My stubborn boss

[Alex39]

I recently took on a side gig to add more income in my pocket. It's part-time, really flexible, and it uses my skill set. I have a business masters degree. I know a lot about business, making money, and marketing. 

It's running a local fitness studio. Managing the business. I love the type of work I'm doing, but am getting frustrated with the business owner at times. She's disorganized, overbearing, and knows absolutely nothing about business at all. 

When I got there, I immediately noticed that the studio was painted with these bright colors and it's cluttered beyond belief. She has old furniture and it looks messy. She claims to want it to be relaxing and about wellness, but the environment doesn't reflect it. She has draperies hanging everywhere with conflicting patterns and she has terrible design ideas. 

I say nothing. I don't want to insult her. 

Her website, was also terrible. It looked old fashioned, bad font and color. Right off the bat, I get to work on re-designing her website. Now that it's re-designed, clients have been saying how great it looks. So now the owner likes it. 

Then I notice the immense amount of rules she has. Her website was filled with rules, rules, rules. It wasn't a place I'd feel comfortable going as a 30 year old. She demands clients book into classes 12 hours ahead. No drop-ins allowed. What fitness studio doesn't allow drop ins? 

She insists that if the class is only at one or two sign ups, that she will then cancel and can do her own thing for the day. And clients must understand that she has a life- she actually had this on her website. 

I go on her website, and she has classes listed as cancelled,cancelled,  cancelled. It looks horrible on her website. Some classes she just canceled because she makes plans with her friends. It's unprofessional. 

She complains about money and not enough customers and wants me to fix it. 

So I fix her website, simplify the rules, amd simplify her pricing. Her pricing was sky high. She insists that she's worth it and has been a teacher for 20 years. In my head, I'm like no 20 or 30 year old cares about that. 

Well then comes her clientele.  They are all old people. She attracts old people because she's in her 50s. And all of her offerings are good for older people. Her classes focus on arthritis, brain activity, and back pain. 

One of her major rules is absolutely no shoes in her fitness studio. I've suggested offering hip classes, young classes, but she says no, because no shoes. So we can only offer classes where people wear no shoes. It's stifling the business. 

She leaves crap everywhere. She has cluttered the walls, ceilings, racks with clutter. Her furniture is ancient and looks it. She's not unclean, but unorganized. I have OCD, so I can't believe she's running a business this way. 

She keeps insisting I put pictures of her on her website. All over it. But she looks old. We are never going to get new younger clients if the website screams older person. But I don't want to hurt her feelings. 

In the months I've worked for her, I've tripled her sales. She went from making around $2000 a month to $6000 a month. It's fantastic. And I did it all through offering promotions, removing her strict policies, and email marketing. 

Now, she keeps saying how she wants all these rules back. She keeps complaining about the prices being too low and her not wanting to offer promotions. But our sales are triple. She said she hasn't made this much money ever in the business history. 

So I slowly put back some of her requests and our sales are dipping, so then she pressures me to sell more. 

I was selling more. When I got there she was throwing her money away advertising on magazines and not on social media. She spent hundreds and we got not one sale from the magazine. I made her stop doing that. 

She was paying thousands for a business coach person to coach her online. I've helped her more in months than that person did in years. I made her cancel that. 

She let's friends use her studio for free for events. We aren't making any money doing that. 

She's stubborn and I'm trying so hard to make her business a success. She's constantly chastising me telling me to look at other studios in the area for reference to pricing and offerings. The other studios look like club med. They are white and bright and beautiful, clean and modern.  Her space looks like some gypsy chaotic garden from 2006. 

I don't know how to work with her better and how to get her to see the path to success. The other day I reminded her that we need to stay on this trajectory as the sales numbers speak for themselves. 

How else do I work with her? 

I'm worried that all of our clientele is older, that eventually we won't have any clients left. Its not a fun, modern, inviting place for 20 and 30 year olds. But she keeps pushing me to sell, sell, sell. Its hard to sell a bad product, without change. Again, my methods must work, I tripled sales. 

She wants me to be constantly  posting videos of her doing fitness stuff, but she looks old, her outfits don't match, and it's not refreshing. She's attracting people 50 and up by her brand and messaging. 

Any advice on how to deal with her?

