169: Building the Burn Bootcamp Franchise with CEO Morgan Kline

MORGAN KLINE [00:00]

It says a lot about what's important to them. And I've been able to get into the position that I'm in and built this brand on prioritizing culture and community over profit.

[MUSIC]

CAMILLE WALKER [00:19]

So, you want to make an impact. You're thinking about starting a business sharing your voice. How do women do it that handle motherhood, family, and still chase after those dreams? We'll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO.

[MUSIC]

Welcome back everyone to the channel. This is Call Me CEO podcast. My name is Camille Walker, and I'm going to be sharing with you how to build a franchise. We're talking to Morgan Kline, who is the CEO and co-founder of Burn Boot Camp. It is a physical gym that is all over the world. She has 350 gyms. I should say all over the country, not all over the world. But she is in 41 states. And it's incredible, the tips that she shares about how to build a franchise, how to communicate with your partner or spouse so that you can be successful together, and also how to integrate family. So, let's go.

[MUSIC]

Welcome back everyone to Call Me CEO. I'm your host, Camille Walker. And this is going to be good because it's the new year, you're thinking about ways to create new motivation for yourself, your body, your business. And I brought in the best expert, it is Morgan Kline, the CEO of Burn Boot Camp, and they have, get this, you guys, 350 gyms in over 500 territories. And they are inspiring, motivating, changing the lives of so many people, especially women and mothers. And Morgan is a woman and a mother herself. She's doing all of the things. Thank you so much for being on the show today.

MORGAN [01:58]

Yes, thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.

CAMILLE [02:01]

Oh, my goodness, just talking for the last few minutes, we were talking about how this journey started with your husband as co-founders and how you were able to bring this vision to life. How did that all start?

MORGAN [02:12]

Yeah, so my story begins when I was about 24 years old. So, about 11 years ago, I was working for Kellogg. So, I was in the corporate world, I thought I had it made, the American dream. It's like you got that job out of college. And you're doing well. I was down in Naples, Florida, which I'm originally from Battle Creek, Michigan. So, that is actually the headquarters of Kellogg. So, again, this was a big deal that I had this corporate job.

And so, I go down to Naples right out of college. I worked my way up to a promotion pretty quickly to the Charlotte, North Carolina market. All along, my boyfriend Devan at the time, who I have known since sixth grade was a baseball player. And he was in the minor leagues playing for the San Francisco Giants organization. And then, he had just been released right before I was getting ready to take that promotion. And he really didn't know what he wanted to do next. That was his plan A. And I'm like, "My plan A is Kellogg, and I'm going to keep supporting that. It's like you figure it out."

And he decided to start personal training. And he worked a little bit down in Naples, Florida, and just did the traditional one-on-one personal training in a big box gym. And he pretty quickly understood and realized that, hey, this isn't the way I want it to be. A) I'm trading time for money. So, from a business perspective, it was how do I maximize my time as a personal trainer and serve as many members and clients as I can? But it was also this mentality that was in that big box gym of competitiveness and cold and intimidating.

And so, he created this little bootcamp. And it attracted a lot of women that were looking for something that was intense and was taken seriously, but it had community and it had accountability into it. And so, long story short, we moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. And he's like, "I am opening my own business and starting my own business." And, again, I'm still like, "Okay, I'm doing Plan A with my corporate job, and I'm supporting you."

We started in a parking lot in 2012 because we're 24 years old. I had a job, but it wasn't anything to write home about from a salary perspective. He had no background in business, we had no business plan, no really proof of concept that a landlord would take us seriously. And so, we got very resourceful as young entrepreneurs need to. And when you're starting a business, you're like, okay, no one's going to crush my dreams. What can we do?

So, we went to a gymnastics studio. And we said, "Listen, you don't use this space early in the morning. Can we rent this out, sublease it?" And then, we'll go to the parking lot in the afternoon. So, we did that and we quickly became this very popular bootcamp in the Huntersville, North Carolina area. And a lot of it was because we were just connecting women and we've really focused on empowering women and being Charlotte's fit community of women.

