Thrive Hot Yoga – Seamless Transition from MindBody to WellnessLiving Software
Last Updated on 2 August, 2024
After a decade of frustration with MindBody, Ian and his team at Thrive Hot Yoga have finally found relief with WellnessLiving, a fitness studio software company that they can rely on for all their studio management needs.
About Thrive Yoga
Ian O’Laughlin started his yoga career 16 years ago as a teacher at another studio. After five years, he and his wife, Jenny, decided it was time to take control and open their own studio. “It helps to heal migraines, back pain, and joint problems,” Ian told us. “My wife had similar physical and emotional benefits from doing the yoga. We felt like it was a really powerful practice.”
With over a decade of experience between the two of them, Ian and Jenny were sure that their passion for hot yoga could provide their clients with an unparalleled experience. Nearly twelve years later, Thrive Hot Yoga is living up to its name. Ian and Jenny offer their amazing community of clients a true hot yoga experience with “truly life changing results.”
The Problem
For ten years, Ian used MindBody to manage Thrive Hot Yoga. “It was the only thing out there at the time,” Ian told us. Like a lot of business owners, he felt like he only had one choice, so he didn’t question the high cost or poor organization that MindBody offered. “But over the years it started getting more and more expensive and there were more third party add-ons. We had a very big staff and… it just kind of ballooned over the years with expenses. Just a frustrating experience.”
After a full decade contending with MindBody’s constant price increases and cumbersome third party add-ons, Ian had had enough. And, finally, he had a choice. “When we saw that there was an alternative out there that was viable and we saw the demo for it, we were sold instantly on switching.”
The Solution
Once he discovered an all-in-one solution with WellnessLiving, Ian was ready to make the move. First, he had to transfer all of his data over to the new system. Understandably, the migration of all of his company’s data caused him a bit of anxiety. “I won’t lie, I was a little nervous at times,” he told us. But his fears were quickly assuaged by WellnessLiving’s competent migration team. “It was surprisingly more smooth than I expected.”
After officially making the switch, Ian had to train his entire staff on a brand new system. Though they found system intuitive, the team at Thrive Hot Yoga took a bit of time to get used to the new interface and the extensive depth of the backend. “The basics for using the software were very easy, but getting used to the reports and the more backend stuff took a few more months for me to get my arms around, which I think is to be expected.”
Now, the team at Thrive Yoga has settled into using WellnessLiving for all their day-to-day tasks. “It definitely helps the business because it’s easy-to-use and they’re constantly making updates and changes. The client log in app and so forth are easy-to-use for customers.” They’re even finding new and better ways to get things done all the time. “We’re just getting into the automated marketing features that are bundled with it, which I think is really going to help to grow the business with retention rates… there seems to be a lot of possibility with the software that I’m just excited to explore at this point.”
With issues relating to the integrity of the founder of bikram hot yoga, Ian’s team have been peripherally affected. Fortunately, they’ve been able to come through the other side and are growing well once again. “WellnessLiving is helping us to stabilize our business and create a solid foundation for growth.”
At the end of a long road, Ian has found a partner that he can truly trust in WellnessLiving. Not only are there constant developments with new features and improvements to the system, but he feels like he is a part of it all. “I appreciate the attention to the individual studio owner. Len, one of the founders, came to the studio and shot a little video… I just appreciated the personal connection and the willingness to listen to the small business owner, which MindBody seemed to really not care about. It makes me feel part of something and you’re heard. The software people we use actually care.”
If you would like to talk to a WellnessLiving representative about how we can help your business grow, contact us today at 1 (888) 668-7728, or, book a free demo of the platform.