[Seraphim]

I don’t think this is the job for you. If you don’t have any appreciation for slightly older people or their issues don’t work there. She is the owner and told you what her focus is. She is concentrating on slightly older people, that is valid. We exercise and some have more challenges. 
 

We are people too. 

[boltnrun]

The business owner has the right to run their business however they choose, even if their methods result in low to no success. 

I would presume she won't change and isn't interested in changing. Since she's writing the checks I would either go along with what she wants (since it won't impact YOUR paycheck) or perhaps consult for another business that's more in line with your methods and ideology.

How about a cheer camp or dance studio that caters to children, teens and young adults?

[Alex39]

7 minutes ago, Seraphim said:

I don’t think this is the job for you. If you don’t have any appreciation for slightly older people or their issues don’t work there. She is the owner and told you what her focus is. She is concentrating on slightly older people, that is valid. We exercise and some have more challenges. 
 

We are people too. 

I am completely respectful to her and her wishes in the business. She complains that we don't have enough young people there and she doesn't understand why and begs me to up her sales and bring more people in the door. 

[Alex39]

3 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

The business owner has the right to run their business however they choose, even if their methods result in low to no success. 

I would presume she won't change and isn't interested in changing. Since she's writing the checks I would either go along with what she wants (since it won't impact YOUR paycheck) or perhaps consult for another business that's more in line with your methods and ideology.

How about a cheer camp or dance studio that caters to children, teens and young adults?

If her business goes under, then I lose my job. She's even mentioned to me how she might go work part-time somewhere else and let me run the business because she sees that I run it better and more organized than she. But then the next day she's on my back about implementing rules again and I get so confused. She does this weekly. Saying she'll let me run it, then micro-managing the next day. 

[Alex39]

She tells me how she just wants to do fitness and teach fitness and hired me to run the business side, but she isn't actually letting me run it ever. 

[Seraphim]

2 minutes ago, Alex39 said:

I am completely respectful to her and her wishes in the business. She complains that we don't have enough young people there and she doesn't understand why and begs me to up her sales and bring more people in the door. 

However, you are completely disrespectful to women my age in your post, like we shouldn’t have a place to exercise and we are cast offs of society . Soooo, in your mind you are not respecting her. 
 

[Seraphim]

2 minutes ago, Alex39 said:

She tells me how she just wants to do fitness and teach fitness and hired me to run the business side, but she isn't actually letting me run it ever. 

However, she is the person who made the business and had the payola to start the business. If you have a Masters in business, please go start your own business.

[tattoobunnie]

What are you to her? A manager, marketing manager, sales?  If marketing, write up the plan, and go through it together.

[Alex39]

Just now, Seraphim said:

However, you are completely disrespectful to women my age in your post, like we shouldn’t have a place to exercise and we are cast offs of society . Soooo, in your mind you are not respecting her. 
 

I did not mean it that way at all. I want to clear up that up. Most of my friends are 50+. I am purely going from a business perspective. I love all our clients who are older and want them to feel comfortable too. I am NOT saying they shouldnt come. I am saying that I want to inject more customers overall including young customers, as the owner wants this too. But a lot of our older customers leave due to health issues and such, then we have no customers. A lot of our retired customers are on a fixed income and with her sky high prices, they leave because they can't afford it. She mainly caters to older wealthy people which is such a tiny market of our area. And her classes are mostly mornings. Not for young working people. We have room for atheist 12 people a class and she's getting 2 people a class. Because it's the older wealthy people who can afford it and who can come in the mornings. 

[Alex39]

4 minutes ago, tattoobunnie said:

What are you to her? A manager, marketing manager, sales?  If marketing, write up the plan, and go through it together.

She hired me as the business manager. I've re-designed her website, re-structured her pricing model, added more classes, and upped her sales 3x, but she complains about all of it and then micro-manages. So I don't feel like the business manager. I feel like an intern. 

[tattoobunnie]

Write out the plan; set dates together. It's very hard to argue there.