So, that one space turned into five spaces. And we built traction, we built traction, we built traction. And that's when I decided to step away from my job. I was helping him on the weekends, at night, and early mornings around my job. And I was starting to see this change in me. And I was like I'm so fulfilled, over here doing and being a personal trainer and really impacting people in a positive way, but I've got this full-time job.

So, I did it for several months because I am the type of person that's like, okay, you have to do things smart, but you also have to take risks on yourself. And so, in May of 2013, I quit my job. And I opened my own gym. And so, Devan and I started flipping those five spaces to brick-and-mortar, we had five businesses in the Charlotte market. And then, we started getting approached about franchising. And so, that's when the dream really started to get bigger and bigger and bigger.

So, in 2015, we become a franchise. And now, eight years later, like you said, we are in 41 states. We've got over 350 locations open with several more in development. And it's just been incredible. I've started from being a 24-year-old business person that was in food marketing, to a trainer, to owning my own gyms, to owning a franchise, to now I'm the CEO.

And along that way, I've had three incredible kids and build my family alongside building this brand. And so, it's great to be able to obviously share with different audiences what it takes to do that, what I've learned along the way, but the reality is it's never perfect. And there's been so many great lessons, but hard lessons along the way. And there will continue to be, which I think is the unique thing about owning a business and chasing a dream that seems crazy to most people.

CAMILLE [07:20]

Yeah. Oh, my gosh, there's so much there to unpack. I'm just excited. You represent the perfect type of person that I love to have on this podcast because just the resiliency alone that it takes to get through the ups and downs of market changes and to grow something from one physical space to multiple. I'm curious about the franchising piece. When you say that you had people that were approaching you, what did that look like? And what was that conversation?

MORGAN [07:50]

Yeah, it was people that had their own transformations from Devan and I, or some of the trainers that we had hired at that point. It was their lives. Literally, they would come up to us, and I still get this to this day is, "Burn Boot Camp's changed my life. Burn Boot Camp's saved me. They've gotten me out of a broken marriage, or they've given me the confidence to quit my job and do something that I'm more passionate about."

There's so many transformations that can happen in fitness. We all know that. And it isn't just physical. But we were having people that they had so much deep love for what happened to them inside those four walls that they wanted to pay it forward. They wanted to go take it to another community or their hometown or whatever the case may be. It was very, very organic.

And I would say about 95% of our franchise partners now to this day come from within our system. So, they come from being either a member or experiencing the brand in some way and having a little bit deeper connection than just a business opportunity.

And as you scale your brand and as you scale yourself even, it's so important to lock arms with people that share that common mission and share not just the business and the money part, but they actually care about the people in the brand. They care about the brand. You're putting yourself in harm's way if you are willing to lock arms with people that don't align with your core values, because they are an extension of you, and they're representing you. Even if it's a gym that's 1000 miles away, they're still representing what I've worked hard to build. And so, thankfully for us, it's come very natural, where they're people that started in the brand, and they have a love for the brand because they had their own connection to it.

CAMILLE [09:42]

That's ideal. If someone's already bought into the culture and understanding what the values are, how do you maintain quality control, especially like you say, for those places that are across the country and you don't know what's going on there today?

MORGAN [09:57]

Yeah. So, a lot of it obviously starts from the beginning in the sales process of finding the right partner. So, they go through a whole vetting process with my development team. And we're really looking for certain things that they're saying or what their background looks like and what their story is. So, we really want to get to know them on the front end. But then once they're in the system, obviously it's our job to hold standards. You can never blame somebody if they don't know what the expectations were and what the standard was.

So, first, it's about building processes and systems where we're educating you. Once you become an owner and extension of this brand, here's what we expect from you. And here's how you do it. And so, it's giving them the tools and the resources, but then it's also having a strong auditing system. So, we have a secret shopper program where at any time someone can come in and visit the gym, and they give us a report. We give the franchise partners that report. And that gives us time to go through it.

