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BECOMING BARRE3: A JOURNEY OF EMPOWERMENT AND GROWTH
In 2010, Jillian Lorenz and Ariana Chernin founded The Barre Code, a Midwest-based barre fitness company that promotes personal growth and self-acceptance within the fitness industry. Fast forward to the present, and The Barre Code has embarked on its next stage of growth by being acquired by barre3. Jillian sat down with us to share her experience entering the boutique fitness industry, her journey of becoming barre3, and her commitment to empowering women entrepreneurs.
B3 MAGAZINE: What inspired you to enter the boutique fitness industry? What led you and Ari to start The Barre Code?
JILLIAN: We saw a need in the boutique space to reengineer the way that women worked out, similar to barre3’s mission to redefine fitness. Personally, in my road to recovery from an unhealthy body image, I would go to the studio to work my body and to feel good. But in the studio, I was told to be less than or smaller than. Ari and I saw this need to reframe that mindset and to work from the inside out. We all come in different shapes, sizes, and skin colors. We need to embrace the body we’re in. That’s how The Barre Code was born.
We were also both in male-dominated businesses at the time and when we had female bosses, we felt like there wasn’t any support and it was more of a competition—the opposite of what it should be. When Ari and I first started to brainstorm our business, we talked about what women empowerment really looks like and how we can spread that. That’s when we decided our mission and vision, which was to be a best-in-class fitness program, provide personal growth and self acceptance, and lastly, provide a space where women support one another and cheer each other on through life’s journeys.
B3 MAGAZINE: How did you and Ari come to the decision to join barre3?
JILLIAN: When the pandemic hit, all of our lives and the fitness industry were shaken. That’s when we decided to reach out to Sadie Lincoln and discuss how barre3 was navigating the shutdown—we saw it as an opportunity to learn from one another and be stronger together. When we met with Sadie there was an instant connection, not to mention alignment with the authenticity of how she started her business and the mission of barre3. That’s really when we started to see how similar we were. We have the same core center and that’s what made sense for this acquisition to take place. I like to think of the acquisition of The Barre Code as growing up. It’s the next stage of growth as we become barre3.
B3 MAGAZINE: What excites you about becoming barre3?
JILLIAN: What excites me the most about becoming barre3 is how the brand is evolving into a wellness company. I really love the breadth of what we’re offering—the balance in body and mind, bridging the gap from boutique fitness to total wellness. You see it with the 21 Days to Better Sleep program on barre3 online, and with breathwork at the end of classes in the studio. These are practices that Ari and I do ourselves at home and always wanted to bring into our studios and now we’re doing that. That personally excites me most: the growth to greater overall wellness.
The other thing that excites me is to help our franchisees be more successful in their businesses. We started franchising to embody our mission of “women supporting women.” Our owners are like-minded women entrepreneurs who decided to start their own business locally to make a greater difference in their community. I want them to be as successful as possible. Barre3 is the leader in the category, and they’re experts in franchising, so we couldn’t be more excited to join the company and support all our studio owners in their next stage of growth. Our owners, so far, have really jumped onboard, are rising to the challenge of the change, and excelling at becoming barre3. It’s amazing and we’re so grateful to see that. Kudos to them.
B3 MAGAZINE: Are there any learnings you gained when transitioning from your 10-year career to owning your own business?
JILLIAN: When I transitioned to entrepreneurship, I needed a partner. I came from the mindset of following a “traditional path” where you go to college, get a job, and go to work. Ari had a completely different mindset. She knew she wanted to work for herself from day one. What is exquisite about our relationship is that she was the hand I needed to take the jump.
B3 MAGAZINE: What are the benefits of becoming a franchisee?
JILLIAN: What’s incredible about franchising is that the entire company—the 50-plus corporate employees and 185 studio owners—acts as your “hand.” You don’t have just one hand to jump with, you have many, including experts in fields like marketing, training & development, and operations, among others, along with a network of studio owners who constantly support one another so that we can all rise together.
B3 MAGAZINE: What advice would you give to anyone aspiring to open their own barre3 studio?
JILLIAN: Take action. Everything seems scary until you take that first step, and then you realize all you have to do is take the next step, and then the next. Once you start walking, you can run. It’s just like a toddler! That’s what entrepreneurship feels like. The hardest thing is taking that first step.
I’d also tell any aspiring barre3 studio owner that you only live once and you deserve to be happy. You deserve to pursue a career that you love and own a business you are passionate about. I am so glad that I made this jump after spending ten years in business consulting. Once I did, I knew I was never going to look back because I am so much more fulfilled. I love that I get to help people feel good in their bodies and find joy in exercise. I’m empowered by living a life of purpose and making a great living from it. That’s what we want for all of our owners, and franchising with barre3 helps to make this a reality.
Thank you, Jillian! We’re thrilled to have The Barre Code join barre3. Are you interested in joining the barre3 franchise? Learn more about converting your barre studio here.
