How Brittany Phelps scaled Thrive Yoga Studios to a franchise model

Executive overview

Most yoga studios stay hyper-local. Brittany Phelps built a franchise model that works in small mountain towns, not just urban volume plays, by designing for profitability at four students per class.

She started with $10,000 and a handshake deal, spent three years eliminating business debt, and used the COVID pause to build the operations infrastructure that enabled franchising.

Staying debt-free before crisis hit gave her the runway to pause, organise, and accelerate when competitors were folding.

Starting the business and early growth

• Acquired first studio in Crested Butte with a $10,000 tax return and a negotiated seller-finance arrangement
• Spent three years building with zero business debt after hearing a Tony Robbins podcast on recession-proofing
• Had 30 subcontractor instructors in the first studio — artists, therapists, varied skill sets
• Biggest regret: under-funded early on meant losing good employees she couldn't afford to retain
• Key lesson: more initial financing would have let her keep founding-team staff and avoid re-building traction twice

COVID as a forcing function

• Closed three locations March 2021; adapted through outdoor classes, virtual platforms, 20–30% capacity formats
• Used the shutdown to build operations manual, HR manual, staff manuals, and redo websites
• No business debt meant she could pay rent rather than deferring — avoided extending liabilities
• Franchised first studio by April 15th, one month after closing; second by September
• Emerged organisationally stronger than before shutdown

The franchise model

• ~46,500 yoga and Pilates studios in the US; roughly 500–2,000 performing well, mostly urban, volume-dependent
• Thrive's differentiation: profitable at ~4 students per class, enabling rural and small-town locations
• Teachers not capped on earnings; top instructors in Crested Butte can earn up to $200 per class
• Franchise owners sourced through community (students, partners, Pranapreneurs programme) — none previously employed
• One owner holds two locations; three more pending as of recording

Pranapreneurs — business training for yogis

• Started because subcontractors had skills but couldn't package them into a sustainable career
• Evolved into a formal business training curriculum for existing and aspiring studio owners
• Studios with strong owner training programmes outperform; those without actively lose locations
• Aimed at making "career yoga instructor" a viable, recognised profession

Execution and scaling tools

• EO Accelerator programme (joined April 2020) provided accountability group, coach connections, and curriculum
• Most impactful decision area: execution — shifted Brittany from owner-operator to owner of a brand
• Uses the 10 Rockefeller Habits monthly as a checklist for both the brand and individual locations
• Coach connection through EO led to a mentor with 20+ years growing boutique fitness franchises — described as her luckiest break
• Scaling Up framework (people, strategy, execution, cash) applied consistently across non-industry-specific tools

Growth targets and open challenges

• Original BHAG: 50 studios across all US states; revised up to 100 studios within five years
• Goal is twofold: scale without losing authenticity; rehabilitate the reputation of franchise yoga
• Current constraint: identifying the right people — mentors, influencers, key hires — to navigate the franchise world
• Boutique fitness category expanding rapidly (yoga, spin, CrossFit, functional fitness); market tailwind is clear
• Referred to Brian Scudamore (1-800-GOT-JUNK / O2E Brands) as a franchise-scaling model worth studying