But I think the other thing is, as a brand, it started with Devan and I. And so, the brand is much bigger than us, even though we're the co-founders, but we stay at the edge of the brand. We are constantly out. We've been to over 85 gyms between my husband and I, just this year. It's our favorite thing to do is travel and actually get into gyms, talk to members, see what the community is real time. And we always see what those red flags could look like when we step into a gym. We know what it's supposed to feel like.

So, it's getting your feelers out. We have an entire field support team that's out visiting gyms outside of myself, other leaders, secret shoppers. We're scanning social media. We have processes in place to make sure that we can identify if someone's doing something that's off brand. And then, we're open to hearing members' feedback. So, there's always this mechanism when we are listening, whether that's an email, a DM on my Instagram. I take every piece of feedback seriously, whether it's positive or negative. And I always use it as a teachable moment for myself or for a franchise partner.

CAMILLE [12:03]

Wow. Can you tell me about a time that you learned maybe from something that went wrong with having a franchise partner or something maybe to look for if there is someone listening, is thinking about creating a franchise?

MORGAN [12:16]

Yeah. I think we've certainly had some franchise partners that we thought were going to be great. And we gave them several territories. And maybe after that first one opened up, it wasn't the alignment that we thought or you know what? Sometimes, people's lives change, too. And I always try to remember that first, that someone can be really excited about opening a business. And then, something happens in their life, there's life events that can happen suddenly. And so, I always want to give people the benefit of the doubt to say like, "Hey, is this working for you? Because if not, how can we get out? How can we make sure that you move on from the brand, but the community that we've built is taken care of."

So, that's always my first go-to when I'm noticing that there's some misalignment. But for me, how they treat their members in certain situations says just a lot about what their motivations are. And even just down to how they handle canceling their membership. And if they are not being people first, which is one of our core values, it says a lot about what's important to them. And I've been able to get into the position that I'm in and built this brand on prioritizing culture and community over profit.

And as a business, sometimes people will be like, that doesn't make sense. We're not in a non-for-profit, we're in a business to make money, which is very true. But what I've continued to learn and what I continue to share with other people is when you always do the right thing, the right thing will come back to you tenfold. So, some little things like that, just down to how they handled transactional interactions, I think says a lot about if they're aligned with the brand.

CAMILLE [14:07]

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And that's actually a question I was going to ask you next, just from looking through your social media and you have your podcasts and everything, your community strength is so onpoint. I know from experience from being a part of gyms or retreats, especially with women, transformational experiences bind you so much together, but that's obviously something that you've done extremely well. What are some tips that you have for people who are looking to build community through their business?

MORGAN [14:39]

Yeah. I think, for us, it started in the beginning in that parking lot. We didn't have four walls. We didn't have shiny objects. We didn't have these crazy fitness trends. We literally had $600 worth of equipment, and we had the pavement, and we had Devan's speaker system out of his car. And I think in those moments, it taught me how important just human connection is and sitting down with people and just actually listening to them and hearing them out and not making it a transactional interaction with them. It's got to be like a transformative interaction every time.

And that starts with just you as the leader, whether you're a business owner or you're trying to build something even digitally, it's how are you connecting with people? Are you responding to those comments and Instagram DMs? But then in person, it's like what are you doing to be seen and heard in the community? And what are you doing to make others feel seen and heard?

So, for us, I think it started all the way back down to those roots of just we didn't have anything else but each other. And we had a standout because they could have gone to so many other fitness concepts that had actual brick-and-mortar. They had to actually intentionally choose because we're a boutique fitness. So, we're charging roughly the same price as some of those other boutique fitnesses popping up at the time.

