Stephen Stowe on Cultivating Community for Business Success
Today, I'm joined by Stephen Stowe, a seasoned entrepreneur with a diverse background spanning multiple industries who also happens to be the owner of my gym, Bond Fitness, and my workout buddy.
Stephen's approach to business success is all about community and culture.
In this episode, we explore how Stephen leverages these elements, along with the power of coaching, to build thriving businesses.
Important Takeaways:
1. The Power of Mental Resilience
Stephen shares how mental resilience has been crucial to his success. When faced with overwhelming challenges, he stays open to feedback and asks for help, which has been pivotal in navigating tough times. He shares that having a coach or mentor can provide the necessary support and guidance to overcome obstacles and achieve greater success. (I swear I didn’t pay him to say that!)
2. Building a Strong Community and Culture
Stephen discusses the importance of creating a strong community and culture, both within his gym, Bond Fitness, and beyond. He highlights the value of hiring individuals who align with the company's values and the significance of making customers feel welcome and supported. This intentional focus on community building has been key to Bond Fitness's success.
3. Humility and Continuous Learning
Stephen's journey illustrates the importance of humility and a continuous learning mindset. He believes that staying humble, asking questions, and being open to learning from others are critical for personal and professional growth. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement and openness, businesses can stay ahead and maintain long-term success.
Listen Here:
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify
Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Eye Openers! Stephen’s insights on mental resilience, community building, and continuous learning are truly inspiring. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.
Eye Opening Insights:
[00:10:47] The Power of Mental Resilience
[00:21:00] Building a Strong Community and Culture
[00:29:01] The Role of Humility and Continuous Learning
Watch Here:
About Stephen:
Stephen is an entrepreneur who has spent the past 40 years creating a number of businesses in the hospitality, retail, beauty, health, real estate and online sectors.
He is currently the CEO and co-founder of BOND Fitness, an award-winning fitness program that has made a significant impact in Santa Barbara, CA. He is passionate about innovation and community, and his leadership has helped redefine the local fitness industry.
Stephen is active in his personal life, running, cycling, sailing, and more. In his free time, he pursues new sports and hobbies with a commitment to being a life-long learner, continually seeking new challenges and experiences.
Transcript:
Eye Openers 79: Stephen Stowe on Cultivating Community for Business Success
This transcript is auto-generated. Please excuse any typos!
[00:00:00]
[00:00:16] Brittany: Hello and welcome to eye openers. Thank you guys so much for being here because if you weren't, it would just be a show where I'm talking to myself and I'm kind of okay with that. Talking out loud, it helps me process my thoughts, but it's so much nicer to have an audience here to help witness these eye opening moments that we uncover here on the podcast and hopefully create some more eye opening moments for you personally as you consider how you lead and show up in your business and your life.
[00:00:43] Brittany: I want to say thank you so much to Stephen Stowe for joining me today. Good morning, Stephen. How are you?
[00:00:49] Stephen: Morning, Brittany. I'm great. How are you?
[00:00:51] Brittany: I'm good. And actually we're just across town from each other, but we're in, separate studios. this morning it is gray and [00:01:00] foggy in Santa Barbara.
[00:01:00] Brittany (2): but that's why we have caffeine. So the first eye opening moment that we always have on eye openers is the coffee we're drinking, because I know for me, it's one of my greatest musings and, inspires a lot of the ideas that I have.
[00:01:14] Brittany (2): So I'm a handlebar girl. I'm wondering, what is your coffee of choice in town? Same
[00:01:21] Brittany (2): Stephen This is why we're friends
[00:01:23] Stephen: Yes. it's the best coffee. It's strong. They've got an express line because I'm not a fancy guy. So I get to bypass everybody and just a black coffee and it's quick and it's delicious. So cheers.
[00:01:34] Brittany (2): I, I do love that. And shout out to Aaron who runs handlebar. He does an amazing job. And what I love about him, you guys, he is there every day. And he was there over Memorial day weekend recently. And I was like, Aaron, when are you taking the day off? You are here bright and early. And he says, this is just what it takes sometimes.
[00:01:53] Brittany (2): And I really appreciate that.
[00:01:55] Stephen: go to Delavee and I take it.
[00:01:57] Brittany (2): Yes. Yeah. There's two locations for those [00:02:00] of you not in Santa Barbara.
[00:02:01] Stephen: I go to Canon Perdido and I know Kim pretty well. So yeah, they're always there and they're just hardworking, super nice, super positive people. they're, they run a great business.
[00:02:12] Brittany (2): And so much of what I talk about here is the culture of your business and they have created such an amazing culture there that people want to sit and hang out and that's when you know you're onto something when you're doing something right when people want to sit and hang out with you. Which kind of brings me to my next point because Stephen and I met because he is the co owner of the gym that I go to.
