Bodify Update: How We Opened 2 Locations And Grew Revenue To $350K/Month

Jessica Stellwagen

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Published: December 21st, 2021

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Jessica Stellwagen

Founder, Bodify

$350K

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Bodify

thebodify.com

from Arizona, USA

started January 2015

$350,000

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Discover what tools Jessica recommends to grow your business!

Discover what books Jessica recommends to grow your business!

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Other... Jim Collins

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Wor... Michael E. Gerber

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join ... Timothy Ferriss

📗

Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mi... Dr. Joe Dispenza

Want more updates on Bodify? Check out these stories:

1. How We Navigated The Pandemic and Opened Our Second Store (2020) ➜

2. How Two Sisters Started A Fat-Freezing Empire (2019) ➜

3. How We Built A $4.2M/Year Business By "Mastering The Mundane" (2022) ➜

This is a follow up story for Bodify. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published almost 5 years ago, check it out here.

Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.

My sister, Melissa, and I, always knew we wanted to run a business together. But our passions never collided until we discovered CoolSculpting. We knew we wanted to build a business around a single service offering, as we felt being the master of one, vs. jack of all trades would serve our clients best.

We also knew we wanted to offer a technology that impacted our clients in positive ways. The world can be harsh and men and women can be very tough on themselves when it comes to their bodies. We love the idea of being able to uplift and shift how people feel in their skin.

Good, bad, right, or wrong, how people feel in their skin, impacts their daily mood and interactions. It’s a huge gift for us to run a business where we get to spark joy and make a meaningful difference in how people feel.

We love our team, we love our clients, and we love our technology.

CoolSculpting, for us, was the obvious choice, it is FDA-cleared, non-invasive, effective, safe, and results are lasting. We searched far and wide and all roads kept coming back to CoolSculpting. It is the world’s number 1 non-invasive fat reduction technology and we felt our clients deserved the best!

how-we-focus-on-providing-virtual-consults-to-generate-revenue

Tell us about what you’ve been up to! Has the business been growing?

Bodify has been very fortunate. We have the power of focus and have tracked key performance indicators from day one. We believe in mastering the mundane, making small changes that over time have big and dramatic impacts on the business. Numbers tell a story! We opened our first location in 2015, we now have two locations, a team of 8, and have done over 26,000 CoolSculpting treatments. Our revenue has grown beautifully since we opened.

During the pandemic, we were forced to shut down, so we got creative and started to do virtual consults so people could book future CoolSculpting treatments. The moment our doors were open again we were back in action and generating more revenue than we had in the same months the year before.

We look at metrics inside of our business that others may overlook as not important, but we know they are the key drivers to our success.

How many new clients do we get, how many reviews do we get, how many referrals do we get, what percentage of our revenue comes from existing clients, what are our email open rates, what percentage of those who book consults show up, of those who show up, what percentage buy?

Often a business is looking for a magic bullet that will change everything. But that rarely exists. However, if you make incremental improvements in many areas, and use the time to compound the positive change, you can dramatically improve your business.

We are always looking for ways to do this, we push ourselves to be the best, but we believe our clients and team deserve the best.

We want to provide a work environment where our team shows up and is excited to be there, no more dreading Mondays. We want an environment that creates a sense of familiarity, kindness, hope, transparency, and sincerity for our prospective clients.

So many businesses focus on top-line revenue, but we have always believed what you make doesn’t matter, what you keep does! Being scrupulous with expenses regarding things that don’t matter and spending generously on the things that do (marketing, client experience, office decor, staff compensation) so you can ensure you thrive.

What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?

So many wonderful new lessons are reminders of business and leadership truths!

1. Your team is a reflection of you.

While millions of businesses struggle to get their teams back to work, in many cases because the people don’t want to, our team was chomping at the bit to come back. We stayed in touch during our 7 weeks shut down, we met on zoom, we sent texts, and we initiated GAS (Give A Shi*) activities for our database so our team and clients could continue to feel connected and cared for! We sent 1000s of handwritten cards just to pop in, say hello, and remind our clients that we care.

2. Being over-leveraged can destroy you!

Bodify did take a PPP loan, however, we had plenty of cash reserves to pay all our bills, not fire or furlough a single person, and be comfortable with what remained in the account. The 7 weeks were not fun, what business wants 7 weeks of no revenue, however, financially we were not scared, strapped for cash, or even in a tight spot. We are debt-free and very fiscally conservative- thanks to Dave Ramsey and Profits First.

This was an incredible gift. It meant we could keep our team, so none of them had to worry, it meant we could pay everyone who provides services for us, so there was no negative ripple effect, it meant that we didn’t have to get desperate, lower prices, or use inappropriate tactics to survive.

3. Always provide value.

Bodify is a globally recognized and respected CoolSculpting provider. So when we were not able to freeze fat, we said how can we still offer value and who can we offer it to. We hosted dozens of webinars for other CoolSculpting providers. We pulled back the curtains and shared what we were doing to make it through the shutdown, and what our plans were when we opened back up. We received incredible feedback from all those who tuned in, that our positive attitude, our guidance, and our calmness were incredibly valuable and important for their journey. We worked closely with Allergan, the makers of CoolSculpting, to provide valuable tools, resources, and webinars to those who also were shut down but wanted to continue to learn and hone their skills!

What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?

We will open more CoolSculpting locations. We feel a deep sense of pride about Bodify and also believe we are the most uniquely qualified to offer CoolSculpting to those who want a non-invasive fat reduction solution. As a result, we feel compelled to have more locations so those in AZ and other states have access to the best experts, the most experienced team, the best experience, and the most superior results possible!

If you choose to BE a successful business owner, you will be inspired to action (DO)! There is leverage in alignment and then the results (HAVE) will come!

Have you read any good books in the last year?

Love Atomic Habits - offers a great understanding of habits, where they come from, how to change ones you want to change and how to acquire new ones that will move you in the direction of things wanted.

Never Split The Difference- this is a powerful book for anyone in sales- which means EVERYONE. All we do all day long is sell. Perhaps you are not selling a product or service to an end-user but you sell all day long to your kids, peers, spouse, friends, bosses, and YOURSELF!

Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?

Who are you? Not who do you think you should be, who do others think you should be, but who are YOU!

When you are clear on this, the next logical steps show up. Being congruent and authentic is powerful. Often when we try to please others or be someone or something we are not, it falls apart. Trust that if you scream from a mountaintop who you are, your tribe will find you, those who want your service, love your culture, and are willing to part with their hard-earned money will find you and happily do business with you!

How you do anything is how you do everything. So sit down and get clear on who you are, who you want to be, and how you will get there! Be clear on how you will ensure that every aspect of your business is a reflection of who you want to be, never waiver, never compromise, and never forget that “you” is aligned to you is incredibly attractive to others and powerful for you.

I once saw a chart and it was a powerful lesson for me.

Most people look at the following three words in this way.

When I am thinner, I will buy smaller clothes, and then I’ll be happy. (Have, Do, Be)

This MUST be flipped on its head. We must trust, if I decide to BE happy, I will be inspired to DO the right things, and then I will HAVE what I want.

So ask, what are the traits of a successful business owner, how do they show up, how do they talk...etc.?

If you choose to BE a successful business owner, you will be inspired to action (DO)! There is leverage in alignment and then the results (HAVE) will come!

Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?

We are always happy and open to talking to anyone looking to join an amazing team. Even if we are not hiring at that exact moment, we always circle back to those we have met, or who have sent us their information. You never know when Bodify will be expanding and we’d love to have great candidates to look at.

Where can we go to learn more?

If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!