But what made us stand out was our community and how we brought people together and how we created a culture that was not competitive, not intimidating. So, we don't have mirrors in any of our gyms. I honestly do that with intention. In the beginning, we didn't have the resources to even do it. We didn't even have walls. We were in a parking lot in someone else's space. But when it came time to us building our own, I went back to times in my life where I felt super intimidated or I wasn't allowing myself to get out of my own head. And it's when I'm sitting in front of a gym working out looking at my body, looking at all the imperfections, or looking at other people and thinking they're looking at me. So, just little things like that.

We call it a blue carpet experience. When somebody walks in the door, we want them greeted with a high five. We're big on high fives. We're big on names. Our trainers and our franchise partners, they have to learn everybody's name. And so, these are all little things that we have woven into our culture and what makes us human. And it's just how we communicate, how we connect to them, but then how we get them connected.

And so, if you're new and you're walking into the gym, we have a process where the trainer is going to introduce you to somebody that's been working out at the gym for maybe a year. And we want to connect those two members. Maybe they work out next to each other that day, but it's just a feeling of belonging. And so, many people miss that component when they're trying to build a community. And it's just a transactional deal of like, you're here to work out. Okay, here's 45 minutes. You work out, see you later. What can I do to squeeze in that 45 to 50 minutes that people are choosing to come to my gym and contribute to my brand? How can I make them feel like they've gotten so much value here that they do want to come back tomorrow and the next day?

And over time, the connections that I know have been built among our members, we call them burn sisters and burn brothers, it's incredible. "I have a whole new set of friends because of Burn Boot Camp," are things that I hear, because these women and men, they're like-minded. They are like-hearted, they want to see each other when, which we don't get in our normal lives. We usually get the opposite of that, whether that's your home life or your workplace.

CAMILLE [18:24]

I think even whatever kind of business you're building, to build that into your business of seeing the individual and knowing their name, that's huge. And then, giving them that support of success of, "Hey, I've been here for a while, but I'm going to be your friend, too." Because especially in gyms, I feel like they can become very cliquey. And if you're not a part of the cool group, you can feel like, why am I even here? Or just to feel that self-doubt, especially if you're new. So, I think that that is incredible to have that set up so that someone feels welcomed and also a part of the cool crew.

MORGAN [19:03]

We're all cool.

CAMILLE [19:03]

Yeah. We're all cool. So, with all of that, as we've been sitting here, I've heard pings and buzzes from your phone, you're super busy. And I know that your family is the priority for you, you talk about that a lot, which is why I was immediately drawn to you, because that's such a core value for me. How are you able to maintain that support and focus on your clients, but then also preserve that time and that special relationship with all of your family members and your spouse?

MORGAN [19:16]

Yeah, I think it's two things. I think number one is the way that Devan and I integrate our business with our home life. And I also understand that not every industry or business has the opportunity to fully integrate because it may not make sense. If you're in a tech business, maybe that doesn't make sense to integrate. But for us, we are a family business and we are for families.

So, a lot of my franchise partners are moms or dads and husbands and wives, and they have kids. And so, we've built this brand around families. We also have child watch in our gyms, which is a little bit unique for boutique fitness. So, again, we are serving that mom from end to end. And so, for me, I love bringing my kids to work. I don't feel guilty. If Devan and I are at home and we're talking about work, we talk about things in front of our kids, because I think that is all education for them.

Now, of course, there's boundaries. So, number one is integration. What can I do where I can bring my kids into it, where I don't feel like I'm choosing A or B, I'm a little bit above that at all times? Number two is boundaries for sure. So, I'm very strict on, okay, at a certain time, I need to put my phone away, the emails are going to wait, I need to be fully present with my kids, or whatever the weekends are, whatever is most important to me. But also what is most important to my kids?

So, my kids are the ages of seven, five, and three. And I've started to talk to my older two about like, "What is important for you guys, for mom to be at? Is it drop off? Is it pick up? What is it?" And I think that's a conversation that is important to continue to have with your kids because their needs change. As we know, the needs your kids have when they're a toddler are different when they're five, and then when they're seven. And then, I can only imagine when they go into their teenage years, they're going to need a different version of me and different relationship with me.