[00:02:33] Brittany (2): You guys know how much fitness is a huge part of my life. And I attribute so much of my success and mental health to my fitness routine. And these guys are a huge part of it. actually, Stephen, you're my workout buddy. Like we are.
[00:02:48] Stephen: Well, I'm just trying to keep up with you. That's all I'm doing. Yeah. learning to kick the opposite corner in the room when you're in the room. So
[00:02:56] Brittany (2): But then I'll find you and I'll hunt you down and we'll work out together.
[00:02:59] Stephen: yes. [00:03:00] Very true.
[00:03:01] Brittany (2): but that's just one, one component of who you are and what you do. Can you give us the, like the five bullet version of who is Stephen and why is he here today?
[00:03:10] Stephen: five bullet points. I'm kind of like a solo entrepreneur. I've been doing this kind of ever since I started working about 40 years ago. And I've been in a variety of different, Industries from health, which I'm in now to, real estate, consumer products, online things. And, I just love, if I had a sweet spot, I love the creative process.
[00:03:31] Stephen: I love the vision of putting it together and I like building things like building a business. That's really where I excel and I can do it very quickly. And and it fuels me. you hear people talk about, find your passion and find your niche and organizations, for example, to have people where they're strongest, and if you're a strong manager, if you're strong, creative or marketing, really putting them in those spots and letting them loose
[00:03:57] Stephen: guarantees almost success in the business, I [00:04:00] believe. And so I've done that, all my life. and I got into this business, at about probably 15 years ago, randomly, I never worked out. I didn't work out. I was not a big athlete in school at all. and then I started working when I was 16 and never stopped and I just fell in love with business.
[00:04:16] Stephen: And so then. Randomly in my forties, I was, going through a bit of a shift in my life and thought, Oh, I'm going to go to a gym. And that started this whole, you know, that big box gym brought me to this point now, simply because, you know, walking in there, you hear people talk about finding a need, build a better mousetrap and you can, you'll be successful at it and not that I'm successful, but, there was things that I saw in my inexperienced on my own, on that visit that really led to where we are today.
[00:04:46] Stephen: That's kind of it in a nutshell. Love the outdoors. I'm an active guy and I just love to learn and love to have fun.
[00:04:55] Brittany (2): Do I hear a little, Canadian in there?
[00:04:58] Stephen: Yes, you do. It's [00:05:00] how's it about,in process, cause I'm going to say process at some point in time, I'm sure.
[00:05:03] Brittany (2): I heard that. That's right.
[00:05:05] Stephen: Yeah. Yeah. So it's so funny that what people pick up on and I'm like, Oh, okay. Yeah. Moved here back in the nineties and, with a business venture out of Toronto and, never went back. My son actually lives in Toronto.
[00:05:21] Stephen: He went up there for college and he's been there about 10 years, but I think he's getting ready to return. So I still go up there on occasion, but, I'm definitely not leaving California.
[00:05:31] Brittany (2): Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. Cool. now that we get to know a little bit about you, let's dive in. I think it's rare, or in my experience, it's rare to find someone who has traveled across so many industries. And I'm curious, tell us about, maybe a shift that felt, you most dramatic or,least expected in your life when you went from one industry to another, what did that look like and how did it happen?
[00:05:56] Stephen: I think there was a time where I was doing [00:06:00] multiple businesses at once, and it was just, I was. in that hustle and, I just was I took on too many things and really hit a point where, that proverbial house of cards, came crashing down. And so that was a point where fortunately I had met, a gentleman who was been a senior banker at Lloyd's bank and he, he really came along and just, and I met him randomly and said, Hey, here, Let me give you some tips.
[00:06:26] Stephen: And, that was a big, turning point in my life because it, I went from this crazy go, go to being very focused and intentional and, having a set plan, but still being able to be creative the way I am. that was probably one of the biggest ones and it really, and then it was, really the dig out phase.
[00:06:43] Stephen: Cause I was, I had hit a point where, obviously I'd take on a tons of debt. And so I had to dig out from that. So that was huge. and then I think even getting into the fitness business now, I was at a stage where I was winding down the career business I was in, and I literally [00:07:00] said to my son, I said, I can do one more business and then call it quits and then this kind of just, Fell into my lap in some respects.
[00:07:08] Stephen: So yeah, I think, and I also, one of the greatest things about this business, and I think it's the culture that we have is it's the most fulfilling business I've ever been in. You get to see so many people go through so many, just running a mile can be so incredibly important to somebody like that.
[00:07:27] Stephen: They've never done it in their life and they're 50 or 60 years old. And they, that's the first mile I've ran. And you're like, wow. And it just, it. It's life changing. So pretty epic.
