5 Good Decisions: What This Barre Brand Feels It Did Right

When Barre3 co-founder and CEO, Sadie Lincoln, opened her first location in Portland, Oregon in 2008, not many people knew what a barre workout entailed. Lincoln had a more modern approach to whole-health fitness and was committed to sharing her passion for mind and body wellness. Barre3 was the result, and before long she had regulars coming every week who loved not only the classes but the entire Barre3 experience.

Amy Leclerc was one of those early adaptors. Like many Barre3 franchisees, her passion for the brand began in the studio. She remembers walking in and immediately feeling the welcoming nature of the space and teachers. “I think back to how I came into contact with Barre3. I started as a client in Portland, Oregon, not knowing what barre was, but I remember thinking in very first class, ‘I don’t know how, but I’m going to do something with these people someday.’ I ended up becoming one of the first instructors in Portland. I didn’t have any franchising experience, but I had a clear understanding of the brand and the community we wanted to grow.”

Today Barre3 has 120 locations, annual retreats, an online workout program, recipe offerings and a digital magazine.

1851 Franchise spoke with Leclerc, now the Vice President of Business Development and a co-owner of the Barre3 West Village, and she shared the top five tricks that have aided in the scaling and growth of Barre3.

1. They Chose Their Franchisees Wisely

According to Leclerc, there is nothing more important than choosing the right franchisees. “Our franchisees have to truly connect with who we are and have a passion for our brand, class and mission. It’s also incredibly important that they bring real-life experience that can help them with the business side of things.” She continued, “We have been extremely selective from the beginning about who we franchised with. All Barre3 franchisees started as clients and developed into roles who are carrying the brand into the communities across the country. We’re really our own muse.”

The brand also looks for franchisees who have strong connections in their community and are not scared to spread the word. “Most of our franchisees are natural-born marketers. Once they sign their agreement, many of them already have two hundred people that want to try their class. Our owners are the face of our studios. They are carrying the torch. This is not the Sadie Lincoln method, our owners teach classes and work the front desk and are out in the community.”

2. They Supported Their Franchisees

Since Barre3 opened its doors in 2008, the boutique fitness industry has exploded. So how do you stay ahead of the curve? For Barre3, the learning starts from the top. Executives at are always watching for industry trends and improving choreography and teaching methods in order to provide their students with the most impactful, thoughtful workouts. This knowledge is then passed onto the owners, “Our commitment to our instructors is ongoing education and providing resources to help them grow in a changing industry. We have continued to evolve and refine what it is we are sharing with our owners on a monthly basis.” She continued, “We provide the tools, it’s up to them to execute. Every quarter our owners and instructor receive new choreography, moves and music. It starts there and builds. They receive everything from marketing and retail campaigns to best practices around community engagement. Within the context of franchising, it’s their responsibility to take the tools and bring them to life in their community.”

Leclerc made a point to note, they’re not changing, but innovating. They are committed to their owners living a full healthy life so they continue to enjoy their experience with the brand. “It’s continuing to look for ways to make things more efficient for our owners. They have dynamic lives. Our job is to continue to find tools and resources that will allow our owners to have rich lives that can make this a stream-lined career that is exciting and dynamic but never draining or a drag. Really what excites us if finding exciting ways to make every aspect of business ownership a joy for our owners. Our goal is to empower our owners to always know where to find the answer. We’re going to ‘teach you how to fish’ and give you the tools to help you run your business in an authentic, powerful way.”

3. They Looked for Trends, and Points of Differentiation

There’s the saying, “If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always got.” Barre3 attributes its success is its willingness to take a look at what’s working and what’s not, and be willing to make a change. Leclerc shared, “What we have is the benefit of history and every month we are able to look at our studios and see who is clicking with our model. We constantly look at our strongest locations to understand why they are doing so well. Many times we see the most successful franchisees have complete alignment with our brand and business acumen.”

4. They Minded Their Growth

Once a brand begins to be successful, it’s easy to grow at a rapid pace. Although Barre3 has a consistent flow of potential franchisee requests, they intentionally continue to expand at a slower pace so they are sure they are choosing the right franchisees. “Really being able to create or own growth tempo is the biggest luxury we’ve had over the years. We’ve been able to put our blinders on and continue to focus on us. For Barre3, it has less to do with numbers, but everything to do with impacting people’s life in a positive way through a very thoughtful experience and that’s what sets us apart.”

“What’s been exciting and daunting at the same time is that we have development incredible momentum with the number of studios we’ve opened and the number of people we’ve reached through our online classes -- we are everywhere. The amount of inquiries we see on a daily basis is intoxicating. It’s so exciting. What is also does is give us a taste of the future and what it can be. But we are always thinking about what could happen if we grow too fast or pick the wrong owners.”

5. They Stayed True

Co-founder Sadie and Chris Lincoln’s vision from the beginning has been clear and their values still drive Barre3’s mission. The commitment to education and change has driven Barre3’s growth since the beginning. The focus continues to be less about the barre modality and more about creating a lifestyle and an experience. Because they have been so clear on their values, they have been able to surround the people that really carry the touch.

“Over the years we’ve created different ways to connect with us through social media, our magazine, our website. We are extremely active. We have grown through this web of passionate clients that have been able to amplify our message though their own life. It’s sisters and friends and coworkers who have fueled this growth. We’ve chosen to grow a different way. When we look at how successful we have been, it’s because our students are run by active owners who really believe in what we are doing and are not just looking for a business opportunity. Really understanding the WHY. I can define our success by one key attribute: our people.”