And so, I want to keep that open communication to say, "Okay, what are the most important things?" And then, try to build my schedule around that and put that first. But then, I'm also a very big believer that there will be sacrifices, where there's things that I want to do with my kids and I might miss because I have a work trip. I can't always just say no to work, because I have an obligation that I've committed to. I've committed to being a CEO. And I've committed to serving this brand and doing what I need to do to serve the people invested in it.

So, I also want to show my kids that, hey, sometimes I'm going to have to make a sacrifice, that means I might miss this event. As much as I don't want to, I want you to understand why I did it, I want you to understand that I wanted to be there. But also, this is how the world works. We work and we make money. And you guys have things that not other kids have, or you guys get things and I want them to understand the value of work and the value of money because that's how I was raised.

My mom was a single mom for five years. My dad passed away when I was five years old. So, I watched her have to sacrifice having some dinners with us because she was a hairdresser. And she had to work until 7 or 8, and I was with a babysitter. I don't hold that grudge against my mom. There's zero resentment. It's actually I'm thankful for those times because it showed me that she was actually doing that for me. She was making those sacrifices. So, I could have dance, and she could pay for dance, and she could pay for the things. And now, look what that's done for me.

I pride myself in my work ethic. But I also know when I need to step away because my kids need me. So, I think it's just staying in tune with what your kids need and what you need, too. So, hopefully, that makes sense. But I think mom guilt comes because we think we're not spending enough time with our kids. But I think we need to sometimes flip it on the head and say, the time that we are spending, is it quality and intentional? And is it filling your guys' cups? And then, when you're not with your kids, what are you teaching them? Because as a parent, it's still your job to teach them values and lessons. And that doesn't always mean you're right there with them. Sometimes it's just through the actions that you're taking.

So, that's how I get through tough times. But listen, no one's immune to the mom guilt. I had it a couple of weeks ago because I was back-to-back traveling, all things that we're committed to. And so, it's always hard in those moments where I feel like I'm not pouring into them enough. But then, I'm not traveling until the beginning of the year. So, now, I'm just going to say okay, now I just sink my teeth into these next six weeks of just loving on my kids. And I think that that works for me.

CAMILLE [24:41]

Yeah. I think that's fantastic advice. And the idea that our kids will benefit from seeing us work hard inside or outside the home, that's something that instills the value of hard work and what can come from that. And so, to think that it has to be either/or I think can be really damaging for ourselves and our kids. Because the reality is it's becoming more so that way more than ever. So, the fact that you've been able to create a lifestyle, which can integrate them and they can be a part of that and see, I'm sure there are lessons that they're learning and they even share with you, which how cool for them to be able to come? Do they come and workout at the gym?

MORGAN [25:20]

So, I don't do any personal training anymore. I'm just fully in my CEO. Sometimes, Devan and I will go to a gym. And we'll both get the mic on. And we'll go back to our trainer days. But, yes, my kids come and work out when on the weekends, every Saturday, it's like 8 am, we go to camp, it's part of our routine. We always have events called summits. So, my kids go to every summit, I will never let them miss a summit. And they get to see Devan and I on stage, they get to see all of our nation of our franchise partners and their employees. This past year, we always have a pop-up shop, because we're big in retail. Cameron, my daughter, was helping checking people out. Max was helping with the high fives. They've modeled for kids activewear before.

And so, yeah, I bring them in, and I show them as much as I can. And they love it. Cameron now is like, "When's the next summit because I want to work it?" And she wants a badge that says future CEO as her title. So, it's just little things like that, where I'm super proud. Because they're always watching us, whether they're physically with us or not. They're watching us, they're watching what we're doing. And listen, I'll have to interview my daughter in several years to make sure that this theory sticks, but I am proud of the way that I've been able to manage both.