[00:07:38] Brittany (2): Yeah. Yeah. That's incredible stuff. it sounds like what you were able to do is when these different moments where things got really challenging, either you had taken on too much or finding yourself in debt for a business or whatever it was, but yet at those moments you were able to keep yourself open in some way, either open to the feedback this [00:08:00] banker had and being able to make a shift in that moment or, open to,saying, okay, now I need to get focused.
[00:08:06] Brittany (2): I need to say no to these 10 things to be focused on this one. And I find that sometimes when people are really overwhelmed or really frustrated or feeling really down about their position, that it's challenging for them to stay open. So I'm curious, like what do you pull on in yourself? Like where does that come from to keep yourself open when it feels challenging?
[00:08:28] Stephen: that's a good one. I think for me, I don't have a lot of fear and I think in meeting so many people and I've had a lot of people come to talk to me about businesses and ideas and things. And it's so fascinating. The idea is the easiest thing in a business. It's the execution and all the work you have to put in to actually bring it to life.
[00:08:48] Stephen: And even in that startup phase, which is a super fun time, then that business is going to mature. And then that's a whole other phase. And that's, I think, especially probably where you come in is, then your culture is really key [00:09:00] because the excitement and the energy is gone. So I think for me, it was really.
[00:09:04] Stephen: I've always met people that have really, taken a moment and given me their time and shared their insights and I just listened and I wasn't afraid to ask for help, or talk to people. And I think that's where I think a lot of us feel that if, if I have to ask somebody, it looks like I don't know what I'm doing or I'm stupid or whatever that is.
[00:09:23] Stephen: And, I'm 60 and I still ask questions, even if they're the silliest. My, my wife's brother is the assistant to the district attorney in Colorado, and I was asking all about, the superior court and how that whole thing works. And, it just, it's, there's opportunities versus, versus the fear of not knowing.
[00:09:42] Stephen: And I think when you shift to an opportunity mindset and in a curious mindset,you really can get the answers that you want. And I think the other piece of that, I remember doing, I was doing a Spartan run with one of the, one of the coaches at one point in time. And I just randomly showed up and he said, he said, what are you doing here?
[00:09:59] Stephen: I said, I thought [00:10:00] I'd do it too. and he said, you'll do fine. And he said, he goes, you're strong. He goes, you're not physically, he goes, you're physically strong. He goes, but you're mental strong. And that really is. And I was like, Oh, that's actually really curious, interesting. Cause the mind is the athlete and if you can keep the mind going and keep it positive or keep it focused on, the bigger picture and get out of the weeds of, today's not a good day, that, There's my target out there and I just have to keep slugging through,it really will work out in your, not always, you're going to get a great story and you're going to, you're going to come away even, I've had a lot of failures or challenges and I've lost a lot of money, but some of the greatest lessons in the greatest moments came in those times and all, everything that I've done has brought me to where I am talking to you right now.
[00:10:47] Stephen: So it worked out pretty well.
[00:10:49] Brittany (2): I love that. This is the silver lining all along.
[00:10:53] Stephen: Yeah, it so I can, retire now. I'm done.
[00:10:56] Brittany (2): If you guys can't tell, we have a lot of fun together, but, yeah, [00:11:00] this is even, this is the condensed version. Cause when we're in person, there's so much energy and there's so much going on. and bond is the name of their gym.
[00:11:07] Brittany (2): If you want to look it up, if you're ever in Santa Barbara, or even if you're afar,
[00:11:10] Stephen: a class if you're
[00:11:11] Brittany (2): Yeah. Yeah. Or if you're looking like for an exemplary, business that I think really lives their values. This is a great opportunity to check out what they're up to. you brought something up and I think it's so important that you said, the mental resilience is a big piece for you and within that you were able to uncover these two attributes that are important.
[00:11:30] Brittany (2): there's a level of humility in your process. Yeah. Yeah. Where you're not, if you ask the questions like you are, you have that growth mindset, you're always the student. And when you can approach it that way, then you don't, there's not, there's no room for the ego. and the ego is with that fear piece that's like, well, if I want to look smarter, if I want to appear the certain way, then I can't ask those questions.
[00:11:52] Brittany (2): questions. Or, and you shut yourself down from growth. You shut yourself off from opportunity or connection or, whatever might help [00:12:00] take you to that next level. And that's what I really heard in your story. So thank you for sharing that.
[00:12:04] Stephen: I think a lot of people,I wasn't a big sport fan as I mentioned, I've, my wife likes to Dodgers,there's a lot of great analogies that you can draw from sports and business and, the biggest one I always say to people is, you're never on top forever. So unless you're continually, striving to improve all your systems, the experience, how can we be better?