In 2010, Jillian Lorenz and Ariana Chernin founded The Barre Code, a Midwest-based barre fitness company that promotes personal growth and self-acceptance within the fitness industry. Fast forward to the present, and The Barre Code has embarked on its next stage of growth by being acquired by barre3. Jillian sat down with us to share her experience entering the boutique fitness industry, her journey of becoming barre3, and her commitment to empowering women entrepreneurs.
B3 MAGAZINE: What inspired you to enter the boutique fitness industry? What led you and Ari to start The Barre Code?
JILLIAN: We saw a need in the boutique space to reengineer the way that women worked out, similar to barre3’s mission to redefine fitness. Personally, in my road to recovery from an unhealthy body image, I would go to the studio to work my body and to feel good. But in the studio, I was told to be less than or smaller than. Ari and I saw this need to reframe that mindset and to work from the inside out. We all come in different shapes, sizes, and skin colors. We need to embrace the body we’re in. That’s how The Barre Code was born.
We were also both in male-dominated businesses at the time and when we had female bosses, we felt like there wasn’t any support and it was more of a competition—the opposite of what it should be. When Ari and I first started to brainstorm our business, we talked about what women empowerment really looks like and how we can spread that. That’s when we decided our mission and vision, which was to be a best-in-class fitness program, provide personal growth and self acceptance, and lastly, provide a space where women support one another and cheer each other on through life’s journeys.
B3 MAGAZINE: How did you and Ari come to the decision to join barre3?
JILLIAN: When the pandemic hit, all of our lives and the fitness industry were shaken. That’s when we decided to reach out to Sadie Lincoln and discuss how barre3 was navigating the shutdown—we saw it as an opportunity to learn from one another and be stronger together. When we met with Sadie there was an instant connection, not to mention alignment with the authenticity of how she started her business and the mission of barre3. That’s really when we started to see how similar we were. We have the same core center and that’s what made sense for this acquisition to take place. I like to think of the acquisition of The Barre Code as growing up. It’s the next stage of growth as we become barre3.
B3 MAGAZINE: What excites you about becoming barre3?
JILLIAN: What excites me the most about becoming barre3 is how the brand is evolving into a wellness company. I really love the breadth of what we’re offering—the balance in body and mind, bridging the gap from boutique fitness to total wellness. You see it with the 21 Days to Better Sleep program on barre3 online, and with breathwork at the end of classes in the studio. These are practices that Ari and I do ourselves at home and always wanted to bring into our studios and now we’re doing that. That personally excites me most: the growth to greater overall wellness.
The other thing that excites me is to help our franchisees be more successful in their businesses. We started franchising to embody our mission of “women supporting women.” Our owners are like-minded women entrepreneurs who decided to start their own business locally to make a greater difference in their community. I want them to be as successful as possible. Barre3 is the leader in the category, and they’re experts in franchising, so we couldn’t be more excited to join the company and support all our studio owners in their next stage of growth. Our owners, so far, have really jumped onboard, are rising to the challenge of the change, and excelling at becoming barre3. It’s amazing and we’re so grateful to see that. Kudos to them.
B3 MAGAZINE: Are there any learnings you gained when transitioning from your 10-year career to owning your own business?
JILLIAN: When I transitioned to entrepreneurship, I needed a partner. I came from the mindset of following a “traditional path” where you go to college, get a job, and go to work. Ari had a completely different mindset. She knew she wanted to work for herself from day one. What is exquisite about our relationship is that she was the hand I needed to take the jump.
B3 MAGAZINE: What are the benefits of becoming a franchisee?
JILLIAN: What’s incredible about franchising is that the entire company—the 50-plus corporate employees and 185 studio owners—acts as your “hand.” You don’t have just one hand to jump with, you have many, including experts in fields like marketing, training & development, and operations, among others, along with a network of studio owners who constantly support one another so that we can all rise together.
B3 MAGAZINE: What advice would you give to anyone aspiring to open their own barre3 studio?
JILLIAN: Take action. Everything seems scary until you take that first step, and then you realize all you have to do is take the next step, and then the next. Once you start walking, you can run. It’s just like a toddler! That’s what entrepreneurship feels like. The hardest thing is taking that first step.
I’d also tell any aspiring barre3 studio owner that you only live once and you deserve to be happy. You deserve to pursue a career that you love and own a business you are passionate about. I am so glad that I made this jump after spending ten years in business consulting. Once I did, I knew I was never going to look back because I am so much more fulfilled. I love that I get to help people feel good in their bodies and find joy in exercise. I’m empowered by living a life of purpose and making a great living from it. That’s what we want for all of our owners, and franchising with barre3 helps to make this a reality.
Thank you, Jillian! We’re thrilled to have The Barre Code join barre3. Are you interested in joining the barre3 franchise? Learn more about converting your barre studio here.