CAMILLE [26:49]

Yeah, that's fantastic. Okay. So, one of the questions I wanted to ask you is about working with your husband. That seems to be something that either works really well for people or it doesn't. You had mentioned, too, that he was CEO, and then you took over. And transitioning roles, that's a big deal. How have you been able to manage working as a team and being married and still being married? Obviously, you're doing it well. So, that is incredible.

MORGAN [27:15]

Yeah. And a lot of lessons, a lot of learning lessons, a lot of hard times of working through how to communicate the best way. In the beginning, it wasn't pretty, I'll admit we were both stepping on each other's toes in the beginning and trying to find everything. And so, in the beginning, we did get clear on what are your roles? And then, what are my roles? And let's trust each other, we've got it figured out. So, that was in the beginning.

And it talks about how really in any partnership, there's typically a visionary and an integrator. And sometimes, partnerships have two visionaries and two integrators, but you need both to make a successful business, whether that's your relationship with your spouse or relationship with any other business partner. You need someone that's going to be big picture, visionary, very low in details, can sell you anything and can paint this amazing, beautiful picture of what the next three to 10 years look like. And so, that is hands down Devan's role.

But then over time, as we've gotten bigger and bigger, and we've scaled more, and there's more priorities, we've had to just really learn how to communicate well. So, we follow the EOS system. And so, if you guys are out there, and you're working with your spouse, I would highly recommend reading the book, Rocket Fuel. It's by Mark Winters.

And when you have a visionary, but not an integrator, every two months, something new is coming down the pipeline, and your team is constantly in this whiplash moment of like, wait, what are we doing? So, I'm very thankful because I'm 100% an integrator. And so, we have very different skill sets. And when we've been able to now tap into you're a visionary, I'm an integrator and truly structure our business as such, which is why we've moved Devan into the visionary role and me into the CEO role.

That did take, though, some learning experience because he was down in the business managing people day to day, suddenly now a visionary up and out, not managing people and getting out of leadership meetings. And he had to put a lot of trust that, hey, I got this, but I need you to get out of here. He actually spent the first couple weeks away from the office, just working from home because he's like, "I didn't want to interrupt meetings when I had a question or I didn't want you to also default asking me what you should do."

So, we definitely balance each other out, and we've just built a structure where we have the same page meeting, it's a four-hour meeting once a month. And we go through our issues list in the company, he comes and brings ideas to me, I bring solutions to him, I keep him updated on the big picture needs of the business. And then, that allows him to be up and out visiting locations, building relationships with our vendors or our franchise partners. And then, that allows me to sit back at the office and integrate what he is learning out there or what the vision looks like.

So, communication is big. We've also gone through Nonviolent Communication training. Actually, my whole leadership team did it. So, that's another book I would recommend. And it's truly just learning how to listen, how to listen to people, and not how to always have a rebuttal back in defense, it's just to listen and understand. There's always needs that people have when they're speaking. And sometimes, they don't know how to properly communicate what their needs are, what their requests are. So, we've learned a communication structure.

And honestly, a lot of that, we've taken into now our marriage and our home life. And so, that's one thing that we've done. The second thing is we have always asked each other, what hat do you have on? So, like you said, we are in business together, we're parents together, and we're husband and wife. So, there's times where he'll come home from work, and he wants to talk to me about things workwise and I'm not wearing my CEO hat, I'm wearing my mom hat, or I'm wearing my wife. And so, he can tell almost immediately now that it's like, you're not in this space to talk about this or vice versa.

So, what we've gotten used to saying is like, "Hey, what hat are you wearing right now? Or can you wear your CEO hat really quick, because I need to download you on something?" And so, it just gives us a little bit of space and permission to be like, "Hey, not now. I know that's important. But let's schedule some time to talk about it tomorrow during the work day. Because right now, I don't want something that's going to distract me from being mom or wife."