[00:12:25] Stephen: you're going to get knocked off the top and because you become complacent and you think, Oh, we're the best. And and I worked for with another gentleman and, A humble leader is, is a good leader in my opinion.
[00:12:36] Brittany (2): Yeah, completely. I have a bookshelf right here and, There's this book I'm looking for over here, but it's like the number ones or winners or it's the coach of, former coach of Kobe Bryant. And he always talks about the day after he won would win a championship. He'd be in the gym at 5 00 AM.
[00:12:54] Stephen: Yeah. That's exactly what you have to do.
[00:12:58] Brittany (2): Yeah. Recognizing [00:13:00] that okay, they're already, the other teams are out there trying to beat us already for next season. And so if I'm not right, I put myself at risk and not staying on top.I was going to say, do you feel comfortable, but I'm not interested in that actually. I need you to share.
[00:13:14] Brittany (2): I need you to, I need you to share about one of those moments that, in that at the time, maybe felt like a failing. But like you said, was ultimately just a step in your journey and your path that has led you to other successes and ventures and growth. and I always ask someone to share because there's so many audience members that are in the thick of that right now.
[00:13:35] Brittany (2): And it feels like you're going to be there forever. It's like, you're going to be stuck in the swamp. of failure or things not going the way you imagined forever. And so it's so helpful. It's so eyeopening to hear, guests come on and share a story where they felt really stuck in down and,how you got out of that.
[00:13:52] Brittany (2): because there's lots of, learning that can happen for any of us in those
[00:13:56] Stephen: Yeah. you probably, when I had my financial challenges, that was [00:14:00] the hardest becauserespect is the, hardest thing to earn and the easiest thing to lose. And at that time I was just, I was, Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and just scrambling as much as I could.
[00:14:11] Stephen: And this is, 30 years ago, but, nobody would believe a word I said at that point in time. Cause I was just, you know, I was just trying to keep the ball moving forward and I think that was probably one of the hardest things for me. to, that I just, and just stopping.
[00:14:27] Stephen: And then finally just, I just said enough and stopped and say, okay.stop the outflow and how am I going to dig my way out of this? And what is my process going to be? And then, as I said, the gentleman, was definitely a big asset to have because, just to, you go through this, I'm sure is when you're the entrepreneur or the leader.
[00:14:46] Stephen: it's lonely. And because you're trying to figure everything out on your own, you're trying to figure, what's my next step. And you're literally probably in your office talking to yourself like I do saying, Hey, I could go here, there. and I think having a sounding board and having a voice of reason [00:15:00] is just super beneficial and anybody that's, Doing a business or thinking about doing that, I'd highly encourage.
[00:15:06] Stephen: I know you, I'd heard, saw you post about score, for example, and just a bunch of, retired gentlemen that are brilliant gentlemen, and women, I apologize, that are happy to share,their insight and their experience and, give you feedback. Thoughts and direction to go forward.
[00:15:23] Stephen: And it's just from anything from finance to marketing, to organization, to whatever you want to do. So I think, that was probably the biggest,that, that time for me was super, impactful. And I never, and I, and at that point, I'm never coming back to this point again. the funny thing again, as I said, is when you recover from what you think is the end of the world, All of a sudden you become less afraid or, concerned about what's coming next, because at the end of the day, really, one of the most important things is, when you look in that mirror in the morning, are you happy with who's there and how you [00:16:00] behaved in the world and how you've shown up?
[00:16:03] Brittany (2): You guys, I'm not sure if you guys picked up on that, but Stephen said that everybody should get a coach. For business
[00:16:11] Stephen: A hundred percent. A hundred percent.
[00:16:12] Brittany (2): I promise I did not pay him to say that.
[00:16:15] Stephen: maybe a little bit. it's really interesting though, how we all want to go in and I can, I don't need any help. I don't need a coach. I don't, I can do this, that small investment. That it, 'cause it really is small. When you think about the return really gives you a sounding board and somebody else to say, no, you know what, don't go that direction.
[00:16:34] Brittany (2): Why not? come a little bit this way and you, and then here's your outcome and you get to talk things through. Just from that perspective, it has huge value as far as I'm concerned. Yeah. Yeah. And then I love that we are talking about the free resource, which is super important because like you said, if we get yourselves in a financial situation and it feels like you can't afford support score is a great free re resource for that. but. I always try to talk about this myself too.
