Mahlum: Bad operational and financial decisions killed gyms during COVID, not just pandemic
Anne Mahlum · From Nonprofit Founder To Building A $300M Pilates Business · Sep 18, 2024 · at 38:24
SolidCore founder Anne Mahlum reflects on why many fitness businesses failed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“People talk about how COVID killed so many gyms, and a lot of that was not just because of COVID, it was because of these operational and financial decisions that weren't, like, made as smartly as maybe some other companies could have made, and not understanding what was going to be the demise of them.”
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Mahlum: Every one-year full-time Solidcore employee received an exit payout
“No, which is why I put a long-term incentive plan in place for them. A profit sharing plan when I sold the business, and everybody got paid. Every full-time employee who had been with SolarCore for a year got paid on that last transaction, and they're going to…”
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“Oh, I like, we literally did over a hundred grand in the first month.”
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“Larry, here comes Larry again from back on my feet. And he's like, and listen, I'll give you 75 grand for 30% of the business. If you don't want to use all your capital, like, listen, you grew this nonprofit. I know you're going to be successful.”