In his newly released book, Rick Stollmeyer, the co-founder of MindBody, shares principles that helped him build a business that started in his garage and transformed into the massive wellness-focused company it is today.
His book, "Building a Wellness Business That Lasts: How to Make a Great Living Doing What You Love" caters to every entrepreneur.
"The book is written from the perspective for someone who is considering entering the industry or for someone who has been running a business for decades but is thinking of pivoting," Stollmeyer said.
In July, Stollmeyer stepped down as the company's CEO and transitioned to the role of executive chair. The past president of Mindbody, Josh McCarter, took over the role at the beginning of August.
"This was an opportunity, right?" Stollmeyer said. "It kind of concurred with me passing the baton to the new CEO, to encapsulating everything we've learned into one book."
After he submitted the manuscript in March, major impacts from COVID-19 began to sweep over the country, including a shelter-at-home order.
"I submitted the completed manuscript to my editor on March 8 of this year, and it's funny because we think about these principles largely being timeless, you know, how these businesses can be successful or not and COVID changed everything," Stollmeyer said.
He said in April he reached out to his editor to do what he calls a "serious re-write" but that wasn't the only story he was focusing on. As COVID-19 emerged, the impacts directly impacted Mindbody.
"We saw 90% of the activity, the class and appointment bookings, the purchases, the payments on our platform go to near zero," Stollmeyer said.
Around $15 million in relief was provided to businesses that use Mindbody as a platform, according to Stollmeyer. In April, the company laid off and furloughed 700 employees due to the financial impacts of the pandemic.
"Hands down one of the hardest things I've had to do," Stollmeyer said.
In his new book, Stollmeyer talks about the fourth wave of the wellness industry and how it will continue to evolve.
"So in the book, I talk about the fourth wave of wellness which I see happening right about now as the world begins to emerge out of COVID in 2021," Stollmeyer said. "We think it's a huge opportunity and that there will be even more growth in the decade ahead than the prior two decades combined."
For detail on how you can purchase Stollmeyer's book, click here.