[00:16:58] Brittany (2): I have a business coach [00:17:00] and people don't talk about numbers. And I think it's so important to, because it's like a mystery for people. I paid my coach 72, 000 last year. It's a huge investment. And she helped me make,eight X that I don't have no, it's hard to put into numbers on the spot, but
[00:17:16] Brittany (2): that is the biggest no brainer of an investment as a business owner. If I said, Hey, if you give me a dollar, I'm going to help you make eight. Any smart business person would do that. And it's hard to have that faith and know that on the outset,there's things you can look for. And, if you are looking for how to vet a coach, you can just email me.
[00:17:33] Brittany (2): I'll help you figure that out. but. We need these people everywhere in our lives. It's why I go to the gym. There's a coach standing there helping me be more accountable or Stephen saying, Hey, pick up those bigger weights. I think you could challenge yourself in this way. I think you could stretch yourself,and show up more fully in, in your fullest capacity.
[00:17:52] Stephen: I think that's it right there is that the coach sees you in a much bigger, vision than you see yourself with. Like we see each other, I'm, [00:18:00] this is where I'm looking to get to. And they're like,no, we're going to here. And that's where we want to go. And that, even that shift of perspective, it's a belief that somebody sees more for you and it happens in the gym and it happens in business.
[00:18:11] Stephen: And again, I've just random people have come up to me and what they've wanted to do and where they've gone. And I said, Oh no, go do this, and this. and, it's just fascinating to watch.
[00:18:22] Brittany (2): It's amazing to watch. And that's probably where your fulfillment comes in this business is watching people show up for themselves, in that bigger way and watching them create new belief systems of themselves after they say, I can run that mile. I can lift that weight.
[00:18:37] Stephen: Yeah, and or even, coming back to earlier, even knowing what's a deadlift, how do I do a clean and press, whatever that is, the majority of the people that come in never knew what any of those movements were. that knowledge is power, all of that leads to being more confident and the confidence leads to showing up in other ways in your life.
[00:18:56] Stephen: And that's really what Bond is for me. So it's these little [00:19:00] incremental wins or, Hey, wow, I did that. And you can literally see it in people's faces and see it in their posture that they begin to feel more and more confident and it's just a really powerful thing.
[00:19:12] Brittany (2): That's awesome.
[00:19:13] Stephen: if you can lift an axe or I can run a mile, maybe I can do this in business, or maybe I can achieve this in my personal life, or it just creates a window that starts jumping wider and wider.
[00:19:24] Brittany (2): Completely. Yeah. I think it's also that exercise of moving towards fear. Like we spoke about earlier and that,maybe that was just like a natural thing for you or you were strong in that way. But I know even as, I'm going to say small, but it's not small, even as simple as saying, I'm going to try this box jump.
[00:19:42] Brittany (2): I feel so many people have a block when it comes to the box jumps because it's the idea Like I'm going to trip, I'm going to fall or whatever, or going up a level and seeing if you can jump higher. and it's that practice of moving towards something that makes you scared that you're a little nervous of right in going towards it [00:20:00] anyway.
[00:20:00] Brittany (2): And that's a muscle that you can strengthen over time is by finding those opportunities where I'm not so sure what this outcome is going to be, but I'm going to do it anyway. And I'm going to move towards that anyway, regardless of. Of what I look like doing it, regardless of what the outcome is today, because it will make me stronger over time.
[00:20:17] Stephen: Yeah. I always tell people, you never regret.you regret walking away. And that regret that you have from walking away and what that does to your psyche of, I failed, I gave up that has the same effect as, like I was saying earlier, what opportunities is this going to do by showing up and lifting heavier or jump, doing a bot jump.
[00:20:37] Stephen: But I, yeah, I look at that box, even when they tilted to 30, I'm like, and it's so funny how You start, thinking all of these thoughts, it's okay. And yeah, but then you do it and
[00:20:50] Brittany (2): And then you can take that accomplishment and carry it carries over totally to other parts of your life, which is so cool.one thing that I am particularly interested in, [00:21:00] About bond and why I wanted to have you on is that there seems to be so much attention paid to the culture that you guys are building, not only as a team, like an employee based team, but also the culture you're building with your clientele, your customers, which is amazing.
[00:21:17] Brittany (2): And I'm curious about this because I feel like so many small businesses don't believe that they need to pay attention to that. Don't believe that it has, direct return on time invested. And. I see what you guys are doing and creating. I feel it as a customer and I'm curious, I would love for you to unpack that a bit for us.
[00:21:37] Brittany (2): Like how did you build that? Show us where you were really intentional about it and maybe what obstacles you've overcome in that, and working on that.
[00:21:47] Stephen: thank you. Number one,the biggest piece, coming back to getting into this business when I went to that other gym, I had not been in one since 16, so it's probably been 30 some odd years and I walked in. [00:22:00] And for somebody that's very confident in what they do, I was, It's, where do I go?