[Seraphim]

1 minute ago, Alex39 said:

I did not mean it that way at all. I want to clear up that up. Most of my friends are 50+. I am purely going from a business perspective. I love all our clients who are older and want them to feel comfortable too. I am NOT saying they shouldnt come. I am saying that I want to inject more customers overall including young customers, as the owner wants this too. But a lot of our older customers leave due to health issues and such, then we have no customers. A lot of our retired customers are on a fixed income and with her sky high prices, they leave because they can't afford it. She mainly caters to older wealthy people which is such a tiny market of our area. And her classes are mostly mornings. Not for young working people. We have room for atheist 12 people a class and she's getting 2 people a class. Because it's the older wealthy people who can afford it and who can come in the mornings. 

Ah, ok, this is much more how it should be explain, not ew you are attracting more old people . Thanks for expressing that better . 

[Alex39]

She is constantly saying she wants to work side by side with me so I can teach her things. And I see her watching me and asking me how I did this and that and I should show her. 

I'm being paid minimum wage. 

I don't like how she is almost stealing my skills and ideas and methods so she can use them herself and potentially dump me after. I was hired as a business manager. She should teach fitness and I'll run the business and I'll report the business to her. 

[boltnrun]

You can go ahead and present a business plan but she's not required to implement it.

If you're only being paid minimum wage I can't imagine what's keeping you there. Surely there must be other businesses that would appreciate your skills and pay you fairly. 

[Alex39]

2 minutes ago, Seraphim said:

Ah, ok, this is much more how it should be explain, not ew you are attracting more old people . Thanks for expressing that better . 

I'm so sorry my original post expressed that. I actually get along better with older people than people my own age. I just think it's hurting the business, having such a niche group of people. And her marketing is specifically catered to an older crowd and it's not smart business. 

[Seraphim]

However, as the business owner you can’t just shuffle her to the side . Her money and time and name are invested in this business. 

[Alex39]

Just now, Seraphim said:

However, as the business owner you can’t just shuffle her to the side . Her money and time and name are invested in this business. 

I guess I'm so confused where my role starts and ends. She hired me to run all the business things. I'm trying to do that, but keep getting stopped by her to do other things that aren't smart business. 

[Seraphim]

1 minute ago, Alex39 said:

I guess I'm so confused where my role starts and ends. She hired me to run all the business things. I'm trying to do that, but keep getting stopped by her to do other things that aren't smart business. 

I get what you are saying but she is still the owner. Your ideas could be fabulous , but you have to sell the plan to her . 

[Alex39]

I know I can make her business successful, but I don't want to insult what she's already done. She loves the space. But it needs to change. I don't want to hurt her telling her these things. 

But I know I can make her way more money. And all she wants is more money. She talks about it daily. It's her disorganization and old fashioned style that's killing the business. 

[boltnrun]

What's keeping you there? Did you sign a long term contract or business agreement?

[Batya33]

6 minutes ago, Alex39 said:

She is constantly saying she wants to work side by side with me so I can teach her things. And I see her watching me and asking me how I did this and that and I should show her. 

I'm being paid minimum wage. 

I don't like how she is almost stealing my skills and ideas and methods so she can use them herself and potentially dump me after. I was hired as a business manager. She should teach fitness and I'll run the business and I'll report the business to her. 

Oh my goodness.  If you actually think someone who is paying you -you are her employee- is "stealing" from you either write out a contract for her to sign that shows what she is not allowed to "steal" from you or stop working for her. You're her employee -you're supposed to give her total access to your "expertise."  That's the definition of being an employee.  If  you want to be a consultant write out what you are going to do and some sort of noncompete and see if she'll sign it - I used to see noncompetes when I was a recruiter -something like that because you think she's going to "steal" despite paying you -and why agree to minimum wage if what you're offering is so valuable?

[Seraphim]

Then you know how to load the sales pitch. You make it solely about the money you don’t make it about her being old-fashioned with old-fashioned ideas with old-fashioned stuff you don’t even discuss that , you pitch the  sales pitch based on the money. You just gave yourself the answer.
 

This isn’t about old furniture and curtains. 

[Seraphim]

Being successful is also about reading people and what their words and actions tell you and don’t tell you. 😉

[Coily]

Coming from a business background I can definitely see your frustration here. Especially that creeping feeling that she's trying to use your knowledge and when she's making money give you the boot, I have had a few customers early on do that. It's maddening.

At Tattoobunnie mentioned you need to lay out some business goals, based off of what she wants. Explain pricing models to her, without giving away your "trade secrets". Personally I would probably quit for that level of wage and the overbearing nature of the boss.