So, that's probably one of the biggest areas that I see some couples that can go really wrong, because too much integration, like I talked about, can cause for you to not connect in those other ways. So, if we're constantly in work mode, we're not connecting as husband and wife, or if I need him to just listen to me as a husband, even though I'm maybe talking about work, and I'm frustrated with certain things, I don't need his advice. From a visionary standpoint, I just need you to be my husband. And listen and let me vent. So, there can be that tension if you're not really clear on what you guys want.

CAMILLE [32:46]

I love that. I love how you explained that about wearing different hats, because my husband and I, he runs a law firm and I have my online business, but he also helps me with my financials and some of my SEO. He's very much like a charts and does behind the scenes things really well. But sometimes when he comes home and is ready to talk about that, because he's been doing his other stuff all day, I'm like, "I am done working today. I just don't even want to go there."

You get to decision fatigue, where you're just to the point of needing to really get into that space of feeling just human or mom or wife or whatever that looks like. So, I love that you said that because I think that allows especially the communication piece for you to at times say, "Hey, but can we talk about this for a minute? Because I'd love to share this with you." But almost ask for it in a way that makes it feel like you're a team and that they respect that space of where you are in the moment. I think that's really powerful.

MORGAN [33:51]

And that's where the same page meetings have been powerful for us thinking on the note of you and your husband, if you guys are only able to connect on the business stuff after the kids go to bed or on the weekends, that can be hard. And then, that's where you feel frustrated about the whole thing. And so, carving the time during a workday for us where the kids are at school and it's usually on a Friday where the office is a little bit lighter.

We always go off-site, I don't go into my office for same pages. We literally get ourselves out of the day to day and into this I don't check email during the meeting. And I'm fresh. It's usually first thing in the morning where my patience is high and we're both in a good space because it's been on the calendar. It's not an afterthought. It's not an afterthought. And the afterthought conversations is when just the tension starts to rise or the frustration or maybe I'm defensive because I'm like, "Why are you asking me this right now? I'm not in work mode, so I'm not prepared to answer it."

So, the same page meetings whether it's an hour or four hours, I think it's cool because we also talk about like, "Hey, how are you doing?" for the first seven minutes. I get to talk how am I doing personally and professionally. And then, he gets to talk for seven minutes. How are you doing personally and professionally? And we don't get to rebuttal. We just listen. And so, you learn a lot, too, on the marriage side of things, or the personal side of things, too.

CAMILLE [35:23]

I love that. That is so hands on and good. I'm like that soundbite is amazing. Thank you. And I think that what's really interesting, too, and I would love to draw attention to this with it being the beginning of a new year, a lot of us are making goals physically, whether it's with our business, our marriages or specifically for you, because you do fitness, what are some mindset practices that you've done in your life and in your business or even with your physical motivation that have helped you to stay on target with your goals?

MORGAN [35:55]

I think the biggest thing that helps me stay on target is the accountability that I have around it. So, if I'm going to set some goals for the year, whether that's personally or professionally, I want systems that are going to help me be held accountable. Because it's very easy for us in our mind to say we want to do things, but once we put it on paper and speak it to other people, it makes it more real.

And secondly, it's about who are you surrounding yourself with that's going to help you stay accountable? And so just from a personal perspective, let's call it, I want to start working out more, I'll just give that example. Okay, who in your life is going to call you out when you're actually falling off of that? And I think that that's hard for a lot of people to accept. But in a loving way, it's important to have those people in your life. So, I think if you don't have them in your life, maybe it's because you're putting this wall up, and you're not allowing that vulnerability to let other people call you out on something. That's on a personal side of things.

For me, on the business side of things, it's very simple. My goals are on paper, I announced them to my entire system, and then we have scorecards that keep us accountable. And I look at those every week. And it's very clear when I'm off track and when I'm on track. And so, a lot of people will call those all SMART goals, so something that's actually measurable, that you don't just say it's something you're going to do, you actually then work backwards up to, okay, what does that mean?

