlist.  I can ensure you, having controlled class divisions will be MUCH more beneficial than the extra minute or 2 of class students often get today.  Thank you! ❤

  • TRIAL PERIOD – NO CLASS CANCELLATIONS IN APRIL

    • I’ve made a commitment to NOT CANCEL ANY CLASSES IN APRIL EVEN IF LOW ENROLLMENT and see how it goes (note, classes with 1 student are subject to cxl for reasons other than $ and 5:30am classes will be cxld per teacher preference).
    • I’ll do a financial assessment at the end of the month and see if it’s feasible!  That being said, it’s increasingly important for you to REGULARLY promote your classes (and others) so our students (and new ones!) are aware.  I even suggest using Facebook’s “promotions” options for pages if you’re comfortable investing a few dollars to get more peeps into your classes

  • IDEAS FOR OTHER CLASSES?

    • We currently have Fridays completely open, as well as Saturdays at 10:30am in studio B and sundays all day in studio B, if anyone has any ideas!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

  • WED APRIL 8TH, 6-7PM

    • What:  Zumbathon
    • Where:  Marlborough High School
    • Cost:  Free for teachers/demo helper bees.  $10 others
    • Cause:  Erika Bailey is raising money for her charity as part of her marathon entry fee
    • Public/Private:  TBD
    • Etc:  n/a

  • SAT & SUN APRIL (11-12TH, 18-19TH, 25-26TH), 9AM-5PM

    • What:  Shrewsbury Health & Wellness Expo
    • Where:  Route 9 Shrewsbury Flea Market
    • Cost:  TBD if there’s an entry fee and who is waived
    • Cause:  MAJOR opportunity to promote our awesomeness to the residents of Shrewsbury and surrounding areas!
    • Public/Private:  Public
    • Etc.:  We’ll have a table and we’ll be doing demos on the stage!

  • SAT APRIL 11TH, 8-9PM

    • What:  Zumbathon
    • Where:  The “Boroughs” YMCA (Westborough)
    • Cost:  TBD
    • Cause:  Relay for Life
    • Public/Private:  TBD
    • Etc.:  n/a

  • SAT MAY 16TH OR 23RD, TIME ~2PM-TBD

    • What:  Staff Meeting & Lunch/Dinner
    • Where:  Studio & TBD
    • Cause:  It is REALLY important to me (and hopefully to you too!) that we get together to talk about the biz, brainstorm ways to make things even better, and most important …spend some quality time together!  With the health expo in April, I’m looking to do this in May
    • Etc.:  Please respond accordingly to the Google Invites I send for each of these dates and make your best attempt to attend cause it’s happening! ❤

STUDIO STATS:

  • WILL BE ADDING A SECTION HERE WITH INFO LIKE:

    • # Unlimited Members, changes
    • # Punch Card Members, changes
    • # New Members, changes
    • Most frequent attendees
    • # Visits per Day/Week, changes
    • Other?

OTHER:

  • SUGGESTIONS/REQUESTS FOR MEMO TOPICS?

    • This is as much for you to learn anything you want as it is for me to share with you the things I want, so please let me know what types of info you’d like to see here!
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