[00:22:04] Stephen: The, it was an intimidating experience. I got out a towel, I wasn't shown around. I walked up and back then it was everybody had their, headphones plugged in and was on a treadmill watching TV. And then I went to the weight area and, that wasn't my vibe. And then, I ended up going down and taking a group fitness class.
[00:22:22] Stephen: and I, cause there was a lineup and I said, what's this? and I went in and it was actually, it was Jenny's class, but I watched these people run in, put their towel down on the floor, put their drink down and the moment class ended, they were gone and I started going, back and forth.
[00:22:35] Stephen: a couple of times a week and every time it was the same thing. And that was where, this is the broken piece. Number one, it's everybody's intimidated to go into someplace new. The older we get, the more walls come up and of what will people think? I'm not in shape. How do I look at all this noise?
[00:22:52] Stephen: and then just. You'll go if that's a, here's like minded people that, are concerned about their health. They want to, [00:23:00] enjoy, feel better, do things, be active. so everything was there. And so I literally, I said to Jenny, I said, if you ever want to do a business, I could totally set this up.
[00:23:08] Brittany (2): And she, didn't, and then later on after, we became friends and probably three years later, three or four years later, she said, Hey, and I said, actually that was the time I'm getting ready to retire. Yeah.
[00:23:19] Stephen: I said, I'll, I'll do this with you. and that's where it began, but the concept was always.
[00:23:25] Stephen: She's back in the beginning. She said, I want to have all my personal training clients. And I said, you can have them. I said, the group fitness is bringing people together, building this community. It will just, it'll just grow and grow exponentially. And it's, and the other piece of that was, you know, I, when I did sports, when I was a kid, I tell people, when they talk about demographics, I was not very athletic, I was super short.
[00:23:49] Stephen: and I was always kind of the last person to get picked on the team in the playground. And that for a lot of people, created this moment where it's I'm not an athlete cause I always got picked last. So [00:24:00] this isn't my area. I'm going to be a, dot, dot, dot. And if you look around the room at Bond.
[00:24:06] Stephen: You've got, you do have people that are, unbelievable athletes, that it's their, that's all they focus on. They run, do triathlons, all these things. Then you have people that are just showing up for themselves and doing things that they never thought they could do. And those are the people that I really, those are the magic moments, even for those people that are triathlons, when they see that person show up, it's super special.
[00:24:29] Stephen: And, I think, one day I was at the, she is beautiful run. I was watching these girls running in from the 5k and they were coming in at 16 minutes, like just super fast. And the coach had me standing beside me. I said, I said, these. Girls are just unbelievable athletes. And he said, you know what?
[00:24:46] Stephen: He said, they were born with a gift. They, they're yes, they're great athletes. He said, but they were born as to run. And he said, the people that are doing a marathon and doing it in five and a half hours, he said, those are [00:25:00] the athletes. He goes, that determination, that willpower to show up and keep going.
[00:25:04] Stephen: That's an athlete. And it was, I think that's, very true. And so with that being said, I, once you create that community, I started then bringing in with Jenny and I in the beginning, and then I brought in another coach and then I started really being selective as to who I brought on board that they understood, that their value system was about helping people, their value system was, more, supportive and.
[00:25:31] Stephen: Attention driven, if that makes sense. And so they were just, and then when you start seeing it and I always made a point of sharing all of these successes. because once you start seeing what you're doing and the piece that you had in somebody's life and the direction that you potentially shifted, you really start to connect with that and buy in.
[00:25:49] Stephen: and then I just started doing a lot of, I did a lot of events in the beginning that were very philanthropic. and I would always involve, Members in that process and, I did a, [00:26:00] I did one where we had a member that was, used to run the Braille Institute in town. And I went to her one day.
[00:26:06] Stephen: I said, you know what? I said, here's what we're going to do. I said, we're going to take your, braille students and I'm going to take bond members and we're going to run a 5k together. And the members are going to be the coaches and the braille students are going to be the athletes. and we're going to do over six weeks.
[00:26:22] Stephen: And to watch, it was indicative of what happens in the gym. You had pure silence of, These members had to learn how to guide people without sight. The people without sight we're going to run something or just showing up. And you watch these at the end of six weeks, these beautiful relationships formed, and it was just, it was magical.
[00:26:43] Brittany (2): I bet. Wow. That's a really powerful story.
[00:26:47] Stephen: But you have brand, but everybody that was a member showed up at night moves. So there was probably 500 people there, and it was just this, how can you, even if you weren't one of the coaches, you still connected, you [00:27:00] were still part of this community and doing this beautiful thing.
[00:27:02] Stephen: So there's a lot of wins.