So, if it's lose 50 pounds, what does that mean? I need to start doing X, Y, and Z, and these small habits over time and these small things that you're chipping away at that big goal that you want to hit by the end of the year. Because listen, if you're tackling the New Year and trying to create these big, bold goals of losing 50 pounds, 20 pounds, is it realistic? Ask yourself that. Is all of those things realistic? Because we all know how it feels and deflating it feels when you're in the second month of the year and you've given up on your goal because maybe it wasn't attainable.

So, start with a big goal, start with that annual plan is what I like to call it, and then work back of what do I need to do every quarter that's just a win? And then, even every week, breaking it down. And that's what I do with my business. I know where I want to be at the end of 2024 from a business perspective. Now, it's time to break it down and say, okay, how am I going to get there? Which a lot of us miss that part.

We just talk about the end goal. And we don't talk about what are the little things to work backwards that I need to do for that? But a lot of that comes in with surrounding yourself with the right people, whether that's the right community in your gym or whether that's a business coach or whether that's a friend or your spouse or be open to sharing bold goals and then be open to people that want to help you achieve them.

CAMILLE [38:51]

I love that. And you made a mention of a scorecard. What does that mean? Is that informally?

MORGAN [38:56]

I was saying in the business sense of things, every week, I'm looking at how many members are in Burn Nation. I have certain KPIs. So, that's going to be different for everybody. But, again, if it's a weight loss goal and it's 50 pounds, it's like, okay, how are we breaking that down by quarter and by week or what are just the small habits that means I was successful this week? And then, celebrate those and then set another one. So, whether it's a scorecard or just a plan on paper broken down.

CAMILLE [39:28]

Do you have any favorite apps to help you stay on track? Are you mostly a paper person?

MORGAN [39:33]

I am a big paper person. I love lists and from a personal standpoint, I love notebooks. But personally, we have our Burn Boot Camp app that shows you how many camps you've attended, your streaks, how many days in a row you've done something that's keeping you moving. I love the Oura Ring as well. That gives me really good metrics on my sleep and other things like that.

But outside of that, thankfully for me, I have a fitness community built right into my job. So, I'm going to noon camp every single day. And I've got five or six people in the office that are making sure I'm doing it. So, that helps me a lot. But we're excited. We launched a new Burn Boot Camp app in October. And we're continuing to build on that. So, we'll have more of that accountability piece to it, even food logs. And there's so much more to come on the app.

It's just starting with making sure you're moving every day, we kept with the call it the keep moving club. So, now, we have a way to actually track whether you did a yoga, a stretch or a 20-minute camp on the app or you actually attended a brick-and-mortar. We're capturing it right there in the Burn Boot Camp app.

CAMILLE [40:43]

I love that. This has been fantastic. I love that you've given us real examples of the ways that you built your business and that you're motivating and creating this amazing community. Please tell everyone where they can find you online as well as maybe specials or promotions you have going on. I'd love to have you share that, so we can help support you.

MORGAN [41:03]

Yeah, great. For me personally, you can find me on Instagram @morgan.a.kline. And then, Burn Boot Camp is just at www.burnbootcamp.com. And you can find all of our locations there. You can also download the app. We always do a seven-day trial, both in gym and on the app. And then, right now, we're offering a 4 for $69 special at participating locations, so you can find all that stuff right online.

CAMILLE [41:28]

Awesome. Thank you again. It has been such a pleasure.

MORGAN [41:30]

Yeah. Thanks for having me.

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CAMILLE [41:34]

Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you are looking for help in managing your life or coming up with strategy for systems and processes within your business and/or hiring a virtual assistant, I do both. You can reach out to me at callmeceopodcast@gmail.com or you can find me online @camillewalker.co. And I would love to help you achieve that next level of success while still maintaining happiness in your life balance.

[MUSIC]

Hey, CEOs, thank you so much for spending your time with me. If you found this episode inspiring or helpful, please let me know in a comment in a 5-star review. You could have the chance of being a featured review on an upcoming episode. Continue the conversation on Instagram @callmeceopodcast. And remember, you are the boss!

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