How Bodycraft launched a studio while growing profit

About Bodycraft

Bodycraft is a movement studio in Brooklyn, NY, opened by Emily Diers in 2022. Bodycraft offers a wide range of modalities — including pilates, yoga and dance. The studio was founded with the purpose of creating a welcoming community where people of all backgrounds can come together to exercise without judgment in a warm and supportive environment.

The call to open a new studio

Emily started her digital fitness journey in 2020 when the pandemic hit. She provided on-demand Zoom classes, private sessions, and a virtual subscription. As things began to transition back to in-person activities, she felt the urge to open a physical location. She said, "I really wanted to have a dedicated space to bring all my offerings together. I felt it was necessary not only for myself, but also for other creators like me." With the launch of their new studio, Bodycraft required booking software that could fulfill all of their requirements.

The challenge: Finding a software that fits the needs of the studio

Emily faced a significant challenge when she first opened her studio. She had to use multiple software programs that not only made her life harder, but they also didn't work. She describes the experience with her first booking software:

“I was using MindBody and it was very confusing for the consumer. It was a constant daily struggle that people would have a hard time logging in, and that deterred people from booking.”

Emily discovered several other issues with her old software, including unexpected fees, lack of branding, and the absence of important functionalities for running her studio. She had to use multiple software applications for marketing and booking, which was inefficient and created an incoherent brand image. “When using other platforms, it often felt like I was still very much on their platform instead of experiencing Bodycraft. The copy, newsletters, colors and photos should be cohesive, and then the booking page is randomly, not.” The lack of transparency around fees, and poor brand integration drove Bodycraft to search for another software.

The solution: Higher profits, cohesive branding and efficiency with Arketa

Emily was looking for a software that met all her feature needs. Transparent pricing, brand customization and smooth software were important for the Bodycraft to be successful. Emily found all those features in Arketa,

“There's no other additional hidden fees. I'm making more profit now because my bill is lower.”

Branding was an important aspect for Bodycraft. Emily says, “I love the ability to brand and customize the site. I'm not very tech savvy, so it felt very easy to embed.” With Arketa, the schedule can seamlessly embed into the website while maintaining the brand's appearance.

Emily was able to increase efficiency in her business by using Arketa, and that gave her time back, “the things that are automated within Arketa are saving me a lot of time. And that time can be used for other things.”

The results: More time, autonomy and profits led to the success of the new studio

With Arketa, Emily was able to run and market her business in a way that aligned with the Bodycraft brand. The autonomy and support that Arketa provides its partners were crucial for Bodycraft to cultivate a successful new wellness business.

“I would absolutely recommend Arketa to other studio owners. It's a modern booking platform. It feels like it's of the era. It's a responsive team that's helping you problem solve for your business. Arketa allows you to customize, embed and brand things into your site. All of these things are very important for a business owner in 2023. And they deliver.”

As a new studio, Emily initially had reservations about switching to Arketa as her platform. However, the excellent customer support and intuitive software gave her the confidence to make the switch. Now, she is making higher profits and has more time to dedicate to her clients.

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