[00:27:04] Brittany (2): So I heard a lot of things in that and just to reflect back, you had a really strong pull to be part of a bigger community in your fitness experience. So you took that and were really thoughtful about that and how you created bond. Jenny Schatzel, for those of you who don't know, she has a really strong brand around, a healthy idea of.
[00:27:24] Brittany (2): body image and connecting with yourself and others, as part of her brand of fitness. And then what it sounds like is, you guys were thinking about building community, not just within bond, but beyond bond by connecting to these other,communities or, ventures in town. And then you were also really thoughtful and intentional about who you hired, ensuring that they had values that aligned with those that you were really trying to, create and amplify through the
[00:27:52] Stephen: very much Very much. even today, I don't, if somebody sends in a resume, of course I'll look at it, but I'll meet the person first. And then [00:28:00] often I'll say, while we're going through this process, why don't you come in and work out? Because, how you do that expression, how you do one thing is how you do everything is a very true statement.
[00:28:08] Brittany (2): And you can, if they're, Can be super competitive in a workout, that, that's great. But are they at the same time trying to communicate with other people? Are they just in a solo experience? you can see that in, in a room while people work out. Yeah, completely. I have another client who owns a really successful hair salon and she, Does that? She says, Oh, come in and get a haircut or a blowout. And I'm like, at first I was like, what are you learning by cutting her hair? And she's like, Oh, so much, there's so much of just the way they sit in the chair and the way they, create small talk and whatever.
[00:28:41] Brittany (2): and that I learned a lot actually from my client and in that process. So it sounds like you guys do something similar. I'm curious, what's a tactic or tool or something really actionable that you guys use either in team meetings or internally that helps continue to drive and promote those values and the way you guys want to show up for your [00:29:00] members or the community.
[00:29:01] Stephen: you know what I think,for 2024, for example, one of the things we're doing as a team is just more communication. That's one of the things, I think as an entrepreneur, I think you become solely focused on, often on, the client experience, and I kind of use that inverted pyramid model where the customer's on the top, the coaches are, and the team are below that.
[00:29:23] Stephen: Then there's, Chito and Jenny and myself, we're down on the very bottom. And, if you take care of your client and you give a great experience and it's consistent and you just make them the priority,You're going to be okay. And I think even in 40 years with technology changing and everything else, word of mouth is still the most powerful thing you can have for your business or your brand, because people, even if they don't do business with you, you just want them to say, it was a great experience.
[00:29:50] Stephen: I chose not to go there, but they were super nice. It was, Everything ticked the box. and that's really,what I try and encourage everybody in [00:30:00] these meetings to do is just be, focused on the customer and create that sort of culture.
[00:30:06] Brittany (2): Awesome. Great. Well, Stephen,
[00:30:08] Brittany (2): this is so great. I know for me, like my eye opening moments, from this conversation is the mental resilience piece. Like remembering that, you've got you at the end of the day and you can lean into that mental resilience when things are challenging, staying open.
[00:30:23] Brittany (2): really tough to do, but really important to do. and in, in those moments asking for help, can be your path out. and then how you guys, how you connect with people. So if people are interested in working with you, you bring them in for a workout and watch how they show up.
[00:30:37] Brittany (2): And so there's so much to be learned by just seeing how people show up in a space. and then just the reminders of the basics, like Customer first and how do we show up? How do we serve right? And then that will, ultimately solve our biggest challenges for us as a business is if we show up in service.
[00:30:54] Stephen: somebody once worked for me and said, what's the hierarchy here? And I said, you know, I'm not a big believer in that. I said, everybody has [00:31:00] an equally important role from the custodians that come in and clean to the success team, because they're the first face you see when you walk in the door to the coaches, know without any one of those, Then things are out of balance and it's not going to be that great experience.
[00:31:13] Stephen: And I think once you pan back from that and just all push together to, for a common goal versus someone leading it, and this is how we're going to do it, I think really gives you the opportunity to, to a create a great culture where everybody feels they have a piece in it and is equally valued.
[00:31:31] Stephen: And I think at the end of the day, people want to be paid, obviously, and deserve to be paid, but. Money only goes so far and we want to grow and the more you can give people opportunity or challenge them, or, that's really where I think culture comes in, where you can get long term, buy in is when you come bring somebody in that was working front desk and all of a sudden they're a coach or, they've grown into new roles that they potentially didn't coming back to your coaching that they potentially didn't see themselves [00:32:00] doing.
[00:32:00] Stephen: And all of a sudden they're doing it. and you watch what that does across all, all aspects of their life is pretty powerful.
[00:32:08] Brittany (2): Yeah. Stephen, if people are interested in connecting with bond or checking you guys out, what's the best way to do
[00:32:14] Stephen: Stephen with a PH at bond fitness. com.
[00:32:18] Brittany (2): Very cool. And then you guys are active on Instagram.
[00:32:21] Stephen: Oh yeah. But bond fitness SB on Instagram. yeah. Info at bond fitness for come try a class and yeah, we'd love to see you.
[00:32:30] Brittany (2): Awesome. Thank you so much. I've been so excited in anticipation of this conversation. Cause I knew it would be gold and you showed up and deliver it. And I really appreciate that you guys, I did not give him the questions in advance and he just nailed it. So
[00:32:44] Stephen: I don't know about that, but thank you. I truly admire, great brands and I've got to say that I've loved, our time getting to know one another and just watching you in the space and just watching you get out there and crush it. And it's just, it's a powerful thing and it's a great role model for a lot of [00:33:00] people too.
[00:33:01] Stephen: See this mutual love. Yeah. Just back towards that.
[00:33:04] Brittany (2): the audience gets to be here and witness it. So thank you to you guys for tuning in because again, if you weren't here, well, Stephen and I would just chat anyway, but it's so much nicer to share these wonderful, nuggets of wisdom and eyeopening moments with you so we can all learn and grow together.
[00:33:21] Brittany (2): Thanks again for tuning in.
[00:33:22] Stephen: Bye.
[00:26:27] Brittany: And even if you don't identify as having trauma with a capital T, like each one of us has been in those moments where you were losing sleep at night or things felt really uncertain for you. And you probably had some sort of reaction in your body. And, in, I. I, my dream is for us to get closer and closer to this place where we can all talk about that.
[00:26:48] Brittany: you know, my husband, he works in psychedelics and I dream of there, there being this bridge between those that identifies these like really high functioning, like people who Can make a big impact in the world, but creating this insight and awareness, connecting them more to themselves, like kid, not running away from those feelings that come up, not creating such a high level distraction for yourself.
[00:27:14] Brittany: That is either your business, your team, your latest venture, like whatever it is, but. Actually tapping in to whatever those signals that you're being sent and then like leveraging that, I just think, imagine what we could create in the world. If we actually were in resonance that we, if we were in, you know, like, rhythmic attunement with who we are, and maybe with our, those closest to us, our communities, I just think it can be.
[00:27:40] Brittany: so amazing. So I'm so, so excited to feature you here on Eye Openers and have this conversation with you, Ryan, because you have literally taken what you've learned over, over the years and have now turned it into something that's going to create really great, positive impact in the world. And so, uh, thank you for being a person of such integrity.
[00:28:03] Ryan: Oh, thank you, Brittany. Thank you for the work that you do too. I 100 percent agree with you on the entrepreneurs that we have such an opportunity for impact and, and. You know, helping them to, work through trauma, is such, it's like a, it's like a one to many, like it's, it has so much potential to really make a difference in the world.
[00:28:22] Ryan: So thank you for doing that.
[00:28:24] Brittany: Yeah. Yeah. And just, you know, what I've seen when I've helped, I can be at like a CEO example. The other day I was doing a whole VIP day with him and I asked, what's been the most impactful thing we've done in these last 8 hours. And he said, oh, this. Yeah. That we spent two hours like reflecting on for parts of his narrative that got him to where he is today.
[00:28:47] Brittany: Like the good, the bad, the ugly, like, and that's shaped his leadership style. And he's like, wow, that was so impactful because I wasn't able to make those connections before between the things that have happened in my life, the meaning I made out of those things impacted my behavior and really the way I lead and the way I touch other people every day.
[00:29:08] Brittany: Right. And if we're not even aware of it, if we're not even thinking about it, then we're not conscious about it. Right. So if we can make that connection and then we can, we stand the chance, right. to have some awareness, be more intentional, be more conscious about, the mark we're making in other people's lives.
[00:29:27] Brittany: Absolutely.
[00:29:28] Ryan: Yeah.
[00:29:30] Brittany: Well, again, I'm so grateful for you coming in and sharing, especially about, Hope Guide. How can people reach you if they're curious to learn more?
[00:29:38] Ryan: Yeah, they can go to hopeguide. com, to learn more about my organization. And, they can go to ryanpink. com if they want to learn more about me.
[00:29:46] Brittany: Awesome. We'll make sure that that, is,linked in all the show notes, wherever you're seeing this now, if you're watching this live, then, you can certainly reach out to my team and we can put you in touch with Ryan as well. you know, without those of you guys watching and engaging, it would just be.
[00:30:02] Brittany: Me chatting with Ryan, which isn't so bad or me talking to myself, which you know, is questionable, but, we really, really love that there are people out there interested in this message and engaging with it and helping us spread the good word on eye opening moments in business and your life. So until next time, thank you all for watching.